* Everything HPAT and Medicine for 2011 *

Danielle Power · 27-06-2011 12:20pm

I'm a repeat. I got 179 in the HPAT last year (89th percentile) and 535 in the leaving cert. I decided to repeat both but on opening my scores I found out I've only gone up to 181 (82nd percentile). I was dying sick on the day of the HPAT.

I've worked really hard this year but I'd say I only got about 555-560 points, could've gotten as low as 550.

I'm really, really worried now as I think the points will go up to min 730 this year, possibly 735 as they went up 7 points last year even though there was only an approx. 3% percentile increase (bear in mind that this year there is a 10% percentile increase).

What are other people's thoughts on this? How big an increase do you think we will have to face? What do you think are my chances of getting in with a percentile score of only 82?? as judging by that percentile there are approx. 600 people with better HPAT scores then me. ( even if you're expected to get 600 points I've heard the minimum HPAT to be in with a chance is 80 percentile).

seriously worried:(

fk44 · 27-06-2011 12:30pm

Danielle Power wrote: »

What are other people's thoughts on this? How big an increase do you think we will have to face? What do you think are my chances of getting in with a percentile score of only 82?? as judging by that percentile there are approx. 600 people with better HPAT scores then me. ( even if you're expected to get 600 points I've heard the minimum HPAT to be in with a chance is 80 percentile).

seriously worried:(

i have the same as you, 82%-181 and i got 550 in my leaving cert so that gives me 731. i dont think there are 600 ahead of us, around 3000 sat it, 18% of that is 540, those 60 places extra are worth a lot! last year i got 73% and there were 1000 ahead of me, yet i was only three points short of a place in galway, so not everyone with high hpats get high lc!

med head · 27-06-2011 12:33pm

mocks plus hpat score gives me 724 and it was 719 to get in to nuig last year so with the 10% increase thats not lookin good is it?

johndoe91 · 27-06-2011 12:37pm

fk44 wrote: »

i have the same as you, 82%-181 and i got 550 in my leaving cert so that gives me 731. i dont think there are 600 ahead of us, around 3000 sat it, 18% of that is 540, those 60 places extra are worth a lot! last year i got 73% and there were 1000 ahead of me, yet i was only three points short of a place in galway, so not everyone with high hpats get high lc!

yeah i have to agree, think it works both ways really....i know people who would have gotten close to 600 points and did **** in the hpat whilst others got really well in the hpat and didnt even bother having medicine down at the end of the day because they knew they wouldnt even come close in the leaving!

its no point trying to predict what the increase will be but i'd say hopefully 730ish should be enough! note that people are also saying applicants for med have dropped this year....

by the way is the bell curve yoke out because how to people know people were getting higher points????

darling1 · 27-06-2011 12:41pm

chances of trinity with 735?!

Deborah101 · 27-06-2011 12:43pm

Hey, I got 161 in the Hpat which put me in the 53rd percentile, not really what I was expecting to be honest. I got 590 points in the mocks and am hoping to do the same or better in the leaving cert-do i have any chance of getting medicine in galway?

fk44 · 27-06-2011 12:45pm

johndoe91 wrote: »

yeah i have to agree, think it works both ways really....i know people who would have gotten close to 600 points and did **** in the hpat whilst others got really well in the hpat and didnt even bother having medicine down at the end of the day because they knew they wouldnt even come close in the leaving!

its no point trying to predict what the increase will be but i'd say hopefully 730ish should be enough! note that people are also saying applicants for med have dropped this year....

by the way is the bell curve yoke out because how to people know people were getting higher points????

yeah your right there is no point trying to predict anything, fingers crossed 731 will be enough for galway! if you compare your score this year with the bell-curve/%graph of the previous two years on the hpat website, you can see the difference!

caroline1111 · 27-06-2011 12:47pm

Its looking like the points might go way up actually, for example 161 was in the 67th percentile last year...

QueenOfLeon · 27-06-2011 12:48pm

theowen wrote: »

Wow...200 would have gotten ye in the 100th percentile last year.

Really? In 2009 the 100th percentile was around 218, if not higher.

