For parents
Your child is heading into Health Sciences First Year at Otago, or is in it now. Cutline is the practice app HSFY students use all year. There is also a summer programme for Year 13s.
Cutline is built by Otago medicine and dentistry students. Cutline operates independently and is not affiliated with, employed by, or endorsed by the University of Otago.
Health Sciences First Year is the first year at Otago for students aiming at health courses. Medicine and dentistry are the best known of them. Entry is decided mainly by first year grades, and places are limited. The line between an offer and no offer is called the cutline. That is where our name comes from.
1,141 applied.347 got in.
Each dot is one applicant to Medicine for 2026 entry, and the blue ones received an offer. In Dentistry the same year, 1,032 applied and 101 were admitted. University of Otago, Admissions Statistics 2026.
Four papers run together from the first week.
In some papers a stronger exam mark can replace a weaker progress test mark. Each course outline says if that applies this year.
How progress tests are countedFinal exams for the four first semester papers.
Three more papers begin, plus an eighth paper chosen from the approved options.
Choosing the eighth paperThe last exams of the year, for the semester two papers.
The university averages the best seven of the eight paper scores. Offers and waitlist movement run into the following March.
How many students applied to Medicine and Dentistry each year, and how many were admitted. There are far fewer places than applicants.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine, applications | 1,003 | 928 | 960 | 943 | 1,141 |
| Medicine, admissions | 293 | 289 | 322 | 338 | 347 |
| Dentistry, applications | 530 | 596 | 674 | 889 | 1,032 |
| Dentistry, admissions | 66 | 86 | 90 | 93 | 101 |
The totals cover all three admission categories, of which the first year is one.
Within those totals, the reports break the first-year category down by admission pathway. Offers of admission to first-year applicants, for 2026 entry:
| Pathway | Medicine | Dentistry |
|---|---|---|
| General | 118 | 30 |
| Māori | 66 | 24 |
| Rural | 32 | 7 |
| Refugee | 15 | 5 |
| Socio-economic equity | 11 | 5 |
| Indigenous Pacific | 10 | 6 |
| International | 34 | 23 |
In 2026, first-year General pathway offers in Medicine went to average academic scores between 93.14 and 99.00. In Dentistry the range was 97.00 to 98.57. Other admission pathways have their own score ranges.
The university’s own caveat applies here: the information in these reports is historical and not indicative of outcomes in future years.
Source: University of Otago, Admissions Statistics 2026 reports for Medicine (MB ChB) and Dentistry (BDS), April 2026, published at otago.ac.nz.
These are the scores of students who received an offer, over the four years the university has released.
Range of average academic scores to receive an offer of admission to the MB ChB programme via the first-year (HSFY) category, 2022 to 2025, as the university released it.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 93.00 to 99.14 | 89.43 to 98.43 | 89.57 to 98.71(95.43*) | 89.29 to 99.00(90.86*) |
| Māori | 69.14 to 98.71 | 70.29 to 97.00 | 65.29 to 97.00 | 65.71 to 95.43 |
| Indigenous Pacific | 69.57 to 88.29 | 67.43 to 82.71 | 65.43 to 96.57 | 65.71 to 92.86 |
| Socio-economic equity | 73.29 to 91.57 | 71.57 to 92.00 | 71.57 to 91.00 | <5 |
| Refugee | 74.71 to 92.71 | 73.86 to 92.86 | 71.43 to 95.29 | 70.29 to 91.29 |
| Rural | 86.00 to 97.86 | 78.29 to 97.14 | 79.71 to 91.29 | 66.14 to 97.29 |
| International | 72.71 to 95.29 | 80.43 to 92.99 | 76.29 to 97.00(84.29*) | 69.43 to 94.71 |
* Non-waiting list minimum score.
Range of average academic scores to receive an offer of admission to the BDS programme via the first-year (HSFY) category, 2022 to 2025, as the university released it.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 88.71 to 98.71 | 87.00 to 98.00 | 90.14 to 97.71(90.14*) | 96.14 to 98.86(97.00*) |
| Māori | 70.14 to 96.43 | 71.29 to 87.57 | 70.86 to 88.87 | 69.00 to 95.43(<5*) |
| Indigenous Pacific | 72.14 to 88.29 | 73.43 to 82.71 | 66.43 to 90.57 | 75.14 to 92.86(<5*) |
| Socio-economic equity | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 |
| Refugee | 74.71 to 92.71 | 77.43 to 92.86 | 75.14 to 95.29 | 80.71 to 97.86(<5*) |
| Rural | 81.43 to 97.14 | 76.14 to 97.14 | 81.29 to 96.71 | 82.57 to 97.86(91.86*) |
| International | 67.14 to 91.57 | 72.14 to 92.14 | 73.57 to 96.14 | 69.00 to 91.00(81.43*) |
* Non-waiting list minimum score.
Each pathway is its own route with its own entry criteria, so the rows are not one ranked scale. The university’s admissions policy for these programmes promotes and facilitates equity for students from underrepresented priority groups: Māori, Pacific, rural, socio-economic and refugee background students.
