MedEntry HPAT Preparation

The Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT-Ulster) is a selection test used to assess aptitude for study in the Allied Health Professions. It is administered by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). The head office of ACER is located in Melbourne, where MedEntry's office is also located.

HPAT-Ulster has been designed in consultation with the University of Ulster to assess a range of attributes considered important. It is designed to complement academic achievement, by providing assessment of skills in the areas of reasoning, understanding and working with people, and written communication.

You will need to sit the HPAT-Ulster if you are interested in any of the following courses at University:

• BSc Hons Dietetics

• BSc Hons Occupational Therapy

• BSc Hons Physiotherapy

• BSc Hons Podiatry

• BSc Hons Radiography (Diagnostic)

• BSc Hons Radiography (Therapeutic)

• BSc Hons Speech & Language Therapy

Yes! Even high achieving students stumble in the HPAT. Some students with excellent LCE scores have missed out on places in health science courses due to their low HPAT scores.

Research shows training can significantly improve HPAT score by familiarizing you with the types of questions that will be asked and developing strategies to tackle them. Even ACER now admits that training for HPAT helps.

An all-too-common fallacy about preparing for HPAT is that all you need to do is 'familiarise' yourself with the test by doing some practice questions. That's like saying the way to become a great basketball player is to familiarise yourself with a basketball court and practice taking a few shots.

Once upon a time, people were wrong. They thought that the automobile was an electric death-trap that would never replace the horse and carriage, computers were only for academic nerds, and people who used tuition were simply cheaters. Then, cars stopped exploding every time you started the engine, people realised that you could use computers for more than just calculating the digits of pi, and the 'cheaters' with the tuition... well, they started getting it. They got better grades, got into better universities and just plain old got better. Times change, rules change.

"Kids take prep courses to ace tests that are supposed to measure inborn aptitude," (page 100, Time Magazine, December 20, 2004).

Start preparing now!

Please also read this article. (Does the MedEntry program really work?)

The HPAT-Ulster test is a 3 hour test consisting of three modules or sections
The table below shows the structure of HPAT-Ulster by section and time.

The first two sections are in multiple-choice format. The third section, Written Communication is in the form of two essay tasks.

Critical Reasoning questions include general interest, science and social science, with materials presented as text, diagrams and tables. Some questions may require basic mathematical skills. The emphasis is on the application of skills in reasoning and problem solving. Skills tested include the ability to work with and analyse stimulus material; pose and test hypotheses; interpret and extract information; identify and evaluate evidence and lines of reasoning; identify a problem; analyse it to clarify key information; transform information into forms that can be applied to enhance problem solution, and identify, generate and evaluate possible solutions.

Interpersonal Understanding questions have a focus on working with and understanding people and consist of scenarios, narratives and dialogues with questions designed to assess the understanding of people; their motivations, behaviours and responses.

Written Communication consists of an exercise requiring synthesis of graphically presented information relating to social issues and a reflective essay. Each task is graded using a set of specifically designed assessment criteria. Assessment focuses on the way in which ideas are integrated into a purposeful and relevant response to the task. You will not be assessed on the correctness of the ideas or attitudes you display. Each of your pieces of writing will be marked by at least two assessors working independently.

You can register by going to the website: http://hpat-ulster.acer.edu.au/

The fee to sit HPAT-Ulster is £97.50 (all taxes and charges included). Payment is by credit card (Mastercard or VISA) and must be made at the time of registration.

If you do not own a credit card and cannot use a family member or friend's card, please contact the HPAT-Ulster Office for further instructions.

There will be two weeks of late registrations for HPAT-Ulster, these will open after the standard registrations close

Late registrations will open from 5pm (GMT) 11 January 2012 at an additional late fee of £30 and close at 5pm (GMT) on 18 January 2012. No further registrations will be accepted after this deadline.

You are strongly advised not to leave your registration until the last few days in case unforeseen problems, for example, your online access to the registration site, prevent your registration from being completed successfully.

The HPAT-Ulster is usually held on the last Saturday in January. (28 Jan 2012). Registrations open: 3 October 2011. Registrations close: 11 January 2012, 5pm GMT

Late Registrations close: 18 January 2012, 5pm GMT

UCAS Applications close: 15 January 2012

Test Date: 28 January 2011. Results released: Late March 2012

You can sit the HPAT-Ulster at any of the three University of Ulster campuses in Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee.

The dates given above are accurate at the time of publishing and you are urged to confirm the dates with the relevant authority.

If you have any queries you may contact the HPAT-Ulster Office by email on  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

More information on HPAT-Ulster can also be found at www.hpat-ulster.acer.edu.au