Otago Medical School: MB ChB Admission Statistics 2021
1. About this Report
This report provides summary statistics on admissions to the MB ChB (Medicine) programme in 2021
as well as trend information for the last five years.
Admission to Medicine is highly competitive and this is reflected in the very high academic scores of
successful candidates under the ‘General’ category, for which there are many more applications
than available places.
Consistent with the
Mirror on Society Policy, the University is committed to increasing the enrolment
of Māori students, and students from equity groups (Indigenous Pacific, Socio-economic Equity,
Refugee and Rural). This approach recognises the more challenging pathway many students in
these groups have faced prior to applying for Medicine, enhances the educational experience of al
students admitted in an MB ChB cohort, and is – crucially – focused on improving the capabilities
and diversity of the New Zealand medical workforce to ensure better health outcomes for al New
Zealanders.
The University is incredibly proud of the achievements and success of its diverse cohort of medical
students and graduates.
Order of selection
Applicants may apply under multiple sub-categories. Sub-category applications are considered for
selection in sequence as follows:
• Māori
• Indigenous Pacific
• Socio-economic Equity
• Refugee
• Rural
• General
This means, for example, that a student admitted under the Māori sub-category, may also have been
eligible to be admitted under the Rural category, but will not be considered or subsequently counted
towards admissions under that category.
Due to this, in this report applications are recorded as the total applications under each sub-
category, as well as the applications considered under each sub-category (which excludes those
already accepted under a previous sub-category in the sequence shown above).
Note that all applicants are eligible to be considered under the ‘General’ sub-category, but in the
report, ‘General’ applicants are considered as those who did not apply under any other sub-
category.
Privacy For privacy and student wel being reasons, outcomes for groups with fewer than five individuals are
reported as “<5” (fewer than five), and academic scores are not provided for such groups (reported
as “W/H” (withheld)).
2. Admissions into the 2021 MB ChB class (all applicants)
Table 1. MB ChB Admissions 2021: All Applicants
Applicants
Offers
Admitted1
Domestic2
1081
326
282
International3
45
13
8
3. MB ChB Admissions 2021 (by admission categories)
Health Sciences First Year Category
Health Sciences First Year admission is based upon performance in Health Sciences First Year (HSFY).
A mean academic score (normally out of 1004) is calculated based on performance across the
applicant’s best seven papers in the HSFY year. Initial offers are made, and a waitlist established for
where offers are declined. Applicants are required to complete a University Clinical Aptitude Test
(UCAT). The Medical Admission Committee determines threshold requirements in various sections of
the test.5 There are no set numbers of available places, but approximately 70% of candidates are
selected through the HSFY category.
Table 2. MB ChB Admissions 2021: Health Sciences First Year Category
Al
Applications All Offers Minimum Admitted6
Applications6 Considered6 (includes Academic
waitlist)6
Score
(all
offers)4
General
356
356
109
95.14
99
Māori
67
67
46
70.00
39
Indigenous Pacific
27
26
11
71.00
11
Socio-economic Equity
25
16
11
70.86
7
Refugee
13
12
9
77.14
8
Rural
87
79
41
87.86
38
Al Domestic HSFY
575
556
227
70.00
202
International
28
28
13
78.29
8
1 Includes a smal number of students deferred from previous years commencing in 2021.
2 282 domestic places are funded and available each year.
3 By resolution of the University Council, up to 20 international places were available for 2021.
4 In 2020 a 5 mark grade increase was applied to papers in the first semester due to COVID disruptions. This
was taken into account in calculations, which could therefore exceed 100.
5 In 2021 applicants for general admission were required to be above the bottom 10th percentile for
situational judgement and above the bottom 20th percentile for verbal reasoning to be selected.
Thresholds were not determined for some applicants due to a review indicating possible cultural bias from
the test.
6 Students can apply under multiple sub-categories – see comment in Section 1 of this report.
Graduate Category
Graduate admission is based upon performance across a completed degree. A Grade Point Average
(GPA), weighted towards higher-level papers, is calculated for selection. Initial offers are made, and
a waitlist established for where offers are declined. Applicants are required to complete a University
Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). The Medical Admission Committee determines threshold
requirements in various sections of the test.7 There are no set numbers of available places, but
approximately 20% of candidates are selected through the Graduate category.
Table 3. MB ChB Admissions 2021: Graduate Category
Al
Applications All Offers Minimum Admitted8,9
Applications8 Considered8 (includes Academic
waitlist)8,9
Score
(all
offers)
General
286
286
50
8.13
35
Māori
15
15
9
4.54
8
Indigenous Pacific
19
18
<5
W/H
<5
Socio-economic Equity
2
2
<5
W/H
<5
Refugee
8
8
6
6.00
5
Rural
42
40
11
7.92
11
Al Domestic Graduate
372
369
82
4.54
64
International
11
11
0
NA
0
Alternative Category
Alternative admission is for those no longer qualified for admission under the other categories, and
who may bring broad life experiences, skills and perspectives to the medical programme.
