Help please!!

Scarletpapa

I looked up the minimum requirements for medicine in royal college of surgeons Ireland (rcsi) and I downloaded the pdf file. They said for 2017 the minimum requirements are 2 h5, And 4 h7. The points must also be 480 and h7 in one of: biology, chemistry etc.
When I went on careersportal it said minimum was like 725 points. Rcsi website also said the minimum requirements for mature applicants is 23 years and the following:

5 year degree programme:
Candidates must present a minimum of 6 subjects [2 x H5 and 4 x O6/H7] in the Irish Leaving Certificate to include a minimum of an O6/H7 in Irish, English, Mathematics and a third language plus a minimum of a H4 in Chemistry and H4 in either Physics or Biology.

6 year degree programme:
Candidates must present a minimum of 6 subjects [2 x H5 and 4 x O6/H7] in the Irish Leaving Certificate to include a minimum of an O6/H7 in Irish, English, Mathematics, a third language and one laboratory science subject from Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics/Chemistry or Agricultural Science.


I'm really interested in doing medicine but I'm not going to get the points so I'm planning on repeating 6th year (given I'll study from the start of the year, quite possibly in summer too).
Please outline clearly the absolute minimum I need for when I leave school and the minimum for mature applicants (in case I come close but not enough for the undergraduate). Also explain difference between 5 degree and 6 degree program.

Thanks guys.

Bazinga_N

Scarletpapa wrote: »

I looked up the minimum requirements for medicine in royal college of surgeons Ireland (rcsi) and I downloaded the pdf file. They said for 2017 the minimum requirements are 2 h5, And 4 h7. The points must also be 480 and h7 in one of: biology, chemistry etc.
When I went on careersportal it said minimum was like 725 points. Rcsi website also said the minimum requirements for mature applicants is 23 years and the following:

5 year degree programme:
Candidates must present a minimum of 6 subjects [2 x H5 and 4 x O6/H7] in the Irish Leaving Certificate to include a minimum of an O6/H7 in Irish, English, Mathematics and a third language plus a minimum of a H4 in Chemistry and H4 in either Physics or Biology.

6 year degree programme:
Candidates must present a minimum of 6 subjects [2 x H5 and 4 x O6/H7] in the Irish Leaving Certificate to include a minimum of an O6/H7 in Irish, English, Mathematics, a third language and one laboratory science subject from Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics/Chemistry or Agricultural Science.


I'm really interested in doing medicine but I'm not going to get the points so I'm planning on repeating 6th year (given I'll study from the start of the year, quite possibly in summer too).
Please outline clearly the absolute minimum I need for when I leave school and the minimum for mature applicants (in case I come close but not enough for the undergraduate). Also explain difference between 5 degree and 6 degree program.

Thanks guys.

The 6 degree program is for people who didn't do more than one science in their leaving cert. The extra year kind of goes over leaving cert sciences again and makes sure everyone has the same understanding. The 5 year program just skips this year.

If you want the five year program all you need to do is get:
A H4 in Chemistey
A H4 in Biology (or Physics)
Anything above a H7 in English, Irish, Maths and French (or whatever language you do).

Please be aware if you're repeating for medicine you have to get all your requirements in one year. Like for other courses if you pass French the first time you don't have to do it the second time. But this isn't the case for medicine courses.

Scarletpapa

Bazinga_N wrote: »

The 6 degree program is for people who didn't do more than one science in their leaving cert. The extra year kind of goes over leaving cert sciences again and makes sure everyone has the same understanding. The 5 year program just skips this year.

If you want the five year program all you need to do is get:
A H4 in Chemistey
A H4 in Biology (or Physics)
Anything above a H7 in English, Irish, Maths and French (or whatever language you do).

Please be aware if you're repeating for medicine you have to get all your requirements in one year. Like for other courses if you pass French the first time you don't have to do it the second time. But this isn't the case for medicine courses.

Ok thank you very much

rainbowtrout

Scarletpapa wrote: »

I looked up the minimum requirements for medicine in royal college of surgeons Ireland (rcsi) and I downloaded the pdf file. They said for 2017 the minimum requirements are 2 h5, And 4 h7. The points must also be 480 and h7 in one of: biology, chemistry etc.
When I went on careersportal it said minimum was like 725 points. Rcsi website also said the minimum requirements for mature applicants is 23 years and the following:

The points for medicine are a combination of LC points and HPAT points. You do the HPAT around February of Leaving Cert. To be considered for medicine (as the demand is so great), you have to score higher than 480 in the LC, for your HPAT score to be added on giving you a score most likely in the 700s.

Careers portal probably shouldn't say 725 as a minimum as the combined score from LC and HPAT can fluctuate from year to year for any of the medicine courses much the same as any other degree course. But realistically you would have to be in that ballpark area to have any chance of getting a place.

Scarletpapa

rainbowtrout wrote: »

The points for medicine are a combination of LC points and HPAT points. You do the HPAT around February of Leaving Cert. To be considered for medicine (as the demand is so great), you have to score higher than 480 in the LC, for your HPAT score to be added on giving you a score most likely in the 700s.

Careers portal probably shouldn't say 725 as a minimum as the combined score from LC and HPAT can fluctuate from year to year for any of the medicine courses much the same as any other degree course. But realistically you would have to be in that ballpark area to have any chance of getting a place.

What's hpat more specifically? Do i study for this test and how much points does it add on?
Thanks.

rainbowtrout

Scarletpapa wrote: »

What's hpat more specifically? Do i study for this test and how much points does it add on?
Thanks.

It's an aptitude test. It's scored separately to the LC and both scores are added together. It's a requirement to apply for medicine.

https://hpat-ireland.acer.org/

Bam_Bam_7777

At an open day in RCSI at the end of last year the admissions officer said that, although theoretically the lowest lc points needed are 480, in reality the lowest they have ever admitted is 530 (before Hpat points are added on). This is simply because of the way the points system works.

For mature entry you have to be over 23 and just need to meet matriculation requirements, that is you don't need a minimum number of points but need to achieve a particular grade in certain subjects such as biology/chemistry. You also have to do the hpat and submit a personal statement and CV. If you achieve the hpat cut off and they like your application you will be shortlisted for interview. If you are going down this route it is very advantageous to have some volunteer work and clinical experience, preferably with patient contact.

You could also go down the grad entry route, i.e. do a level 8 degree and achieve a 2.1 and then do the gamsat.