A bracketed figure with an asterisk is the non-waiting list minimum: the lowest score to receive an offer that did not come from the waiting list. The university holds that detail for 2024 and 2025 only. Where it would describe fewer than five people it is withheld too, shown as (<5*).
Two markers are the university’s own. <5 means the figure would describe fewer than five people, so it was withheld to protect their privacy. N/A means no offers were made. Neither is a score.
Source: University of Otago, response under the Official Information Act 1982 to request 34087, dated 14 April 2026, released at fyi.org.nz. The university states the data is correct as at 14 July 2025. The release covers 2022 to 2025 only: the university declined the 2026 part of the request because that information was not yet held, so the 2026 figures above come from the separate Admissions Statistics 2026 reports.
Your child studies the lecture, then trains on it here the same day. Try the question. It is a real one from the HUBS192 bank, and what you see after answering is exactly what your child sees.
Which of the following features is common to both myoglobin and adult haemoglobin?
Rebuilt here to match the app rather than screenshotted from it. The question, the options and every explanation are from the live HUBS192 bank. Open the HUBS192 sample page
These are final semester one marks from four Cutline students. They are cropped from eVision, the university's own records system. Each student gave permission for us to share them.
These are individual results and not representative of general outcomes. They are not a promise. The work still has to be your child’s.
HSFY is a year most students only sit once. It is worth seeing the price of Cutline beside the price of the year it sits inside.
Semester 2 Pass, to the November exams. About 2% of what the year costs.
Domestic tuition for a full-time year of health sciences papers, at 2026 rates. The Student Services Fee is on top.
A year in a University residential college, standard room, 2026 contract.
Both figures are the University of Otago’s own, published at otago.ac.nz.
The account belongs to your child, but checkout accepts any card. You can pay together at that step.
Year 13 to HSFY 2027
Cutline Summer is a head start on the four first-semester papers, CHEM191, CELS191, HUBS191 and PHSI191, taught over the summer holidays by Otago medicine and dentistry students, before the first lecture.
It is for Year 13 students starting HSFY in 2027. If they missed Level 2 or 3 Chemistry or Physics at school, the beginner routes start from zero.
Cutline Summer starts with a free guide, starting HSFY 2027, written for Year 13s by the students who sat the year. It takes a first name and an email, and it is written for them, not for you. Send them this address.
Ready to apply now? Apply for Cutline Summer. A person reads every application, and your child hears back by email either way.
Every paper is taught in the same three steps. This is HUBS191.
Summer Mentor Circle, 50 places
Everything in Summer + Cutline HSFY 2027, with a small group and someone checking in. Chosen on suitability from the application, not first-come.
The Ultimate HSFY Year
Both semesters of 2027, to 1 December 2027.
Summer NZ$699 + 2027 added later NZ$850 = NZ$1,549
Save NZ$100Apply for Summer + HSFY 2027HSFY Head Start Accelerator
15 weeks, 16 Nov to 28 Feb. CHEM, PHSI, CELS and HUBS basics before day one.
Do the first module of each paper by 31 December 2026. If Summer isn't helping, tell us and get a full refund.
Plus a full refund within 14 days of paying, no questions. GST included. Three payments, 30 days apart, that stop after the third. Mentor Circle sessions already held are not refunded.
Paying and hoping is not a plan. These are the things a parent can check on, and the page in the app that answers them.
Ranked by how much each topic needs work and how often it is tested. Work top down.
The review page in the app. Red means it is being tested and going wrong. This is the page to ask to see.
Four free guides answering the questions we hear most. No sign-up and no paywall.
Start free, before paying anything. Your child can use Cutline properly for weeks without a card. And the honest part: no practice app does the work by itself. Cutline gives your child somewhere to practise and a clear view of what is going wrong. The studying still has to be your child’s. We do not guarantee grades, admissions, exam outcomes, or any specific result.
Yes. The account is your child’s, but checkout accepts any card. Many families pay together at that step.
No. Cutline starts from the lectures your child is studying now, and the Discord is there when they need basics or clarification.
No. It is for students who want a clear training system instead of drifting between rereading, panic and late practice.
Recent medicine and dentistry students are in the Discord support channels.
The monthly and weekly plans cancel any time, with no lock-in. The Semester 2 Pass is a one-off purchase, so there is no subscription to cancel.
No. Cutline operates independently and is not affiliated with, employed by, or endorsed by the University of Otago.
Cutline is built by Otago medicine and dentistry students who sat these papers themselves. The company behind it is Tie Education Ltd, a New Zealand company. Its NZBN is 9429053498052, and you can look that number up on the public register. Cutline operates independently and is not affiliated with, employed by, or endorsed by the University of Otago.
You can email us at [email protected]. A person answers.
If Cutline is not right for your child, you have paid nothing. If it is, you will know within a few weeks, and you will hear it from your child rather than from us.
Actually a HSFY student? Start free.
