NOTICE for AKUites

Notice for AKUites

All students from AKU who wish to help their juniors clear the rigorous AKU admission process are encouraged to submit a written piece about their AKU interview/test experience at theakuchallenge@gmail.com and akuhelp@outlook.com (this email is currently in use)! We are sure the readers (prospective AKUites) would love to have your contribution on this blog.

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Admissions Open for MBBS 2020-2021

Update 22/09/2020: AKU-EB Past Papers (2016-2019) + Answers

Apologies for the late update. Thanks to a wonderful junior, Alihyder Nazeer from the class of 2024, I am able to share updated AKU-EB past papers with answers. Not only was he kind enough to send this helpful resource over to me, but also confirmed the hunch I had back in 2017 when I applied that the closest we can get to the AKU MBBS entry test is AKU-EB papers. This is important because plenty of you email me regarding authentic (sarcasm intended) past papers for the AKU entry test sold by different academies and stores that are nothing but a scam. I repeat, as I've said countless times before, you will not find genuine past papers of the AKU entry test. However, what you can do is use these other resources to develop an overall strong preparation that should get you through, as many before you have done so in the past. Without further ado, I'm posting the link. It's the same as the one that contained the previous papers, just that there's a new folder within this folder, titled appropriately:


Update 05/05/2020:

It was brought to my notice that the entry test scoring changed last year after the removal of the English component. Back when I wrote this guide, English had to be passed separately, and everything else was lumped into a “Science” component that had to be passed as well. Since they removed English, they divided the sciences into two different components to pass. To recap, there’s one section of the three major sciences (biology, physics, and chemistry), one section on science reasoning/achievement, and another on math reasoning. To pass the test, you must pass the major sciences component separately and then the science reasoning and math reasoning sections together as one component.

From what I understand, this means that you have to do well on the three sciences as well. When I appeared for the test, we could use the math and science reasoning portions to our advantage because they didn’t have negative marking. This meant that they could compensate for relatively poor performance on the major sciences. However, now that the major sciences are a component on their own that you must pass irrespective of math and science reasoning, this means that you need to be extremely careful – keeping in mind that there is negative marking – and wisely choose whether you’re going to make an educated guess and risk losing -0.25 marks or skip the question entirely.
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Greetings,

Time seems to by fly by quicker the older we get. It's the third time the admissions cycle has begun after I got here, yet I remember vividly the days of uncertainty I had to endure when I was in your shoes. Good times.

Anyway, every batch brings with it tons of advice for the entry test and the interview, so I'll gather it all in one place from the first years (and anyone else who wants to contribute) and put up a post sometime in the future. Till then, the wealth of knowledge already present here is at your disposal. I'll share the links below.

Compared to last year, there don't seem to be any major changes. However, I did want to point out, and this is very important, the process for allotting scholarships has changed compared to when I applied. In the guide I wrote, I mentioned how back in 2017, after receiving the acceptance letter, AKU asked each of us wanting a scholarship to list their top 5 academic achievements, top 5 extra-curricular achievements, and write an essay explaining why they deserve the scholarship. It was also necessary to have gotten at least 75% in the AKU entry test or (1500 in the SAT if you were an international student). After that they announced the names of the 5 students. In recent years, it seems that AKU has modified that. This is what they say now in their information booklet:

The University will offer five full scholarships to students joining the MBBS programme. The eligibility criteria and other requirements are decided by the University Committee for Scholarships. Applications are not required. The University’s decision is final. 

The juniors have said that they simply ask you to apply for the financial aid if you need it, and then based on different criteria (which we don't know, but I'm guessing it's an overall review of the candidate's entry test score and other academic/non-academic achievements + financial need), they directly announce the names. What this means is that if you want the scholarship, just give it your best shot. That's all that can be said now.

With that out of the way:
Over here, please download the Programme Information Booklet and go through it in detail. You can also download the Sample Test paper that will give you an overview of the format. You're going to have to apply by the "apply online" link towards the bottom of the main page (also found towards the right as the top link, "Online Application"). And of course, generally just familiarize yourself with everything.

If you have any questions, contact AKU at mbbs.query@aku.edu. They always helped me with my issues/queries.
This is the extensive guide I wrote after securing my own admission into AKU's MBBS program. Please ensure you use this link to access it so that you're getting the latest version, as I tend to update it from time to time.
Follow this link and then all the links in this post. There's no point in listing everything again here if there's already a post for it.
This is the only post that was made after the previous post.

In addition to the above, go through the blog posts that were made back in 2015 and before that on this blog as well, for that also contains great advice that I personally followed. Also check the comments of this blog to see if any of the queries you might have are already addressed.

And of course, feel free to comment below for any questions or email me at akuhelp@outlook.com, and I'll reply as soon as possible. Due to increased workload I may not reply to every email or there might be some delay. Make sure you've already gone through the tons of advice here before emailing.

Best of luck! :)

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