*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2015*

Starting prep for the hpat tomorrow, it all seems so real now:o

leopard trek wrote: »

Starting prep for the hpat tomorrow, it all seems so real now:o

It's quite daunting..:) Acer sample tests are very good though and are the most like the real thing;) you can actually go to the official acer website and download a free HPAT sample test

leopard trek wrote: »

Thanks have you done it?

yes;) didn't study for it first time round and didn't do well enough so I decided to repeat it

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

Hey !

So Im going to give it one final stab and repeat my hpat this year year, only thing is I did med entry last year and feel that were I to do again I'd be answering from memory and thus be wasting my time.

I would really appreciate any advice on other prep courses that I could take or even personal methods of preparation that u have found helpful.

Thanks.

Hey I'm also repeating the HPAT !;) Trying to approach it differently this year...hopefully it works

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

I really want to get it right this time but I have no clue what to do differently.

All one can do is hone their technique. You can't really do anything but that really, so there's nothing to do differently

Best of luck, but if you've been unlucky twice, I wouldn't get my hopes up I guess

leopard trek wrote: »

Great encouragement!
Work hard at it man and hopefully things will work out for you

What do you want me to say? I'm assuming this person is a mature young adult, there's no point beating around the bush. ”Working hard" won't really improve your HPAT after a certain amount of effort.

For what it's worth, I know someone who got in on her third sitting of the HPAT. It's far from impossible! However of you sat a prep course twice and still missed out by a good bit, it's unlikely, and there's no point lying about it.

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

No I did not sit a prep course twice -chanced my arm the first time and then enrolled in prep second time.
That's where my dilemma arises. I want to do it differently, however hard I have to work, get some tips from those in a similar situation and maybe, just maybe get it right this time.
So thanks for your input

In that case, definitely do a prep course, if you want this Med entry spam this place like mad but they are probably the best, most people I know in Med did it.

Hi everyone! Seeing as I got offered med a month ago and that this time last year I was totally clueless on how to practice for the hpat, I thought I might just jot down a few tips for ye.

Firstly anyway, I would recommend starting practice as early as possible. I bought the Med-Entry materials myself last September and I just started doing drills essentially, and after a while I started doing the practice exams that they have. The M.E tests are of a relatively appropriate difficulty although the difficulty does vary quite a bit test to test. Essentially I just made a routine of practicing the hpat early on (maybe a 20 minute drill a day or something like that, its hard to remember, sorry). The closer the hpat got the more practice I did btw. I generally did an exam every Saturday or every second Saturday. I also did the M.E lecture class and for me it was quite the benefit, although that's probably subjective. It was only after the class (I did it in October, so that I'd be able to change how I practiced early on if any helpful tips were given, etc..) that I got probably settled down in terms of my hpat study. The lecturer was very motivational!

I had finished all the M.E practice exams and drills by about the end of January. I had heard that the ACER official tests were way easier than the real hpat. Unfortunately, they were right. At least imo, the hpat 2014 was WAY harder than the official tests, they were more on par with the harder but not hardest M.E tests. Maybe the 2015 hpay won't be as hard? But because I knew that they were easier I decided that the week before the hpat I'd do the ACER tests just so that I'd have more confidence in my own ability, which I thought would help me on the day. Anyway, when I finished the M.E tests ( I didn't realise I'd be done the M.E exams so early) I actually bought the Med-Start online exams ( If I can remember correctly they were selling umat online exams not the hpat, but they're almost the exact same thing). I only did 1 or 2 of those though, they were way harder than M.E. So, don't feel pressured to buy Med-Start ones unless maybe you run out of tests to do like me. M.E were the best anyway.

When the mocks were on in early February I mainly studied for the hpat ( The mocks aren't life altering). I also studied exclusively for the hpat during mid-term and I took 4 days off of school the week before the actual hpat (that's when I did the ACER tests). It probably seems like I did too much hpat study but I know someone who practiced M.E but not enough according to him and he didn't get med the first time, he did a year of college then and repeated the hpat and got it the second time - something like 96% also. So I took his advice and general routine into account and I did loads of study for the hpat (but I'm happy now that I did, so..). Anyways, after the hpat I ate the books so I made up for it.

Well, I hope these few tips help and if ye have any questions feel free to ask. Also, good luck in the real hpat.

totallyrandom wrote: »

Hi everyone! Seeing as I got offered med a month ago and that this time last year I was totally clueless on how to practice for the hpat, I thought I might just jot down a few tips for ye.

