Jennifer and Dylan Yung are critical of the selection process at Otago dentistry school. Photo / Jason Oxenham
An A-grade student whose father is a top Auckland dentist has twice been rejected by New Zealand’s only dentistry school in a process she described as like the Hunger Games.
Lancely Yung and her brother Lachlan have ditched their dreams of being dentists - and their dad’s dream of them taking over his practice - because they say the bar is too high and they are not eligible to apply under the school’s subcategories.
Otago University has the only dentistry school in the country, and the Government caps the number of domestic candidates for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery at 60 per year, despite a shortage of working dentists in New Zealand. But Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says there is work under way to increase the number of places.
Lancely, 22, was put on a waiting list after her failed applications, treatment her parents describe as “cruel” because of the lack of communication.
Yung’s father Dylan, a cosmetic dentist to media and sports celebrities, believes the selection process lacks transparency and is critical of race-based admissions. He’s so incensed by the treatment of his children, that he’s decided to give up lecturing nationally.
Yung wonders if his son and daughter were discriminated against for being privileged.
“My children are perceived as being elitist because I am a dentist. Their only chance of being admitted is in the general category and scoring well in exams. I have a sneaky suspicion being wealthy works against them, which baffles me.”
But the university rejects any claims of bias. The Dean of the Otago Faculty of Dentistry, Professor Paul Cooper, says the dental faculty operates under New Zealand law which specifically allows for equity pathways to address issues of under-representation.
“In New Zealand and around the world many health science education providers strive to achieve a student cohort that reflects the ethnic and socioeconomic reality of the societies they serve. The primary purpose of this approach is to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of health care for all communities, particularly those that are under-served.”
Students can apply under sub-categories including Māori, indigenous Pacific, socio-economic equity, refugee background and rural.
He says every year 550 domestic students apply for one of 60 places available “making it incredibly competitive - and unfortunately, many excellent students are not accepted.”
Lancely, a high-achieving St Cuthbert’s College student and former competitive cyclist, achieved A+ grades in Health Science - a compulsory course students are required to take before starting their dentistry degree. She was congratulated by the University Chancellor for her exceptional performance.
She applied for the 2021 intake for the dentistry school but was unsuccessful. After she completed a Bachelor of Science degree last year she reapplied for this year’s intake.
Lancely passed the University Aptitude Clinical test (UCAT) and was interviewed by the admissions team.
In December she was added to a waitlist and in March this year - two weeks after the course had started – was told she had missed out again.
“I thought it was unlikely people would drop out so I could have a place, but I wanted to know either way.”
She is now studying for her master’s in exercise science.
Yung’s older brother Lachlan is also “gutted” after twice applying for dentistry school and failing to get in. He graduated in Dental Technology as a stepping stone into dentistry but has swapped careers out of frustration.
The 24-year-old, who is training to be a supermarket owner-operator, argues candidates should be selected on merit, not on race.
“The subcategories are almost creating racism. It is an advantage for people who tick these categories but not for everyone else. Subcategories create more competition for the remaining spots.”
But a practicing dentist and former Otago student whose mother is Fijian and was accepted under the Pacific subcategory believes she would have earned a placement regardless of her ethnicity.
The woman, who didn’t want to be identified, says her grade average was 97-99 per cent and she was top in physics scoring 100 per cent.
“I am proud that regardless of me being a Pacific Islander my grades were high enough to get me over the line. I can see why students may think subcategories are unfair, but I think they help close the gap with those demographics who always fall in the lower percentile in terms of health care.”
The siblings say it was their father’s dream to hand over his business to them when he retired.
“But I’m over it.” Lancely says. “First year sucked, it was toxic and competitive, it was cut-throat like the Hunger Games. I don’t want to go through it again. I’ve lost confidence. I am used to doing well and I like academic validation, but I can’t cope with failure and rejection any more.”
Yung says he agrees with diversity but not race-based admissions.
“I don’t agree people should get a leg up automatically based on their ethnicity. I would like to see some transparency and consistency and selection should be based on performance, the right people for the right job. I believe there should be a ballot so it’s a random selection, so you achieve diversity by chance. It shouldn’t be forced.”
He accuses the school of a lack of communication, leaving students like Lancely hanging on a waitlist.
“These kids don’t know how close they are, or they could be miles off, they are given false hope,” he says.
“We need closure. We are grieving. We have all lost sleep. We wake up thinking why didn’t Lancely get in?”
