Frequently Asked Questions

About MedEntry

MedEntry HPAT Prep is an international Registered Training Educational institution committed to helping students enter medicine. MedEntry is the trusted HPAT preparation institution which specialises in HPAT Preparation. Unlike other 'grind schools' which have HPAT Prep as an 'add-on', the only thing MedEntry does is HPAT preparation and therefore is focussed on this core activity.

We are a team of academics, doctors and professionals with expertise in test development, measurement and analysis. We have been training students for tests such as the HPAT for over 30 years. Our comprehensive course has been remarkably successful in helping students achieve their goals.

MedEntry has a proven track record of HPAT success. Since our resources are HPAT-focused, with more difficult questions to most accurately simulate the HPAT, you won't waste any time.

There are many preparation providers around - many of them have little or no expertise but have slick websites and marketing.

This is a crucially important test for your (or your child's) future. Choosing the right preparation provider can be critical in whether you enter medicine or not.

MedEntry is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), has hundreds of five star reviews, is trusted by more students each year than all other preparation providers combined - in short, we offer a guarantee of quality training. 

MedEntry's approach is holistic. We realise that entering a health science course involves much more than simply doing well in high school or university. We guide students through the whole process – providing information on university admissions procedures, training students for the HPAT and helping students tackle interviews.

MedEntry's products and services include:

The resources provided by MedEntry are much more challenging than those provided by others. Some other courses last only one to three days - MedEntry's lasts for up to 12 months or more. Since our course is by far the most popular, more able and motivated students enrol in our courses, therefore students have the unique opportunity to interact with more students in online forums and at the HPAT Course, thereby enhancing their thinking skills. We realise that most of our students are in the final year of school and are very busy. Our program is comprehensive and focussed on HPAT, which means you do not need to do any other preparation.

 

Is MedEntry HPAT workshop worth it?

This is a question which can be answered from various perspectives. So we will approach it from several angles: emotional arguments, and rational arguments using decision making theory.

  • Best Reviews: MedEntry has better and more reviews on Google than any other Prep organisation by far. If you can trust Google, you can trust MedEntry!

Don't just take our word for it, check out the hundreds of glowing Google and Facebook reviews of our workshops posted by our happy and successful students. MedEntry’s Sydney, Melbourne and Ireland offices have over 1000 reviews at a star rating of about 4.8+, even far exceeding that of any university. Most often heard feedback: 'The best lecture I have ever attended'.

