*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2014*

Billiethepup

little sis... wrote: »

I won't have the option to repeat, I'll be 19 sitting the leaving cert :eek: so hopefully we both get it this year!

This made me lol!
...so Ill be 30, and repeating LC to get med...I seriously wouldn't panic about being 19!! ;-)
There's ALWAYS the option to repeat to get it! :-)

little sis...

Billiethepup wrote: »

This made me lol!
...so Ill be 30, and repeating LC to get med...I seriously wouldn't panic about being 19!! ;-)
There's ALWAYS the option to repeat to get it! :-)

I wouldn't be able to repeat for numerous reasons though... not just because of my age
Anyway, I just don't want to think about repeating before I've even had my first attempt yet :P

outnumbered

little sis... wrote: »

Fair play for being positive about it, and you should be too!
I won't have the option to repeat, I'll be 19 sitting the leaving cert :eek: so hopefully we both get it this year!

Sorry, I was sure I replied!
Oh I am now even more determined! I'm sure you wont have too! I am still only 17 and not 18 til Feb so It doesn't really bother me age-wise!

Billiethepup

little sis... wrote: »

Anyway, I just don't want to think about repeating before I've even had my first attempt yet :P

Absolutely agree, this year is the one to focus on!
Anyway, heres hoping all us boardsies will get it 2014!

gabsy

Right lads ,lets get this started ! Results are over and now it's our time to stress and hopefully shine ! has anybody done any study yet or practiced more on the hpat , I still have to get the prep course , if anyone's interested in getting a group discount let me know I'm excited and scared at the same time

JDOC1996

Looking forward to getting into it, I'd say I'll wait until I'm back to school to begin any serious Hpat study. Im just going to enjoy my free time before Im back to school, I won't have time like this again for 9 months haha

gabsy

JDOC1996 wrote: »

Looking forward to getting into it, I'd say I'll wait until I'm back to school to begin any serious Hpat study. Im just going to enjoy my free time before Im back to school, I won't have time like this again for 9 months haha

Are you going doing ME ? Same here , I think this will be the only social life ill have very soon ! :P

yoppo

I'm doing the HPAT again at the tender age of nearly 28! Did the LC again this year so have the whole year to do HPAT!!! Can't wait... It's so much fun!

0mega

I know the HPAT and LC probably seems overwhelming enough as it is at this stage, but I've posted this for those who may perhaps like to keep their options as wide open as possible next year!

This should be particularly useful to anyone repeating:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=86035555#post86035555

outnumbered

0mega wrote: »

I know the HPAT and LC probably seems overwhelming enough as it is at this stage, but I've posted this for those who may perhaps like to keep their options as wide open as possible next year!

This should be particularly useful to anyone repeating:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=86035555#post86035555

Please note that only 1 UK uni accepts repeat students and they still need 4 A's first time round.

Billiethepup

outnumbered wrote: »

Please note that only 1 UK uni accepts repeat students and they still need 4 A's first time round.

Which one? I've emailed about 10 so far and no joy!

outnumbered

Billiethepup wrote: »

Which one? I've emailed about 10 so far and no joy!

keele if memory serves right.
Or possibly Exeter.

SoundInfluence

3rd time's the charm

outnumbered

SoundInfluence wrote: »

3rd time's the charm

far off?

woopah92

yoppo wrote: »

I'm doing the HPAT again at the tender age of nearly 28! Did the LC again this year so have the whole year to do HPAT!!! Can't wait... It's so much fun!

How did you get on in Chemistry after?

yoppo

woopah92 wrote: »

How did you get on in Chemistry after?

A1... Luckily!! That and biology were my only A1's!! A few B1's thrown in for good measure!

woopah92

yoppo wrote: »

A1... Luckily!! That and biology were my only A1's!! A few B1's thrown in for good measure!

Wahey! I got A1's in Bio and Chem too!

ChnirpyDerp

Hey guys, I'm bored as hell and I'm feeling sagey, so heres my 2 cents for the HPAT and LC.
For the LC, THE single most effective way I learned was by sifting through each textbook and writing out much condensed versions of whats there already. Staple things I'd never leave out were the definitions.
I did Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Business(bit random) and they all had a TONNE of definitions! So basically, I got a nice Hardback copy and literally read through the books for these subjects while taking ANY useful info. LEAVE NO FACT BEHIND!!
This way, I had condensed each subject into roughly 20 A4 pages of sardine-packed information (I wrote small). I used red pen and blue pen to differentiate key bits from less key ones, and did it in my best handwriting and labelled everything clearly. Then, I could simply use these notebooks when I needed to revise, no useless extra padding the textbooks provide! I did this just before my Mock exams for two subjects and (stupidly) in the two weeks before the LC for Business and Biology. I recommend you do it earlier (if you wanna ya know :P) and constantly revise.
For Maths, a strong one for me, I simply did the last three questions of each set of questions in the book. USE the examples!! They're awesome. Obviously make sure you understand what you're doing, rote learning is abolished by Project Maths .
For English, consult someone else because I got Cs all through 6th year but pulled an A2 in the LC out of my..brain . I think I deserved it though, I studied all my texts extensively and learned a LOT of quotes. I also made myself LIKE the poetry so it was easier to study .
I am sad to say I completely and utterly neglected Irish (I did pass Irish) and just studied the night before using a revise wise for it. Don't do what I did for Irish if you like it. I hated it and neglecting it left more time to study for what I like to study but it was risky. I got a B2 so no complaints haha.
AAAAAAAANDDD THE HPAT. One word...PracticeTestsOnMed*EntryAndDrills. I started just before the mocks and didn't get to do all the practice tests . You guys are awesome for starting so early. I KILLED myself in the week before the HPAT doing those practice tests, 3 hours a pop, 2 a DAY ALONG WITH SCHOOL WORK. The actual one was a cinch because my mind was fresh and the actual thing is shorter than the practice tests I did .

