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* Everything HPAT and Medicine for 2011 *
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whistlin_boy wrote: »For those who sat the HPAT this year, would you recommend (or not) a preparation course? If so, which of them would you recommend and why?? Thanks in advance for any advice given!! Also congrats to all those who received LC results on Wednesday and good luck on Monday!!
Heya! I would really really reccomend the Med Entry online course for HPAT prep, I used it this year. Theres tons of drills, and 11 practice tests. When I first started I wasnt brilliant!:P I couldnt get any of the section 3 at the start and in my HPAT I got 81 in that section alone!!! :O Theres unlimited section 3 questions so its really handy for getting good at them!!
Over all I got 196 and that was 94 %tile! 
And I wouldnt have gotten it without the prep course!
Hope this helps!!:)0 -
pinkballetdance wrote: »Heya! I would really really reccomend the Med Entry online course for HPAT prep, I used it this year. Theres tons of drills, and 11 practice tests. When I first started I wasnt brilliant!:P I couldnt get any of the section 3 at the start and in my HPAT I got 81 in that section alone!!! :O Theres unlimited section 3 questions so its really handy for getting good at them!! Over all I got 196 and that was 94 %tile! And I wouldnt have gotten it without the prep course!
Hope this helps!!:)
Well since the hpat and the umat(Australian entry exam) are the same company ACER and the same test really hardly surprising that a company that has been preparing Australian students for years would be the best.
You can't be any brighter than you are but no-one would do any other exam (including LC) without doing a mock first and lots of practice questions. That is what you will get as outlined above. You need to learn amazing time management and stamina cos it is 2.5 hours so do the weekend course as well to practice under exam conditions.
No disrespect to any Irish course and I have no connection with anyone but I would use Irish courses for Irish exams and use these guys (M******y) for hpat for above reasons.0 -
All good luck tomorrow and a few thoughts.
1. I can totally understand people wanting to go to College near home in these times but it does amuse me that people are so certain that they want Trinity or UCD etc. As I have already said when you qualify nobody will know or even care what your LC or hpat score was. Nor will they care which University you went to. They will judge you on how good a doctor you are- nothing more or less.
2. The other courses rarely mentioned like RCSI are excellent and really people should be focused on getting a PLACE in Medicine-where it is does not matter.
3. Your intern job is now sorted centrally and you get your top choice if you do well in your overall degree not where you went. So if you want to join your girl/boyfriend in say Cork and you trained in Galway and did well you now can.
4. Do premed if it is available unless you are a mature student. The change from LC to college is huge and premed allows you to settle into that. You will never work so hard as you will in 1st year of medicine. You are basically trying to learn a new language in a few months. About 10% of students fail some exam in 1st year though many compensate in the Summer.This is a huge shock to students many of whom have never failed an exam in their life before.
5. Enjoy being a student-you will only do it once and you will make friends for life!!
6. If you haven't succeeded and your heart is set on it then commiserations. Sadly I think combined scores will go up perhaps to 726 minimum but I don't know and neither does anyone else at this point. Not getting the required score does not mean you are stupid or a failure-far from it but points simply represent supply and demand
7. If you really want to do Medicine there are now other options but be careful about money. If you have good LC and not so good hpat you can go to college and do an online course like M******y and repeat hpat BUT you must be aware you may have to pay first year Medicine fees (UCD €9,000 for example) because you have already started a different course. You might even work for a year or take a year out and do hpat then your fees are covered if you succed but it is a risk.
8.You can also get a 2.1 in any degree do GAMSAT and then do graduate medicine but again be careful about fees because it can be very expensive!!
9. You can go abroad. I am afraid I don't know enough about European Courses to advise but I do know that you can now apply to Ireland to be an intern here which is a major change.
10. Briitish Universities want a personal statement that shows experience in looking after people in some way and increasingly their grades are no better than LC here. Check UCAS website for equivelant qualifications but despite what has been said on this forum before most have no interest in resit grades just first time and some eg Liverpool will not accept LC at all!!
UK fees will be 9,000 sterling/year as a student loan and only Scotland would give you free fees but that may have changed.
