If you're applying to Otago Medicine or Dentistry with a degree, you're ranked on a weighted GPA. Otago changed how it's calculated, and the new method counts your 300 level papers three times as heavily as your 100 level ones. That changes which papers are worth your effort, so it's worth understanding properly before you enrol for 2027.
Here's how it works, with a full worked example you can copy for your own transcript.
The rules in four lines
These are from Otago's admissions guidelines and FAQ and its official weighted GPA calculator, as summarised on our Postgrad page.
- Your best 300 level papers are picked first, up to 120 points.
- Your best 100 and 200 level papers are pooled together and picked by grade, up to 240 points. That makes 360 points in total.
- Each paper is weighted by level: 0.5 for 100 level, 1.0 for 200 level and 1.5 for 300 level.
- The ceiling is 9.00, the same as an A+.
One more rule for 2027 entry: Pre-Christmas Summer School papers taken in the year you apply aren't included.
Grades convert to points on Otago's nine-point scale: A+ is 9, A is 8, A- is 7, B+ is 6, B is 5, B- is 4, C+ is 3, C is 2 and C- is 1.
Because the ceiling is 9.00, the weights don't inflate your score. They change how much each paper pulls your average up or down. A grade at 300 level moves it three times as much as the same grade at 100 level.
A worked example
Meet a made-up student finishing a BSc in physiology. To keep the maths simple, every paper here is worth 20 points. Real Otago papers are often 18 points, and the official calculator handles how a paper that crosses the 120 or 240 line is counted, so use it for your own numbers.
Step 1: the 300 level papers
She has six 300 level papers, which is exactly 120 points: A+, A+, A, A, A and A-. In grade points that's 9 + 9 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 7 = 49.
Step 2: the 100 and 200 level pool
She has eight 200 level papers (A+, A, A, A, A-, B+, B+, B) and eight 100 level papers (A+, A, A, A-, A-, B, B, B-). All sixteen go into one pool, sorted by grade, and the best twelve make up 240 points.
The twelve that make it in are two A+, five A, three A- and the two B+ grades. Her B and B- papers drop out, whichever level they were at.
| Group | Papers counted | Grade points | Weight per paper (points x level weight) | Weighted total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 level | 6 | 49 | 20 x 1.5 = 30 | 49 x 30 = 1,470 |
| 200 level | 7 (A+, A, A, A, A-, B+, B+) | 52 | 20 x 1.0 = 20 | 52 x 20 = 1,040 |
| 100 level | 5 (A+, A, A, A-, A-) | 39 | 20 x 0.5 = 10 | 39 x 10 = 390 |
| Total | 18 | 180 + 140 + 50 = 370 | 2,900 |
Step 3: divide
Her weighted GPA is 2,900 divided by 370, which is 7.84.
What the example shows
Now change one grade at a time and see what happens.
- If her 300 level A- had been an A+, her total goes up by 2 grade points x 30 = 60. That's 2,960 / 370 = 8.00.
- If one of her 100 level A- grades had been an A+, the total goes up by 2 x 10 = 20. That's 2,920 / 370 = 7.89.
The same improvement is worth three times as much at 300 level. In practice that means:
- Your 300 level year matters most. It's 120 of the 360 points, and nearly half the weight in this example (180 of 370).
- Choose 300 level papers you'll score highly in. A paper that sounds more "medical" isn't worth much if it costs you a grade.
- Your weaker papers can drop out. Because the 100 and 200 level papers are pooled by grade, a couple of B grades in first year might never be counted, as long as you have enough stronger papers to fill the 240 points.
- Having more papers to choose from helps. In the example, four of her sixteen 100 and 200 level papers weren't needed. If she'd had exactly twelve, every one of them would count.
How high does it need to be?
Otago's Medicine admissions statistics give public numbers for the Medicine graduate category, general pathway. For the 2025 intake Otago made 32 offers and 25 were accepted. The lowest weighted GPA to get a first-round offer was 8.66, and the lowest to get any offer, including from the waitlist, was 8.15.
Be careful with those. They were calculated under the old method, and Otago says cut-offs from before the change aren't comparable with the new one. What they do tell you is that the graduate door is narrow, and that most of the people who get through have mostly A-range grades in the papers that count. We break down the wider intake numbers in Otago Medical School's acceptance rate.
Other rules worth knowing
- Your degree needs to be completed within three years of applying.
- For Medicine you sit the UCAT ANZ in the year you apply. It's used as a screen, then you're ranked on weighted GPA alone, with no interview.
- For Dentistry there's no UCAT. You're interviewed on Zoom, and then the weighted academic score decides.
- Applications for the 2026 round ran from 1 July to 13 August.
For how the graduate route compares with HSFY and with Auckland, see our guide to getting into medicine in New Zealand.
FAQ
Do my HSFY or first-year papers count?
100 level papers in your degree go into the pool with your 200 level papers, at a weight of 0.5. Whether a particular paper counts depends on your degree and the rules for your year, so check with Otago if you're unsure.
Can I fix a bad first year?
Mostly, yes. Weak 100 level grades carry the least weight, and they can drop out of the pool entirely if you have enough stronger 100 and 200 level papers.
Do Summer School papers count?
From 2027 entry, Pre-Christmas Summer School papers taken in the year you apply are not included. Other summer papers may count, so check before you plan around them.
Want to see where you stand and which papers would lift your weighted GPA most? Get your free roadmap.
Cutline is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Otago. Rules are from Otago's admissions guidelines and weighted GPA calculator, and figures are from Otago's Admissions Statistics 2026 report (April 2026), checked 8 October 2026. The worked example is made up. Use Otago's official calculator for your own transcript, and check the guidelines for the year you're applying.