  • Time, Place, Number argument: If large number of people across time and place are doing something, it must have some fundamental basis/value to it. Large numbers of practising doctors (over 20,000) have used our services this for over 20 years, from Ireland to New Zealand.
  • Decision making theory is based on the fundamental principle: Expected Value = Probability x Benefit. If you think probability of getting in, will increase by 1% by doing MedEntry course, probability is 0.01 (or 0.5 if you think it will increase by 50%). The benefits include tangible and intangible benefits. Intangible benefits are things such as lifetime satisfaction of pursuing the career that you always wanted (may be difficult to quantify). Tangible benefits are easier to quantify: if you don’t get in and have to go to Bond, Melbourne or Macquarie University, you need to pay about $400,000. If you don’t ever get in, it is x $ million in lost income. If the Expected Value as calculated above is higher than what you have to pay for the MedEntry HPAT course, its worth it. Otherwise, its not! So, do this simple calculation!
  • Research shows that those happy in life are likely to be those who were able to pursue the career they wanted. Can you put a value on the happiness? Its intangible value is invaluable. Do you want to lead a life where you will always feel "I should have given it my best shot?" which is one of the regrets of many people later in life.
  • If you have doubts about whether medicine is the career for you, ask yourself "Would we be having this doubt if I got a perfect score on the HPAT?"
  • You need to give the effort you know you could give - not for your parents or anyone else, but purely for the freedom that comes with knowing you did your best. You want options. If you didn't go to medical school, you don't want it to be because of some test. You don’t want to feel imprisoned by the exam. Don’t you want the freedom to choose your path, rather than have it chosen for you?
  • Some students may do well without doing our program: but such students will do even better if they participate in our program. Remember even in 100th percentile there is a big range. There are several benefits of reaching your highest possible potential: you will be ranked even higher so will be offered a CSP place rather than a BMP place; you will be more likely stay in the city campus rather than being posted to rural campus; universities keep your entry ranking throughout and use it for various things; if you are ranked high enough you may even be offered a scholarship.
  • The thinking and test taking skills you will learn during MedEntry HPAT preparation will help in obtaining higher ATAR/GPA and will be useful for GAMSAT Prep in case you need to sit that test. It will also be useful for any career since you will hone cognitive skills required to be successful in ANY profession.
  • Research published has shown that those who “aim high at school” are destined for later success, whatever career they pursue later in life. Medicine is by far the hardest course to get into, in most countries.
  • Most students say that attending the MedEntry HPAT workshop has increased their motivation, and made them a more efficient and effective learner. Additionally, some inside knowledge and information that is not available elsewhere is provided at the HPAT workshop.
  • We encourage you to attend a 2-day MedEntry HPAT Preparation Workshop even if you have to travel a long distance. Hence, many students from other cities, interstate, and overseas, travel to attend our HPAT workshops because there are several benefits of attending. Our students also come from all over the globe, from over 45 countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Dubai, UK, Canada etc.
  • You will be able to network with motivated and able students from various schools in your city, other states and overseas – many of whom will be your colleagues in medical school. For several reasons, only the most able and motivated students attend the MedEntry workshop, so you can discuss HPAT questions and efficient, effective and elegant ways of arriving at the answer with them. With MedEntry, you will be learning only with the best students.
  • You will hear from current medical students about how they used MedEntry to obtain excellent scores on the HPAT, as well as what to expect from studying at university. It is an invaluable opportunity for first-hand tips from people who have gone through it all before, and to be able to ask any questions you might have about the HPAT or university.
  • After attending the HPAT workshop you will be given the opportunity to sit a trial HPAT exam, based on which you will receive predicted HPAT scores. This is immensely helpful for a number of reasons. After doing so many practice tests provided by MedEntry, the real HPAT will just seem like just another practice test!
  • There are many preparation providers around - many of them have little or no expertise but have slick websites and marketing. Choosing the right preparation provider can be critical in whether you enter medicine or not. Choose a trusted, proven and recommended med entry test prep!

Please read “About Us” on the MedEntry homepage.

Please also read the following related important FAQS:

Under: ABOUT MEDENTRY:

  • Why should I choose MedEntry?
  • Does the MedEntry program really work?
  • Why are there conflicting opinions on the usefulness of HPAT Preparation?

Under: PRODUCTS & SERVICES

  • Why are MedEntry's products made available online only via the OLP?

Under: HPAT COURSES

  • Is it essential to attend a HPAT Course?

Under: DOES HPAT PREP HELP?

  • Do I need to train for the HPAT?
  • Does MedEntry program really work? Where is the evidence?
  • Why MedEntry does not offer regular classes for HPAT preparation?
  • Is it essential to attend a HPAT Workshop?
  • Do I need to train for my interview?
  • I hear that the HPAT is hard, so why shouldn't I pursue the graduate medical entry path?

Under HPAT:

  • Do I need to train for the HPAT?

Yes!

View student and parent endorsements of our program.

Feedback statistics show that 99.1% of our customers would recommend MedEntry’s services to their friends. Here at MedEntry HPAT Prep, we are result orientated.

A survey of a random sample of students who have been through our full training program showed that 92% were offered interviews, and 88% were offered places in one or more medical schools.