10. Many people are not Doctors and are very happy. Some Doctors and medical students aren't happy at all. So Medicine is not for everyone. It takes a minimum of 5 years at College ( and I would recommend 6) plus a minimum of 7 years to be a consultant. Real life is not ER or Greys Anatomy but if you are doing what you enjoy it can be very fulfilling-but so can many other jobs!! 0 -
All good luck tomorrow and a few thoughts.
1. I can totally understand people wanting to go to College near home in these times but it does amuse me that people are so certain that they want Trinity or UCD etc. As I have already said when you qualify nobody will know or even care what your LC or hpat score was. Nor will they care which University you went to. They will judge you on how good a doctor you are- nothing more or less.
2. The other courses rarely mentioned like RCSI are excellent and really people should be focused on getting a PLACE in Medicine-where it is does not matter.
3. Your intern job is now sorted centrally and you get your top choice if you do well in your overall degree not where you went. So if you want to join your girl/boyfriend in say Cork and you trained in Galway and did well you now can.
4. Do premed if it is available unless you are a mature student. The change from LC to college is huge and premed allows you to settle into that. You will never work so hard as you will in 1st year of medicine. You are basically trying to learn a new language in a few months. About 10% of students fail some exam in 1st year though many compensate in the Summer.This is a huge shock to students many of whom have never failed an exam in their life before.
5. Enjoy being a student-you will only do it once and you will make friends for life!!
6. If you haven't succeeded and your heart is set on it then commiserations. Sadly I think combined scores will go up perhaps to 726 minimum but I don't know and neither does anyone else at this point. Not getting the required score does not mean you are stupid or a failure-far from it but points simply represent supply and demand
7. If you really want to do Medicine there are now other options but be careful about money. If you have good LC and not so good hpat you can go to college and do an online course like M******y and repeat hpat BUT you must be aware you may have to pay first year Medicine fees (UCD €9,000 for example) because you have already started a different course. You might even work for a year or take a year out and do hpat then your fees are covered if you succed but it is a risk.
8.You can also get a 2.1 in any degree do GAMSAT and then do graduate medicine but again be careful about fees because it can be very expensive!!
9. You can go abroad. I am afraid I don't know enough about European Courses to advise but I do know that you can now apply to Ireland to be an intern here which is a major change.
10. Briitish Universities want a personal statement that shows experience in looking after people in some way and increasingly their grades are no better than LC here. Check UCAS website for equivelant qualifications but despite what has been said on this forum before most have no interest in resit grades just first time and some eg Liverpool will not accept LC at all!!
UK fees will be 9,000 sterling/year as a student loan and only Scotland would give you free fees but that may have changed.
10. Many people are not Doctors and are very happy. Some Doctors and medical students aren't happy at all. So Medicine is not for everyone. It takes a minimum of 5 years at College ( and I would recommend 6) plus a minimum of 7 years to be a consultant. Real life is not ER or Greys Anatomy but if you are doing what you enjoy it can be very fulfilling-but so can many other jobs!!
Great advice! I was looking at a thread on boards last night and it nearly put me off altogether:(0 -
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Just gonna put my 2c in, last year I was dead set on getting med but missed out by about 2 points. I took up a different course also in the health sciences field with the intention of re taking the HPAT and applying to the CAO again. After a year out of the hectic and stressful 6th year where you have very little time to think, I've come to realise I'm happy with what I'm doing now and that medicine isn't for me. I repeated the HPAT and did very well so I'm expecting an offer tomorrow, but I won't be taking it, so to those who are disappointed tomorrow don't get too upset. You might end up like me and realise in a year's time that you want to do something different and be thankful that you missed out. Or you'll still want to do med and try find other ways into it. Either is great. The point is that an extra year doing something else isn't the worst thing that could happen, and will probably be good for you.
And to whoever takes up my place in second round, I hope you enjoy medicine and become a great doctor, I'll try my best to make all those medical advances you need to treat people
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randylonghorn wrote: »Well, if we want ways to prove the absolute dedication of medabees, I can come up with more interesting ideas of less cost to the exchequer and of more community benefit ...
