Why You Should Be Studying For the HPAT Right Now
9 months ago by Tom
Are you all aboard the express train to Procrastination Station? Are you experiencing a motivation crisis? Are you just about ready to give up?
There may be many reasons why you’re feeling this way and they may be impacting on your will to study and prepare for HPAT. You may be feeling tired, overwhelmed, stressed. You may have many other social, academic and extra-curricular commitments that have drained your energy. A particular HPAT mock exam may have knocked your confidence and dulled your hopes for the future. As a result, rather than prepare for HPAT you may be staring at your phone, scrolling mindlessly on social media.
Well, you’re not going to give in to the internet, not this time. I am here to remind you why you should be studying for the HPAT right now!
Remember: the HPAT is one test!
If you do well in the HPAT, you will have significant leeway with your high school Leaving Cert results, which is not one test, but a result based on a series of assessments and a number of different subjects over an entire year! Your HPAT is an individual result, whilst your high school results depend on a number of factors. Remember that there are limited spots for medical schools which means you should have good school grades and a good HPAT score! Do everything you can to do well in this one test, so that if an aspect of your final year of high school doesn’t go well for you, you will still have a chance at getting into medicine!
You are developing important skills
The HPAT isn't a silly, pointless test. The HPAT is essentially a test that measures your IQ and emotional intelligence (EQ). Therefore, as you study for the HPAT and improve your ability and learn new techniques, you are essentially increasing your IQ and EQ. This can set you up for life! I'm telling you, my study for HPAT changed everything. School was entirely different for me. Exams were a breeze. My marks went up in every subject. I could focus! For hours! This isn’t a coincidence. The HPAT made a difference! It made me a more effective and inquisitive student. I learnt to value scholarship and think critically. If I never got into medicine, or if I decided medicine wasn’t the career for me, my life would still have been significantly improved as a result of studying for and sitting the HPAT! If you need help changing your mindset, Dr Ann’s HPAT workshop is a great way to do this.
Mistakes are an opportunity to improve
You are already so far ahead for even glancing over HPAT preparation materials, so why not push it further? Don’t be disheartened by disappointing results, difficult HPAT questions or silly mistakes. Use these setbacks to drive your HPAT study. Play a game with yourself: see how many of your ‘mistakes’ or ‘weaknesses’ you can overcome!
Remember why you are doing this
You could be studying medicine next year! That’s right, visualise it. In less than twelve months, you could be purchasing your first stethoscope. You could be in hospitals, surrounded by like-minded people, and delving headfirst into the intricate wonders of the human body… next year! Seriously visualise it, how great would that be? It is worth doing the little bit more HPAT study, that extra HPAT practice exam. Just do it.
HPAT study might be frustrating, you might feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, but it is honestly worth it.
In saying all this, if you are feeling really flat and it’s just not working for you, please take a break. With the exception of HPAT practice exams, you should be taking a ten-minute break every hour, and half an hour break every couple of hours in order for your study to be effective. So, after reading this article, if you really are struggling, maybe leave your HPAT study for a while. Immerse yourself in nature, spend some time with your family and friends or practice a musical instrument, then come back to HPAT feeling motivated and refreshed.
You can do it… just keep swimming!
