*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2015*

Gallagher1

Lads, it's okay asking if you're safe with like approx 70th percentile because you genuinely will be cutting it fine but if you need to ask if you're okay with 85th percentile+ you need your head checked.

EoghanIRL

Emmp21 wrote: »

Would pharmacy or dentistry be a better option to do for the year before repeating the hpat?

Dentistry because on top of the biochem and physiology that pharmacy also do , you get anatomy and clinical sciences(psychology etc..)
Also pharmacy has more labs and longer first year hours.
Also if you were to end up keeping on Dent you would eligible for advanced entry to medicine.. This is not the case with pharm.

Just my opinion.

Gallagher1

DaveMc90 wrote: »

Would anyone recommend which of pharmacy in trinity or biomedical science in ucd you should do for a year before repeating the hpat? Also if applying for medicine in ucas also

Each to their own I suppose but from what I've heard from people who do biomed in UCD, they can't speak highly enough of it. They do very similar modules to the first meds I believe and this nearly has them ahead of the class whenever they do eventually go into first med. Also doing Biomed would let you bypass UCD's premed should you want to go there for medicine!

Gabrielazap

Okay so my cousin got the 82nd percentile in the HPAT and she's freaking out because she doesn't think it's good enough for any medical college in Ireland. She doesn't have her LC results yet but thinks it went well; 550+. What should I tell her?
Also, I myself was wondering what percentage roughly, of people who sit the HPAT get in to a medical college in Ireland, basically what percentile range would you need to be in to a medical college in Ireland?( e.g would you have to be in the top 20%? ). Sorry if I'm not making sense....

umar3061

By how much do people usually improve by , if you were to repeat the hpat?

Gabrielazap

umar3061 wrote: »

By how much do people usually improve by , if you were to repeat the hpat?

I got the 28th percentile last year but repeated this year and got the 84th percentile So don't listen to those who say you can only increase by a couple of percentiles...

TheEdgeofGlory

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I got the 28th percentile last year but repeated this year and got the 84th percentile So don't listen to those who say you can only increase by a couple of percentiles...

That's an amazing improvement! :eek:How did your bump up your result to such a substantial percentile?

mhf55

umar3061 wrote: »

By how much do people usually improve by , if you were to repeat the hpat?

It depends how much you put into it! Last year I got the 55th percentile and i really did work hard but this year I worked more for it and i got the 98th percentile. Don't believe anyone who thinks you can't work for it because there are too many of these stories for them all to be flukes! Don't give up! Good luck

Gallagher1

umar3061 wrote: »

By how much do people usually improve by , if you were to repeat the hpat?

I'm going to echo what a few others have said, I went from 48th to the 97th percentile. Drastic increases are not uncommon! However I think the other repeats will agree when I say that we put in 20x the work second time around! In my opinion the more work you put in the better you'll do. This notion that hpat is a intelligence/aptitude test is nonsense.

Gabrielazap

Gallagher1 wrote: »

I'm going to echo what a few others have said, I went from 48th to the 97th percentile. Drastic increases are not uncommon! However I think the other repeats will agree when I say that we put in 20x the work second time around! In my opinion the more work you put in the better you'll do. This notion that hpat is a intelligence/aptitude test is nonsense.

I completely agree with you! Those sort of comments got me down when I was studying to repeat the HPAT...I just had to ignore them and hope for the best

TheEdgeofGlory wrote: »

That's an amazing improvement! :eek:How did your bump up your result to such a substantial percentile?

I did alot of work for it the second time round and I was really more concerned with the LC the first time round and sort of neglected the HPAT for a while....It was very hard for me to stay at home for another year when all my friends were heading off to college but it's worth it in the end. I did the MeD E_Ntry prep course second time round but did Careers Po_rtal first time round (which fyi oversimplified the HPAT which is probably why I wasn't really concerned with the HPAT first time round). Anyways, good luck with everything!

Gallagher1

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I did alot of work for it the second time round and I was really more concerned with the LC the first time round and sort of neglected the HPAT for a while....It was very hard for me to stay at home for another year when all my friends were heading off to college but it's worth it in the end. I did the MeD E_Ntry prep course second time round but did Careers Po_rtal first time round (which fyi oversimplified the HPAT which is probably why I wasn't really concerned with the HPAT first time round). Anyways, good luck with everything!

Too many people make this mistake! Also agree with the point regarding seeing your mates going to college. Repeating is tough. Taking the year out to do it is even tougher mentally but is worth every second when you see the reward.

Gabrielazap

Gallagher1 wrote: »

Too many people make this mistake! Also agree with the point regarding seeing your mates going to college. Repeating is tough. Taking the year out to do it is even tougher mentally but is worth every second when you see the reward.