Alternative admission is not available to international applicants. Selection is based upon academic
preparedness, motivation and life experience, and includes an interview. Successful applicants may
be admitted directly into the class, or may be required to complete further study before being
admitted into a later cohort. There are no set numbers of available places, but approximately 10%
of candidates are selected through the Alternative category.
Table 4. MB ChB Admissions 2021: Alternative Category
All
Applications Interviews8,9 Offers Admitted8,9
Applications8 Considered8
8,9
General
104
104
16
10
9
Other sub-category10
16
16
6
<5
<5
Rural
13
11
7
<5
<5
Al Alternative
133
131
29
17
16
7 In 2021 applicants for general admission were required to be above the bottom 10th percentile for
situational judgement and above the bottom 20th percentile for verbal reasoning to be selected.
Thresholds were not determined for some applicants due to a review indicating possible cultural bias from
the test.
8 Students can apply under multiple sub-categories – see comment in Section 1 of this report.
9 The Graduate and Alternative categories al ow for offers conditional on further study – these are not
recorded as offers or admissions above, but wil be included under these categories in subsequent year
reports for applicants who meet conditions.
10 Due to low numbers, other sub-categories are reported together. This includes for the Alternative
Category: Māori; Indigenous Pacific; and Refugee (note: there is no Socio-economic Equity sub-category for
Alternative admission).
4. MB ChB Enrolment Trend Information 2017 - 2021 (admission to second
year only)
Table 5. Student Numbers by Admission Category (Commencing Class)
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
HSFY
198
197
197
199
202
Graduate
68
65
64
63
64
Alternative
15
20
21
20
16
Total Domestic
281
282
282
282
282
International
10
10
8
10
8
Table 6. Student Numbers by Sub-Category (Commencing Class; Domestic Only)11
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
General
159
152
145
138
143
Māori
58
54
56
65
50
Indigenous Pacific
18
22
28
25
16
Socio-economic Equity12
-
-
-
11
8
Refugee12
-
-
-
<5
13
Rural
46
54
53
41
52
Table 7. HSFY Admission Academic Score Information (Commencing Class)11
201713
201813
201913
2020
202114
Minimum score:
General
79.90
80.23
80.96
92.71
95.14
Māori
69.57
68.00
68.14
66.71
70.00
Indigenous Pacific
65.86
65.57
66.14
66.00
71.00
Socio-economic Equity12
-
-
-
67.00
70.86
Refugee12
-
-
-
W/H
77.14
Rural
76.96
76.34
75.91
87.71
87.86
Median score:
General
82.96
83.25
83.18
94.93
97.86
Māori
78.29
78.86
82.14
80.29
88.57
Indigenous Pacific
74.43
81.14
72.57
75.86
86.29
Socio-economic Equity12
-
-
-
78.43
86.29
Refugee12
-
-
-
W/H
87.93
Rural
81.58
80.00
80.59
92.29
95.22
11 Students can apply under multiple sub-categories – see comment in Section 1 of this report.
12 Socio-economic Equity and Refugee sub-categories introduced from 2020.
13 Academic scores in 2017-2019 are based upon a combined Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test
(UMAT; 33% of score) and calculated mean academic HSFY score (67%); these scores are not directly
comparable with post-2019 admission scores.
14 In 2020 a 5 mark grade increase was applied to papers in the first semester due to COVID-19 disruptions.
This should be taken into account when comparing against other years.
Table 8. Graduate Admission GPA Information (Commencing Class) 15
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Minimum GPA:
General
7.14
7.22
8.14
8.13
8.13
Māori
4.55
4.13
4.42
4.92
4.54
Indigenous Pacific
4.63
4.94
4.74
4.89
5.05
Socio-economic Equity16
-
-
-
-
7.10
Refugee17
-
-
-
W/H
6.00
Rural
6.06
6.57
7.05
7.32
7.92
Median GPA:
General
7.72
8.23
8.40
8.47
8.90
Māori
5.28
5.08
5.27
6.54
5.64
Indigenous Pacific
5.20
5.56
5.18
5.18
5.62
Socio-economic Equity16
-
-
-
-
7.10
Refugee17
-
-
-
W/H
6.33
Rural
7.34
7.67
7.74
8.06
8.28
15 Students can apply under multiple sub-categories – see comment in Section 1 of this report.
16 Socio-economic Equity sub-category introduced for Graduate Admission from 2020.
17 Refugee sub-category introduced from 2020.
