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*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2015*
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I see where you are coming from. I am from Galway and medicine is what Ive wanted to do since I was 4 or 5. It is my dream. The NUIG course is good but personally I preferred the UCD course. Not just because I want to move away from home or anything but because the course itself is more suited to what I want. I have applied to all 5 courses with UCD first, followed by NUIG. Like yourself, I dont want to be forced to move to Cork but if I get the course I will move. I don't think that it is very fair of you to ask us to stay in the west just because we live here. The courses in Dublin tend to be better so of course we are going to aim for them above Galway or Cork.
Good luck with the HPAT and Leaving!
What is about the UCD course that you prefer? And what makes you think the courses in Dublin would be better? Genuinely curious here, I guess it could be argued that the hospitals you end up in placement on could have better facilities but anything other than that?
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Hey i've just started medicine in trinity and after spending a year on here i thought i'd share a bit of what it is like so far.
1. It's hard work. I know this is obvious but it is. I didn't take leaving cert chemistry (it's not a requirement ) and I regret it a lot. I took physics and biology instead. The biochemistry lectures are tough, people with A1's in higher leaving cert are finding it hard. People with A levels aren't having a walk in the park either. I would 100% recommend doing chemistry, I was mad not to. If you aren't doing it there is a pre chemistry course the week before freshers which would be essential. I didn't go because i didn't hear about it
To be honest the only reason i'm keeping my head above water is LC home economics!
2. The HPAT is ten times more important than the leaving, every person that i've spoken to that got medicine first time round straight from the leaving (about 50\183 people i think) ignored their mocks and did an unreal amount of HPAT prep. It is the only way to go. There are people in Trinity medicine with 520 - 545 LC points who did amazing HPAT's (95th percentile and over)
3. never take medicine off your CAO. NEVER never ever!! points fluctuate. there are people with enough points for TCD who took it off their CAO's cause they taught they wouldn't get it, its crazy. HPAT will fluctuate massively in the years to come.
4. the ratio of guys to girls has changed dramatically. It used to be 70 percent girls i think, now in 1st med it's about 40%. I think that's the effect of the HPAT. it is quite strange, i was resigned to a majority of girls when it is quite different.
5. Age. There average age is like 20, for irish people maybe 19. Don’t be put off by repeating there are loads of 20’s and even some 30’s undergrads.
6. Stay in trinity halls – its class. People not here miss out. Make the effort with your personal statement. You will spend a year regretting it if you assume you will get in cause you are living 300 miles away. It’s Trinity – they want accomplished, interesting people.
7. The Acer practice test’s don’t even vaguely resemble the difficulty of the actual exam. I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but there is a marked difference. Acer have way fewer really tricky questions than the HPAT – there will be some easy ones – just not enough to bother mentioning! On the other hand, lots of the prep courses are more difficult than the actual exam (which is exactly what you need). I did Med Entry. I don’t want to promote any course and if you look at my previous posts ive never mentioned any course by name before. It’s just that I found the extra questions invaluable. To be fair, it goes totally against the premise of the test that you can improve so much by practicing but it’s undeniably true. I know there are ridiculously expensive but so is repeating and doing a post grad!
8. Be sure you actually want to be studying until you are at least 30( to be a GP), probably 40 years old (to be a consultant). It takes a lot from your life. There are sooo many other occupations that allow you to work with people to help them get better.
Dieticians work in hospitals with people who have diseases like CF and people recovering from surgery. They work as part of a team to treat the patient. But they have regular hours, no nights and no weekends.
Pharmacists also can work in hospitals (especially in the UK and go on rounds with doctors).
9. In trinity we study 3 subjects. Physiology (cells, tissues, systems, organs, organ systems)
Anatomy and Biochemistry. We have lectures 3 days a week.
3 phy lecturea, 3 biochem, 2 anatomy and one Human development, behavioural science and ethics lecture (HDBSE).
We have physiology labs, biochemistry labs, dissections and HDBSE tutorials.
We also have 4 hours of Problem Based Learning a week. In groups of about 10 we read about a case and chat about it. We all make learning goals and come back the next time and have learned about the conditions or issued raised in the case study. average 20 - 30 hours per week but usually 23-24.
Best of luck and of course PM any question 0 -
imsocool chillininda pool wrote: »Hey i've just started medicine in trinity and after spending a year on here i thought i'd share a bit of what it is like so far.
1. It's hard work. I know this is obvious but it is. I didn't take leaving cert chemistry (it's not a requirement ) and I regret it a lot. I took physics and biology instead. The biochemistry lectures are tough, people with A1's in higher leaving cert are finding it hard. People with A levels aren't having a walk in the park either. I would 100% recommend doing chemistry, I was mad not to. If you aren't doing it there is a pre chemistry course the week before freshers which would be essential. I didn't go because i didn't hear about it To be honest the only reason i'm keeping my head above water is LC home economics!
