22 December 2022
By email:
[FYI request #21217 email]
Dear Rayner
I refer to your information request dated 25 November 2022 made under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act). You have requested information in relation to entry to the 2023 Bachelor of
Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programmes at
the University of Otago.
Please see below our responses to each of your questions.
1. The threshold for all 5 sections of the UCAT for entry into both courses, specifying the
threshold for each section of UCAT in terms of percentile and score
MB ChB:
The MB ChB UCAT criteria is set annually by the University’s Medical Admissions Committee. For
entry to the 2023 MB ChB programme, the thresholds have been set as follows:
• Verbal Reasoning: threshold set above the lowest 10th percentile
• Situational Judgement: threshold set at or above the 20th percentile
• Scores for Decision Making, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning are not
considered
BDS:
The BDS UCAT criteria is set annually by the University’s Dental Admissions Committee. For entry to
the 2023 BDS programme, the thresholds have been set as follows:
• Decision Making: score of 630 or above met the threshold
• Verbal Reasoning: threshold set at the bottom 22nd percentile
• Scores for Situational Judgement, Quantitative Reasoning and Abstract Reasoning are not
considered
2. The 7-paper average minimum and median percentage for both courses for students who
get offers (first and waitlisted) via the General pathway of HSFY (not including the sub-
categories).
With regards to the information you have requested for this item of your request, the University’s
Medical School and Faculty of Dentistry have not yet confirmed final numbers for its 2022 MB ChB
and BDS programmes. This includes the number of students to receive offers (first round or waitlist),
and the minimum and median average academic scores to receive offers to both programmes. The
data will not be known and therefore will not be available until the end of March 2023 – as student
offers continue until the end of the third week of teaching in Semester 1. The reasons for late offers
relate to students declining entry to the programme after it has commenced (which is permitted
providing it is done by the end of the third week) or having to defer for unanticipated reasons.
Once this information is available, we will be able to provide you with the minimum and median
average academic scores to receive first round and waitlist offers to the 2022 MB ChB and BDS
programmes via the HSFY General category.
Please note that for privacy and student wellbeing reasons, the University’s standard practice is not
to report on information which relates to fewer than 5 students. Where the numbers are very low,
there is a risk that the identity of those individuals can be determined/inferred. Information for
groups with fewer than 5 individuals will be reported as “<5” (fewer than 5) or “W/H” (withheld).
Withholding this information is consistent with section 9(2)(a) of the Act, and we do not consider
that the reasons for withholding this information are outweighed by other considerations which
would make it desirable in the public interest to make the information available.
I trust that this information will be helpful. We will be in touch with regards to the remaining
requested information (item 2 of your request) once this data has been confirmed and is available.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your information request, section 28(3) of the Act
provides you with the right to ask an Ombudsman to investigate and review this response. However,
we would welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns with you first.
Yours sincerely
Kelsey Kennard
Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Office of the Registrar
