*Everything HPAT and Medicine 2015*

jacobwrench97

Hi, hopefully I'm not deviating from topic too much.

So after my pathetic HPAT score this year, I've considered repeating the test next year, possibly while undertaking a biomedical degree.

However, I'm also considering applying through the UCAS system in the UK. The only problem is that it is advisable to get work experience by shadowing a doctor. Is this possible in Ireland? My parents have a home there but that's last resort at this stage. Thanks

Katieg313

Really struggling with my first choice.....RCSI or NUIG?? :O

mlfaw

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I know this is veryyyyy early but just to see if they're any psychics out there hahaha....anyone care to chance making point predictions for medicine 2015?

I believe it will be the same or change by one or two points at most.

Look at the Leaving Cert trend last year: search via google "CAO statistics" and it should be the first link - I can't post links here as I'm a "new user".

Now compare this to other years by going through the other years.

As you can see, the distribution of points are pretty much the same with a tolerance of .5% (excluding the higher points which stay at the same percent nearly every year).

Now compare this to the HPAT scores of the past two years: I can't post links here as I'm a "new user" so search via google "HPAT Results" and ACER's website with all the different results from each year should appear and open 2015 and 2014 and compare.

The percentiles are the same but there seems to be more of a distribution amongst the lower end of points compared to last year (shouldn't affect the overall score). However, it's important to mention this appears to be as a result of the fact that people, overall, didn't do as well in the HPAT this year as we see that the lower end is the lowest of any other year and the higher end is the second lowest (ignoring the fact that one or two MAY have gotten a high score like 238 - outliers). This would indicate to me that the scores should be the same if not slightly lower, though I feel they may go up by a point or two (intuition - I have nothing to show that they'll go up).

It's also worth mentioning the trend seems to be similar to that of 2009 if you check the "ACER results" page I mentioned earlier.

We need to consider that the 25 extra points weren't around in 2009, so we need to add 5 points extra to that year for each University to bring it to what it would be like by today's standards (5 points as we're assuming everyone got 550 or higher so 25/5 would be 5).

So, what to take from this - if you got over 725 you more than likely will be eligible for at least one University so stop worrying about something we won't know precisely for another two months and enjoy the Summer.

lcguy

Katieg313 wrote: »

Really struggling with my first choice.....RCSI or NUIG?? :O

Also struggling between UCD and NUIG

Katieg313

lcguy wrote: »

Also struggling between UCD and NUIG

Galway is such a lovely place in comparison to Dublin but I can't help but feel the training in hospitals etc later on in the degree and also opportunities afterwards would be better in Dublin!

lcguy

Katieg313 wrote: »

Galway is such a lovely place in comparison to Dublin but I can't help but feel the training in hospitals etc later on in the degree and also opportunities afterwards would be better in Dublin!

Yes thats also my thinking. UCD definitely seems to have bettter hospitals, but Galway is a great city and much closer to home. It'll be a tough 4 hours.

Gallagher1

Katieg313 wrote: »

Galway is such a lovely place in comparison to Dublin but I can't help but feel the training in hospitals etc later on in the degree and also opportunities afterwards would be better in Dublin!

'Opportunities' (I.e where you end up as an intern is based solely on your final degree grade, not where you went to college) so a UCC student with a 2.1 will always get priority in picking where they want to work over a TCD 2.2 student.

Katieg313 wrote: »

Really struggling with my first choice.....RCSI or NUIG?? :O

If you want to enjoy college, NUIG is your best bet here. They are both the exact same in terms of academic standard but from people I know personally, RCSI doesn't compare to any of the other colleges regarding the social aspect of university..I can't confirm this as I'm not in RCSI myself but I've heard more than one person say this

Gabrielazap

randylonghorn wrote: »

Gabriela, step away from the computer!!! :cool:

Open the front door, and walk outside ... that yellow bright ball in the sky radiating heat onto your face is the sun! Enjoy it!

Seriously, no-one knows (not even the colleges) what the points will be as yet; they can't, until the LC results are out and factored in.

All the indications so far are that there shouldn't be a huge difference between last year and this year ... that's as much as anyone can say at the moment.

Do try to relax a little, put it out of your mind and enjoy the summer.

haha gotcha thanks I'll try to but it's veryyy hard to

alaskayoung

Gallagher1 wrote: »

If you want to enjoy college, NUIG is your best bet here. They are both the exact same in terms of academic standard but from people I know personally, RCSI doesn't compare to any of the other colleges regarding the social aspect of university..I can't confirm this as I'm not in RCSI myself but I've heard more than one person say this

No. Nope. No way. Nobody should choose NUIG. Dublin all the way. (Psssst. If you want to go to Galway stop driving up the points by recommending it!!!)