2. The HPAT is ten times more important than the leaving, every person that i've spoken to that got medicine first time round straight from the leaving (about 50\183 people i think) ignored their mocks and did an unreal amount of HPAT prep. It is the only way to go. There are people in Trinity medicine with 520 - 545 LC points who did amazing HPAT's (95th percentile and over)
3. never take medicine off your CAO. NEVER never ever!! points fluctuate. there are people with enough points for TCD who took it off their CAO's cause they taught they wouldn't get it, its crazy. HPAT will fluctuate massively in the years to come.
4. the ratio of guys to girls has changed dramatically. It used to be 70 percent girls i think, now in 1st med it's about 40%. I think that's the effect of the HPAT. it is quite strange, i was resigned to a majority of girls when it is quite different.
5. Age. There average age is like 20, for irish people maybe 19. Don’t be put off by repeating there are loads of 20’s and even some 30’s undergrads.
6. Stay in trinity halls – its class. People not here miss out. Make the effort with your personal statement. You will spend a year regretting it if you assume you will get in cause you are living 300 miles away. It’s Trinity – they want accomplished, interesting people.
7. The Acer practice test’s don’t even vaguely resemble the difficulty of the actual exam. I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but there is a marked difference. Acer have way fewer really tricky questions than the HPAT – there will be some easy ones – just not enough to bother mentioning! On the other hand, lots of the prep courses are more difficult than the actual exam (which is exactly what you need). I did Med Entry. I don’t want to promote any course and if you look at my previous posts ive never mentioned any course by name before. It’s just that I found the extra questions invaluable. To be fair, it goes totally against the premise of the test that you can improve so much by practicing but it’s undeniably true. I know there are ridiculously expensive but so is repeating and doing a post grad!
8. Be sure you actually want to be studying until you are at least 30( to be a GP), probably 40 years old (to be a consultant). It takes a lot from your life. There are sooo many other occupations that allow you to work with people to help them get better.
Dieticians work in hospitals with people who have diseases like CF and people recovering from surgery. They work as part of a team to treat the patient. But they have regular hours, no nights and no weekends.
Pharmacists also can work in hospitals (especially in the UK and go on rounds with doctors).
9. In trinity we study 3 subjects. Physiology (cells, tissues, systems, organs, organ systems)
Anatomy and Biochemistry. We have lectures 3 days a week.
3 phy lecturea, 3 biochem, 2 anatomy and one Human development, behavioural science and ethics lecture (HDBSE).
We have physiology labs, biochemistry labs, dissections and HDBSE tutorials.
We also have 4 hours of Problem Based Learning a week. In groups of about 10 we read about a case and chat about it. We all make learning goals and come back the next time and have learned about the conditions or issued raised in the case study. average 20 - 30 hours per week but usually 23-24.
Best of luck and of course PM any question
Average LC points?0 -
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My LC points were 590 - i'd say these are average (a bit below maybe) Of course aim for 625, put really only push yourself after the HPAT. because the real difference between 550 and 625 is only 15 points when it's all squashed down there is No point killing yourself for that A1 when you are neglecting the HPAT.
Seriously tho - if any of ye have the mocks the 2-3 weeks before the HPAT and ye do any serious amount of study ye are fools. I got something like 450 in the mocks - everyday I did basically nothing but HPAT prep the night before the mocks. your teachers may freak a little tho! it's nearly a good thing to happen, with lowe LC points than you need you are more likely to push yourself once the HPAT is over.
Hi there,
Med Entry percentiles fluctuate so much. In section one I got between 100 percentile in the first test to 60 or so in latter ones. In section 2 I was a wee bit more consistent I was around 80 percentile alot of the time. Section 3 was by far always my worst. I got the dreaded 0-20 bracket sometimes. In the HPAT course day exam I got 80, 80, 20. In the HPAT I got 72, 70, 58 (201, 99th percentile)
TBH, I know everyone wants to constantly know would that test have gotten them in - but it is way more important to do the tests under timed conditions - and then review every single answer until you understand it absolutely. Message them if you don't understand a conclusion they came to. It possible you will see the ME practice Q's on the real exam! It happened for me. In section 1 12 or so out of the 40 q's i had seen before or seen something very similar which used the same premise. ( there were all given at the 2 day practice course). It's wrong and sickening but it's true.
One of the most important things about ME to remember is because so few people actually do all the tests - your percentiles will drop as you do more and more. you will be comparing yourself against the people who have done the tests - these are likely to be the best students!
In my year there were little to no maths questions - but learn prob and stats principles ( the ones in LC book).
I think it is really important to finish every question. I did, and you really should make every effort to. nothing suggests all q's are worth the same amount so leaving ones out it a bit of a shame - work on your timing. bring a digital watch with a timer and a normal watch (incase they throw a hissy fit about the digital one) move on if you are over time.
