* Everything HPAT and Medicine for 2011 *

irishsprout

I don't, just don't want to get my hopes up for Trinity. I'm happy as long as I get it somewhere

dtfo

Hi all, I did the hpat this year and will be doing it again next year, Ive been looking into ways of improving my score and was thinking of starting a kind of study group, if anyones interested they can pm me and well get talking , Thanks

Pegmin

Just read an article in the Irish Indepedent.Says that the first-preference appications for medicine have gone down to 3249,from 3591 in February.Good news for all the medicine hopefuls.:)

Cant find a link on google tho.:P

Dunno what last years figures were either. Anyone got them for comparison?

sheeba7

Hello dtfo,
I was just wondering if you would be interested in signing up with me as a group for the ******** course to avail of the discount.
A reply would be greatly appreciated.

conorod

Pegmin wrote: »

Dunno what last years figures were either. Anyone got them for comparison?

http://www2.cao.ie/dir_report/pdf/AppStats01Feb2010.pdf

On a related note, can you turn down your first preference and get something lower on the list, or is it your 1st preference or nothing? Missed the change of mind deadline to take medicine off mine.

partyatmygaff

conorod wrote: »

http://www2.cao.ie/dir_report/pdf/AppStats01Feb2010.pdf

On a related note, can you turn down your first preference and get something lower on the list, or is it your 1st preference or nothing? Missed the change of mind deadline to take medicine off mine.

Highest preference (Whether it's first or not) or nothing.

randylonghorn

conorod wrote: »

http://www2.cao.ie/dir_report/pdf/AppStats01Feb2010.pdf

On a related note, can you turn down your first preference and get something lower on the list, or is it your 1st preference or nothing? Missed the change of mind deadline to take medicine off mine.

You will be offered the first course on your list for which you have enough points, and everything below that on the list vanishes instantly. The CAO system works on the premise that you know what you want, and that you asked for it.

A quick explanation of the basics here.

Your CAO handbook explains it in more detail.

jumpguy

What's the story with repeat Leaving Certs and applying to medicine via UCAS? What universities consider repeat Leaving Certs?

partyatmygaff

jumpguy wrote: »

What's the story with repeat Leaving Certs and applying to medicine via UCAS? What universities consider repeat Leaving Certs?

http://search.ucas.com/cgi-bin/hsrun/search/search/StateId/Q58j1qCQkRm6PYyTuJGOkUNqDpRTy-3QFG/HAHTpage/search.HsSearch.submitForm?txtSubject=Medicine&cmbQual=&cmbAttend=&cmbInst=&button1.x=0&button1.y=0

From when I was making my application I remember a few of them specifically saying that they don't consider repeats. Usually they're the more competitive Medical schools such as St.Andrews. Generally speaking you'll need AAAAAA or at the very least AAAAAB to make a competitive application. They usually stipulate an A1 in Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry too. Some aren't too fussy on Physics and Maths but nearly all of them ask for an A1 in Biology and Chemistry. You'll also need a good UKCAT and a solid personal statement with evidence of work experience in something medicine related as well.

Here's hoping you won't need any of this information...

dynamot

Ok here's the deal : I didn't do to well in the Hpat this year, and, having done my leaving in 2010, will probably miss out on med by 8-10 points. My only science subject is Biology and I realise that exempts me from trinity and i'd have to do premed in Ucd and Rcsi in 2012. My question is: Can I do the A-levels in physics and chemistry this year in order to get straight into first year. I know every thing has to be done in the same year, but does this also apply to the A levels. Repeating is not an option as I'll be in college full time this autumn.

Thanks for your help

jumpguy

Pre-med in NUIG is also open to you, if you're willing to consider colleges outside Dublin.

As for your question, in the Irish Leaving Cert, you must satisfy all matriculation requirements in the one year. You cannot mix and match matriculation requirements, like you can for most other Irish 3rd level courses (as you've said). I'm not sure if the same applies to the English A-Levels, and it's unlikely you'll get a reliable answer here. You'd be best off the contact the universities directly and enquire.

dynamot

Does anyone know off-hand if completing one year of a science degree exempts you from premed in UCD or RCSI?

Thanks

YodaBoy

dynamot wrote: »

Does anyone know off-hand if completing one year of a science degree exempts you from premed in UCD or RCSI?

Thanks

I'd seriously doubt it. Although they are meant to be similar courses in first year, they are not the same. I can see your point but just doing one year of another course, no matter how similar, couldn't exempt you from other requirements.

Mr.Fun

Hey guys,
Does anybody know what date the hpat is on in 2012?

dynamot

It was on sat 26 Feb this year, so my guess would be sat 25 feb 2012, not definitive though.

QueenOfLeon

dynamot wrote: »

It was on sat 26 Feb this year, so my guess would be sat 25 feb 2012, not definitive though.

It was the 14th of February the year before, so who knows! :P

jumpguy

Is the date set by when mid-term occurs? HPAT 2011 was at the final weekend of the mid-term, not sure if it was the same in previous years.

drrkpd

jumpguy wrote: »

What's the story with repeat Leaving Certs and applying to medicine via UCAS? What universities consider repeat Leaving Certs?

UK universities only take your first try at LC-they have no interest in any repeats at all-Sorry

drrkpd

Mr.Fun wrote: »

Hey guys,
Does anybody know what date the hpat is on in 2012?

Wonder will it still be the same company (Australian ACER) doing it??? some rumours they may change but not sure how many years contract they have?

