18th December 2024
Prepare for HPAT: Prepare for a Marathon
Many students who have scored 100th percentile in the HPAT have said that preparing for HPAT is like preparing for a marathon. There are many similarities: they both require significant motivation, consistent practice over a period of time and a clear head under pressure. Not to mention that for many people both a marathon and the HPAT are the hardest challenges they have faced so far in their ...
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12th December 2024
How to Study for the HPAT When You’re Sick of Studying
Let’s set the scene – HPAT is fast approaching but you can’t stand the thought of sitting at your desk one more minute for HPAT prep. I’ve been there. The secret to igniting your motivation to study is variety – and lots of it. As someone who is change averse and largely a homebody – I always rolled my eyes at this advice, thinking that I already knew ...
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10th December 2024
4 Ways To Avoid Burnout in Your HPAT Prep
This is it. You are in that pivotal stage of your schooling known as 6th year. It is the last lap in the race to the finish line. It is time to grind… Or is it? What is burnout? It’s when you’re drowning in mountains of workload, overwhelmed with panic / exhaustion / a combination of both and it is usually caused by prolonged or excessive stress. Burnout is ...
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16th October 2024
Why Group Study is Effective for HPAT
There is a fundamental difference in how you need to study for exams which test knowledge (such as school and university exams) and for high stakes tests such as HPAT which assesses generic thinking skills. For the former, a lot of memorisation and recall are involved so studying alone can be effective, and even preferred by motivated students who do not want to be distracted by less moti ...
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13th April 2016
How to deal with those HPAT Nerves (Part 2 – On the day)
For some people sitting HPAT, those nerves may not hit until the day of or the night before HPAT. We get butterflies in the stomach and perhaps even the need to vomit. These feelings are natural and can even help us to do better. But, for those of us who have difficulty handling the nerves, there are a few simple things to do to minimise them. Make sure you have everything that you need in ad ...
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13th April 2016
How to deal with those HPAT Nerves (Part 1 – In the lead up)
Most people find sitting the HPAT a nerve racking, stressful experience, but that does not mean you should allow those nerves to get the best of you. There are some simple ways to help you get through this period and come out feeling great about your chances. Take some of the pressure off of yourself. If you’re anything like me, you expect a lot from yourself and that can result in a large ...
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28th March 2016
Improving your reading for HPAT
With the exception of the Non-Verbal Reasoning component (section three), HPAT is primarily comprised of written – rather than pictorial – questions. Thus, it stands to reason that your HPAT preparation should include improving your reading skills. With that in mind, here are some of the many strategies you can use to develop your reading efficiency for HPAT. Firstly, you must e ...
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21st March 2016
How to Stay Organised at School/University (and Life in General)
Your final year is a juggling act between all-important tests and exams with your other commitments, be it sport, music or a part-time job. On top of this, you have to squeeze in quality time for your family, friends and personal relationships. Well, once you leave this final year, you may find the added pressures of medical school can be overwhelming at times! Here are my trialled-and-tested ...
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24th February 2016
Building the right mind set for success on the day of the HPAT
From the moment you first hear stories of the HPAT and how difficult it can be until the first step you take to enter that exam centre, only you can decide the mind set and approach that will embody your HPAT experience. There are two ways to view this exam; either as a roadblock that is there to hinder you on the path to success or simply a stepping stone towards getting you into your dream c ...
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21st February 2016
PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACHES
There are many different approaches to problem-solving that have been established in psychology. Firstly, there’s the Thorndike paradigm, which involves blind trial and error1. More purposeful approaches are the Gestalt approach, and the cognitive approach. The Gestalt approach involves solving problems as a whole2. You see the problem, you see what you have, and then you try to see how every ...
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