*What to do instead of Medicine?*

NoHarm1994

I got my HPAT results back and only got 173 so I clearly won't be getting medicine next year. Anyway I am trying to decide on a course to do next year and possibly repeat the HPAT as well. I am basically looking for some ideas on what course to do, at the moment I am thinking along the lines of Science and Physiotherapy but I am not over joyed at the prospect of having to do those courses next year so any other ideas would be most welcome!

Anyway I would appreciate any help and I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there in the same boat.

Cheeeeeers

0mega

Does 173 really rule you out completely?

What about "Human Health & Disease" in Trinity?

IrishKnight

While I am no med student, I do have a number of friends who are, and for the first year at least, you'll be doing science related courses in med. Physics, chem, genetics, bio etc...

EDIT: See http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Medicine%20Programme%20at%20a%20Glance.pdf for what you will be learning in first year med. While it is the UCD corse, it would be more or less the same everywhere

tahina

If ya have chem go for vet its da most similar to med =] if animals arnt ur thing how about dentistry???

tahina

NoHarm1994 wrote: »

I got my HPAT results back and only got 173 so I clearly won't be getting medicine next year. Anyway I am trying to decide on a course to do next year and possibly repeat the HPAT as well. I am basically looking for some ideas on what course to do, at the moment I am thinking along the lines of Science and Physiotherapy but I am not over joyed at the prospect of having to do those courses next year so any other ideas would be most welcome!

Anyway I would appreciate any help and I am sure that there are plenty of other people out there in the same boat.

Cheeeeeers

Simply dont take the course and spend the time doing hpat prep fr da next hpat exam ya dont want to waste ur 1 chance at "free" education On somthing u dont have a passion for

finality

IrishKnight wrote: »

EDIT: See http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/Medicine%20Programme%20at%20a%20Glance.pdf for what you will be learning in first year med. While it is the UCD corse, it would be more or less the same everywhere

UCD's course has an extra year though, the first year is a kind of foundation year I think. So Trinity's first year would probably be quite different?

DepoProvera

Lovin' this thread.. I'm going to pick a course I'm really interested in/ is useful. I don't want to end up failing the HPAT again next year and end up stuck in a course I hate.

And OP if you can get 625 you can get Galway so don't give up I guess.

I'm thinking actuary?

Orange juice

I've the same HPAT! Choice after medicine is Biomedical Life and Health Science in UCD, hopefully I'll repeat my HPAT next year and then if I'm lucky I'll skip pre med in UCD med and go straight to first year? I think it's the best plan B!

eyescreamcone

Or...
University of Buckingham do accelerated 2 year degrees (extra summer terms like GradMed)
Eg. 3 year law degree condensed into 2 calendar years!

2years undergrad and straight into GradMed (4 years)
Out in 6

Not for everyone, but it's an option!

eyescreamcone

eyescreamcone wrote: »

Or...
University of Buckingham do accelerated 2 year degrees (extra summer terms like GradMed)
Eg. 3 year law degree condensed into 2 calendar years!

2years undergrad and straight into GradMed (4 years)
Out in 6

Not for everyone, but it's an option!

Pharmacy or Chemical Engineering so

SpirantSpem

finality wrote: »

UCD's course has an extra year though, the first year is a kind of foundation year I think. So Trinity's first year would probably be quite different?

Trinity has a very different programme to UCD in 1st year. TCD modules are biochemistry, human form and function (anatomy and physiology, taught separately but examined on the one paper with one integrated question usually based on what was learnt in PBL tutorials), human development and behavioral science (includes ethics, hdbs lectures, family case study and a reflective diary on all tutorials for this module) and a student selected module (which can include history of medicine, philosophy, creative writing, advocacy and a few others) or a language.

So all that taken into account you may want to find a course that has similar modules and content. If you're looking to study at UCD I would recommend studying Biomed there, repeating the HPAT and then you could skip premed and progress from 1st med making the degree the same length.

There is no similar route for Trinity, the closest degree to Medicine for 1st year modules, as far as I'm aware, is physio but if you transfer over you'd still have to do 1st year again but it'd be a relatively easy year as you'd have covered some of the content in physio. Human Health & Disease do a basic year of science and in 2nd year do a lot of modules the same as 1st meds. Since there have been no graduates from HHD yet, there is no way to know if you can complete a shorter programme if you go on to do Medicine. Word has it that a Grad Med programme was to be set up in Trinity when the graduates of HHD begin to stream out, however this has never been confirmed.

