4 October 2023
By email:
[FYI request #24077 email]
Dear Rossetta,
I refer to your request for information dated 8 September 2023 made under the Official Information
Act 1982. You have requested the UCAT thresholds for entry to the Bachelor of Medicine and
Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programmes at the University of
Otago from 2019 – 2023 for all applicant categories.
Please see below our response to your request:
UCAT threshold for BDS and MB ChB for 2019 - 2023
Please note that the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) was not used by the University of Otago
as an admissions test for entry to the MB ChB and BDS programmes in 2019. The University used the
Undergraduate Medicine and Health Science Admission Test (UMAT) during this period. The
University started using UCAT for 2020 entry to both programmes.
MB ChB:
The MB ChB UCAT criteria is set annually by the University’s Medical Admissions Committee. Where
UCAT was used as a threshold for admission, the thresholds for entry to the 2020 – 2023 MB ChB
programmes were as follows:
• 2020:
o Verbal Reasoning: 20th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: 10th percentile or higher required
o Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were
not considered
o Thresholds were applied to the General category for applicants applying under the
Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not
applied to the Māori, Indigenous Pacific, Socioeconomic Equity, Refugee or Rural
applicant sub-categories, or applicants applying under the Alternative category.
• 2021:
o Verbal Reasoning: 20th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: 10th percentile or higher required
o Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were
not considered
o Thresholds were applied to the General category for applicants applying under the
HSFY or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not applied to the Māori, Pacific,
Socioeconomic, Refugee or Rural applicant sub-categories, or applicants applying
under the Alternative category.
• 2022:
o Verbal Reasoning: 20th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: threshold set above the bottom 10th percentile
o Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were
not considered
o Thresholds were applied to the General and Rural categories for applicants applying
under the HSFY or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not applied to the Māori,
Pacific, Socioeconomic or Refugee applicant categories, or applicants applying under
the Alternative category.
• 2023:
o Verbal Reasoning: 20th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: threshold set above the bottom 10th percentile
o Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were
not considered
o Thresholds were applied to the General and Rural categories for applicants applying
under the HSFY or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not applied to the Māori,
Pacific, Socioeconomic or Refugee applicant categories, or applicants applying under
the Alternative category.
BDS:
The BDS UCAT criteria is set annually by the University’s Dental Admissions Committee. Where UCAT
was used as a threshold for admission, the thresholds for entry to the 2020 – 2023 BDS programmes
were as follows:
• 2020:
o Verbal Reasoning: 20th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: 10th percentile or higher required
o Decision Making: threshold set at the 57th percentile
o Scores for Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not considered
o Thresholds were applied to all applicants applying under the HSFY, Graduate or
Alternative categories.
• 2021:
o Verbal Reasoning: 25th percentile or higher required
o Situational Judgement: 10th percentile or higher required
o Decision Making: score of 640 or above met the threshold
o Scores for Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning were not considered
o Thresholds were applied to all applicants applying under the HSFY, Graduate or
Alternative categories.
• 2022:
o Verbal Reasoning: 22nd percentile or higher required
o Decision Making: score if 630 or above met the threshold
o Scores for Situational Judgement, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning
were not considered
o Thresholds were applied to General and Rural categories for applicants applying
under the HSFY or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not applied to the Māori,
Pacific, Socioeconomic or Refugee applicant sub-categories, or applicants applying
under the Alternative category.
• 2023:
o Verbal Reasoning: 22nd percentile or higher required
o Decision Making: score if 630 or above met the threshold
o Scores for Situational Judgement, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning
were not considered
o Thresholds were applied to General and Rural categories for applicants applying
under the HSFY or Graduate categories. Thresholds were not applied to the Māori,
Pacific, Socioeconomic or Refugee applicant sub-categories, or applicants applying
under the Alternative category.
I trust that this information will be helpful.
Yours sincerely
Jo Pearson
Official Information Act Administrator
Office of the Registrar