*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2014*

Ryan95

So anyone else moving into UCD on Monday?!

DianaA

Header15 wrote: »

I got medicine so it didn't affect me but does anybody else agree that the hpat is a complete joke. A test that measures how suited you are for the medical profession shouldn't change by 20+% over the course of one year imo. It is not the fault of the repeaters but rather the fault of the system.

I completely agree, doing a sudoku puzzle or any brain teaser doesn't test how well you're suited for the medical profession nor how commited you are to working hard over the next few years .

especially since people can improve on it so much , people don't change that much in one year. I repeated the hpat and got in the second time , does that mean I wasn't suited last year but am this year (seeing as they claim you can't prepare for it )

Header15

DianaA wrote: »

I completely agree, doing a sudoku puzzle or any brain teaser doesn't test how well you're suited for the medical profession nor how commited you are to working hard over the next few years .

especially since people can improve on it so much , people don't change that much in one year. I repeated the hpat and got in the second time , does that mean I wasn't suited last year but am this year (seeing as they claim you can't prepare for it )

Exactly. It's an absolute joke. They really need to re-think entry routes. Although people believe interviews would be biased, I still think that it would be more suitable.

AtomicKoala

Header15 wrote: »

I got medicine so it didn't affect me but does anybody else agree that the hpat is a complete joke. A test that measures how suited you are for the medical profession shouldn't change by 20+% over the course of one year imo. It is not the fault of the repeaters but rather the fault of the system.

Why can't the marking scheme change? The change is largely down to Section 3 being reweighted. Hence marks change. It's one's percentile that matters anyhow.

DianaA wrote: »

I completely agree, doing a sudoku puzzle or any brain teaser doesn't test how well you're suited for the medical profession nor how commited you are to working hard over the next few years .

In all fairness, the LC tests one's learning ability and assiduousness, and forms the bulk of ones points for Medicine (around 75% of the points). So your commitment to working hard is what really counts

I certainly think Section 1 and 2 in the HPAT are far more valid indicators of suitability than my mark in History :pac:

DianaA wrote: »

especially since people can improve on it so much , people don't change that much in one year. I repeated the hpat and got in the second time , does that mean I wasn't suited last year but am this year (seeing as they claim you can't prepare for it )

The issue is test prep as such - the prep given by ACER is a joke. People who do the same prep course each time won't see much of a difference. If ACER gave a comprehensive online set of exams (instead of extortionate charges for mediocre ones), this would be greatly allievated

h157

Ryan95 wrote: »

So anyone else moving into UCD on Monday?!

Meeeee

woopah92

I pity all the poor people who got someone in Dublin on 2nd round it's going to be so hard to find accommodation at this point..

But welcome all the new RCSI meds!

cellaoc10

ConorR32 wrote: »

Hey, I missed med in the end! But I was pretty close! You say you done a year in science, I'm doing the same in TCD and was wondering how did you get med for 2nd year?
Did you just apply to the CAO again or was there a transfer process in the college? I'm wondering just so I can assess whether or not I should have another stab at the LC along with 1st year science or whether I should just work hard in College?

Hey! Sorry, just saw this now! Ah you have to reapply through CAO and then it's up to you if you repeat the hpat! I'd strongly advise you to repeat it, its much easier second time round i found! And with regards to the LC, if you're anywhere near 550, i wouldn't bother, I'd concentrate on doing well in Science, because in case it doesn't work out next year, you'll need good grades to get into the likes of Anatomy and Physiology! They're restricted modules so you need to do pretty decent exams in 1st year!

JF77

Hi all, I am looking for advice on whether i should repeat the leaving cert this year. I am definitely repeating the Hpat as i didn't score high enough this year.

My grades and subjects(all higher) are as follows:
Biology A2
Chemistry A2
Economics A2
English A2 (Not counted)
French A1
Irish A2
Maths B1

This gives me 570 but i looked at my scripts on Saturday and have very good chances of going up to an A2 in Maths (I was 7 points off and wasn't awarded any marks for one of questions which is correct according to my teacher and is worth 10 marks). I also hope to move my biology up to an A1 (I was 5 points off and again filled in an apparent discrepancy form which should hopefully be brought up) These new grades would bring me up to 585. The question i have is if i should repeat.

I scored 163 in the hpat (70th percentile) but was very disappointed as was hoping for 80/90th. I probably didn't work hard enough on my hpat but i'm willing to work very hard on hpat this year.


To sum it up, is 585 too low a leaving cert to get medicine? Should i repeat both the Lc and hpat?

Many thanks

Seanf999

JF77 wrote: »

Hi all, I am looking for advice on whether i should repeat the leaving cert this year. I am definitely repeating the Hpat as i didn't score high enough this year.

My grades and subjects(all higher) are as follows:
Biology A2
Chemistry A2
Economics A2
English A2 (Not counted)
French A1
Irish A2
Maths B1

This gives me 570 but i looked at my scripts on Saturday and have very good chances of going up to an A2 in Maths (I was 7 points off and wasn't awarded any marks for one of questions which is correct according to my teacher and is worth 10 marks). I also hope to move my biology up to an A1 (I was 5 points off and again filled in an apparent discrepancy form which should hopefully be brought up) These new grades would bring me up to 585. The question i have is if i should repeat.

I scored 163 in the hpat (70th percentile) but was very disappointed as was hoping for 80/90th. I probably didn't work hard enough on my hpat but i'm willing to work very hard on hpat this year.