The scores do seem higher this year unfortunately. I know the 96th percentile in 2009 was 194ish, whereas this year its around 200. This means that 4% of the total applicants got above 194 in 2009, but now 4% got above 200. However, if the total number of applications has dropped, it means the the actual number of people scoring that high may well be the same as before.

Chin up guys, relax and try not to worry about it. Put some thought into your CAO forms, DON'T take medicine off unless you don't want to do the course at all (in which case, take it off and let others get a look in :P). Research your back up choices, and if the worst happens, there are many approaches you can take to eventually getting a place if you genuinely want it

Hookie · 27-06-2011 12:52pm

Hey everyone, try not to stress too much about your HPAT scores (easier said than done i know

)

Got this from the Institute site:
In 2010, a score of 161 appeared to be the cut-off point in the HPAT for entry into Medicine. Candidates below this score did not get a place in Medicine.
While 2011 is a different year and will have its own cut-off point, it would still be wise to use 161 as a yardstick

When doing the HPAT last year I read somewhere 550+ and a HPAT percentile of 80+ was a good guide to go by so I'd use that to get an idea of your chances of getting in - worked for me!!

And remember a low HPAT score isn't the end of the world, it's not as big a deal to repeat as you might think.. one year is really nothing and you can improve a lot! Good luck!!

caroline1111 · 27-06-2011 12:55pm

Would you be safe enough for galway with 746?

Danielle Power · 27-06-2011 1:00pm

fk44 wrote: »

i have the same as you, 82%-181 and i got 550 in my leaving cert so that gives me 731. i dont think there are 600 ahead of us, around 3000 sat it, 18% of that is 540, those 60 places extra are worth a lot! last year i got 73% and there were 1000 ahead of me, yet i was only three points short of a place in galway, so not everyone with high hpats get high lc!

I find this optimistic in one way, thanks cheers me up a bit:), but 3 points away is a lot for med now, there could have been a lot (of applicants, numbers wise) in those 3 points, I know a few people that were that close and i was only 5 points away last year. What im saying is, on the virtual queue on the CAO 3 points short and you could be deceptively far away. It seems that these little points here and there make such a difference in the overall scheme of things. yeah you're right not quite 600 ahead, im just hoping the people who get the excellent scores either don't make the leaving cert points, or, get excellent points.

jc21 · 27-06-2011 1:04pm

I got 183 in the hpat(85th) and 600 in the mocks, is there any chance i could still get it with this score?

Danielle Power · 27-06-2011 1:08pm

caroline1111 wrote: »

Would you be safe enough for galway with 746?

you're in there, you could get any university you want with that. well done!:)

hollingr · 27-06-2011 1:34pm

johndoe91 wrote: »

Well done....got 2 less then you at 98th percentile! does anyone know what the highest score was?

i heard from someone getting 243.

seems the scores are much higher this year, at the top end its quite obvious!

QueenOfLeon · 27-06-2011 1:40pm

caroline1111 wrote: »

Would you be safe enough for galway with 746?

Cmon guys, use your heads. You should know the CAO points inside out at this stage. Well done on good scores but if you can't be sensitive to those around you who mightn't have done as well...

Its ridiculous to ask people what the points will be. Its the same for any other course, no one will know until August. There are too many factors, especially for medicine, to be able to predict.

theowen · 27-06-2011 1:46pm

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

Really? In 2009 the 100th percentile was around 218, if not higher.

The scores do seem higher this year unfortunately. I know the 96th percentile in 2009 was 194ish, whereas this year its around 200. This means that 4% of the total applicants got above 194 in 2009, but now 4% got above 200. However, if the total number of applications has dropped, it means the the actual number of people scoring that high may well be the same as before.

Chin up guys, relax and try not to worry about it. Put some thought into your CAO forms, DON'T take medicine off unless you don't want to do the course at all (in which case, take it off and let others get a look in :P). Research your back up choices, and if the worst happens, there are many approaches you can take to eventually getting a place if you genuinely want it

I'm pretty sure, but that's going on people in my class. A good few got 200 and that gave them 100th. Another 204 and a 100th. 216=100th. Highest last year was 224 right? Immense result with the 240+.

Taco Chips · 27-06-2011 1:46pm

Ignore the mind games guys. The only definite at this stage is that noone knows what the points will be. They may go up, they may go down even. They may stagnate. Your Leaving Cert points will have the final say and they're only at the initial stages of correction.

