The HPAT is so commonly viewed as a test of intelligence and aptitude, that we forget how crucial it is to improve our mental endurance for this exam. In fact, the endurance required for the HPAT is much greater than that required for any end of year school exam. Not only is the HPAT as long as or longer than any school exam (2.5 hours), but the nature of each individual question requires much greater focus. This need for enhanced application to each question is due to our inability to draw upon a year’s worth of content and knowledge, as...

Does the thought of HPAT day make you cringe and consider hiding in your room? That's how I felt in the weeks that led up to HPAT. Being a student in my final year of high school I had rarely been in a position where I was sitting an exam which was so important for determining my future career pathway. Sure I had been through many school exams and academic competitions, but I felt that no test or assignment I had previously completed could compare to the importance of the HPAT. In my fresh teenage eyes the HPAT was the...

ONLY 3 WEEKS TO HPAT - WHAT SHOULD I DO?   There are three weeks left until HPAT! Are you completely freaking out? Feeling utterly under-prepared? Never fear! These 4 simple steps are sure to make you ready for any HPAT question thrown at you.   Practice ACER exams and read their worked solutions. ACER offers 3 full-length practice exams; these are a must-do before the exam! They are a little bit easier than your average MedEntry exam, so they are great for that last minute confidence boost. ACER also gives you worked solutions to every question, which lets you...

  The idea of studying medicine at university can seem like a very daunting prospect. There are many myths and false beliefs about the degree which allow these fears to prosper. Having completed my first year studying medicine at Monash University, I hope I can dispel some of your fears about potentially studying medicine at university.   Medicine is ULTRA competitive Granted, Medicine, like all high-achieving courses, is competitive. Many of the students are extremely dedicated to their studies and strive to get the best out of themselves. However, one of the great aspects of medicine is that one of...

  For any Leaving Certificate students hoping to go on to study medicine, the HPAT and the CAO 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. Honestly, it wasn’t until those last few weeks while I waited for my Leaving Cert results that I realised for certain that I had put down the right courses in the right order from my desperate hope that I would...

Sixth year is a busy year – we all know that. However, it can get a whole lot busier if you’re studying for the HPAT as well. It can be like taking an extra subject – one that has no teacher, and there are no deadlines (aside from the exam). In addition, it is an exam for which you cannot cram (sorry to burst your bubble). So how do you manage the meticulous balancing act between not letting your school grades drop, whilst also keeping yourselves in good stead for the HPAT? Planning. Yes, you’ve probably heard it all before, but...

In the September of 6 th year, I bought the platinum package and then the 5 additional full length practice exams which I feel really helped, as it gave me a total of 15 practice exams to go through before the real deal. MedEntry had come highly recommended by numerous people who had used it previously, and MedEntry honestly proved priceless in helping me prepare for the HPAT. I think I did the MedEntry online free practice test in the summer before 5 th year when I had started thinking about putting Medicine down on my CAO, but having been...

1. The HPAT is an aptitude test so you can’t prepare for it. Wrong! Preparation for the HPAT is key. Not only is it extremely important to complete practice exams and HPAT style questions, the MedEntry guidebooks and video guides are vital in helping students develop the necessary mind-set and techniques to tackle the HPAT. You wouldn’t walk into a Leaving Cert exam with no study done so why should you walk into the HPAT without any preparation?   2. You can cram for the HPAT. This is a serious no no. Cramming in the week before the HPAT is...

There are only two things people seem ask you about in sixth year: those big exams in June and what you want to do when they’re over. It’s a stressful and busy year with plenty of studying to be done. The constant questioning can be annoying, but it’s really important that you take the time to really look at what it is you are going to do next year. For anyone considering applying to sit the HPAT and putting medicine down on your CAO, here are just a few of the reasons why you should study medicine. Unlike a lot...

When transitioning from 5th year to 6th year, the holidays can sometimes generate a bit of anxiety – how should I study, when should I start studying, will I get the grades I need to make it into my course…? This is completely natural and the fact that some of these questions pop into your mind shows that you are already becoming mentally primed for the big year. Yet, at the same time, there are numerous preparation strategies you can employ during the holidays to improve your performance and secure an amazing Leaving Certificate. English subjects can be particularly stressful...