Like spending two months of their fifth year summer holidays as volunteers in hospitals / nursing homes, helping to keep patients entertained, playing cards / board games with the elderly, helping with basic clean-up and routine tasks, for example.
Would be excellent experience for them, would be of great benefit to patients / residents, and might make those who are going into medicine for what I would consider the wrong reasons (money; parental expectations; etc) think again ... :pac:
I did All that during 5th and 6th yr holidays. With the intention that if I didn't get Ireland I might go to the uk. But then my lcl et me down with 7a2s. So 540. Too low. And I had a decent hpat of 180. So I'm not getting in and I couldn't apply to England because of the fees.
Such a waste of my summer/Easter holidays. Hello science degree. =\0 -
All good luck tomorrow and a few thoughts.
1. I can totally understand people wanting to go to College near home in these times but it does amuse me that people are so certain that they want Trinity or UCD etc. As I have already said when you qualify nobody will know or even care what your LC or hpat score was. Nor will they care which University you went to. They will judge you on how good a doctor you are- nothing more or less.
The reason I wanted UCD had nothing whatsoever to do with being near home. I didn't put it down because I thought it surpassed other universities in the country and that it was somewhat better than them. I don't think I'd be a better doctor if I qualified from UCD than if I qualified from RCSI or any other college. I simple have a preference of UCD as I'm from the country, the back arse of beyond to put it mildly, a good three and a half hours from Dublin. The reason I wanted to go there was because I have friends and family there. I'm a culchie going away from home for the first time to a place I have no clue of. I want to have a friendly face and somewhere to go should I have a problem or get lost(which I will), ect. You said you're only a student once and should enjoy it, well having a friendly face around to help me settle in and to share experiences with would certainly make my time as a student more enjoyable. I won't be hugely disappointed if I don't get UCD, everything happens for a reason and all, but I simply would prefer if I did. Nothing to do with reputation or living near home at all, just my own personal feelings and preference.0 -
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Best of luck to everyone tomorrow. I do hope that the points won't rise too much for ye. I know everyone can't be happy, but for those that don't get an offer, know that if you really want it 2011 isn't your last shot. There are many ways to get what you want, so put some thought into it and hopefully things work out another way for you 0
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Just out of curiosity, how many of you have experienced the health care industry (excluding grey's anatomy)???:D
I've experienced it minimally. If I repeat this year I'll definitely spend time getting more familiar with it. I've got the first aid cert, been a patient a few times and spent two weeks in the labs and ER at CUH but that's all, and that's pretty pathetic.
I did watch all 7 seasons of Grey's this summer though, I'll have you know...Good luck:)
Ah thank you, best of luck to you too! And sure there's always the option of repeating. Schooldays are reputed to be the best of our lives so why not stay another year... 0 -
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I've experienced it minimally. If I repeat this year I'll definitely spend time getting more familiar with it. I've got the first aid cert, been a patient a few times and spent two weeks in the labs and ER at CUH but that's all, and that's pretty pathetic.
I did watch all 7 seasons of Grey's this summer though, I'll have you know...
Ah thank you, best of luck to you too! And sure there's always the option of repeating. Schooldays are reputed to be the best of our lives so why not stay another year...
Well said!! That makes me feel better:)0 -
You might find another 5 points in the LC on rechecks If you dont get it tomorrow. thats a great hpat by the way! 95%ile ish?? Wow! Good luck!10 hours to go, and I'm praying to God that Galway will drop 2 points to 717 with those extra places. With 197 and 520 it's a long shot but... OPTIMISM0 -
Just spotted the points on the Irish Times website:* Medicine – the points requirement for undergraduate medicine is up again, but graduate entry requirements for medicine are down. Trinity is up 10 to 741, Royal College of Surgeons is also up 10 to 733, UCD is up 13 to 738 and NUI Galway and UCC are up nine to 729 and 734.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0822/1224302808028.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Hope you're all happy, and don't freak out if you don't get a place on the first round. (I got my place in Trinity on the 3rd round in 2009 ) 0 -
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How many points did it go down from round one?bythewoods wrote: »Hope you're all happy, and don't freak out if you don't get a place on the first round. (I got my place in Trinity on the 3rd round in 2009 )0 -
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