2nd September 2025
5 Months Until HPAT
Five months until the HPAT testing period begins! Are you feeling overwhelmed or stressed by your workload this year? Stress is a common problem that affects all of us at some point in our lives, but is stress bad for you? According to Kelly McGonigal stress isn’t the problem, it’s the mind’s negative response to stress that’s the problem. McGonigal ex ...
Read more
28th August 2025
10 Tips for Surviving Your First Year of Medicine
Medicine is tough, really tough, but you've made it this far so you're tougher. First year is a whirlwind and at times can seem overwhelming, but having made it through to the other side of those first few full-on months, I can hand on heart say that everyone is telling the truth when they say college will be the best time of your life. You'll have ups and downs, I can guarantee ...
Read more
19th August 2025
HPAT Scoring Myths
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet and on forums about how HPAT scores are calculated. This blog will provide clarity and avoid you being misinformed! Myth #1: HPAT scores are based on raw marks Some people claim that your HPAT score or percentile ranking can be calculated from your raw score (the number of questions you got right). This is naïve a ...
Read more
11th August 2025
Should I Attend a MedEntry HPAT Workshop?
MedEntry workshops have become famous over the years for their engaging, effective and enjoyable nature. You may be wondering whether you should attend a MedEntry HPAT workshop. The answer is a resounding yes! Here are three reasons why: 1. MedEntry HPAT Workshops are Comprehensive MedEntry HPAT workshops cover everything you need to know for HPAT success, including: ...
Read more
7th August 2025
Attention Parents: 5 Ways to Help Your Son or Daughter Get Into Medicine
Great things never come easy. Medicine is an incredibly rewarding, secure, well paid and respected profession in Ireland. It's also the hardest course to get into. Furthermore, the final years of secondary school are a stressful and demanding time for your son or daughter, and the need to sit HPAT places additional pressure on them during this time. Thankfully there are ways ...
Read more
25th July 2025
Changes to Medical Entry from 2027
Medical school entry in Ireland is changing from 2027. Irish universities have announced modifications to how the HPAT will be used alongside Leaving Cert points to determine entry into undergraduate medicine. What is HPAT? The Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT) is a crucial component of medical school admission alongside Leaving Certificate results. The test assesses three sec ...
Read more
24th July 2025
Why Is HPAT So Hard?
Most current medical students and doctors would agree that HPAT is probably the hardest and single most important test they ever sat in their career. Many students, especially those who do not prepare effectively, are shocked by the difficulty of HPAT. Some who do prepare become disillusioned by the difficulty of HPAT. So why is HPAT so hard? And what can you do about it? Read on! ...
Read more
13th July 2025
Making Time for HPAT: Eat That Frog!
Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. – Mark Twain Brian Tracy’s 5 minute YouTube video discusses a time management strategy that has changed many people’s lives (including mine!). This strategy involves organising your tasks by priority. It discusses time management in the context of t ...
Read more
10th July 2025
How to Use Holidays to Improve in HPAT
Many students use the holidays to finally relax after a several months of hard work. For those sitting the HPAT next year, the road ahead can look especially challenging and instil feelings of anxiety. However, after taking a long-deserved rest, the holidays can actually be used efficiently and effectively to get ahead in the HPAT and obtain the score you need to get into your dream course of ...
Read more
9th July 2025
How to Apply for Medicine in the UK as an Irish Student
UK medical schools have an excellent reputation internationally and many Irish students travel to the UK to study each year. Applications to UK universities are made through UCAS (like the UK version of the CAO). Irish students applying to study medicine in the UK in 2026 can start their UCAS application over the summer before 6th year (applications open on 13 May 2025). They must subm ...
Read more