Psychometric and personality tests (such as the HPAT) rely on the fact that the candidates do not prepare, so  testers/interviewers actively discourage the candidates from preparing. They do this by propagating various myths such as: preparation does not help; it will be a waste of resources; preparation may hinder your performance; that there are some questions in the test/interview which are designed to detect if you try to second guess; it may work against you etc. Accredited testers know that such organisations go to great lengths to place fear in the candidates to ensure they do not prepare, precisely because preparation works! If it is really true that you can't prepare for the test, ACER and universities should have no objection to HPAT preparation (rather than actively discouraging students from preparing).

If preparation does not work/help, the organisations which offer HPAT coaching services would cease to exist. The fact that many students use their services shows that they are beneficial. As a practicing doctor pointed out: "If HPAT preparation does not work and is not effective, HPAT courses such as MedEntry would cease to exist. The fact that an increasing number of students undertake the MedEntry HPAT Course is in itself evidence that it works."

In fact, all psychological tests and experiments involve deception (eg placebo), All national and international professional organisations in psychology (eg. Australian /American /British Psychological Societies) approve of deception in psychological experiments and tests.

MedEntry HPAT Prep will also significantly improve your school / university score for several reasons: it will enhance your motivation to study; hone your thinking skills and it will make you a more efficient and effective learner which is invaluable for high school, university and throughout your life. In fact, most students who obtain perfect LC points have done the MedEntry course. MedEntry HPAT Prep also helps with two sections of GAMSAT.

You might be familiar with the quote by Benjamin Franklin: "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail". These words definitely ring true for the 2 1/2 hour, gruelling marathon that is the HPAT.

Please also read the article "Do I need to train for the HPAT?"

You can contact a member of our friendly team by emailing us, calling us or contacting us on social media. Please click here for our contact page. 

You may find opinions expressed on forums and by some organisations that HPAT preparation may not help. They are mainly from:

  • ACER, which administers HPAT and therefore has a vested interest in ensuring that students don't prepare, for several reasons (for example, their job becomes harder if students prepare; possibility of legal challenges; all psychological tests involve deception).
  • Careers teachers, who are cajoled by ACER to promote their "Prep may not help" myth.
  • Universities, which also have a vested interest in claiming that HPAT and interview preparation may not help (which is hypocritical, since universities coach students for aptitude tests and interviews at assessment centres for jobs).
  • Individuals who may have done a poor quality preparation course and/or may not have done the work required and therefore may not have got into medicine.
  • Individuals who feel strongly that all education should be free, and hence are opposed to HPAT preparation. These naive people fail to recognise that universities obtain about €25,000 per student per year (most of it from the tax payers).
  • Individuals who are uncritical and are 'sucked in' by ACER's propaganda.
  • Individuals who may have done well in HPAT without preparation. What they don't realise is that if they had done good quality preparation, they would have obtained an even higher score (even in 100th percentile, there is high end, and low end of 100th percentile), which could have enabled them to gain a scholarship to study medicine.
  • Students who do not want to admit that they have done HPAT Preparation for various reasons (such as wanting to appear 'smart', i.e. obtained a high score even without preparation).
  • Students who do not want to admit that they are doing HPAT Preparation in order to reduce their 'competition'. An example comment from a student: "MedEntry is my secret weapon for gaining a better HPAT score. I want to be against less people who know what they are doing."
  • Students who think they know 'short-cuts' to HPAT Preparation, using 'free' resources on the internet. These 'know-it-alls' seem to get a kick out of offering free advice on forums (unfortunately their advice is often misleading).
  • Competitors who offer preparation services, and criticise MedEntry HPAT preparation for their own benefit.
  • The 'research' published showing HPAT Preparation may not help is done by those who are funded by ACER and they don't declare this conflict of interest.

MedEntry was made possible by a generous grant by the Foundation for Young Australians, a non-profit organisation committed to enhancing youth participation and creating opportunities for the development of young people. Specifically, MedEntry aims to help young people keen to pursue a career in medicine, especially those who are traditionally under-represented.

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View a list of our other sponsors.

MedEntry is a team of health professionals, academics in the health sciences field, professionals with expertise in test development, measurement and analysis, and students who have been successful in the HPAT and interviews.

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