• If you are a BHSc student, go to the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FMHS) Orientation Day.

• If you are a BSc (Biomedical Science) student, go to the Faculty of Science Orientation Day.

After you apply for the University of Auckland and are accepted, you now have to enrol in the 8 papers (i.e., 4 papers in Semester 1 and 4 papers in Semester 2) required for 1st year. 

Since Year 1 papers are largely fixed, you can enrol via a "cohort" option that automatically selects your papers and generates all valid, non-clashing timetable combinations. (In the usual enrolment process, you manually choose the courses you wish to do; but this is not really the case here).

Check out the links below for the full breakdown of your respective degree !!

• Biomed: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/current-students/enrolment/enrolling-biomedical-science.html 

• Health Science: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/study/applications-and-admissions/enrolment/undergraduate-enrolment/cohort-enrolment/enrolling-in-the-bachelor-of-health-sciences.html 

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​Note: If you are absolutely sure you will not be applying for any clinical programs, consider taking STATS101 as that is another core paper you will have to take. However, should you be on the fence about your career options, it would be highly recommended to take POPLHLTH111 should you change your mind later and want to apply for clinical programmes.  

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*Payment is usually completed/should be paid by the 1st day of Semester which is typically either late February or early March; which should be plenty of time for StudyLink to process your Student Loan if you have applied for it.

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**First years are no longer entitled to their first year free as part of the fees-free study scheme, but rather only in their final year of study. For more information, please consult https://www.feesfree.govt.nz/

If you would like to drop your enrolled cohort for a serious reason (e.g. you now have a clash), you need to contact Student Hubs. Excuses like "I don't like my timetable" are unlikely to work! :P
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Otherwise, all other enrolment problems should be dealt with by your Student Hub, of which their details can be found here.

Yes! Please enrol ASAP because the desirable streams fill up fast!! 

The DELNA is a simple test that all new students to UoA need to sit in order to assess English language skills. You need to book online for a session and the test should take approximately 10-15 minutes.

You can find more info here.

Academic Integrity – meaning submitting only your own work — is a core university requirement. You'll be automatically enrolled in a short Academic Integrity course on Canvas involving some readings, videos, and quizzes. It requires 100% but has unlimited attempts, so it's nothing to stress about. Consider completing it all before uni starts. If not completed within your first semester, you'll simply be re-enrolled the following semester.

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/staff/education-office/academic-integrity.html

This depends on who mentions it:

In General: "Core" papers are compulsory papers that you have no choice but to complete as part of your degree. However, you are likely to have to do all 8 prescribed papers so this is confusing and irrelevant to Year 1 students. For Biomed students wishing to apply for Optometry (BOptom), "core" papers are 6 papers: BIOSCI 101, BIOSCI 106, BIOSCI 107, CHEM 110, PHYSICS 160, and MEDSCI 142. This is because these 6 papers count towards both the interview selection and the selective entry into the BOptom programme.
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For students wishing to apply for Medicine (MBChB)/Pharmacy: "Core" papers are 4 papers: BIOSCI 107, CHEM 110, POPLHLTH 111, and MEDSCI 142. This is because these 4 papers count towards both the interview selection and the selective entry into the MBChB/Pharmacy programme.

These are printed books produced for individual courses by their departments. Some require you to purchase them from UBIQ (~$30 each), while others are included in your course costs. If you'd rather not buy one, they're usually uploaded to Canvas too, but buying will likely be easier and cheaper than printing individual pages.

Inside, you'll find all key course information including lectures, tests, labs, etc. Most importantly, the lecture notes are organised by lecture, with each section containing the learning objectives, relevant images, and notes for what that lecture will cover

Lectures start 5 minutes after the hour and finish 5 minutes before the hour giving you 10 minutes to travel to your next lecture (assuming it’s at another location; otherwise, you have 10 minutes to chill in the same lecture theatre). ​ 

You can leave your lab early provided you finish all the required work early as well (however, that is a rarity).

Yes, you do.

A lab coat is required for BIOSCI, CHEM, and MEDSCI labs, so make sure to bring it every session or risk having to hire one. While hiring is free, the coats aren't washed between uses, so it's not ideal beyond the occasional forgotten lab coat. Since you'll need one throughout your degree anyway, it's worth buying one now.