NUIG #1 :cool:

Am I the only one ridiculously paranoid that I've made some drastic mistake on my CAO that I can't see? I've checked it like 3 times in the past hour.

randylonghorn

Gabrielazap wrote: »

haha gotcha thanks I'll try to but it's veryyy hard to

I know, chief, but all the worrying in the world won't change it a whit.

It will, however, spoil your summer, and leave you emotionally exhausted before you ever start college!

Gabrielazap

yeah I know what you mean! I guess I've just got a lot of spare time hahaha Thanks for the advice though it was taken on board! Hope you're enjoying the good weather! :P

shakywaky

hi guys i have a combined score of 717 - i'd just like to get people's opinions on whether i have a slight chance of getting galway or not..maybe someone knows of a person who was a similar number of points away from their course and they got it on a later round offer or something...? and please be brutally honest!

Murphy3 wrote: »

Debating between physiotherapy or pharmacy for second choice after medicine- any advice?

just throwing this is in case you haven't considered it... if you really want medicine and love everything to do with it then i would say the best course to put as your second choice is biomed in ucd - friends have done it and have gone to grad med afterwards, they say it's the next best thing to med!

also pharmacy is very heavy in first year and is very geared towards chemistry and lab work whereas physio is much more people orientated and has the anatomy which is central to med.

mlfaw

shakywaky wrote: »

hi guys i have a combined score of 717 - i'd just like to get people's opinions on whether i have a slight chance of getting galway or not..maybe someone knows of a person who was a similar number of points away from their course and they got it on a later round offer or something...? and please be brutally honest!

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but unless the points go down there is no chance. I'm on 722 and I feel that I won't make it. Last year's second round offer was 720*, the lowest before that was 2009 with 713* but there was no 25 extra for Maths back then so you need to factor in that.

Now, on saying this, it appears that points MAY go down as this year seems to have had the poorest performance of candidates than any other year and there were less sitting the HPAT this year as well so there are suggestions that they will go down, whether that will be by ~3 points I can't tell. Sorry.

shakywaky

mlfaw wrote: »

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but unless the points go down there is no chance. I'm on 722 and I feel that I won't make it. Last year's second round offer was 720*, the lowest before that was 2009 with 713* but there was no 25 extra for Maths back then so you need to factor in that.

Now, on saying this, it appears that points MAY go down as this year seems to have had the poorest performance of candidates than any other year and there were less sitting the HPAT this year as well so there are suggestions that they will go down, whether that will be by ~3 points I can't tell. Sorry.

Thanks, appreciate it! That's exactly what I'm thinking and am hoping for a miracle really...

Gabrielazap

shakywaky wrote: »

Thanks, appreciate it! That's exactly what I'm thinking and am hoping for a miracle really...

I know someone who got medicine with 716 in 2013 in TCD he had HEAR so I'm presuming he got in through that!

mlfaw wrote: »

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but unless the points go down there is no chance. I'm on 722 and I feel that I won't make it. Last year's second round offer was 720*, the lowest before that was 2009 with 713* but there was no 25 extra for Maths back then so you need to factor in that.

Now, on saying this, it appears that points MAY go down as this year seems to have had the poorest performance of candidates than any other year and there were less sitting the HPAT this year as well so there are suggestions that they will go down, whether that will be by ~3 points I can't tell. Sorry.

mflaw I would think you would get NUIG with 722?

Gallagher1

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I know someone who got medicine with 716 in 2013 in TCD he had HEAR so I'm presuming he got in through that!

716..TCD..my good god..

Gabrielazap

Gallagher1 wrote: »

716..TCD..my good god..

I know lucky man! There must not have been much demand for HEAR places in TCD that year!

mlfaw

Gabrielazap wrote: »

I know someone who got medicine with 716 in 2013 in TCD he had HEAR so I'm presuming he got in through that!



mflaw I would think you would get NUIG with 722?

Thank you, I'm hoping so, but you never know with the CAO.

hunzo

I have a combined score of 716 and am eligible for HEAR.

What do you think my options will be..

Cao order is UCD, NUI, TCD, UCC

As far as I'm aware nobody got into NUI through HEAR last year (unsure why).

Kind of wishing I put Nui down first, a lot closer to home, less expensive, and would probably be nice to be able to go home during placement and studying.

Ahhhh 😌😌

Definitely overthinking it at this stage!

Anyone know anyone who got Med through hear and if so what the points reduction was?

I know your competing with the other HEAR applicants but genuinely can't wait the four weeks.

Any help appreciated

hunzo

Have a combined score of 716 but am eligible for HEAR, is there hope??

Put down UCD, NUI, TCD and then UCC

Kind of wish I put down nui first, a lot closer to home..

Does anyone know of anyone who got into med through HEAR? If so what were the points reductions. I know I have to compete with other HEAR applicants, just looking for some guidance!

Gabrielazap

hunzo wrote: »

I have a combined score of 716 and am eligible for HEAR.

What do you think my options will be..

Cao order is UCD, NUI, TCD, UCC

As far as I'm aware nobody got into NUI through HEAR last year (unsure why).