I think the main thing at this stage is to maximize your Leaving Cert score and not to allow a disheartening HPAT result deter you from doing your best. There is always the option of repeating the HPAT next year. Obviously there is also the option of repeating the LC but at this stage you don't have to think about that. Choose a course that you will enjoy - with the view to finishing it, and if you get the chance to transfer to Medicine along the way it'll be a bonus. There are many courses - pharmacy, physio, OT, biomed, science, HHD, radiation therapy etc... that have similarities to Medicine and the likes of physio also allow a great deal of patient contact and are part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team that will ultimately care for a patient.

NoHarm1994

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I probably have an off chance of getting med in Galway with a 625 leaving cert but I think I will be lucky to scrape the 600 :P At the moment I am thinking along the lines of doing Trinity Science next year and giving the HPAT another bash, I was only let down in one of the 3 sections at the end of the day. Anyone know what the hours for Trinity Science is like per week?

Togepi

I'm surprised so many people are planning on doing the first year of a course and then going into medicine if they get in. Isn't that going to cost you around €4,000 or something for doing first year twice?

kitty9

NoHarm1994 wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback guys! I probably have an off chance of getting med in Galway with a 625 leaving cert but I think I will be lucky to scrape the 600 :P At the moment I am thinking along the lines of doing Trinity Science next year and giving the HPAT another bash, I was only let down in one of the 3 sections at the end of the day. Anyone know what the hours for Trinity Science is like per week?

6 hours of labs, 12 hours of lectures. i did it up till 3rd year then left it cos i was fed up

NoHarm1994

Togepi wrote: »

I'm surprised so many people are planning on doing the first year of a course and then going into medicine if they get in. Isn't that going to cost you around €4,000 or something for doing first year twice?

Tis true, tis true, tis pity and pity tis tis true.
But I couldn't bare doing nothing but the HPAT for a whole year

Just Like Heaven

Togepi wrote: »

I'm surprised so many people are planning on doing the first year of a course and then going into medicine if they get in. Isn't that going to cost you around €4,000 or something for doing first year twice?

I think for Med you're looking at €10,000+

NoHarm1994

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

I think for Med you're looking at €10,000+

Disaster.

Just Like Heaven

Ahh but the morgues don't pay for themselves

Togepi

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

I think for Med you're looking at €10,000+

My god! :eek:

Surely doing anything/nothing for a year is better than that?!

Just Like Heaven

But what if you don't get a high enough hpat score again?

If you think of all the people who take out loans of €120,000+ to go back via the gamsat route, €10,000 kinda pales in comparison. It's still 10k that a student doesn't have though, and a med student probably shouldn't have that much time for working.

NoHarm1994

It is easier than that though just apply for another (lower points) course that you would like to do ie Science/Physio etc, accept it in August then defer your place for the year, then repeat the Hpat and if you get enough do med if you don't at least you have another course in the wings! However like I said again I don't fancy staying at home while everyone else I know is in college :P

Just Like Heaven

I could be wrong, but when you defer, the following year you can only put that 1 course on your cao form.

But if you have a bunch of points you probably wouldn't need to defer anyway?

Togepi

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

I could be wrong, but when you defer, the following year you can only put that 1 course on your cao form.

But if you have a bunch of points you probably wouldn't need to defer anyway?

Right and right again, it's fairly unlikely you'd need to defer anything if you were going for such high points, there's only a few courses where you might need to.

NoHarm1994

Well for example, lets say I got Med in Galway next year, my thoughts were that I would defer my place there and try my hand at the Hpat again to try and get a spot in Dublin somewhere. However if I didn't get enough at least I would still have my place in Galway?
From what I can take from what yous are saying I cant do that can I?

Just Like Heaven

NoHarm1994 wrote: »

Well for example, lets say I got Med in Galway next year, my thoughts were that I would defer my place there and try my hand at the Hpat again to try and get a spot in Dublin somewhere. However if I didn't get enough at least I would still have my place in Galway?
From what I can take from what yous are saying I cant do that can I?

Well you can sit the hpat again, but you can't apply for any other courses except NUIG med.

So even if you do end up with a higher hpat score, it'll be another year before you can use it.

edit To clarify, that's assuming you have deferred NUIG med.

NoHarm1994

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

Well you can sit the hpat again, but you can't apply for any other courses except NUIG med.

So even if you do end up with a higher hpat score, it'll be another year before you can use it.

edit To clarify, that's assuming you have deferred NUIG med.

Ok thanks I never knew that, well serves me right for doing s**t in the Hpat. Decisions will have to be made after the big LC anyway!!:rolleyes:

QueenOfLeon

fewtinsoffroth wrote: »

I think for Med you're looking at €10,000+

Its around €8000.

If the first year of the degree you started allows you to skip premed due to the modules you studied (which is at the discretion of the college), you may not have to pay the fees as if you were repeating first year, as you're technically going into 2nd year. Again, this is at the discretion of the college, and I can't speak for everywhere, so don't depend on that.