HKU medical school admits 29 SNDAS students, contacts 30 IB top scorers

The University of Hong Kong's medical school has admitted all 29 students who applied through the School Nomination Direct Admission Scheme this year, and has contacted about 30 local IB top scorers interested in studying medicine, the faculty said on Tuesday.

Dean Lau Chak-sing said the number of SNDAS applications increased this year and the faculty trusted the recommendations from secondary schools. He noted that students admitted through the scheme over the past two years have performed excellently. He expects more than 80 percent of the contacted IB top scorers will choose to enrol in the "Distinguished Medical Scholars" programme.

Lau said the faculty has also received more than 400 applications from overseas graduates through the Graduate Entry Track, with 26 offers already made. Although applications fell by nearly half from the previous year's 900, he emphasised quality over quantity, saying: "Excellence is not only about academic results; character is also very important."

Admission criteria consider academic performance, communication skills, interpersonal abilities and critical thinking demonstrated in interviews. Regarding a recent case involving a medical student who was dismissed and arrested for misconduct, Lau declined to comment but said the faculty and students are jointly developing professional conduct guidelines for social media.

Assistant Dean Pauline Yeung said the medical ethics and humanities curriculum has been running for over 20 years and is continuously updated, adding that the enhancements are unrelated to individual incidents.

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