Then Fuatino Heath, Kaitlyn Cocker-Valu and Brenetta Pogi tried to get into medical school together, but they missed out.
So they commiserated together, then they went on to complete three-year bachelor of science degrees (majoring in anatomy) together.
The following year, they reapplied for medicine together, and this time they succeeded.
Now, the 26-year-olds are graduating as medical doctors — today — and you guessed it, they are doing that together too.
Miss Heath said the trio first met at St Mary’s College, in Ponsonby, Auckland, and it was not long before they become inseparable.
"There weren’t many Pasifika girls at St Mary’s, so it was easy to spot one another.
"We kind of gravitated towards each other because we have similar morals, similar cultures, similar interests, the same dreams — it was inevitable.
"We’re very, very close. We’ve never seen ourselves as friends.
"We’re more like sisters — we fight like sisters."
Having such a close bond was "a privilege" and had been invaluable, especially while studying at medical school which could be stressful at times, Miss Heath said.
"When one of us was down, the other two would step up to pick us up and keep the morale strong.
"We were really lucky to have each other because when we studied, we would take a subject each, learn about it and then teach each other what we’d learnt.
"It made it a lot quicker to go through the content."
Now that they had finished their studies, their paths were starting to diverge.
Miss Cocker-Valu and Miss Pogi are now working at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, while Miss Heath is working in Whangarei.
"I just wasn’t ready for the Auckland traffic again," Miss Heath joked.
"It’s sad that we’re not working together, but we know we’ll all end up in the same place together at some point, and we’re all OK with that."
The young doctors will be among 674 graduands who will graduate in different disciplines at two separate ceremonies today, and Miss Heath said they were looking forward to celebrating together with their families.
"Kaitlyn is one of eight siblings, Brenetta is one of nine and I’m one of six, so all our families are coming down in troops to be there for us.
"I hope they can fit us all into the same venue."
