2nd July 2026
Didn’t Do Well in HPAT? Here’s How to Bounce Back in 4 Steps
The HPAT is one of the two criteria for undergraduate medicine in Ireland, used together with the Leaving Cert. There are many factors that can influence performance in the HPAT, and receiving a lower mark than expected may feel like all our efforts have gone to waste. I've been there before, and although it may feel like the end of the world (I certainly felt that way), I can assure you ...
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17th June 2026
HPAT Results: What to Do With Your CAO
HPAT results are usually released in late June, and after months of waiting, it can feel quite overwhelming to finally receive them! After all the hard work and preparation for HPAT, everyone wants to get a great HPAT score. However, it is important to know what to do if things don’t go as well as you had hoped. It’s not the end of the world and if you want to be a doctor you ...
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18th May 2026
Should I Choose a Medicine Course With a Pre-Med Year?
There are six universities in Ireland offering undergraduate medicine: University of Galway, University of Limerick (new course for 2026 entry), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), University College Dublin (UCD), University College Cork (UCC), and Trinity College Dublin (TCD). These universities offer two course options, 5-year programmes that begin with medical studies immediat ...
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13th May 2026
Is HPAT Stressing You Out? Here's How to Use Stress to Your Advantage
You may have heard that stress negatively impacts performance, particularly in a high-stakes, intellectually challenging exam like the HPAT. You may have been told that if you are too stressed in the lead-up to an important exam such as the HPAT, you won't do well. You may have been advised to look for ways to relieve your HPAT-related stress. While this may be true, in some cas ...
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8th May 2026
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 obstacle to your journey, and only a select few are able to succeed in the HPAT. You hear about all the people wh ...
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6th May 2026
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 schoo ...
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6th May 2026
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 sci ...
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4th May 2026
Everything You Need to Know About the HPAT
Do you want to study medicine in 2027? If so, you will need to sit HPAT 2027. This blog describes everything you need to know about the 2027 HPAT. 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 takes a ...
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16th April 2026
What is HPAT 2027?
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 assesses generic skills, including logical reasoning and problem solvi ...
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22nd February 2026
HPAT is Over! What Now?
For the few weeks leading up to the HPAT in February, it can seem like the entire world revolves around it. Working on full exam HPAT mocks, HPAT guides and the Question Bank becomes your priority! Often you put off worrying about day-to-day issues until after the day of the HPAT. So, when the test date does roll around, and you walk away from your computer with your head held high, having ...
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