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of people get caught up in the hype of the mocks...Taking the year out was quite the challenge but it proves how much you really want to do medicine I guess Congrats on your brilliant HPAT result btw! What college are you hoping for?

Gallagher1

Gabrielazap wrote: »

Yeah, unfortunately a lot of people get caught up in the hype of the mocks...Taking the year out was quite the challenge but it proves how much you really want to do medicine I guess Congrats on your brilliant HPAT result btw! What college are you hoping for?

Congrats to you too! Not many people can say they tripled their percentile! Im looking to go NUIG :pac: . Can get anywhere with 749 but I just love Galway city and fell in love with college when I was there! Have accommodation sorted and all so I'm totally pressure-free and am dying to go! What about you?

Murphy3

I took the year out and did a course this time round. I jumped from 65th to 84th percentile so practise helps! Hoping that points don't go up. At the minute I have 724 - enough for Galway? Any chance RCSI would drop 3 points? Thanks!

TheEdgeofGlory

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I did alot of work for it the second time round and I was really more concerned with the LC the first time round and sort of neglected the HPAT for a while....It was very hard for me to stay at home for another year when all my friends were heading off to college but it's worth it in the end. I did the MeD E_Ntry prep course second time round but did Careers Po_rtal first time round (which fyi oversimplified the HPAT which is probably why I wasn't really concerned with the HPAT first time round). Anyways, good luck with everything!

Well done for persevering and thanks for sharing your experience and good wishes!. I'm not doing the HPAT until 2017 and it terrifies me frankly, especially the notion of having to repeat! Anyway, congrats on your result and best of luck with college and beyond!

Keher123

nifhiaich97 wrote: »

See for the people who loose out in the random selection (eg 720 last year for Galway) - do they get any special consideration the year after or anything??
Also think I'll be going to Britain after my 161 Hpat lol, anyone Cardiff bound?

I think I'll be...Phew! I won't be the only lost Irish soul over there!

Gabrielazap

Gallagher1 wrote: »

Congrats to you too! Not many people can say they tripled their percentile! Im looking to go NUIG :pac: . Can get anywhere with 749 but I just love Galway city and fell in love with college when I was there! Have accommodation sorted and all so I'm totally pressure-free and am dying to go! What about you?

Hahaha thanks Galway is definitely a beautiful, picturesque county and I have some friends who went to Galway last year and they absolutely love the vibe up there I still have to sort out my accommodation so that should be fun... I'm looking to go to RCSI or UCC. Galway would be a bit too far for me but I'd definitely go if that was were I was offered!

TheEdgeofGlory wrote: »

Well done for persevering and thanks for sharing your experience and good wishes!. I'm not doing the HPAT until 2017 and it terrifies me frankly, especially the notion of having to repeat! Anyway, congrats on your result and best of luck with college and beyond!

You never know, with a bit of luck the HPAT might be done away with by 2017! :pac:

Murphy3 wrote: »

I took the year out and did a course this time round. I jumped from 65th to 84th percentile so practise helps! Hoping that points don't go up. At the minute I have 724 - enough for Galway? Any chance RCSI would drop 3 points? Thanks!

you could have gotten in to RCSI in the 2nd round offers with 724*- random selection applies.

otoolej2

Hey guys, i'm just wondering is it compulsory to do pre-med or does it just depend on the college? Any links or advice would greatly be appreciated.

TheEdgeofGlory

Gabrielazap wrote: »

You never know, with a bit of luck the HPAT might be done away with by 2017! :pac:

Fingers crossed! :rolleyes:

Gallagher1

otoolej2 wrote: »

Hey guys, i'm just wondering is it compulsory to do pre-med or does it just depend on the college? Any links or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Premed is compulsory in UCD, optional in NUIG and RCSI decide if you do it based on if you do LC chemistry or not. No premed in UCC or TCD.

I was talking to one of the Professors in NUIG at the open day and she said that there is a very strong correlation between doing premed and your results the entire way through med school. Apparently those who do premed always seem to do better on average. Some people see it as a waste, some see it as a perfect chance to settle into college and make friends (or be able to go on the beer 24/7 without worrying about study commitments)

spurious

Gallagher1 wrote: »

I was talking to one of the Professors in NUIG at the open day and she said that there is a very strong correlation between doing premed and your results the entire way through med school. Apparently those who do premed always seem to do better on average. Some people see it as a waste, some see it as a perfect chance to settle into college and make friends (or be able to go on the beer 24/7 without worrying about study commitments)

Or it could be the 'year older' factor, which comes into play with those who do TY too.

nifhiaich97

Keher123 wrote: »

I think I'll be...Phew! I won't be the only lost Irish soul over there!