Everyone has their score. The next step is to make sure that your CAO is in order and you are prepared for every circumstance. Enjoy summer, roll on August.

caroline1111 · 27-06-2011 2:13pm

Guys really sorry if I offended anyone, genuinely didn't intend to in the slightest, I didn't even post my result initially cause I think it is insensitive to post in case someone didn't do as well. Then reading these comments I got worked up and panicky and thats why I asked (I actually ment trinity btw, not that it matters). Best of luck everyone and remember applications are down by 5%!

hollingr · 27-06-2011 2:20pm

Taco Chips wrote: »

Ignore the mind games guys. The only definite at this stage is that noone knows what the points will be. They may go up, they may go down even. They may stagnate. Your Leaving Cert points will have the final say and they're only at the initial stages of correction.

Everyone has their score. The next step is to make sure that your CAO is in order and you are prepared for every circumstance. Enjoy summer, roll on August.

You're right, people should not dwell on this. Beyond a few basic facts ye youngsters that sat the L.C this year can just wait and see what happens.

Having said that, you shouldn't harbour false hopes either and should at least be waiting with a certain amount of realism. A lot of peoples hopes for getting in this year are going to die today and while that is tough to handle, it is not the end of the world as there are always other options. If medicine is really what you want and you are 100% sure of it there are many, many options to go about achieving that.

The probability of the points going down is extremely low, and not something people should be hoping for really. If the points for the hpat are higher, the cao entry points are also going to be higher. Personally I don't think any of the other factors people have mentioned can affect the cao entry points enough to change the fact that a+b = c. A 5% drop in applicants is not going to change the calibre of results required to get in.

If last year 170 points got you into the 80th percentile and this year 174 points gets you into the 73th percentile then we can expect a 5-10 point increase at the very least.

muggy · 27-06-2011 2:25pm

Got 238 in hpat delighted...Should av put more wrk into the leaving, lucky to get 510-520..

Allie79 · 27-06-2011 2:59pm

Congrats muggy, great result!

sean_17 · 27-06-2011 2:59pm

Aside from the HPAT, I only realised I forgot to put one of the 5 med courses on my CAO, can I put it on now since I had med down or will I just leave it?

Allie79 · 27-06-2011 3:00pm

I added a course today and the CAO website said to check with the university, they said it was OK as I already had medical courses listed so I could add another. Each uni may be different though.

sean_17 · 27-06-2011 3:04pm

Thanks! I'll send them an email! Which uni was that?

spurious · 27-06-2011 3:31pm

There are way too many smart arse posts in this thread.

The world will not fall in or be a better place because of whatever mark you got, whatever course you did or didn't get.

Likewise, no-one wants smirky 'oh you only got xxx points' type posts. I've deleted a lot of crap in this thread and banned a couple of losers who have little to be doing with their time.

Keep it on topic and keep it helpful.

BrendaN_f · 27-06-2011 3:47pm

jc21 wrote: »

I got 183 in the hpat(85th) and 600 in the mocks, is there any chance i could still get it with this score?

hmm, lets do the maths: 560 + 183 = 743...... what do you think?? why do you say "chance" as if that score is in any way low?
then again what you got in the mocks you may not get in the leaving..

happyturtle · 27-06-2011 3:51pm

I'm going to repeat as well - got 162 points in Hpat and there is no way I get 550+ in LC this year... So it looks like I'm repeating everything next year

But it's not the end of the world - it's just one year

And then if I still don't get it next year, I'll do Biomed

Patri · 27-06-2011 5:47pm

If you miss out on your first preference (like me) because of a poor hpat, and you choose to just repeat the hpat next year while in a different course, say science, and you accept a place in medicine the year after, would you be eligible for college fees? By re-starting first year do the fees come into place? And if so, what is the median level of fees which must be paid to universities here?

Thanks very much, just considering all options at present.

Ficheall · 27-06-2011 5:59pm

You would have to pay the fees for first year if you repeated it, but then your fees for second year would be paid the following year. I'm not sure what the fees are for medicine.

* Everything HPAT and Medicine for 2011 *

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