Kia ora Callum

We acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act request.

If we have any questions or need to seek clarification on any points we will be in touch soon. Otherwise, we will seek to respond to your request as soon as practicable and no later than 20 working days after the date your request was received (by 31 March 2022). If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of this timeframe.

Ngā mihi
Kelsey

Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator

Office of the Registrar | Te Tari o Te Pouroki me te Kaituhi ki te Kaunihera
University of Otago | Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo
New Zealand | Aotearoa
Email | Īmera [University of Otago request email]

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Kia ora Callum

 

I refer to your information request dated 3 March 2022 made under the
Official Information Act 1982. You have requested information in relation
to entry to the 2022 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Bachelor of
Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) programme via the Health
Sciences First Year (HSFY) category.

 

Please see our responses to each of your questions below.

 

The threshold for all 5 sections of the UCAT for entry to both courses

 

The UCAT selection criteria for the BDS programme is set annually by the
University’s Dental Admissions Committee. Where UCAT is used as a
threshold for admission, the University requires that students meet a
threshold for two of the five sections. For entry to the 2022 BDS
programme, the thresholds were set as follows:

 

o Verbal Reasoning – threshold set at the bottom 22^nd percentile
(scores in the top 78% met the threshold)
o Decision Making – score of 630 or above met the threshold
o No threshold was set for the Situational Judgement, Quantitative
Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning sections.

 

The UCAT selection criteria for the MB ChB programme is set annually by
the University’s Medical Admissions Committee. Where UCAT is used as a
threshold for admission, the University requires that students meet a
threshold for two of the five sections.  For entry to the 2022 MB ChB
programme, the thresholds were set as follows:

o Verbal Reasoning – threshold set at the bottom 20^th percentile
(scores in the top 80% met the threshold)
o Situational Judgement – threshold set above the bottom 10^th
percentile (scores in the top 89% met the threshold)
o No threshold was set for the Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning
or Abstract Reasoning sections.

The 7 paper minimum percentage for both courses for students who got into
these courses via the General pathway of HSFY

 

The minimum average academic score to receive an offer to the 2022 BDS
programme via the HSFY General category was 88.71.

 

The minimum average academic score to receive an offer to the 2022 MB ChB
programme via the HSFY General category was 93.00.

 

 

How many students gain entry to both courses each year via the General
pathway of HSFY (not including subcategories)

 

The number of applicants to receive offers to the 2022 BDS programme via
the HSFY General category was 57. Of these applicants, 24 accepted their
offer to enter the programme.

 

The number of applicants to receive offers to the 2022 MB ChB programme
via the HSFY General category was 102. Of these applicants, 92 accepted
their offer to enter the programme.

 

Why are international students not required to take the UCAT in 2022 for
entry into professional programmes in 2023?

 

It was decided that International students would not be required to sit
the UCAT in 2022 for entry to the 2023 BDS and MB ChB programmes as the
UCAT is designed specifically for students from Australia and New Zealand.
This places International students at a disadvantage due to a lack of
familiarity of these cultures. In addition, accessing sites overseas to
sit the UCAT can be difficult for International students.

 

 

I trust you will find this information helpful.

 

Ngā mihi

Kelsey

 

 

Kelsey Kennard

Official Information and Compliance Coordinator

 

Office of the Registrar | Te Tari o Te Pouroki me te Kaituhi ki te
Kaunihera

University of Otago | Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo

New Zealand | Aotearoa

Email | Īmera [1][University of Otago request email]

 

 

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