*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2013*

jplc

woopah92 wrote: »

Don't do what I did and decide last minute to apply for the UK. I booked the UKCAT at the very last and I didn't even study for it :pac: Still managed at 750 is one of the categories though :P

how did you find it compared to the HPAT?

outnumbered

Glee_GG wrote: »

But then the exact same thing could happen you next year that on the day your just not in the right form and you'll just be back to where you started

Indeed that's true! But what other option do I have?

Glee_GG

outnumbered wrote: »

Indeed that's true! But what other option do I have?

I'm in the same pickle myself! I genuinely just don't know what to do, the exams just haven't gone as well as I thought they would but I don't know if I can do this all again and put even more effort into it!

outnumbered

Glee_GG wrote: »

I'm in the same pickle myself! I genuinely just don't know what to do, the exams just haven't gone as well as I thought they would but I don't know if I can do this all again and put even more effort into it!

Yeah I have the same feeling! Like when you do a test, you know how it went! And for me, Not good....
Well My chem teacher put it this way: "4 years of something you don't want, or 30 short, productive weeks to get you what you want for the rest of your life"
Also, She said the majority of the student body in Medicine have repeated something! Age does not matter in Medicine.

woopah92

jplc wrote: »

how did you find it compared to the HPAT?

Around the same I'd say, maybe the UKCAT was a bit more difficult because of the maths section. And I hate sitting exams when you have to read it from the computer screen too. It's not too bad, but if you want to get top scores you should definitely study for it the same way you would for the HPAT. There's a book that's suppose to be good called "Get into Medical School: 600 UkCAT praticice questions" that should help with the studying. But I'd recommend studying over the summer for it for sure. :pac:

Acciaccatura

outnumbered wrote: »

Yeah I have the same feeling! Like when you do a test, you know how it went! And for me, Not good....
Well My chem teacher put it this way: "4 years of something you don't want, or 30 short, productive weeks to get you what you want for the rest of your life"
Also, She said the majority of the student body in Medicine have repeated something! Age does not matter in Medicine.

True that, I've a cousin who went to the Czech Republic to do medicine after a business course. He qualified as an intern aged 30, but he prematurely had a full head of grey hair so he looked older :P

AislingBo

outnumbered wrote: »

What will you do? repeat?

I don't think I could stay mentally sane if I repeated...might take a year out and think things through, apply through the UK system (again!) or else do a biomed course in Maynooth...points aren't too high at all

Slow Show

It's funny isn't it, I don't think my grades will be low enough that I'll consider repeating (I expect to break 550 and that's my repeating cut-off point), but my exams certainly did not go off without a hitch and it wasn't due to lack of study, it was not being fully there on the day or doing something stupid like reading a question wrong or using the first answer that came into my head and bolting on.

I don't think I can go through the Leaving Cert again either, it was a tough year and the only thing that made it doable for me was having such good friends around me and being able to enjoy school with my year, the same would not be true for repeating.

For now I'm enjoying summer and doing a pretty good job of ignoring all of this, at least until Sunday!

outnumbered

woopah92 wrote: »

Around the same I'd say, maybe the UKCAT was a bit more difficult because of the maths section. And I hate sitting exams when you have to read it from the computer screen too. It's not too bad, but if you want to get top scores you should definitely study for it the same way you would for the HPAT. There's a book that's suppose to be good called "Get into Medical School: 600 UkCAT praticice questions" that should help with the studying. But I'd recommend studying over the summer for it for sure. :pac:

Well? Did you get a place?

0mega

The UKCAT is easier. I'd recommend going to the UK route if you're repeating. It's better to be honest.

CookieMonster.x

I'll be repeating in September for sure! I don't mind that much to be honest as I was planning on taking a year out but thinking of all the work I'll have to do again is just awful. I knew all along I'd be repeating as I don't work as hard as I should and could have but I was hoping if just have to repeat the Hpat. I had an offer for Queen's Belfast which needs 5 A1s and a B2 so I'm definitely not going to get that, as much as I'd love to! I have a bad feeling about results and I know I'm going to be so disappointed seeing as I studied a lot more than for the mocks, but maybe I'll be surprised like I was after the mocks. Hopefully!

outnumbered

0mega wrote: »

The UKCAT is easier. I'd recommend going to the UK route if you're repeating. It's better to be honest.

The only thing is that very few will take repeats! I had a long process of emailing all the Medical schools to see who took repeats! Still awaiting a few replies!

woopah92

outnumbered wrote: »

Well? Did you get a place?

.............Not directly.
I got offered Veterinary Medicine in Glasgow or somewhere? Some other college rang me up and asked if I would be interested in doing a health science for 2 years and then doing medicine for 5. And another college offered me biomedical science instead of medicine. Although I did get an interview of one college (Aberdeen I think) but I couldn't go over for the interview cause my Granddad died and it was their last batch of interviews.

Tip: You need as much experience as poosible so try and see if you can get work experience in a nursing home or something over the summer if you want to stand a better chance than I did!

AislingBo

CookieMonster.x wrote: »

I'll be repeating in September for sure! I don't mind that much to be honest as I was planning on taking a year out but thinking of all the work I'll have to do again is just awful. I knew all along I'd be repeating as I don't work as hard as I should and could have but I was hoping if just have to repeat the Hpat. I had an offer for Queen's Belfast which needs 5 A1s and a B2 so I'm definitely not going to get that, as much as I'd love to! I have a bad feeling about results and I know I'm going to be so disappointed seeing as I studied a lot more than for the mocks, but maybe I'll be surprised like I was after the mocks. Hopefully!

