About Tom Lee

From leaving school at the age of 16, to becoming a doctor. Learn more about my journey to where I am today.

A+ PHSI191 with A+ guarantee

All 6 modules of PHSI191 physics - mechanics, solids and fluids, thermodynamics, electricity, optics, radiation
$499
Only $299 with code EB200 (expires 31 Dec 2025)
  • online course with essential PHSI191 content
  • Access to online community
  • advanced content
  • A+ guarantee or your money back (Terms and conditions apply)
Learn advanced problem solving skills for PHSI191, as well as the essential physics concepts and skills.  This gives you access to the course until June 2026. 

  • Get an A+ (90% or above) in PHSI191 or 100% money back guarantee

    Terms and conditions apply (here are the main conditions:
    • You must have completed the A+ PHSI191 online course.
    • You must log at least 40 hours of study time on my online learning platform.
    • You must purchase the course before 31 March 2026

    Go to Terms & Conditions for A+ Guarantee for full details

The background

In 1995, my parents left South Korea and came to NZ, along with my brother and I. We grew up in Rotorua where we spent most of the time on the golf course, because my father wanted my brother and I to become pro golfers. We barely went to school, and at the age of 16, I dropped out of school with no qualifications or NCEA credits.

I decided to stop playing golf at the age of 17 and started working at Pak'n'Save. I was able to work my way up and gain more and more responsibility. Although I enjoyed the work, I knew that a career in grocery wasn't for me.

Deciding to go to university

Despite not going to school much, I had always loved reading and had a keen interest in science. As I had gotten into the gym and competed in powerlifting and bodybuilding competitions, I did a lot of reading about human anatomy, physiology and nutrition, along with endocrinology to try and optimise my gains.

I was always curious about how the body worked, and wanted to know all the details. This curiosity lead me to decide I wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

When I mentioned this to other staff at Pak'n'Save, they were sceptical. "You know that it's really hard, right?". I knew it was tough. I had seen students come back to work in the holidays after doing HSFY.

But I believed I could do it. I knew that my work ethic was on a different level. I had decided to become a doctor, and I was going to achieve this no matter what.

Preparing for HSFY

I knew that I would only have one chance at HSFY, so I dedicated 2 years to prepare for uni.

I looked into the subjects that I would need to study, and studied NCEA Level 2 and 3 Physics, Chemistry, Calculus and Biology via Te Kura Correspondence School while continuing to work full-time in 2015 and 2016.

I spent my lunchtime breaks studying by myself in the corner of the staffroom. It wasn't easy as I didn't have anyone to teach me and I just used the resources sent to me by  Te Kura. I took the NCEA external exams at the local high school and was able to achieve Excellences in Physics, Calculus and Chemistry.

After the external exams finished in November, I bought the recommended textbooks second-hand for HSFY and started reading them. I didn't know what part of the textbooks were required readings so I just read as much as I could.

2017 HSFY

When I arrived in Dunedin, I was scared. I thought that everyone else would be so much smarter than me. I was just some 23 year old guy that had worked in a supermarket for the last 6 years. This fear drove me to study.  I was willing to give up 1 year of my life to secure the career that I wanted. I didn't drink, I didn't party, and I didn't go out to any social events during this year. I wasn't here to have fun, I was here to get into med school.

I stayed in a residential hall (City College, now Caroline Freeman) in order to not worry about flatmates or cooking. I found a part-time job in the deli at Countdown where I worked 13 hours per week throughout HSFY.

My philosophy was to treat study like a full-time job. There were 24 hours of lectures and labs per week, and I set myself a quota of studying 40 hours per week outside of this. This meant I studied a minimum of 64 hours per week.

I managed to achieve a 96% grade average with A+ in all of my papers, and also a 100th percentile UMAT. My rank score of 88.50 was the 8th highest of the HSFY students for that year.

2025 EARLY BIRD SALE

Special offer for early birds that are preparing in 2025 for HSFY 2026

Use the code EB200 (case sensitive) to get $200 off the A+ PHSI191 online course for all 6 modules. 

Code expires on 31 Dec 2025

SAVE
$200

Tutoring era


Even while I was in HSFY, I started to develop a reputation for my high level of knowledge and other students would ask me for help. To the point where I was asked to take the biochemistry tutorial for my hall when the tutor became sick.

Therefore it was only natural that I decided to venture into tutoring once I was in my 2nd year of uni. The paper that I felt that I could teach most effectively was physics. And so began my journey as a physics tutor.

There was a lot of demand for my tutoring, and I had over 30 students per semester that I would tutor 1:1, in addition to my hall tutorials. By tutoring so many different individuals of various skill levels and backgrounds, I was able to identify the most common areas where students would struggle, and develop a teaching style. I was also able to become so familiar with the course content that I was pretty sure I could teach the paper in my sleep.

With my busy work schedule as a doctor, I don't have much time to tutor students 1-on-1. Rather than letting my knowledge go to waste, I decided I would create this online course to pass on my knowledge and help as many students as possible with physics.
Graduated from Otago Medical School in 2022. Currently working as a doctor (house officer) at Christchurch Hospital. Registered under my legal name of Hyunwoo Lee with the Medical Council of NZ.
Winner of the JAD Iverach Prize Dunedin School of Medicine 2022 - for highest marks in Clinical Medicine for the Dunedin cohort.
Created with