Yay!! Are you going to Cardiff? For med?

alaskayoung

I'm going to go against everyone it seems saying this but I put in a lot of work into the hpat the first time around, lots of practice exams, drills, a prep course etc and got 73%-ile. This year did absolutely nothing just turned up on the day, as a result was much less stressed, slept well etc and got 91%-ile. I really don't think, aside from timing, you can study much for it. Okay section 3, yes, but that doesn't count for much anymore. It probably helps with confidence so you will be more relaxed on the day but it is an aptitude test after all. There's obviously a lot of money to be made out there by these prep companies so of close they're going to be pushing for the opposite idea, especially when people are so desperate but I really disagree.

Queeferz

alaskayoung wrote: »

I'm going to go against everyone it seems saying this but I put in a lot of work into the hpat the first time around, lots of practice exams, drills, a prep course etc and got 73%-ile. This year did absolutely nothing just turned up on the day, as a result was much less stressed, slept well etc and got 91%-ile. I really don't think, aside from timing, you can study much for it. Okay section 3, yes, but that doesn't count for much anymore. It probably helps with confidence so you will be more relaxed on the day but it is an aptitude test after all. There's obviously a lot of money to be made out there by these prep companies so of close they're going to be pushing for the opposite idea, especially when people are so desperate but I really disagree.

I have a very similar story, was completely stressed the first time I did it, ran out of time etc. Second time I was extremely relaxed and confident. A lot of it is to do with staying calm and your self-belief

LochlanCummins

got 168- 76th percentille, so 565 in the leaving cert should get me NUIG hopefully anyone else in the same boat?

Gabrielazap

alaskayoung wrote: »

I'm going to go against everyone it seems saying this but I put in a lot of work into the hpat the first time around, lots of practice exams, drills, a prep course etc and got 73%-ile. This year did absolutely nothing just turned up on the day, as a result was much less stressed, slept well etc and got 91%-ile. I really don't think, aside from timing, you can study much for it. Okay section 3, yes, but that doesn't count for much anymore. It probably helps with confidence so you will be more relaxed on the day but it is an aptitude test after all. There's obviously a lot of money to be made out there by these prep companies so of close they're going to be pushing for the opposite idea, especially when people are so desperate but I really disagree.

Like anything, you can train your brain with a lot of practice. All 3 sections can be improved on in my opinion.

LochlanCummins wrote: »

got 168- 76th percentille, so 565 in the leaving cert should get me NUIG hopefully anyone else in the same boat?

I myself am hoping for RCSI with a HPAT score of 174-84th percentile. I've got 580 in lc.....so fingers crossed! Hopes the lc works out for you!

Aaronlp5

Could I go up from 131 to 171 in a year. I got in for hpat on the last day of the late entry during my mocks (due to a sudden epiphany/realisation thing and so wasn't able to study for it, so could I, with a year of work an classes go up by 40? (In your opinion, I know there's no concrete answer)

Gabrielazap

Aaronlp5 wrote: »

Could I go up from 131 to 171 in a year. I got in for hpat on the last day of the late entry during my mocks (due to a sudden epiphany/realisation thing and so wasn't able to study for it, so could I, with a year of work an classes go up by 40? (In your opinion, I know there's no concrete answer)

anything is possible once you set your mind to it! Perfect practice makes perfect.

mhf55

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are about putting ucd or trinity first? As in which are you putting and why?

hunzo

LochlanCummins wrote: »

got 168- 76th percentille, so 565 in the leaving cert should get me NUIG hopefully anyone else in the same boat?

I got 165 and was 70th percentile. Only got 555 in LC though. Praying for a miracle!

I didn't do any prep course last year and came out with a hpat of 150 (50th percentile).

Have done nursing for the last year and used med***** although I only began properly studying over christmas and that clearly wasnt enough.

On the day I knew I hadn't done my best, I was putting so much pressure on myself as it was the second time and felt as though I genuinely couldn't cope if I didn't get it (again). S1 and s2 went well, S3 was a disaster and I actually cried during it.

Getting disappointing results was very tough but success never comes before work and I genuinely can't imagine doing any other course.

For all the LCs who sat it first time around and got disappointing results, don't worry. You can only improve! It really is such a difficult exam and I found it extremely tough receieving disheartening results, especially as I was always an over acheiever and excelled in school.

I may not have gotten 625 or 95th percentile but I know in my heart its for me, and have so for the last few years. My nursing placement in hospital only motivated me more.

Congratulations to everyone who's gotten their desired results!