cutlineWhat is HSFY at Otago?
Health Sciences First Year is the common first year at the University of Otago that leads to five Health Sciences professional programmes: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Medical Laboratory Science. Everyone in HSFY sits a shared set of first-year papers, and entry into those limited-entry programmes the following year is decided by a ranking process built on how you do in them, alongside things like an interview or aptitude test depending on the programme.
The papers most HSFY students take
Four core papers in semester one, three in semester two, and one 8th paper chosen from a small set of options. Each is worth 18 points (0.15 EFTS).
Semester 1
How the year gets marked
Most papers mix internal assessment (lab tests, progress tests) with a final exam, and several of the core science papers are examined mostly or entirely by multiple choice. Otago also runs plussage, a rule that can let a strong final exam mark overwrite a weaker progress test mark. How plussage actually works covers the mechanic in full; this page will not repeat the numbers it already gets right.