Just Like Heaven

I'v just bought the practise papers, so they'll probably cancel the whole thing all together now :rolleyes:

P_mcgrath

drrkpd wrote: »

jumpguy wrote: »

What's the story with repeat Leaving Certs and applying to medicine via UCAS? What universities consider repeat Leaving Certs?

UK universities only take your first try at LC-they have no interest in any repeats at all-Sorry

that's not quite true, I know of quite a few repeats that have gotten offers to study Med in the UK, for example from East Anglia. However, they did have excellent Leaving Certificate reults, 540 points or more.

P_mcgrath

Joeyjoejoe83 wrote: »

partyatmygaff wrote: »

AdamD wrote: »

Then Chemistry and Maths should not receive the same amount of points

Why not? Chemistry may have been easy for me but for others Chemistry was nothing short of a nightmare. The only reason I spent so much time on Maths was because we were never taught the subject properly. Effectively for Maths I had to teach myself the entire course on my own time whereas I had an excellent teacher for Chemistry. Maths is no more difficult than any other subject, it's the extremely poor teaching of Maths that gives the exam such a bad reputation. Take Complex Numbers for example. Our teacher spent a week talking about De Moivre's Theorem and finding the roots of a complex number. She gave us a formula and told us to memorise it with a step by step tutorial as to how to use the formula in questions. A completely ineffective method of teaching Maths. I never understood the formula and as such never bothered to memorise it. Instead I went looking on the internet for the method. All it took for me to understand was a simple image and a caption saying "There are n equally spaced roots of Complex Number: [LATEX]Z^n[/LATEX]"

AdamD wrote: »

They don't have to study honors maths. Last time I checked you will still be able to get into medicine with a good LC and HPAT, you wont need 625 points. The people who put the extra effort into Maths, rather than a subject like Chemistry which seemingly takes a lot less effort, will be rewarded for it.

I'd much rather a Doctor to have an aptitude for Chemistry rather than Maths. Knowing how to find the area under an arbitrary curve won't be of much use to a Doctor.

Yeah but precision is required in areas like anesthetics, where proper calculations are required, some strong math skills would be important when administering drugs.

The bonus points for higher maths for med are capped at 5 points, so while it does make it slightly more difficult to get a place if you don't study honours maths, it's not impossible.

I know lots of past pupils who have completed med and done well in hpat who did not study higher maths. However, often, a student will choose not to study honours maths as it is too time consuming and will take from their other results. They have an aptitude for maths, which is shown through their hpat results.
however, if you haven't a strong foundation in the priciples of maths, honours maths for the leaving will take a lot of class time, study time and much practice of exam questions.
The qualities that all past pupils who successfully studied med shared were determination, drive and lots of very very very hard work. Fair play to them.

drrkpd

P_mcgrath wrote: »

that's not quite true, I know of quite a few repeats that have gotten offers to study Med in the UK, for example from East Anglia. However, they did have excellent Leaving Certificate reults, 540 points or more.

I am amazed. Most are quite clear on ucas that it is first time only. The culture of repeat exams just isn't present in the UK. You would usually have to show a very good reason why you did so poorly the first time. Still it is a more complex admission process with personal statement, UKCAT score and interview all needed to succced!!

P_mcgrath

drrkpd wrote: »

P_mcgrath wrote: »

that's not quite true, I know of quite a few repeats that have gotten offers to study Med in the UK, for example from East Anglia. However, they did have excellent Leaving Certificate reults, 540 points or more.

I am amazed. Most are quite clear on ucas that it is first time only. The culture of repeat exams just isn't present in the UK. You would usually have to show a very good reason why you did so poorly the first time. Still it is a more complex admission process with personal statement, UKCAT score and interview all needed to succced!!

As I said, most had 540 points or more in leaving cert!! That's not a poor result!! Plus they tended to have a2 results in pretty much every subject, and an excellent junior cert to boot. I must say that every repeat I knew that got an offer made med in ireland anyhow, so they didn't need their ucas offer. But having an offer in the uk took a lot of pressure off for the leaving, which is a help too....

Sunny!!

is an A1 grade ol maths student at a huge disadvantage

P_mcgrath

Sunny!! wrote: »

is an A1 grade ol maths student at a huge disadvantage

I don't think that an a1 in ordinary level maths is any disadvantage as regards doing med, but if counting it towards points, as it's 60 points, will probably be a disadvantage.

partyatmygaff

Sunny!! wrote: »

is an A1 grade ol maths student at a huge disadvantage

For every OL subject that you count for points you reduce your maximum possible points by a massive 40 points.

One OL subject brings you down to a maximum of 560 points which makes obtaining the required LC points a lot more difficult.

QueenOfLeon

Sunny!! wrote: »

is an A1 grade ol maths student at a huge disadvantage

In Leaving Cert or in college? In LC, no if you are still capable of getting high points without counting maths. In medicine, no, an aptitude for maths wouldn't give you an advantage over anyone else

Sunny!!

P_mcgrath wrote: »

I don't think that an a1 in ordinary level maths is any disadvantage as regards doing med, but if counting it towards points, as it's 60 points, will probably be a disadvantage.

thank you, not counting it for points at all have 7 hl, so it be highly unlikely id need it points wise

Sunny!!

partyatmygaff wrote: »

For every OL subject that you count for points you reduce your maximum possible points by a massive 40 points.

One OL subject brings you down to a maximum of 560 points which makes obtaining the required LC points a lot more difficult.

im doing 7 hl, i was just worried about the fact of doing ol maths, when there would be so much more people going for medicine that would be very strong hl