Cutline vs Mentra
The short answer
Our verdict: for most HSFY students, Cutline is the better choice.
Cutline Full Year 2027 is NZ$949, about the price of six hours with Mentra. For that you get every HSFY paper for both semesters, the question bank, mock exams, Anki decks, UCAT 2027 and the Otago Dent interview room. If you want a person in your corner too, the Mentor Circle adds a named mentor, eight small-group sessions and two 1:1 check-ins for NZ$500.
Side by side
| Compared on | Cutline | Mentra |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Full Year 2027 NZ$949. Summer + 2027 + Mentor Circle NZ$1,949 | NZ$160 an hour |
| What a term of weekly help costs | Mentor Circle add-on NZ$500 for 8 group sessions and two 1:1 check-ins | 10 weekly hours would be NZ$1,600 |
| Format | App you use any time, optional weekly live Q&A, Mentor Circle sessions | 1 hour a week, 1:1 on Google Meet |
| Practice material | Question bank, mocks, progress tests, concept pages, Anki decks | Resource pages for PHSI191 and CHEM191, more "coming". We could not find a question bank |
| Papers | Every HSFY paper plus eighth papers | Otago HSFY |
| UCAT and interviews | UCAT 2027 and the Dent interview room in Full Year | We could not find any |
| Refunds | Full refund within 14 days | We could not find a refund policy |
Mentra information is from mentra.nz on 11 November 2026.
What we believe
Why 1:1 tutoring isn't enough
An hour a week with a tutor is one hour. HSFY is the other twenty you spend alone with lectures, and that is where most students get stuck. We built Cutline for those hours. Lessons are taught through walkthrough videos from Otago medicine and dentistry students who sat the same papers, so you can pause, rewind and rewatch the exact bit you didn't get, at 11pm the night before a test if that's when it clicks. Then you practise it straight away with questions written for the Otago exams.
We think understanding something at your own pace beats waiting a week to ask about it. That is the whole idea behind Cutline.
Why students pick Cutline
Walkthrough videos from people who just sat it.
Otago med and dent students explain every idea the way they wish someone had explained it to them, and you can rewatch any part as many times as you need.
Help for every hour you study, not just one.
Most HSFY learning happens in the other twenty hours of the week. Cutline is there for all of them.
The whole year for the price of a few sessions.
NZ$949 covers every paper until December 2027.
People when you want them.
Weekly live Q&A, and Mentor Circle mentors who got exceptionally high grades in HSFY.
When Mentra might suit you
You get one tutor's full attention for an hour every week, and parents are included from the first meeting. Some students need that more than they need more practice questions.
Checked 11 November 2026 from mentra.nz. Prices change, so check their site for the latest. Cutline is not affiliated with the University of Otago or Mentra.