You'll also need safety glasses, mandatory in all CHEM and MEDSCI labs and in BIOSCI labs when handling harmful chemicals. Both can be purchased at Campus Books (Kate Edgar Information Commons, Level 0 & 1) or the Science Resource Centre, and second-hand options are available online or at Grafton campus, although they sell fast.

Not really, as there are plenty of alternatives worth considering first.

Textbooks are either "recommended" (supplementary material) or "prescribed" (expected reading for homework). Before buying, keep in mind the following:

• Borrow from the library — free with your UoA ID card, either from Short Loan or the shelf.

• Access digitally — some textbooks are available free via the UoA Library website with your university login.

• Buy second-hand — check Facebook Marketplace/TradeMe for cheaper copies, often in near-new condition (people rarely use them).

• They're heavy — lugging around a thousand-page book 3–5 days a week gets old fast.

Our recommendation is to wait until the end of Week 2 before deciding. Reflect on whether you actually use recommended readings or struggle without the background context. The vast majority of students don't find buying textbooks worth it, as your course guide will carry you through most of the time.

The one textbook worth considering is Tortora & Derrickson's Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, recommended for BIOSCI 107 and prescribed for MEDSCI 142 (required for lab pre-readings). Since it spans two courses, it's the most economical buy — though borrowing from the library works just fine too.

The latest is ideal but pricey. Older editions contain virtually identical content with only minor page number differences. It’s a small inconvenience, especially since most course books list page numbers for multiple editions anyway, but a cheaper older edition is perfectly fine.

Past exam papers (last 5 years) are available at the UoA Library website — just search your course code (e.g. CHEM 110). Note that mid-semester tests aren't included and are shared at your course coordinator's discretion via Canvas.

Answers aren't provided, so work through them with friends, then follow up on anything unresolved with your lecturer via email or Ed Discussion.

The exam schedule is typically released around the mid-semester break (~Week 6) via SSO and the university timetable link. Biomed exams tend to fall in the first week of the exam period to allow longer processing time for large cohorts.

Timetabling is handled entirely by the exam office, meaning that the departments have no input. Therefore, raising complaints with them won't help.

Overall grades are released on SSO usually 10–20 days after the last exam.

You can request a copy of your exam script or a recount ($55 per paper) — but note that it's a recount of recorded marks only, not a remark, so a grade change is unlikely.

As the Student Association for the Medical Sciences, we primarily cater to BSc (Biomedical Science) students and the non-clinical programs at FMHS so we're inevitably going to be biased towards it here (apologies).

Nonetheless, here's some (hopefully) objective points for you to consider to guide your choice:

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Biomedical Sciences

• Eligibility for Optometry (BOptom requires BIOSCI 101, 106, 107, CHEM 110, PHYSICS 160, and MEDSCI 142) — HealthSci doesn't offer this pathway.

• Requires Physics. Year 13 physics means you'll be well-prepared; Year 12 is a solid foundation; no prior physics will be a challenge.

• Mostly MCQ/SAQ assessment — answers are right or wrong, making marking more objective.

• More science-heavy — familiar territory if you enjoyed high school science.

• Also consider: BIOSCI 101, BIOSCI 106, and PHYSICS 160 — read the course descriptions and our reviews to see if they appeal to you.

Health Sciences

• No pathway to Optometry or Medical Imaging.

• Involves more essay writing — not literary essays, but researching a topic and conveying ideas clearly. Assessment feels slightly more subjective as a result. If you're comfortable with essays, this suits you well.

• Also consider: POPLHLTH 101, POPLHLTH 102, and HLTHPSYC 122.

Other Points

• Plan B: If you don't get into your target programme, where does each degree lead? HealthSci lends itself toward public health/epidemiology; Biomed toward a career in science.

• Think about your perspective on health: holistic and societal (HealthSci) vs. molecular, cellular, and biological (Biomed)?

• There's no "easier" option — only what suits you better. Interest drives better studying and better results.

• If postgrad medicine is your goal, treat all 8 FY papers as core, since cumulative GPA across all 3 years is considered.