5 Tips for the Last Fortnight Before HPAT
7 months ago by Chris
HPAT is well and truly close now and it’s time to streamline your study and buckle down! In the pivotal two weeks leading up to HPAT, maintaining focus is vital and taking a strategic approach towards your study routine will help ensure that you are fully equipped for success on the big day. Here are five ways to make sure you’re using the next two weeks to set you up for success on HPAT day.
1. Use Your Practice Exams Wisely
A practice exam is only a practice exam if you’re doing it in exam conditions. HPAT is a marathon and your MedEntry and ACER exams are your trial runs so use them to recreate HPAT as much as you possibly can. HPAT isn’t just about the questions; it’s about building your stamina, working on your time management, and managing your crunch time stress. Lots of really clever people are brought down by the length of HPAT and burn out halfway through. Now is the time to make sure you’re still going when you get to the final question.
2. Stop Putting Off Your Least Favourite Questions
No one likes doing things they’re not so great at but now is the time you really need to be focusing on those less strong areas and boosting them up as much as you can. It can be much more valuable to focus on a handful of questions that you find difficult, rather than attempting another section mock or full HPAT mock. Think about it — you can use 10-15 minutes of your time to better understand a difficult question, or in the same amount of time, you can do another ten simple questions which you’ve already become accustomed to. MedEntry provides succinct answer explanations for each question, so use these coming weeks to really review and target your weaker areas.
3. Study With Friends
An hour studying with friends is worth three alone! Studying with friends will help you see new ways of answering and approaching questions, and even learn time management skills. It’s almost like having your own team of tutors! Teaching others is also a really great way to learn and review content yourself. So, even if you feel like you don’t need too much help with HPAT, helping out and teaching your friends is a great way to reinforce your own understanding.
Forming study groups allows you to share insights, discuss strategies, and provide support. It helps foster a collaborative learning environment that can enhance your overall preparation.
4. Work on Your HPAT Day Game Plan
If you haven't already, finalise your technique for the exam - including how you are going to time yourself for each section, what your guessing technique will be, and how you will approach each of the major question types.
Also ensure you have everything you need for HPAT test day. Consult the HPAT information booklet and carefully check and read through any instructions sent to you by ACER.
5. Take Care of Your Whole Self
You’re so close now! This would be the worst time to catch a cold or just start feeling generally under the weather physically or emotionally. You need to make sure you’re eating right, getting outside, and taking care of your mental health. When you’re studying so hard and under so much stress it can be easy to let aspects of your health slip so right now it’s so important that you’re taking care of number one.
As you embark on this final stretch, take confidence in the dedication and effort you’ve invested. Trust in your preparation, stay resilient and maintain a holistic approach to your well-being. The culmination of your hard work will undoubtedly pave the way for a confident and successful performance on your upcoming HPAT test day. Best of luck!
