Exams are nearing…and this week is Stress Less Study Week. I saw puppies on campus today and my heart was melting seeing so many pupperinos & doggos. I made a lil video for y’all so check it out if you just need to de-stress (because I definitely needed it!)

I keep promises. In my last blog, I mentioned that I take a fifth paper, so here I am to enlighten y’all about it! You’re probably thinking it’s crazy to take another paper on top of four biomed papers. But this paper is different. Veeeerrry different.

Science Scholars is a programme for UoA students studying in the Faculty of Science. You can apply as a school-leaver (Year 13s!), or as a current undergraduate science student (first-years!). The application takes time – but I’m telling you it’s so worth it (and not just for the free tee-shirt & cookies every week hehe). The application involves a combination of essay, personal statement, reference & your ncea results (more info here).

But basically, every semester, on top of your usual papers towards your degree, you take a SCISCHOL paper. I nearly didn’t apply because I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle another paper on top of biomed and all…but there’s no “work” as such to do, except for a creative project at the end and you can do whatever you like. This semester, I took SCISCHOL101, and our last session was just a couple of days ago where we showcased our creative assessment. There was everything from paintings to props to poems to comics and even a cake! Here’s my project depicting Climate Change in the Pacific. Next semester, I’ll be taking SCISCHOL102 and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

This is what Climate Change looks like.

2018 applications haven’t opened yet of course…but I’ll be sure to let you guys know when it does. They usually close around early December but if you apply a little earlier, you get GUARANTEED ACCOMMODATION at O’Rorke Hall. Yes the mighty, highly-sought after O’Rorke!

Applying to Science Scholars is ages away, but something you might be interested in right now (or within the next week!) is UMAT. UMAT is a test (held 26 July this year) which students from biomed/healthsci at Auckland Uni intending to apply for medicine must do. If you’re not sure what it is, it is basically a test which assesses your logical reasoning & understanding people (sort of like an IQ test?).

Late registrations for UMAT are open till 16 June. What’s more important is that Year 13s can also do UMAT. Buuuuut your UMAT result can only be used to apply for programmes on the year you do it. So, you can’t use your Year 13 score next year if you choose to apply – you’d have to do it again. It’s kind of pricey, but practice could possibly help you for next year, or you might just wanna see how it’s like 🙂 You can register online.

If you want to know anything at all, let me know and it could be the next blog! #realtime