'Do you find that the Trinity Med curriculum presents a balanced approach to learning about the art and science of medicine? At the moment it's my first choice as, from what I've looked into, it strives to educate students on the social/psychological/philosophical aspects of Med, too. Is this true? I have a huge interest in psychology (I'd like to perhaps specialise in Psychiatry) so want to choose the course that would touch on aspects of it.'
As i said before, in first year we have 1 lecture a week that focus's on behavioural science. we also have 3 hours of tutorials of BS and ethics a week where we get to discuss the social/psychological/philosophical. Also there is the Student selected module we select one of
Advocacy
Arts and Health
Death and Dignity
Drama and Medicine
Health and Equality
History of Medicine
Literature and Medicine
Medicine and Power
Music and Medicine
Perception in Medicine and Art
Philosophy
Social History of Medicine
Touch
and have it 3 hours a week for 6 weeks.
If you are thinking about deferring there is very little i would say to dissuade you. The LC is tough, first med is tougher. If i was to go back I would take a gap year - go work with the Tibetan monks, work as a chalet girl (one of my friends actually did this!) or go on an adventure. Broaden your horizons, be free for a year! you have 10+ years of study ahead of you 0 -
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etherealfairy wrote: »WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
I was so bad at these! Honestly in the end I just left the 8 or so of them that were on the exam until the end and pretty much guessed them. Unsurprisingly section 3 was my worst section (from my first practice exam to the real thing) :pac:
If you can't do them don't freak out. But they're worth practising. Mind ye, as I've said so many times here, I really feel that you can only practice so much - a few hours really, it's not like studying for an exam, one is simply practising exam techniqueWhy are the ACER practice papers so much easier then the Med-Entry ones?
Which did people who have done the HPAT before feel was a closer representation of the real thing?
I don't know why, but I feel like ME try to prepare one for the worst - the only thing I'd say is use all your time. When practising with ME I'd usually finish section 1 and 2 early then finish up. In the exam section 1 went even faster and I had ten minutes left over - I kind of wasted this (not that it caused me any issues :pac:). I'd say ME was definitely more realistic though.0 -
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Hi guys gap year applicant here. I have been practicing for the hpat and its been going fine tbh, making decent progress. But one area Im stuck on is problem solving questions in section 1. The type that you most likely need to create a diagram or table to deduce the correct answer otherwise your head would explode lol. I've been using ******** but I am still struggling with answering these questions quickly and end up spending too much time on them. Anyone else struggling with this or could lend a hand with some tips? Would greatly appreciate it 0
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Theboybang wrote: »How are people finding section 2? it's by far my worst section
It's my best section, and I enjoy doing it. (But I am absolutely hopeless at Section 3.)
I think it's because I read a lot. I'm a people person- good at communicating, debating and understanding people in general. My advice would be to read as much as possible between now and the exam; critically, closely and deeply. Visualise the situation as though the characters were close friends. This makes them more three-dimensional, and you are less likely to bring in prejudice. Play the scene out in your mind, give voices to the characters- this helps establish their tone and mood. Widen your vocabulary so that you are aware of acute differences among synonyms. It is important not to pre-judge, and to come to a conclusion based on what you have read only. A certain amount of intuition helps too, though. You need to consider the intentions and motives of the characters you are reading about, through their behaviour, thoughts, dialogue and the attitudes of others towards them. A positive, yet realistic, outlook on the situation helps, too. 0 -
I used to love reading the stories quite honestly! It was always my inbetween section - I usually got 70-80th percentile on the Med entry practice exams, and even though one can't really improve them with practice, I did them all as they were pretty funetherealfairy wrote: »It's my best section, and I enjoy doing it. (But I am absolutely hopeless at Section 3.)
etherealfairy wrote: »I think it's because I read a lot. I'm a people person- good at communicating, debating and understanding people in general. My advice would be to read as much as possible between now and the exam; critically, closely and deeply. Visualise the situation as though the characters were close friends. This makes them more three-dimensional, and you are less likely to bring in prejudice. Play the scene out in your mind, give voices to the characters- this helps establish their tone and mood. Widen your vocabulary so that you are aware of acute differences among synonyms. It is important not to pre-judge, and to come to a conclusion based on what you have read only. A certain amount of intuition helps too, though. You need to consider the intentions and motives of the characters you are reading about, through their behaviour, thoughts, dialogue and the attitudes of others towards them. A positive, yet realistic, outlook on the situation helps, too.
This may sound wishy washy but it's true (and I was never a big social person!)
Anyway, there are two reasons why you may be bad at section two - English isn't your first language or your vocabulary is sub-par (for a difficult university course anyhow), or you're just not good at reading emotion in situations.
The former can be improved by reading books and such, the latter is something I don't see how one can really fix at this stage
You won't learn anything really by spending more than an hour or two practising section two quite honestly.0 -
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