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 s ...
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3rd July 2025
Options for Studying Medicine: In Ireland and Abroad
The easiest, cheapest and most direct route into medicine in Ireland is the undergraduate route, which requires you to sit HPAT. However, if you have not been able to gain entry into medicine via this route, there are other options for pursuing medicine. Studying medicine in Ireland Studying medicine in Ireland has many advantages, including: Being able to remain in ...
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25th June 2025
I Didn’t Get a Good Enough HPAT Score. What Should I Do?
After spending months working through HPAT guides, completing practise exams and labouring over difficult drills it can be devastating when HPAT results day arrives, and you realise that you have not achieved a good enough HPAT score to get into medicine. It is completely understandable that to feel extremely disappointed, but it is very important that you have a clear idea of the other option ...
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25th June 2025
HPAT Results: What to Do With Your CAO
HPAT results are usually released in late June. After months of waiting to find out your HPAT results, it can feel quite overwhelming to finally receive them! After all of 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 ...
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24th June 2025
Medicine, the HPAT, the CAO and One BIG Mistake to Avoid
For any Leaving Certificate students hoping to go on to study medicine, the HPAT (Health Professions Admission Test) and the CAO (Central Applications Office) are two well-known abbreviations which are of great importance to you as you prepare for life after the Leaving Certificate. For me, I wasn’t certain until the very end of 6th year as to what exactly I wanted to do after school. ...
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2nd June 2025
5 Tips for Leaving Cert Exams From a Current Medical Student
So the dreaded time of the leaving cert exams has rolled around once again and I’m sure many of you are trembling in your seats at the mere mention of it. But trust me when I say that I can completely relate with you. This time last year I was in your position, getting ready to sit the leaving cert, my head flooded with feelings of excitement and anxiety for what lay ahead. I know t ...
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2nd April 2025
How to Choose an Irish Medical School
In Ireland, there are six 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) University of Galway University of Limerick As there are 10 spaces on your CAO application you can apply for all Irish medical schools and still ha ...
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23rd January 2025
Attention Parents: 5 Ways to Help Your Son or Daughter in the Lead Up to the HPAT
6th year is a stressful time. Add in HPAT and the pressures of getting into medicine, and stress levels can rapidly sky rocket. As a parent it is easy to succumb to feelings of powerless as you watch your son or daughter struggle to prepare for such an important and difficult exam. However, there are many things you can do to boost their performance and have a positive impact on their wellbein ...
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8th January 2025
How to Apply to the CAO and ACER for Medicine
To be eligible to study medicine in Ireland there are two key parts to the application process: Applying to the Central Applications Office (CAO) Applying separately to sit the HPAT through ACER Applying to the CAO Before you can register to sit the HPAT, you need to apply to the CAO and get your CAO number – you will need this for the HPAT registration ...
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13th November 2024
NEW Direct Entry Undergraduate Medicine Programme at University of Limerick
The University of Limerick (UL) is set to introduce an exciting new addition to its health sciences course offerings: a direct-entry undergraduate medicine course. This course, the first of its kind at the University of Limerick, is part of a nationwide initiative to expand healthcare education and address Ireland’s shortage of medical professionals. This blog answers some common questio ...
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