*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2015*

DaveMc90

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.

totallyrandom wrote: »

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.

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?

totallyrandom

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

CorkonianAnon

Anyone know any free HPAT resources? I know there's a free sample on the Med Entry website but are there any others?

OscarXC7

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.

Theboybang

I did the UKCAT today , how does that compare to the HPAT

Nocofee

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

CorkonianAnon wrote: »

Anyone know any free HPAT resources? I know there's a free sample on the Med Entry website but are there any others?

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

Gabrielazap

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

Gabrielazap

Nocofee wrote: »

How do you calculate the points?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's supposedly impossible as claimed by Acer, to calculate your score by yourself. So it's kinda hard to get an idea as to how you'll preform in the official exam It truly sucks

Gabrielazap

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

Kayleigh..

Probably like 180, depends on how the results change next year though, hard to predict.

Gabrielazap

Kayleigh.. wrote: »

Probably like 180, depends on how the results change next year though, hard to predict.

yeah nothing's certain I'm aiming for that so hopefully it'll happen don't really mind what college it is though at the end of the day tbh.

leopard trek

I'm going to apply to some colleges via eunicas. Anybody else thinking of doing this or has done it?

Kayleigh..

Wish I got medicine this year much regrets.

Gabrielazap

Hey does anyone know if you can actually print out the MEd EntRy material like the practice tests or must you do all the exercises online?

seriouslyfunny

leopard trek wrote: »

I'm going to apply to some colleges via eunicas. Anybody else thinking of doing this or has done it?

one of my friends did and got in. She is studying in Poland.

LauraaWhelann

So I'm in first year Human Genetics in TCD now because I doubted myself and never thought I'd get the points for medicine.. Got 595 and I'm considering reapplying and doing the HPAT this year, has anyone done this? Or has any one any advice for me? I do like my course but I always wanted to go into psychiatry.. When should I start preparing for the HPAT? Anybody have any idea how well I would have to do in it?

Nocofee

leopard trek wrote: »

I'm going to apply to some colleges via eunicas. Anybody else thinking of doing this or has done it?

Are you going to do the imat? I'm thinking of doing it

LochlanCummins

Anyone thinking of applying to Europe? I'm thinking of applying to Italy as a back up plan but you have to do the IMAT in London as an entry exam. Just wondering if anyone here is thinking of/is actually doing this course?

LochlanCummins

Anyone applying for Italy?

Nocofee

LochlanCummins wrote: »

Anyone thinking of applying to Europe? I'm thinking of applying to Italy as a back up plan but you have to do the IMAT in London as an entry exam. Just wondering if anyone here is thinking of/is actually doing this course?

Hey I'm wondering the exact same thing. I emailed the imat, I'll let you know when they reply!

LochlanCummins

Nocofee wrote: »

Hey I'm wondering the exact same thing. I emailed the imat, I'll let you know when they reply!

good to here someone is thinking the same! that would be class cheers!

leopard trek

Nocofee wrote: »

Are you going to do the imat? I'm thinking of doing it

I think I will, I know it's in London but it's worth the travel!

leopard trek

LochlanCummins wrote: »

Anyone applying for Italy?

I'm definitely applying for Italy. The school looks great, cheaper way of living and the total cost would be less than studying here. Plus the flights aren't too bad back here either. I think that it'd be great to study somewhere different, outside of ireland and completely knew. I'd love it! :rolleyes:

IncognitoX

Does anyone else worry that they won't be smart enough for medicine?

spurious

IncognitoX wrote: »

Does anyone else worry that they won't be smart enough for medicine?

I don't think it's about smart. It's more about coping with workload and then while in the job coping with workload/stress/powerlessness/ignorance/poverty. If you can manage that, great. That takes more of a personality type than 'smart'.

Slow Show

You do need to be intelligent, and to have a good memory, but if you get in you've already ticked off those boxes. More than anything else though from my experience so far, you have to like it and to find something you're passionate about, or at least think you could be passionate about. Nothing's gonna motivate you to learn endless muscle origins/insertions/innervations/actions or reams of seemingly-irrelevant biochemistry if you don't find something among it all that you like and that makes you want to keep going. It's not too hard to find though once the interest is there.

IncognitoX

spurious wrote: »

I don't think it's about smart. It's more about coping with workload and then while in the job coping with workload/stress/powerlessness/ignorance/poverty. If you can manage that, great. That takes more of a personality type than 'smart'.

It's not so much the difficulty of the material I am worried about, it's the sheer volume of it. Along with the fact that not knowing or forgetting something could result in the misdiagnosis of a patient or being unable to diagnose a patient, etc.

yoyojc

How are you guys finding the HPAT paper while practicing it? I am really strong at section 2 and average on the other two... I know it's been re-weighted, anyone have any idea how it's marked now?

