MedEntry Blog

You may have heard that stress negatively impacts on performance. You may have been told that if you are too stressed in the lead up to an important exam such as HPAT, you won’t do well. You may have been advised to look for ways to relieve your stress. While this may be true, in some cases trying to get rid of stress can actually cause you to become more stressed. A different approach, which might sound crazy at first, is to embrace your stress. The following three strategies will not only help you manage stress, but will also boost...

HPAT is probably the hardest test you will ever have to sit. Many students, especially those who do not prepare, are shocked by the difficulty of HPAT. Some who do prepare become disillusioned. So why is HPAT so hard? And what can you do about it? Read on!  1. HPAT is very different to every other type of test you have sat Why?  School and university exams test your knowledge and your ability to apply that knowledge. HPAT is not a test of knowledge; it is a test of your generic skills. You most likely have never sat a test...

Your venue for the HPAT can become a very scary place very quickly. While being academically prepared is extremely important for HPAT, it is also useful to know what to expect when you get to the venue. Firstly, you’ll see a range of different students at the HPAT venue – while some are great to have a conversation with before the exam commences; others, not so much: 1. The Downplayer – This is a student who will consistently talk about how they have not done any practice for the HPAT, keep reinforcing that they’re going to fail and claim to...

For some people sitting HPAT, those nerves may not hit until the day of or the night before HPAT. We get butterflies in the stomach and perhaps even the need to vomit. These feelings are natural and can even help us to do better. But, for those of us who have difficulty handling the nerves, there are a few simple things to do to minimise them. Make sure you have everything that you need in advance A few days before the HPAT, read through the admission ticket and instructions and make sure that you have everything you need. Print out...

Most people find sitting the HPAT a nerve racking, stressful experience, but that does not mean you should allow those nerves to get the best of you.  There are some simple ways to help you get through this period and come out feeling great about your chances.  Take some of the pressure off of yourself.  If you’re anything like me, you expect a lot from yourself and that can result in a large amount of unnecessary pressure. That pressure can prove to be your undoing, but there are simple ways in which to take some of that pressure off. Remember...

Preparation is key for any exam, and UMAT preparation is no different. But we’ve all had that horrible experience when the nerves hit, and all that preparation is thrown out the window because your brain is more interested in stressing itself out than answering the exam questions. But you can, of course, prepare for that too. 1.    Practice Since I’m supposed to be telling you what to do when it feels like preparation isn’t working, you might not expect a synonym for “preparation” to be the top tip. But it is, so hear me out. Nothing is as reassuring...

Amidst the stress of preparing for the HPAT and studying for your other exams, it may be tempting to not spend time on extra-curricular activities, so that you can focus on getting the marks you need to get into medicine. After all, they won’t contribute directly to your score, right?    However, participating in extra-curricular activities, whether it be joining your local cricket team, volunteering for a soup kitchen or being captain of the chess club, will help you not only be a better person, but be a better candidate for medical entry. Don’t believe me? Here are three reasons...

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...

This article is written from the point of view of a student sitting the UMAT, which is the Australian/New Zealand equivalent of the HPAT. The main difference is that the UMAT is 134 questions and 3 hours long with the 3 constructs blended. So you HPAT students just keep that in mind as you read on................. If you’re a student who likes being prepared and in control, you’ve probably tried to imagine what the actual day of the UMAT will be like. You might be asking yourself some of the following questions – How early do I need to get...

Knowing that the HPAT is getting closer may cause you to feel some HPAT anxiety. While a small amount of HPAT anxiety or HPAT nervousness is good for HPAT test takers, too much can hinder your performance in the HPAT test and consequentially bring down your HPAT score. The following list includes all of the typical signs of HPAT anxiety for you to look out for leading up to the HPAT: Mental blank out – eg. knowing the answers before and after the HPAT (or practice tests)   Negative thoughts   Difficulty concentrating – eg. Racing thoughts   Nausea  ...

HPAT test tactics and preparation:   HPAT test tactics and preparation part 1: Avoiding multiple confusions in the multiple choice section of HPAT HPAT test tactics and preparation part 2: Process of Elimination in HPAT multichoice HPAT test tactics and preparation part 3: HPAT questions involving percentages HPAT test tactics and preparation part 4: HPAT probability questions HPAT test tactics and preparation part 5: Counting Problems in HPAT HPAT test tactics and preparation part 6: statistics problems on the HPAT exam HPAT test tactics and preparation part 7: worded mathematical problems HPAT test tactics and preparation part 8: staying cool...

So you have bought a package and started your practise. Well done! You are on your way to improving your HPAT score already. Now it is time to develop effective revisions skills that prepares you mentally and physically. Practise is no good if your nerves let you down. Even elite athletes at the Olympics who practise for years crumple due to nerves. Don’t let that be you! Don’t save your exams!  The most important thing to remember when doing HPAT practise is – DON’T “save” your practise exams until the last month. Doing that basically leaves you with one month...

-            For the few weeks before the test, if not longer, you've been preoccupied with the HPAT. Maybe you've let a few things slide: homework, co-curricular activities, your friends, fun. Now it's time to catch up on anything that's fallen behind and to return to your normal routine after the HPAT.    We know you may be feeling a little anti-climactic after getting all geared up for the HPAT that's now over, but don't forget other tests that may be looming on the horizon. You've worked hard preparing for the HPAT and it's natural to want to relax a bit. But please, please don't blow off your Year 12 exams; they are just...

Learning is not just about sitting in front of a text book and hoping the content will diffuse into your mind through osmosis. In order to learn effectively, you must learn actively, not passively. Active learning will allow you to engage with what you are learning and absorb it faster. New study strategies will also be introduced in this article so you can in-corporate them into your HPAT study. This will give your HPAT study sessions a direction and allow you to set goals.  What is active learning? Active learning is all about engaging with what you are learning and how you...

Stereotype threat can affect the way students perform in the HPAT.  Some students are vulnerable to “stereotype threat.” This is being aware the group they belong to is often stereotyped as intellectually inferior. The fear of confirming the stereotype by doing poorly on a test actually creates an anxiety. It is this anxiety that poorly affects their performance on a test, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Consider this study conducted at Stanford:  A group of undergraduates — some athletes and some not — was given a test made up of questions from the Graduate Record Examination (G.R.E.), the admissions test for...

To be mentally tough is to resist the urge to give up in the face of failure, to maintain focus and determination in pursuit of your HPAT goals, and to emerge from adversity even stronger than before. Everyone can benefit from strengthening their resilience skills.  Mental toughness comes from thinking like an optimist. People who don’t give up have a habit of interpreting setbacks as temporary, local and changeable. When in the face of adversity, try to say to yourself, “It’s going away quickly; it’s just this one situation, and I can do something about it.” Analyze your beliefs and emotions...