Blogs

7th February 2025
HPAT Countdown: Musings From an Experienced Tutor
The day of your HPAT is without a doubt one of the most terrifying – yet unusual days of the year. Over the past few years, I have uttered the phrase “The HPAT is a game” numerous times, and now, on the brink of becoming an actual doctor (finally!) and exiting the world of HPAT, I thought I’d pass on my suggestions for this game. Suggestion 1: Learn about H ...
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5th February 2025
HPATPHOBIA Don’t get Scared, Stay Motivated!
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 ...
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5th February 2025
Achieving Perfect HPAT Time Management
If you’re sitting HPAT this year, then you’re aware that HPAT test day is rapidly approaching. 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 HPAT 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 ...
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3rd February 2025
Dealing With Disappointing HPAT Percentiles – 3 Tips
So you’ve been preparing for HPAT by working through the HPAT guides and attempting HPAT practice questions and exams. Then one day you receive a disappointing HPAT percentile. So what should you do? Is it time to freak out? Is it time to give up on your medical entry dream? No! Read on for three key tips. 1. Understand what a HPAT percentile means and how they are calculate ...
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1st February 2025
5 Tips for the Last Fortnight Before HPAT
HPAT is well and truly close now and it’s time to streamline your study and buckle down! In the pivotal two weeks leading up to HPAT, maintaining focus is vital and taking a strategic approach towards your study routine will help ensure that you are fully equipped for success on the big day. Here are five ways to make sure you’re using the next two weeks to set you up for success o ...
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30th January 2025
How to Balance the HPAT and Leaving Cert Mocks
Preparing for HPAT can seem overwhelming. Add in your Leaving Cert mock exams and stress levels can rapidly skyrocket. Unfortunately the timing of the HPAT is often very close to mock exams, or can even be in the middle of mock exams. As the HPAT and mock exams draw closer, it can become hard to balance Leaving Cert study and HPAT preparation. So how do you do it? This blog outlines five ti ...
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29th January 2025
4 Top Tips for Non-Verbal Reasoning
Students often find non-verbal reasoning questions the most difficult initially, especially if they have never encountered them before. Here are a few tips from an experienced HPAT tutor to help tackle these questions. Tip 1: Keep it Simple Non-verbal reasoning questions will require you to find the most simple and logical answer. It may feel like the questions are out to tri ...
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27th January 2025
Persisting Through Underwhelming Marks
Many of you may have started your preparation on MedEntry and found that you may not be achieving the scores you hoped for, and let me tell you, you’re not the only one! Many people lose confidence during their HPAT preparation and can’t see themselves achieving the scores they hope to attain. I know this for a fact because I was one of those people not too long ago. When I firs ...
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24th January 2025
5 Tips to Improve Your Score in Interpersonal Understanding Questions
To some lucky people it comes easy, but for many this is the section with some of the most difficult questions in the exam. Whether you are just starting your HPAT preparation or are deep in your practice so far, the following tips from an experienced tutor who scored highly in this section should help you maximize your score: 1. Firstly, read the introductory text included in the ...
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24th January 2025
Optimising Your Performance in HPAT: Lessons From Sports Psychology
Preparing for the HPAT is like preparing for a marathon: it requires training, persistence and strategies to optimise your performance on HPAT test day. Just as an athlete prepares for a major sporting event, you must prepare yourself to sit HPAT, which is one of the most important exams that you will face in your career. We can learn much from athletes about optimising performance in HPAT, ...
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