AtomicKoala

yoyojc wrote: »

How are you guys finding the HPAT paper while practicing it? I am really strong at section 2 and average on the other two... I know it's been re-weighted, anyone have any idea how it's marked now?

Section 1 and 2 are 40%, 3 is 20%. The reweighting was a godsend to people like me who are dire at Section 3, which is really a fairly silly section :pac:

conroy30

Anyone want to enter with me in a group to avail of a discount for a med entry hpat prep course?
Pm me, Thanks

EoghanIRL

Hey guys ,
I did the hpat last year and performed poorly . I was disappointed with my score .
Despite the hpat controversy from last year.
I didnt do a particular preparation course . I'm sure you know the one I'm on about and I feel that I was at a big disadvantage .

Anyway just want to say that even though you guys should be optimistic , pick your second choice wisely . Don't just have med on your cao . The hpat is like a game of chance in a way and things can go wrong in the lc also . Have a solid number 2 choice something which you would be happy to do if you aren't successful in getting med . I was set on med and i filled out my cao In a rush one day before the deadline !
Don't make this mistake. Many of you won't be successful so don't make the mistake I made . Have a back up plan .

And also do dentistry not med :P (not biased at all).

AtomicKoala

EoghanIRL wrote: »

Hey guys ,
I did the hpat last year and performed poorly . I was disappointed with my score .
Despite the hpat controversy from last year.
I didnt do a particular preparation course . I'm sure you know the one I'm on about and I feel that I was at a big disadvantage .

No doubt. Anyone who doesn't do this level of prep is at a disadvantage - simply due to getting used to the time constraints and question format. So unfair that this advantage comes at such a steep cost however.

As for the controversy, that was real incompetence from ACER. I wasn't at the day course and hence didn't have that advantage, but apparently some rectification was carried out.

Anyway, working through the online stuff for said prep course can confer a 20ish point advantage I'd say - massive really. Obviously one can only improve so much however as it's not a test of knowledge

seriouslyfunny

did anyone do it the first time and got medicine? (without any prep course )

AtomicKoala

seriouslyfunny wrote: »

did anyone do it the first time and got medicine? (without any prep course )

There are several people in my year who got in without a prep course. I'd say 80-90% of the Irish students did a prep course however, generally ME. It's the online resources that really help.

Honestly unless you're incredibly smart and bound to get very high points, you'd be best off just finding the money for a course, unfortunately.

QueenOfLeon

seriouslyfunny wrote: »

did anyone do it the first time and got medicine? (without any prep course )

Yes, and even for those who did one, its hard to contribute their success entirely to a prep course :rolleyes: Its unfair though that since most people are doing one, everyone else is feeling pressured into paying up for one.

gabsy

I did the HPAT last year.My score wasn't bad but it wasn't the best either , hence why I'll be doing the exam again as well as repeating the LC . I did ME last year and found the online material excellent just because there was so much in it,although some questions are extremely difficult and can be off putting (for me anyways). If you're doing it for the first time , I would recommend doing the course but not to bother with the 2day mock exam as I found it useless but that's just my opinion. I have decided not to take up a course this year as I have plenty of material from last year. Any other repeat HPATers doing the same ? is it a bad idea ?

EoghanIRL

gabsy wrote: »

I did the HPAT last year.My score wasn't bad but it wasn't the best either , hence why I'll be doing the exam again as well as repeating the LC . I did ME last year and found the online material excellent just because there was so much in it,although some questions are extremely difficult and can be off putting (for me anyways). If you're doing it for the first time , I would recommend doing the course but not to bother with the 2day mock exam as I found it useless but that's just my opinion. I have decided not to take up a course this year as I have plenty of material from last year. Any other repeat HPATers doing the same ? is it a bad idea ?

I am tempted to repeat the hpat this year tbh.
I think I am going to stick with dentistry though because I know a lot of doctors have both degrees in medicine and dentistry . This area of medicine is called maxillo facial surgery and it really interest me.
So I don't see the point in wasting a year of dentistry if I am going to need it anyway in the Long run .
Still tempted though . Also did a mock exam (not ME but a cheap one) and also found it useless.

futuremedic19

Hi Everyone. First time posting here

I'm a gap year applicant from Wales and definitely applying for Irish Med schools this year (aswell as 4 ones within the UK via UCAS). Fortunately I carried forward all my AS subjects and did 4 A2 levels hence I'm able to apply to Irish Med schools.
I ended up with A*AAA in A levels and an A in maths so have 25 bonus points. Initially I was really confused about the CAO systemt but having rang up the Med schools and did my research, I calculated my cao points to be 580 (readjusted to 556 before HPAT) and obviously unlike the UCAS system (with all nonsense of PS/interview) my chances of getting into an Irish med school are solely dependent on the HPAT.