To sum it up, is 585 too low a leaving cert to get medicine? Should i repeat both the Lc and hpat?

Many thanks

I think you should just repeat the hpat I mean 585 is nothing to be ashamed of! (And for that extra years work that will take away from your hpat) you will only get a measly amount of points..

Seanf999

I'm probably a bit out of place here being surrounded my med students while I'm a mere 5th year but anyways.. I'm hoping of studying medicine (RCSI if all goes well!) and I've a few small questions..

How much did ye study daily for the leaving cert?
And since I'm ignoring maths and just focusing on my strengths and going for the 6 year option as I wouldn't get the points for the five year..
What kind of points would I be needing in the LC and Hpat to get in to the 6 year course?..

Sorry for hijacking but getting some input from people who have been there would be a phenomenal help, cheers!

woopah92

585 is not too low. It's actually the higher end of people going for medicine. Not as many people as you think get that 625 or 600.

Seanf999

woopah92 wrote: »

585 is not too low. It's actually the higher end of people going for medicine. Not as many people as you think get that 625 or 600.

I would have guessed 550 as the average LC on entry to medicine..

JF77

Thank you all for your prompt replies!
I have already enrolled in a repeating school and if i don't go up on the rechecks, i'll continue repeating. But fingers crossed, i'll go up and just repeat the hpat. I think that it'll be very difficult to get up to 600/625 without deterring form my hpat too much so depending on the rechecks, i'll work for the year and save for college while working hard on my hpat, of course!

Congratulations to everyone who got medicine this year and hopefully i'll see those who are repaeting next year.
Regards

Header15

Out of curiosity, what proportion of those that got medicine this year were hpat repeaters does anybody know?

Seanf999

Header15 wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what proportion of those that got medicine this year were hpat repeaters does anybody know?

I heard something like '2/3s of medical students are hpat repeats..' Whether that's true or not I don't know but if the number is that high I'll be in for a shock!

Header15

Seanf999 wrote: »

I heard something like '2/3s of medical students are hpat repeats..' Whether that's true or not I don't know but if the number is that high I'll be in for a shock!

To be honest I wouldn't be overly surprised because it seems a lot of repeats have gotten it compared to leaving certs.

Seanf999

Header15 wrote: »

To be honest I wouldn't be overly surprised because it seems a lot of repeats have gotten it compared to leaving certs.

Yeah I'd say it's because they spend so much time studying for the leaving cert so the Hpat is almost an after thought, and when they don't pass the hpat they repeat and spend the next year entirely focused on the Hpat

D3mand123

Anyone know of any accommodation left in galway?

CGMed

Contact various campus accommodations tomorrow....might be vacant places after round 3 offers on Friday......

Maggie16

Hi, I was wondering, does anyone know any websites, where I can find out information about medicine. I just want to know how many people applied to UCD, Trinity, RCS, in 2014 and how many got in/number of places. All I can find is the minimum/max number of points on the CAO site. Thank you

cian casey

Does anyone know what the combined points rage was for the various colleges ??

Raspberry Fileds

cian casey wrote: »

Does anyone know what the combined points rage was for the various colleges ??

What do you mean by "combined points-range"? Trinity (the highest) was 732* and Galway (the lowest) was 721. Both of those could still fall because, as was discussed previously, as many as sixty more offers will have to be made.

Header15

Raspberry Fileds wrote: »

What do you mean by "combined points-range"? Trinity (the highest) was 732* and Galway (the lowest) was 721. Both of those could still fall because, as was discussed previously, as many as sixty more offers will have to be made.

UCD changed from 731* to 731 today after the third round I was told by admissions.

cian casey

I should have been clearer, I know the minimum points so far but I'm just curious as to whether they'll release the highest points

Raspberry Fileds

Header15 wrote: »

UCD changed from 731* to 731 today after the third round I was told by admissions.

Thanks. I expet Galway will fall (possibly by 2-4 points) because, as it's the lowest points course, many of those who received a higher offer in the Second Round (supposedly sixty-four) would have had a Galway offer (also because it's the largest medical school).

Header15

Does anyone know the points for all courses after 3rd round?

Raspberry Fileds

cian casey wrote: »

I should have been clearer, I know the minimum points so far but I'm just curious as to whether they'll release the highest points

I'm not aware that that info is published for any course. The UCD prospectus gives points ranges for its courses, but obviously the next edition won't be published for a while.

randylonghorn

cian casey wrote: »

I should have been clearer, I know the minimum points so far but I'm just curious as to whether they'll release the highest points

I don't think so, not officially anyway, though rumours often circulate from within colleges (sometimes reliable, sometimes not). Normally it's just the cut-offs and the median.

If you think about it, listing the highest points for each course could be very off-putting for future applicants. There will always be outliers (e.g. someone with 625 points doing Arts ... and yes, it happens ) but that gives a skewed impression to applicants of what is actually required to get a place on the course.

cian casey

randylonghorn wrote: »

I don't think so, not officially anyway, though rumours often circulate from within colleges (sometimes reliable, sometimes not). Normally it's just the cut-offs and the median.

If you think about it, listing the highest points for each course could be very off-putting for future applicants. There will always be outliers (e.g. someone with 625 points doing Arts ... and yes, it happens ) but that gives a skewed impression to applicants of what is actually required to get a place on the course.

Galway have some sort of range up from last year as 740-785 although I'm not sure how accurate that is

randylonghorn

Maybe they do it for med, lots of odd things about med! :pac:

Not the normal approach certainly.