25th May 2023
Should I choose a Medicine Course with a Pre-Med Year?
A common question asked by medicine hopefuls is, “Should I choose a medical course with a pre-med year?” This blog answers this question. What is the difference between 5- and 6-year medical courses? First, we need to understand the difference between 5- and 6-year medical courses. 6-year courses have a pre-med year where you develop a science foundation before yo ...
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18th May 2023
9 Factors to Consider when Choosing a Medical School
There are 5 universities in the Republic of Ireland which offer undergraduate medicine: University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI), National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and University College Cork (UCC). It may seem difficult to decide which university is right for you and students often end up making their choice purely b ...
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4th May 2023
Everything you need to know about the HPAT
Do you want to study medicine in 2024? If so, you will need to sit the HPAT 2024. This blog describes everything you need to know about the HPAT 2023. What is the HPAT? HPAT stands for Health Professions Admission Test. It is a test developed by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). HPAT is used to help select students into medicine in Ireland. The HPAT take ...
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24th April 2023
Distributed Practice and the HPAT: What you need to know Part 2
In part 1 of this blog, we looked at why it is important to study with distributed practice for the HPAT. In part 2, we will look at how to implement distributed practice into your HPAT plan. How to implement distributed practice for HPAT Here are some tips and strategies on how to best use distributed practice in your HPAT preparation (you can also use them in your secondary ...
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24th April 2023
Distributed Practice and the HPAT: What you need to know Part 1
Over the last few years various catch-phrases have circulated in the education sector: “study smarter not harder”, "do less work for more reward” and others. They can seem too good to be true. Nevertheless, there is one system that eclipses all others in the research conducted, the widespread implementation and the unanimous praise it has received from sc ...
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20th April 2023
What is HPAT 2024?
What is HPAT 2024? HPAT stands for Health Professionals Admission Test. It is one of two main criteria used by most universities in Ireland to select students into high demand health related careers such as medicine (the other being the Leaving Certificate). Unlike traditional school and university exams which assess knowledge, HPAT 2024 assesses generic skills, including logical reasoni ...
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13th April 2023
How to Choose an Irish Medical School
In Ireland there are five medical schools that you can apply to as an undergraduate student: University College Dublin (UCD) Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University College Cork (UCC) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) As there are 10 spaces on your CAO application you can apply for all Irish medical scho ...
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6th April 2023
Prerequisites for Studying Medicine in Ireland
The five universities that offer medicine all have a minimum requirement of 480 points from the same sitting of the Leaving Certificate or equivalent. They also have minimum subject requirements, so it is essential to consider this when deciding which Leaving Certificate subjects to choose. Some medicine courses are five years long and some are six. The six-year courses have a pre-med ...
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30th March 2023
So you want to be a Doctor? How to get into Medicine
Congratulations on your decision to pursue medicine as a career! Medicine is an interesting, valued and rewarding profession. The process of getting into medicine can be confusing, so here’s an introduction. Criteria for getting into medicine The minimum points required to get into medicine varies from year to year and between universities, but a total of at least 730 p ...
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23rd March 2023
How to Prepare for the HPAT in 5th Year
So you’re in 5th year and you’re thinking about pursuing a career in medicine. You’ve been getting great grades and you have the people skills to become a doctor, so there should be no problem getting in. Then you find out about the HPAT. You hear that it can be a major obstruction to your journey, and only a select few are able to succeed in HPAT. You hear about all the peop ...
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