Just have a few questions:
How would you advise preparing for the HPAT, I'm a little confused as some are saying never to use PREP courses and some are saying to definitely use them ?

Is my points score good enough at all ?
I know it probably is too modest for Trinity and UCD but what about RCSI/NUIG/UCC. Through my calculations I'm gonna have to score ~ 74 percentile + to get in somewhere.

Kayleigh..

I didn't bother with a PREP course and managed to get in the 97th percentile.

futuremedic19

Kayleigh.. wrote:

I didn't bother with a PREP course and managed to get in the 97th percentile.

WOW congratz that's an excellent score. Do you think my A level/cao points score is good enough for places like UCD/Trinity.

And since I'm from Wales and don't know much about the Irish system.
When would you advise to start preparing for the HPAT ?

Seanf999

Sorry this is a little of topic but I'm curious what fellow medicine hopefuls were like throughout their school careers, were you that kid that got 90+ per test and said 'wow I can't believe that'
Or were you that kid who had to studied like a lunatic to have any chance at medicine?..
I'm definitely the second type.

futuremedic19

Seanf999 wrote:

Sorry this is a little of topic but I'm curious what fellow medicine hopefuls were like throughout their school careers, were you that kid that got 90+ per test and said 'wow I can't believe that' Or were you that kid who had to studied like a lunatic to have any chance at medicine?.. I'm definitely the second type.

Hahahha I'm definitely the second type.
Are u guys still doing your Leaving Certs and how is that like compared to A levels (sorry I've just completed A levels amd have no idea).

Good luck to you all

LeapOfFaith

Right, So I'm in a little bit of a pickle
I did the infamous M-entry course last year and still managed to do quite poorly.My results were pathetic actually, and I definitely need a prep course of sorts to help me out this year
My problem is that I'm broke and don't know whether getting M-entry again would be worth my while since I'll remember the layout and answers to exam and drills questions from last year.

I would SINCERELY, truly appreciate if any fellow repeaters who have gotten the online package this year again could let me know whether they have updated any info, questions,etc.

Thanks in advance

LeapOfFaith

Right, So I'm in a little bit of a pickle
I did the infamous M-entry course last year and still managed to do quite poorly.My results were pathetic actually, and I definitely need a prep course of sorts to help me out this year
My problem is that I'm broke and don't know whether getting M-entry again would be worth my while since I'll remember the layout and answers to exam and drills questions from last year.

I would SINCERELY, truly appreciate if any fellow repeaters who have gotten the online package this year again could let me know whether they have updated any info, questions,etc.

Thanks in advance

AtomicKoala

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

Right, So I'm in a little bit of a pickle
I did the infamous M-entry course last year and still managed to do quite poorly.My results were pathetic actually, and I definitely need a prep course of sorts to help me out this year
My problem is that I'm broke and don't know whether getting M-entry again would be worth my while since I'll remember the layout and answers to exam and drills questions from last year.

I would SINCERELY, truly appreciate if any fellow repeaters who have gotten the online package this year again could let me know whether they have updated any info, questions,etc.

Thanks in advance

What did you get? And did you do all the practice tests and such on the ME site?

Honestly I'd doubt you'd get a big improvement if you've already done a prep course, but I don't know your situation. Are you in university or are you repeating the LC?

GrabTheCREAM

I just finished a practise exam 1 from the ******** LMS and can anyone tell me if it's easier than the real thing? I was at the 2 day workshop on the 28th and 29th and we did a trial exam in which I scored 19 16 and 5 in sections 1 2 and3 respectively.

In the practise exam today I scored 23 27 and 12 in the sections1 2 and 3.

186 points altogether, I've no way of knowing how well or how bad this is so can anyone give me a good idea of how high I should be scoring?

futuremedic19

Do students from the UK have to come to ROI to sit the HPAT ?

mhf55

LeapOfFaith wrote: »

Right, So I'm in a little bit of a pickle
I did the infamous M-entry course last year and still managed to do quite poorly.My results were pathetic actually, and I definitely need a prep course of sorts to help me out this year
My problem is that I'm broke and don't know whether getting M-entry again would be worth my while since I'll remember the layout and answers to exam and drills questions from last year.

I would SINCERELY, truly appreciate if any fellow repeaters who have gotten the online package this year again could let me know whether they have updated any info, questions,etc.

Thanks in advance

Hey i'm repeating too! Yea they've added a good few new drills to it but no practice exams. I've only done 2 or 3 drills so far and yea I remember the layout and some of the questions but I don't remember the answers to them so I do think it's still helpful

LeapOfFaith

mhf55 wrote: »

Hey i'm repeating too! Yea they've added a good few new drills to it but no practice exams. I've only done 2 or 3 drills so far and yea I remember the layout and some of the questions but I don't remember the answers to them so I do think it's still helpful

Cheers
Yeah I think I think I'll go for it,
I need all the help I can get!