So that's what I did guys, and I'm currently ****ting myself about the health checkup for no reason . GOOD LUCK!!

Edit: (How could I have forgotten!) I did all the exam papers for Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Business from those Edco exam papers and made sure I could write an essay from each year of the English exam papers by brainstorming ideas and revising Key moments. Sounds like a lot but spread out its grand! (:

gabsy

ChnirpyDerp wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm bored as hell and I'm feeling sagey, so heres my 2 cents for the HPAT and LC.
For the LC, THE single most effective way I learned was by sifting through each textbook and writing out much condensed versions of whats there already. Staple things I'd never leave out were the definitions.
I did Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Business(bit random) and they all had a TONNE of definitions! So basically, I got a nice Hardback copy and literally read through the books for these subjects while taking ANY useful info. LEAVE NO FACT BEHIND!!
This way, I had condensed each subject into roughly 20 A4 pages of sardine-packed information (I wrote small). I used red pen and blue pen to differentiate key bits from less key ones, and did it in my best handwriting and labelled everything clearly. Then, I could simply use these notebooks when I needed to revise, no useless extra padding the textbooks provide! I did this just before my Mock exams for two subjects and (stupidly) in the two weeks before the LC for Business and Biology. I recommend you do it earlier (if you wanna ya know :P) and constantly revise.
For Maths, a strong one for me, I simply did the last three questions of each set of questions in the book. USE the examples!! They're awesome. Obviously make sure you understand what you're doing, rote learning is abolished by Project Maths .
For English, consult someone else because I got Cs all through 6th year but pulled an A2 in the LC out of my..brain . I think I deserved it though, I studied all my texts extensively and learned a LOT of quotes. I also made myself LIKE the poetry so it was easier to study .
I am sad to say I completely and utterly neglected Irish (I did pass Irish) and just studied the night before using a revise wise for it. Don't do what I did for Irish if you like it. I hated it and neglecting it left more time to study for what I like to study but it was risky. I got a B2 so no complaints haha.
AAAAAAAANDDD THE HPAT. One word...PracticeTestsOnMed*EntryAndDrills. I started just before the mocks and didn't get to do all the practice tests . You guys are awesome for starting so early. I KILLED myself in the week before the HPAT doing those practice tests, 3 hours a pop, 2 a DAY ALONG WITH SCHOOL WORK. The actual one was a cinch because my mind was fresh and the actual thing is shorter than the practice tests I did .

So that's what I did guys, and I'm currently ****ting myself about the health checkup for no reason . GOOD LUCK!!

Edit: (How could I have forgotten!) I did all the exam papers for Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Business from those Edco exam papers and made sure I could write an essay from each year of the English exam papers by brainstorming ideas and revising Key moments. Sounds like a lot but spread out its grand! (:

Thanks very much ! It's hard to find people who don't mind sharing their techniques just one question , how many hours per night did you spend studying ?

ChnirpyDerp

gabsy wrote: »

Thanks very much ! It's hard to find people who don't mind sharing their techniques just one question , how many hours per night did you spend studying ?

Haha no problem!
As for hours per night, it varied a lot. In my opinion its best to decide on topics per night. This way, you wont lull yourself into a false sense of security. Sitting down for an hour or two staring at one page is no good.

So yeah, do chapters per night, and if theyre huge ones do half of em. Personally I did pages per night of each subject, about 8 a day for each(transcribing them) and calculated it all out so Id finished all my study with time left to revise as exams approached.
There ya go

gabsy

hey guys,I'm after purchasing the platinum package and I'm just confused now where I should start but most importantly how to plan out my timetable to do the practice exams so that I get them all done at a set pace before the exam in march ! Thanks

Slow Show

gabsy wrote: »

hey guys,I'm after purchasing the platinum package and I'm just confused now where I should start but most importantly how to plan out my timetable to do the practice exams so that I get them all done at a set pace before the exam in march ! Thanks

Hey, I wouldn't overly worry about the timetable. I remember I did one in summer before going back to school to get a taste of it, another a few weeks later, then after I went to the prep course in late October I tried to do one every two weeks, which was more than enough to be finished in time but I took a break for the mocks and ended up doing the last three-ish in close proximity which was grand too. They take about three hours each, I'd say whenever you do them try do them in the morning as that's when you'll do them in the real thing. There are drills and everything, worth checking out but I'd focus on the exams personally as they give you a real idea of how intense the HPAT is with the length of it and the time pressure.