Firstly anyway, I would recommend starting practice as early as possible. I bought the Med-Entry materials myself last September and I just started doing drills essentially, and after a while I started doing the practice exams that they have. The M.E tests are of a relatively appropriate difficulty although the difficulty does vary quite a bit test to test. Essentially I just made a routine of practicing the hpat early on (maybe a 20 minute drill a day or something like that, its hard to remember, sorry). The closer the hpat got the more practice I did btw. I generally did an exam every Saturday or every second Saturday. I also did the M.E lecture class and for me it was quite the benefit, although that's probably subjective. It was only after the class (I did it in October, so that I'd be able to change how I practiced early on if any helpful tips were given, etc..) that I got probably settled down in terms of my hpat study. The lecturer was very motivational!

I had finished all the M.E practice exams and drills by about the end of January. I had heard that the ACER official tests were way easier than the real hpat. Unfortunately, they were right. At least imo, the hpat 2014 was WAY harder than the official tests, they were more on par with the harder but not hardest M.E tests. Maybe the 2015 hpay won't be as hard? But because I knew that they were easier I decided that the week before the hpat I'd do the ACER tests just so that I'd have more confidence in my own ability, which I thought would help me on the day. Anyway, when I finished the M.E tests ( I didn't realise I'd be done the M.E exams so early) I actually bought the Med-Start online exams ( If I can remember correctly they were selling umat online exams not the hpat, but they're almost the exact same thing). I only did 1 or 2 of those though, they were way harder than M.E. So, don't feel pressured to buy Med-Start ones unless maybe you run out of tests to do like me. M.E were the best anyway.

When the mocks were on in early February I mainly studied for the hpat ( The mocks aren't life altering). I also studied exclusively for the hpat during mid-term and I took 4 days off of school the week before the actual hpat (that's when I did the ACER tests). It probably seems like I did too much hpat study but I know someone who practiced M.E but not enough according to him and he didn't get med the first time, he did a year of college then and repeated the hpat and got it the second time - something like 96% also. So I took his advice and general routine into account and I did loads of study for the hpat (but I'm happy now that I did, so..). Anyways, after the hpat I ate the books so I made up for it.

Well, I hope these few tips help and if ye have any questions feel free to ask. Also, good luck in the real hpat.

Did you nearly study more for the hpat than the LC itself?

DaveMc90 wrote: »

Did you nearly study more for the hpat than the LC itself?

No, not at all. I did 20 mins a day of the hpat like up until January ( a drill a day) and a test every week or every second week. But during the 2 weeks before the actual HPAT I definitely did more HPAT study than lc study. To be honest anyway in the 3 months before the lc but after the HPAT you can get sooo much work for the lc done.

Of course though how much you want to do is entirely up to you. Some people have to do more HPAT practice than others for the same score.

Also I forgot to mention up in my last post that timing yourself on a test is the most important thing and always go through your incorrect answers.

DaveMc90 wrote: »

Ok that's cleared things up! I've been mostly doing a section a day in hpat and timing myself to the correct time limits with the acer tests and the med entry trial exams from 2011 - 2013 . I'm doing the med entry course in November now as well, hopefully that'll help but I've just heard the actual hpat is so much harder so I'm anxious.

Also what time during the week did would you stop studying?

Sounds like you're doing good practice! For the Leaving Cert, I did about 2 to 2 and a half hours of study every weekday night which included homework. Maybe 4/5 hours on Saturday and Sunday I think. It all depended on how I felt that day and if I had a test the following day. Just have a routine started early on. Being organised is important. Good luck

alpha2omega wrote: »

Can anybody clarify this for me? I've heard differing things.

Can I do the HPAT in 2015 and use my 2014 leaving cert results to reapply for the CAO in 2015?

Yes, you can.

Do You Even Squat wrote: »

How realistic are the ACER papers? I did one today without any prep, thought i did a lot worse than i actually did but came out with 185 points. I know that each q isnt equally marked but that result exceeded my expectations by a country mile. My only conclusion is that those sample tests dont represent the real exam. In sect 1 i had 10 mins to spare but didnt look over my answers which i really should have because i did pretty poorly in it and in section 2 i had 15mins to spare, didnt look over and got 5 wrong. These tests must be easier than the real deal.

How do you calculate the points?

Gabrielazap wrote: »

Hey you could try prepgenie.com they offer many exercises relating to interpersonal understanding, non verbal reasoning and problem solving

I forgot to mention that there's also a full free practice HPAT paper on the official Acer website to download

Out if interest, how much should one be aiming for in the HPAT with LC of 580 which would be 556 adjusted to get a place in TCD? ðŸ˜႒