I had the Queens offer too...kissed it goodbye yesterday

0mega

CookieMonster.x wrote: »

I'll be repeating in September for sure! I don't mind that much to be honest as I was planning on taking a year out but thinking of all the work I'll have to do again is just awful. I knew all along I'd be repeating as I don't work as hard as I should and could have but I was hoping if just have to repeat the Hpat. I had an offer for Queen's Belfast which needs 5 A1s and a B2 so I'm definitely not going to get that, as much as I'd love to! I have a bad feeling about results and I know I'm going to be so disappointed seeing as I studied a lot more than for the mocks, but maybe I'll be surprised like I was after the mocks. Hopefully!

Yeah they make the grades too hard for us down here. They should have it as a points thing rather than 5 A1s. What if you get 4A1s and 3A2s like! :mad:

outnumbered

woopah92 wrote: »

.............Not directly.
I got offered Veterinary Medicine in Glasgow or somewhere? Some other college rang me up and asked if I would be interested in doing a health science for 2 years and then doing medicine for 5. And another college offered me biomedical science instead of medicine. Although I did get an interview of one college (Aberdeen I think) but I couldn't go over for the interview cause my Granddad died and it was their last batch of interviews.

Tip: You need as much experience as poosible so try and see if you can get work experience in a nursing home or something over the summer if you want to stand a better chance than I did!

Ah well not so bad!!
Why didn't you take that 2 years health science and then med?

Oh couldn't you just exaggerate the work experience?

AislingBo

0mega wrote: »

Yeah they make the grades too hard for us down here. They should have it as a points thing rather than 5 A1s. What if you get 4A1s and 3A2s like! :mad:

Yeah by anyone else's standards that's an amazing Leaving Cert, so you can't even act disappointed

outnumbered

CookieMonster.x wrote: »

I'll be repeating in September for sure! I don't mind that much to be honest as I was planning on taking a year out but thinking of all the work I'll have to do again is just awful. I knew all along I'd be repeating as I don't work as hard as I should and could have but I was hoping if just have to repeat the Hpat. I had an offer for Queen's Belfast which needs 5 A1s and a B2 so I'm definitely not going to get that, as much as I'd love to! I have a bad feeling about results and I know I'm going to be so disappointed seeing as I studied a lot more than for the mocks, but maybe I'll be surprised like I was after the mocks. Hopefully!

How did you get that offer?
UKCAT?

AislingBo

outnumbered wrote: »

How did you get that offer?
UKCAT?

It's UKCAT, personal statement and multiple mini interviews for Queens.

0mega

AislingBo wrote: »

It's UKCAT, personal statement and multiple mini interviews for Queens.

There was more work but it was still a fairer system than here.

woopah92

outnumbered wrote: »

Ah well not so bad!!
Why didn't you take that 2 years health science and then med?

Oh couldn't you just exaggerate the work experience?

The reason I applied to the UK was cause both my sisters were living over there! And then now one has moved to New Zealand and the other to Australia so I didn't really want to take it then It would have been a good option though. Sill hoping I get medicine here. :cool:

You could exaggerate work experience, but I wouldn't recommend it. One of the colleges sent me a form and I had to put down all of the work experience that I had put down in my personal statement with a telephone number for each. So out could be caught out that way.

AislingBo

0mega wrote: »

There was more work but it was still a fairer system than here.

Definitely! It doesn't make sense that we don't have interviews for medicine, and yet we have the for engineering?!

jplc

woopah92 wrote: »

Around the same I'd say, maybe the UKCAT was a bit more difficult because of the maths section. And I hate sitting exams when you have to read it from the computer screen too. It's not too bad, but if you want to get top scores you should definitely study for it the same way you would for the HPAT. There's a book that's suppose to be good called "Get into Medical School: 600 UkCAT praticice questions" that should help with the studying. But I'd recommend studying over the summer for it for sure. :pac:

Cheers, looks like I'll be heading for hodges and figs after Ag. Science

Slow Show

Y'know what I think is sickening? The huge difference in points between A1 and A2. I feel really borderline for quite a few of my subjects and there really is such a drop between 89% and 90%.

lcer212

Slow Show wrote: »

Y'know what I think is sickening? The huge difference in points between A1 and A2. I feel really borderline for quite a few of my subjects and there really is such a drop between 89% and 90%.

I agree...last year i got 4A2,s that should have been A1,s...!!Such a difference to my points!!:(

simons545

What date are the results back, anyone? Thanks in advance.

outnumbered

simons545 wrote: »

What date are the results back, anyone? Thanks in advance.

monday

pokkyoc

I still have 3 exams left...! I'm so tired that after Friday, I'm mostly likely going to be sleeping till Monday morning Nightmares!!

weirdspider

pokkyoc wrote: »

I still have 3 exams left...! I'm so tired that after Friday, I'm mostly likely going to be sleeping till Monday morning Nightmares!!

3! :eek: I can empathise with you, its literally depressing to have exams at this point, they've been dragging on far to long. I feel like I'm going insane!

outnumbered

weirdspider wrote: »

3! :eek: I can empathise with you, its literally depressing to have exams at this point, they've been dragging on far to long. I feel like I'm going insane!

Hopefully we can all empathise! Or else out HPAT will be crap!