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Wednesday 6 March 2019 11:27am

From 2019, there will be changes to admissions scoring for entry to some of the Health Sciences professional programmes.

Only the Two or More Years of Study and Graduate admissions categories are affected.

Changes that will be introduced in 2019 (for entry from 2020 onwards)

From 2019, admissions scoring for the Two or More Years of Study admissions category will change.

The following programmes will be affected:

  • Medical Laboratory Science
  • Pharmacy
  • Physiotherapy

The new rules for scoring the Two or More Years of Study admissions category will be:

  1. Best 3 × 200-level papers scored,
  2. Balance of the 240 points from the best scoring remaining papers (scoring a maximum 120 points at 200-level),
  3. With 100-level papers weighted × 0.5, and all other papers weighted at × 1.5.
The changes being introduced in 2019 will only affect admissions scoring for entry to Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, and/or Physiotherapy under the Two or More Years of Study admissions category, from 2020 onwards. These changes will not affect other admissions categories or programmes.

Scoring example – Two or More Years of University Study category (PDF 50 KB)

Changes that will be introduced in 2020 (for entry from 2021 onwards)

From 2020, admissions scoring for the Graduate admissions category will change.

The following programmes will be affected:

  • Dentistry
  • Medical Laboratory Science
  • Medicine
  • Pharmacy
  • Physiotherapy

The new rules for scoring the Graduate admissions category will be:

  1. Total points scored would be as per the requirement for the relevant degree (typically 360 points for a three-year degree).
  2. Using the regulations for a standard three-year Otago Bachelor's degree as an example, the admission score would be calculated as follows, in order of precedence:
    1. Best scoring (maximum of) 120 points at 300-level
    2. Best scoring of 200-level and 100-level papers to 360 points
    3. With 100-level papers weighted x 0.5, 200-level papers weighted x 1.0, and 300-level papers weighted x 1.5
The changes being introduced in 2020 will only affect admissions scoring for entry to Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine, Pharmacy, and/or Physiotherapy under the Graduate admissions category, from 2021 onwards. These changes will not affect other admissions categories or programmes.

Scoring example – Graduate category (PDF 60KB)

Further information

Please contact the Health Sciences Admissions Office if you have any questions about these scoring changes.

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