Thanks to everyone who came and met us at Courses and Careers Day last week! I really enjoyed answering all your questions, and talking to a few of you guys after! I hope you all got a feel for what you guys want to delve into in the years to come (and I hope that includes coming to Auckland Uni!). Mid-sem break has been filled with great stories to tell š but also coming to terms with the realization that the majority of the year has gone by š
Helium balloon from Courses & Careers Day!
STORYTIME: We saved a life!
I was walking to the gym (and finally making use of that free halls membership š ) when I noticed a helpless baby bird sitting complacently in the middle of the path among the trampling herds of uni students, businessmen, and city-goers making their way down Symonds Street. Super Sonna knew she had to step in, so we rescued this magnificent creature back to the safe home of OāRorke (where it somehow learnt to fly?!) ā Watch the video of us releasing it below!
I forgive you for poopin’ in my jacket <3
STORYTIME: I ended up in Hospital!
I had been in and out of Auckland Hospital visiting my grandma after her surgery and taking on the role of both loving granddaughter and terrible translator (my grandma doesnāt speak very good English). There wasĀ one pointĀ right after her surgery (while she was super high on the drugs) where she thought that she was actually in the hospital looking after me! (bless her soul). Until thatĀ sortaā¦actually happened…Never would I have though my first trip to the Emergency Department, in my entire life, would be from one floor of the hospital to another! Long story short; I had been staying overnight at the hospital with my grandma when I woke upĀ feelin’Ā kindaĀ funnyĀ but felt fine soon after. However, the nurses insisted I take a visitĀ to E.D just to make sure, where I was quickly looked after and discharged by a wonderful team of nurses and doctors (working at 3am!). Iām not really sure where Iām going with thisā¦but staying in the hospital as both a visitor and a patient was eye-opening and relevant to biomedā¦I could already tell from my times in the ward and E.D that being a doctor isn’t glamorous, it’s a career of life-long learning, hard-work and dedication.
Ward views from Auckland Hospital
LIFE LESSONS FROM PIZZA
Thereās three parts to our application for MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery): Our core GPA (60%), UMAT (15%) and Interview (25%). The four core papers are the ones that are common to both biomed and healthsci first year, which are: biosci107, chem110, poplhlth111, and medsci142. The other non-core papers in biomed (biosci101, biosci106, phys160, gen-ed) only contribute to your overall GPA (not your core GPA), so as you can tell, some papers are much more important than othersā¦ š UMAT results also came out a few days ago, but I’m trying not to dwell on the results too much and channel my focus into medsci142, our last core paper (the first three were all in Sem One which was deadly) and in the near future, the interviews, which are at the end of the year after our Sem Two exams.
Looking back on how far we’ve come! Ft. an amazingly decorated pod at O’Rorke
Itās weird to think that already Ā¾ of the uni year has gone and so have nearly Ā¾ of our med applications. Weāve all already made it this far which is a feat in itself…so surely we can tough it out for the last couple months. In the midst of the cycle of procrastinating, falling behind and cramming, itās hard to completely relax (even during break!) when youāre doing a competitive course. In fact, our first test for medsci142 is lurking the first day back after the mid-sem break. Tonight, we ordered some pizza to fuel a late-night study seshā¦and the message on the box couldnāt have come at a more perfect time. Not only it was it so fitting to our lives at this stage, but Iām sure to many other first-years too.
āThe path to paradise begins in hellā.
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- Hell pizza is HELLa good!
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- Relatable.
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- Cheeky slice missin’ #glutenfree #dairyfree
hello :)) awesome blog <33 just wondering what kind of grades are needed to get into med? super subjective i know, but we had our bioci107 exam yesterday and i know i didn't get a+ (so i'm sure i'll get 8 overall). feeling super disappointed right now
Hello! Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to tell ya as it depends on lots of things including your interview (and to a much lesser extent the UCAT), if you are eligible for any schemes (eg MAPAS, RRAS), and varies year to year. Don’t be disheartened, you are doing amazing and there is still a semester to go (MEDSCI142 is so interesting!). Best of luck for the rest of the year š
do they look for leadership roles in the interview for Medicine? e.g. do you have to take on volunteer work as an extra – on top of the academic workload?
Hi Sonna, I struggle with physics at school and I was wondering how are you finding the physics paper? Is it similar to NCEA? Also my school hasn’t done the modern physics internal so I was wondering are there concepts from that in the paper? did your school do it? Thanks š
Hi š PHYS160 is similar to NCEA Level 2 & 3 Physics with a bit of extra stuff (like medical physics). Our school offered the modern physics internal but it was optional to do it (I chose not to do it). It shouldn’t matter at all since we don’t even study nuclear/modern physics this year. Don’t worry as the lecturers start right from the basics, and many people have never taken physics before this paper! But taking physics in high school will definitely be an advantage, as you’ll mostly just be relearning the same or similar concepts.
Hi Sonna, how difficult is it to get grades in the A range for biomed?
Hi! It’s not ‘difficult’ as such, just more ‘different’. Once you adapt and get used to the content & teaching style, getting grades in the A range is easily doable if you put in consistent effort š
Can you maybe do a blog on what you have found the most challenging about adapting to university life, general tips for those hoping to take Biomed or Health science next year? What you have found awesome about university? How do you manage your time well? Etc
Ask and you shall receive š All those and more coming up in my next blog post!!!
I noticed your pizza was dairy-free? Are you vegan?
Btw love your posts, you’re a gifted blogger!
Hey Renee! it wasn’t a vegan pizza, I just wanted to try something new š Thank you so much by the way!