Rosanna sat the UMAT five times, and with the help of MedEntry is now studying medicine. In this video, she shares five things she wishes she had known about UMAT. Note: UMAT is the same as HPAT and is used in Australia.      

What is HPAT? HPAT stands for Health Professions Admission Test. It is a test developed by ACER and used to help select students into medicine, and other competitive health science courses at university. The HPAT consists of questions in three main categories: Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving, Understanding People and Non-Verbal Reasoning.   What courses require HPAT? The following courses require HPAT:   University Course Trinity College Dublin Undergraduate Medicine University College Dublin Undergraduate Medicine Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Undergraduate Medicine University College Cork Undergraduate Medicine National University of Ireland, Galway Undergraduate Medicine University of Limerick MSc Occupational Therapy...

In last year's HPAT, there were some changes to non-verbal reasoning questions in the HPAT. Although the structure, number of questions and broad types of questions were the same (pick the middle, missing segment, next in the sequence etc) there were three main differences: A few completely new question types that had not previously appeared in the HPAT A different approach to pick the middle questions required compared to previous years’ HPAT A shift towards more positional type questions In this blog, we will briefly go through these changes and explain how MedEntry is updating our materials to ensure our students are well prepared for...

After completing a practice exam on the LMS, we strongly recommend that you spend considerable time reviewing your answers. Since this process can take a long time, and may need to be done over multiple sessions, the LMS will now keep track of you are up to in each of your exam reviews. For example, if you were reviewing Exam 5, Question 73, and you close the LMS – the system will remember which part of the Exam you are reviewing, and the next time you continue the exam review, you will be taken directly to this question. You can...

By finding this blog post, you have already realised that, despite what many people tell you, studying for the HPAT is possible. I was also sceptical prior to using MedEntry’s HPAT tuition course. However, my final score in the 100th percentile, more than 30 percentiles higher than my first trial paper, would not have been possible without it. The MedEntry resources will give you everything you need to succeed for the HPAT, and I will explain how to use them to your advantage. In terms of the online LMS, I started by reading the guides, and doing related drills intermittently;...

The short answer is no. Studying for the HPAT is possible and no matter how late you start, you will still be able to improve, just like with any other subject. The long answer is: it depends on how much time you put in and how effectively you do it. At this stage, it’s important to study SMART. Trying to do as many HPAT papers as you can will also take up a lot of your time. You are probably also going to be quite busy balancing 6th year or University study and work with HPAT preparation, so learning study...

Unsure how to fit in HPAT prep with your school study? Florence scored 100th percentile in UMAT ( the equivalent to HPAT in Australia/New Zealand) and shares her tips.   

One thing I found extremely useful on the days coming up to, and the day of the HPAT was the knowledge that I was confident with my exam timing. Whilst you have no control over the questions that will appear on the HPAT on the day, you have complete control over your timing. This sense of control can help to ease your nerves on the day of the exam, and prove extremely useful in keeping calm throughout the HPAT. Time management also increases the chance of you finishing the HPAT exam… remember, if you do not attempt a question you...

With the HPAT around the corner, as well as Mock exams, it can be quite a stressful time for students. Many students will spend the majority of the day practising HPAT- style questions and completing practise exams, as well as devoting a large amount of time to HPAT preparation. However, this does not mean your hobbies and interests should be forgotten about. After a long day of lessons, it can be quite daunting to sit at a desk and prepare for the night. Sometimes, motivation to ascertain a place in university to study Medicine can flicker as the late nights...

As the HPAT and mock exams draw closer, it can become harder to balance leaving cert study and HPAT preparation, especially as the HPAT exam will often be very close to mock exams, or can even be in the middle of mock exams. It may be hard to prioritise the HPAT when your teachers and peers are putting all of their focus on the mock exams. You may feel like your peers are doing more study for their mock exams, but that is simply because they do not have another large exam to focus on, so don’t let this stress...