Blogs

9th September 2025
Options for Pursuing Medicine in Ireland
With the release of Leaving Cert scores recently, some students may be wondering what options they have for getting into medicine. Irish students are fortunate – there are many options for studying medicine both in Ireland and abroad. This blog describes them in detail. 1. Undergraduate medicine Entry into undergraduate medicine is based on a combination of adjusted leaving c ...
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9th September 2025
Considering Repeating HPAT/Leaving Cert? Here’s Some Advice From Someone Who Has Done It Before
So you have just received your HPAT and Leaving Certificate results and unfortunately have not been accepted into Medicine this year - what next? This was the situation I, and indeed many other Medicine hopefuls, faced on results day. The first reaction you may have is one of obvious disappointment, followed by the monumental task of considering the myriad of options on what to do next: Sho ...
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9th September 2025
Planning Time for HPAT Preparation
A very common question asked by aspiring medical students is "How do you balance your school work and HPAT practice?" Given that the HPAT can be equally or even more important than your leaving cert in the medical school selection process, it is crucial that students devote sufficient time to preparing for the HPAT, without neglecting their 6th year studies. ...
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9th September 2025
Getting the Most From Your HPAT Practice Exams
With every passing week, the date of your HPAT exam is inching closer. Perhaps you are working through the MedEntry curriculum modules, QBank and skills trainers. This will all aid your preparation, but an important question is, have you completed a full-length HPAT practice exam yet? Completing a full-length HPAT practice exam can be intimidating and even scary. It is easy to spend t ...
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2nd September 2025
5 Months Until HPAT
Five months until the HPAT testing period begins! Are you feeling overwhelmed or stressed by your workload this year? Stress is a common problem that affects all of us at some point in our lives, but is stress bad for you? According to Kelly McGonigal stress isn’t the problem, it’s the mind’s negative response to stress that’s the problem. McGonigal ex ...
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19th August 2025
HPAT Scoring Myths
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet and on forums about how HPAT scores are calculated. This blog will provide clarity and avoid you being misinformed! Myth #1: HPAT scores are based on raw marks Some people claim that your HPAT score or percentile ranking can be calculated from your raw score (the number of questions you got right). This is naïve a ...
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11th August 2025
Should I Attend a MedEntry HPAT Workshop?
MedEntry workshops have become famous over the years for their engaging, effective and enjoyable nature. You may be wondering whether you should attend a MedEntry HPAT workshop. The answer is a resounding yes! Here are three reasons why: 1. MedEntry HPAT Workshops are Comprehensive MedEntry HPAT workshops cover everything you need to know for HPAT success, including: ...
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7th August 2025
Attention Parents: 5 Ways to Help Your Son or Daughter Get Into Medicine
Great things never come easy. Medicine is an incredibly rewarding, secure, well paid and respected profession in Ireland. It's also the hardest course to get into. Furthermore, the final years of secondary school are a stressful and demanding time for your son or daughter, and the need to sit HPAT places additional pressure on them during this time. Thankfully there are ways ...
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24th July 2025
Why Is HPAT So Hard?
Most current medical students and doctors would agree that HPAT is probably the hardest and single most important test they ever sat in their career. Many students, especially those who do not prepare effectively, are shocked by the difficulty of HPAT. Some who do prepare become disillusioned by the difficulty of HPAT. So why is HPAT so hard? And what can you do about it? Read on! ...
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13th July 2025
Making Time for HPAT: Eat That Frog!
Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. – Mark Twain Brian Tracy’s 5 minute YouTube video discusses a time management strategy that has changed many people’s lives (including mine!). This strategy involves organising your tasks by priority. It discusses time management in the context of t ...
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