Yung’s mother Jennifer says the process pushed Lancely to boiling point.
“It’s heartbreaking to watch our daughter lose her self-confidence and think she’s worthless. She is embarrassed she has failed twice and can’t cope with more rejection. She is withdrawn and a little lost and needs to talk to someone professionally to tell her she’s not a failure.”
The ordeal has escalated Lancely’s anxiety and lowered her self-esteem, Yung says. Her daughter is now seeing a therapist.
On top of the 60 domestic students, about 14 places a year are available for international students. This year there were 25 places after Covid-19 affected travel in previous years.
Dylan Yung said he was willing to pay an international fee if it meant getting his children into the course. Kiwi students pay $16,914 a year compared with $74,439 for an international student.
“If it’s money they are after, why isn’t the offer made to a local student who will stay and work in New Zealand rather than a foreign student?”
Cooper said the university was willing to take an extra 10 candidates a year should the Government increase its cap.
Putting unsuccessful applicants on a waiting list is common practice for competitive programmes at universities around the world, he says. Being on that list doesn’t guarantee a placement.
“You could be offered a place from a waiting list right up to the time classes begin,” Cooper says. “It is important that you continue your enrolment process for any alternative programme of study you may be considering.”
Dylan Yung says that’s not good enough.
“I want the university to be honest and say, ‘you’ve failed twice we’re not sure you will ever pass; you might want to look for another career.’ But for my daughter to be strung along ... is wrong. It would have been easier if they said an outright ‘no’.”
Verrall said there was only one dentistry school due to the specialised, high cost of delivering dentistry training, and the relatively small labour market in New Zealand for graduates.
“There is a focus on increasing their numbers, with work underway to establish 20 additional training places. Recommendations are being considered that will support improved training pathways for dental assistants and oral health therapists, improve access to the Bachelor of Oral Health Therapy and improve support for dental specialist training positions.”
She added that, as part of changes announced in April 2022, more dental professions were added to Government’s Green List, a list of occupations that qualify for a fast-track to residence.
In July, the government launched a plan to plug the significant healthcare worker shortage in medical professionals. Data revealed the need for an extra 220 dental/oral health practitioners.
Dentistry care in New Zealand has become an election issue with the Green Party promising free dental care for everyone which they say will be funded by a wealth tax. Health spokesman Ricardo Menendez March wants to see the number of dentistry places at the university increased but disagrees the wealthy are being discriminated against.
“Subcategories are about closing the gaps in health inequity, but tensions exist because there aren’t enough placements. We don’t want people to think going to Australia is the only option. We want people of all socioeconomic backgrounds to be able to consider dentistry as an option.”
Students can also apply to universities in Australia to study dentistry. A former Otago University student, who now works as an Auckland dentist, failed twice to get a placement and encourages school leavers to do so.
“I loved Otago but in the first year there was an unhealthy culture where people refused to share notes or information. Many friendships were broken because of the competitiveness. Otago is very academically focused with restricted places. Think about Australia first. You can go straight to dentistry from school, and I have advised Kiwis to think of that as an option.”
But Lancely is not interested.
“My parents want me to go to Australia, but I am over it,” Lancely says. “Me and Lachie have talked about how our parents came from not much and have done well. We want to do well to make them proud of us. We know how much they have given us but it’s still a ‘no’.”
Her brother agrees. “I still think about dentistry but at what point do you give up and stop wasting your time?”
Lachlan remembers the mental health pressures of trying to succeed in an overcrowded arena. He took antidepressants to cope and in his final year he was hospitalised three times for headaches, gastroenteritis and vertigo.
“My regime was up at 6am, lectures till 5, home for dinner back to the library till midnight, then study till 3am. That was most days then it escalated to all-nighters. I had numerous breakdowns but didn’t tell anyone.”
Dylan Yung has decided to decline any invitations to lecture or mentor young students at Otago.
“I find it hard looking into the faces of young dentists and thinking the qualities they have aren’t any different to my kids, but they don’t have a spot. I wanted to mentor my own children, I’m not interested in mentoring the new generation, I am fed up with the politics at dentistry school. I’d be happier pushing shopping trolleys for my son.”
Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland-based investigative journalist. She has worked for the Herald since 2007 and was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and a current affairs producer for 60 minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.
Elisabeth Nicholls vanished from a retirement village in Riccarton two weeks ago.