If you're the kind of person that simply has to do all of the exams because they're there (I was), that's fine, I personally feel that if I'd even just done six I would've done the exact same in the HPAT, I felt like at the start practising really helped but after a certain amount it didn't make much of a difference. But I wanted to be as prepared as I could be and I suppose I was so it's hard to know. Just don't be overly concerned if you're slipping behind and in danger of not getting them all done.

gabsy

Slow Show wrote: »

Hey, I wouldn't overly worry about the timetable. I remember I did one in summer before going back to school to get a taste of it, another a few weeks later, then after I went to the prep course in late October I tried to do one every two weeks, which was more than enough to be finished in time but I took a break for the mocks and ended up doing the last three-ish in close proximity which was grand too. They take about three hours each, I'd say whenever you do them try do them in the morning as that's when you'll do them in the real thing. There are drills and everything, worth checking out but I'd focus on the exams personally as they give you a real idea of how intense the HPAT is with the length of it and the time pressure.

If you're the kind of person that simply has to do all of the exams because they're there (I was), that's fine, I personally feel that if I'd even just done six I would've done the exact same in the HPAT, I felt like at the start practising really helped but after a certain amount it didn't make much of a difference. But I wanted to be as prepared as I could be and I suppose I was so it's hard to know. Just don't be overly concerned if you're slipping behind and in danger of not getting them all done.

thanks a million ! See I'm the exact same way I need to get it done if it's there and I know I'd be very worried if I didn't ! I have a few papers at home so I'm gonna do them for the next few weeks and then hit into med e ! But I will still be doing the drills online ! Im very fresh with this med en thing so I don't even know how to use it efficiently ! I heard that they can set out a timetable for you ? Is that true and if so how will I do it ? thanks so much for your help !

ahmdoda

time to start preparing for this!!

gabsy

i dont even know where to start ....

JDOC1996

Exciting times ahead of us guys

ahmdoda

gabsy wrote: »

i dont even know where to start ....

I will start by reading the section 1 guide then completing the drills before moving into section 2 then 3 after that il crack into the exams

gabsy

ahmdoda wrote: »

I will start by reading the section 1 guide then completing the drills before moving into section 2 then 3 after that il crack into the exams

Yeah that's a good idea , ill do a lot of drills before I even think of doing an exam !

sleepyheadh

ok guys, so basically I did the auld HPAT twice, the first in 2012 and the last (thank god!) in 2013.

I taught i would give you guys all the pointers I think i developed over my two attempts. these are the main points that i learned from failing the first time and succeeding the second. they are pretty simply little things but they make a big difference, well they did for me anyway.

1) i would recommended doing every course available, even if you only get a few practice tests out of it, they are precious commodities.. Mentry, the institute etc, Mentry is fair better imo.

2) Do the courses as early as possible, i think its october that is the first course. The more time you have to assimilate the information the better. you are not going to get everything right away.

3) when you get tests and material, use it! This might sound a bit obvious, but the amount of people who don't finish the LMS is crazy. i didn't the first time around, and i got 171. the second time i did ever exam, and every question the LMS. towards the i was even going over the tests i did poorly on, i.e below 15/20 or so. personally, i think this is what made the difference. even if you have to relax on the study for a bit, two months or so, thats fine. I got in on 560 points. you don't need to get 625 and realistically the Lc study comes together in the two months or so, leaving yourself three months of good study, knowing that you have given everything you had to the HPAT is a good place to be in.

4) ok the fourth one you bit laugh at, but anyway. OK so the HPAT is a very stressful exam. on my first attempt i was shaken like a leaf. The one thing i did to alleviate the nerves was this. in the days coming up to the HPAT. two days away or so, I would wake the exam centre at the time i would have to be there at on the day. i swear to god this helps. the first time you walk there (be on your own) you are just as nervous as if it was the real thing. walk right up to the door, turn around, maybe hang around for a while. make sure it is the very door you will be going in on the morning of the HPAT. the next day head back and do the same. i think you have to be there at around 9ish so its an alright time to be getting up at anyway. and this way you get to see at least where you will be and what to expect, the mind hates what it cant visualize.

ok guys they are my four tips. if anyone has any question just fire ahead and ask, don't pm me as its better if everyone sees the question and the responses. Good luck guys.

little sis...

sleepyheadh,

When did you start getting good at the drills/exams?
I started doing drills during 5th year but always got around 8/9 out of 15 and maybe 12/13 out of 20.
And I did a few exams and my highest was about 60 percentile and lowest was 0-20 so I just gave up by the end of 5th year.
I'm going to start up again when I start school but it really is disheartening when I do badly.