The below is a quick snap-shot / summary of a 3 year journey of us parenting two Grade 12 kids, for university entrance! If you seeking more information after reviewing the below then Whatsapp 0825704690 (+27). Although the below focuses on MBCHB entrance however it applies to general South African university acceptance tool-kit!
As parents we would , within reason, provide / buy almost whatever our kids ask for; going to movies, cellphone, school bag, outing, etc... There is one thing we cannot buy, a seat in the university! This is the most difficult thing for us parents! However all we can do is support them the best we can! Hence this tool-kit is being shared and posted for all to re-use.
What makes up university acceptances! Academics, NBTs , SJT (Situation Judgement Tests by SU) , Non-Academic
Academic: You should have this contained / controlled by now
NBTs by UCT: This is a SA NATIONAL university entrance requirement Standardisation Exam. Maths, Qualitative English and Maths ( 3 papers) 3hrs * 2
SJT: This is where Stellenbosch created their own program assessment programme in 2022
Non-Academic: New Skills, Physical Exercise, Community Service. Outreach Community Programmes. This is where TPA (The Presidents Award) is leveraged.
Fear / Worry: At the stage parents are extremely worried / concerned.
Parents worry and stress more than the kids
You should be looking at local and International Universities between April to Oct - Stress!!!!
Understand Options and Costs / Affordability. See Costs section below!
Trending Students Marks : Parents should trend and plot a graph from Grade 11 Final results to understand how kids are progressing. Show your kid this as well to make them see the complete picture!
Printer for exam papers: Daughter killed a small forest. Son everything online via laptop. Go Figure!
This plotting of the dates afforded us to plan breakaway vacations. Also we picked up there was a clash in the FINAL exam papers where on one day my child was to write 3 exam papers (Applied Maths x2 and IT). This clash was later corrected by the department.
Year Planner, 2 sets. One in parents room . One is Students room
Write down all dates: exams, projects, holidays, events (birthdays) , Matric Dance, University Applications Open and closing, NBTs dates, Trials vs Finals (For LO exam there is no Trail paper just finals exam. This is written at the trail exam period) , SBA Project Dates.
President Award Logs Sheets, Vision Board !
The common theme was that they all had a passion and desire to succeed and get into Medicine. They executed on a clear plan to achieve their goal
Strategize, plan and execute. Matric can feel very overwhelming... it might feel like you have more deadline and tests that you can handle but I promise you it's not. Put the dates on a calendar, make yourself a realistic timetable. Be very specific on what your want to accomplish in specific time frame and hold yourself accountable. Planning is just as important as studying
1.
My best piece of advice is to
create a realistic timetable for yourself to manage both fun and academics.
This is something I have done since grade 4 and has helped me consecutively
maintain a position in at least the top 3.
2.
Closer to exam times, make a
daily academic time schedule. This should include the specific page numbers you
want to go through or the past paper you want to look at. Plan your day from
the moment you wake up, to when you want to study and even how you want your
breaks to look. This will help you realistically balance your time and most
importantly get through everything
3.
Make sure to continue
exercising and keep up with your hobbies even during exam periods. Its very
easy to feel burn out and there’s a lot of pressure… Balancing your time with
things that make you happy will help you stay motivated.
4.
Don’t be afraid to ask for
help. There are so many past students, teachers and even peers in your grade
that are more than happy to share notes with you and go through sections you
don’t understand. Please don’t ever suffer in silence.
5.
Go through as many past papers
that you can but be strategic about it. If you feel like you 100% mastered a
section and you are consistently getting those questions right, don’t waste
your time going through the same questions. It won’t help. Rather focus your
energy on the trickier sections and trickier questions. Practise and application makes perfect.
The little boy who grew up in a single-parent household where he and his mom struggled so much that he still remembers the week they survived only on a packet of NikNaks, always had only one dream: to become a doctor. Harris can recall the exact moment he knew he wanted to become a doctor. As he and his mom had moved around a lot during his turbulent childhood, she thought Harris would get some stability from joining the Boy Scouts. The Scouts helped the insecure boy feel more confident. “We learnt many skills including first aid training. The training came in handy one day when I was at New Somerset Hospital after having an asthma attack. That night the patient next to me had a seizure, I remember not panicking, thinking about what we had learned in first aid training and putting him in the recovery position. After a few minutes, a doctor came into the room and changed the trajectory of my life. He sat next to me and said that I should become a doctor because not everyone could do what I did. I remember feeling so good because I had helped someone. I had never felt such purpose before."
In an almost poetic arc to his journey, next year Harris will start his internship as a doctor at New Somerset Hospital, the exact same place where his dream was born. Read the full story on the link below:
Be amazed by this url link. It blew us of our socks! This was the real eye opener to the reality we faced!
1.UCT, 2. WITS, 3. UP, 4. Stellenbosh, 5. UKZN, 6. UFS, 7. Walter Sisulu University, 8. MEDUNSA, 9.Limpopo, 10. University of Zululand
Which do you apply too!!!! We applied to ALL! I heard of people applying to select universities.
Factual Story: My daughters Grade 12 year the top student in her school applied to only ONE university and she was so confident to get in. After all she was 92% and above average. Came January for university entrance this TOP student was put on a waiting list and eventually was not accepted to the university and had to scramble to get place in a backup university without a application for that backup university! Talk about stress!
International or Local. In our view if you only have South African citizenship and want to study internationally without funding! budget 1.2million rands a year! 800K for fees and 400K for Travel, books , clothing and....
All fees below are Tution fees. It excludes; books, boarding , lodging, car, transport, entertainment.
South Africa: R100k * 6 years. UFS is 5 years MBChb. Excludes 2 Years Internship, 1 Year Community Service.
UK: 30,000 pounds * 5 years (R600,000 per year). Don't be mislead the fees increase yearly!
US: 50,000 dollars * 4 years (Medicine) Undergrad: 4 year degree in Science, Neuro Sience (R800,000 per year for 4 years)
Cuba, Romania, China, Maurtius: Then local board exams!!! Look at social media for information
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/advice/world-university-rankings-explained
Above link is the best I came across thus far to understand WHAT makes rankings! This changes all the time. The greatest tip I received for international universities was understand their overall ranking in the respective country and globally. Don't select a university just to show that you studied internationally! With that said we all have our own objectives and reasoning. Just some thought!
What makes university ranking!
The takeaway from the below is that UCT's ranking will always be competitive (top of the list) since Chris Barnard did the 1st heart transplant in the world. Therefore all scholars, globally, that submit disertations / thesis relating to cardiovascular / heart must reference UCT since that is to adhere to global referencing standards. This alone carries 30% of the ranking weight!
Source: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/advice/world-university-rankings-explained
8002 Applicaitons
851 Interviews
164 Class Size (1 for every 48 Applications)
21 to 35 years of age
51% Female
48% Male
68 Colleges
31 States
7 Countries
The average graduating debt in 2021 at HMS was $105,041, compared to the national average of $176,398 at public medical schools, and $188,295 at private medical schools.
These are the programmes , we were exposed to, which are out there to assist you. Some come at costs of R100K to R150K to join the programme
Student Exchange Programmes
TPA The President's Award for Youth Empowerment: Non-Profit provider. Skills, Physical Activity, Community Service, AJ & RP. Scouts of Steroids for 18 months. Outcome is a Portfolio of Experience
