24th June 2025
HPAT Results Will Be Released Soon! Here Are Some Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Regarding HPAT Results
HPAT results are due to be released in late June. You may have questions about your HPAT results, how they are calculated and what they mean. This blog seeks to answer those questions. When will I receive my HPAT 2025 results? You will receive your HPAT 2025 results in late June. ACER does not normally release a specific date when HPAT results are made available, ho ...
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24th June 2025
Medicine, the HPAT, the CAO and One BIG Mistake to Avoid
For any Leaving Certificate students hoping to go on to study medicine, the HPAT (Health Professions Admission Test) and the CAO (Central Applications Office) 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. ...
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2nd June 2025
5 Tips for Leaving Cert Exams From a Current Medical Student
So the dreaded time of the leaving cert exams has rolled around once again and I’m sure many of you are trembling in your seats at the mere mention of it. But trust me when I say that I can completely relate with you. This time last year I was in your position, getting ready to sit the leaving cert, my head flooded with feelings of excitement and anxiety for what lay ahead. I know t ...
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15th May 2025
Distributed Practice and the HPAT: What You Need to Know Part 2
In part 1 of this blog, we looked at why it is important to study with distributed practice for the HPAT. In part 2, we will look at how to implement distributed practice into your HPAT plan. How to implement distributed practice for HPAT Here are some tips and strategies on how to best use distributed practice in your HPAT preparation (you can also use them in your secondary ...
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15th May 2025
Distributed Practice and the HPAT: What You Need to Know Part 1
Over the last few years various catch-phrases have circulated in the education sector: “study smarter not harder”, "do less work for more reward” and others. They can seem too good to be true. Nevertheless, there is one system that eclipses all others in the research conducted, the widespread implementation and the unanimous praise it has received from sci ...
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4th May 2025
Everything You Need to Know About the HPAT
Do you want to study medicine in 2026? If so, you will need to sit the HPAT 2026. This blog describes everything you need to know about the 2026 HPAT. What is the HPAT? HPAT stands for Health Professions Admission Test. It is a test developed by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). HPAT is used to help select students into medicine in Ireland. The HPAT tak ...
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22nd April 2025
So You Want to Be a Doctor? How to Get Into Medicine
Congratulations on your decision to pursue medicine as a career! Medicine is an interesting, valued and rewarding profession. The process of getting into medicine can be confusing, so here’s an introduction. Criteria for getting into medicine The minimum points required to get into medicine varies from year to year and between universities, but a total of at least 730 p ...
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14th April 2025
Prerequisites for Studying Medicine in Ireland
The five universities that offer medicine all have a minimum requirement of 480 points from the same sitting of the Leaving Certificate or equivalent. They also have minimum subject requirements, so it is essential to consider this when deciding which Leaving Certificate subjects to choose. Some medicine courses are five years long and some are six. The six-year courses have a pre-med ...
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9th April 2025
What is HPAT 2026?
HPAT stands for Health Professionals Admission Test. It is one of two main criteria used by most universities in Ireland to select students into high demand health related careers such as medicine (the other being the Leaving Certificate). Unlike traditional school and university exams which assess knowledge, HPAT assesses generic skills, including logical reasoning and problem solving ...
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7th April 2025
How to Prepare for the HPAT in 5th Year
So you’re in 5th year and you’re thinking about pursuing a career in medicine. You’ve been getting great grades and you have the people skills to become a doctor, so there should be no problem getting in. Then you find out about the HPAT. You hear that it can be a major obstruction to your journey, and only a select few are able to succeed in HPAT. You hear about all the peop ...
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