Kind of wishing I put Nui down first, a lot closer to home, less expensive, and would probably be nice to be able to go home during placement and studying.

Ahhhh 😌😌

Definitely overthinking it at this stage!

Anyone know anyone who got Med through hear and if so what the points reduction was?

I know your competing with the other HEAR applicants but genuinely can't wait the four weeks.

Any help appreciated

Nobody can really say....it depends on how well other HEAR applicants did/
how well their overall points are..however I know someone who got into TCD through HEAR in 2013 and didn't break the 720 mark so you never know! Good luck!

vladd25

I am an EU student and I've just got my results for all the exams. What are my chances for NUI Galway with 722 points?

mlfaw

vladd25 wrote: »

I am an EU student and I've just got my results for all the exams. What are my chances for NUI Galway with 722 points?

I'm in the same position as you in terms of points; we'll either get in by the skin of our teeth, miss out slightly or it'll be lottery based for those who got our score.

The latter is likely as the trend after massive shifts in points is an increase of two points. We're in a limbo state where it's both likely and unlikely we'll get it, sorry if this isn't directly helpful. I think what matters most for us getting in is how many applicants put Galway as their first and second choices as the LC points per percentiles doesn't change per year and the HPAT percentiles was the same this year.

alaskayoung

hunzo wrote: »

I have a combined score of 716 and am eligible for HEAR.

What do you think my options will be..

Cao order is UCD, NUI, TCD, UCC

As far as I'm aware nobody got into NUI through HEAR last year (unsure why).

Kind of wishing I put Nui down first, a lot closer to home, less expensive, and would probably be nice to be able to go home during placement and studying.

Ahhhh 😌😌

Definitely overthinking it at this stage!

Anyone know anyone who got Med through hear and if so what the points reduction was?

I know your competing with the other HEAR applicants but genuinely can't wait the four weeks.

Any help appreciated

I'd say you have a reasonably good chance of getting into NUIG at the very least with HEAR. Of course it depends on the points of the other HEAR/DARE applicants (I think they're lumped together?) but you'll definitely be up near the top of them with those points, considering the entry was at 721 last year. I've heard of people getting into NUIG with points in the low 700's with HEAR/DARE but have no concrete facts or figures for you :P
There'll also be people who've been accepted into the scheme but are above the required points so they won't take up the places either. Yes it's definitely a long 4 weeks but I'd be quietly confident if I were you. Try not to spend your holidays obsessing about it. Nothing can be done at this stage :P

vladd25

mlfaw wrote:

I'm in the same position as you in terms of points; we'll either get in by the skin of our teeth, miss out slightly or it'll be lottery based for those who got our score.

The latter is likely as the trend after massive shifts in points is an increase of two points. We're in a limbo state where it's both likely and unlikely we'll get it, sorry if this isn't directly helpful. I think what matters most for us getting in is how many applicants put Galway as their first and second choices as the LC points per percentiles doesn't change per year and the HPAT percentiles was the same this year.

How do you know that there's gonna be an increase of 2 points? I made some statistics on the graphs published by ACER and there's no indications for a 2-point increase.

mlfaw

vladd25 wrote: »

How do you know that there's gonna be an increase of 2 points? I made some statistics on the graphs published by ACER and there's no indications for a 2-point increase.

Assumption due to the fact that no two years have stayed the same. I did regression analysis on them and found that there is no linearity however, so my point may be moot.

As I said in a previous post:

mlfaw wrote: »

I believe it will be the same or change by one or two points at most.

Look at the Leaving Cert trend last year: search via google "CAO statistics" and it should be the first link - I can't post links here as I'm a "new user".

Now compare this to other years by going through the other years.

As you can see, the distribution of points are pretty much the same with a tolerance of .5% (excluding the higher points which stay at the same percent nearly every year).

Now compare this to the HPAT scores of the past two years: I can't post links here as I'm a "new user" so search via google "HPAT Results" and ACER's website with all the different results from each year should appear and open 2015 and 2014 and compare.

The percentiles are the same but there seems to be more of a distribution amongst the lower end of points compared to last year (shouldn't affect the overall score). However, it's important to mention this appears to be as a result of the fact that people, overall, didn't do as well in the HPAT this year as we see that the lower end is the lowest of any other year and the higher end is the second lowest (ignoring the fact that one or two MAY have gotten a high score like 238 - outliers). This would indicate to me that the scores should be the same if not slightly lower, though I feel they may go up by a point or two (intuition - I have nothing to show that they'll go up).

It's also worth mentioning the trend seems to be similar to that of 2009 if you check the "ACER results" page I mentioned earlier.

We need to consider that the 25 extra points weren't around in 2009, so we need to add 5 points extra to that year for each University to bring it to what it would be like by today's standards (5 points as we're assuming everyone got 550 or higher so 25/5 would be 5).

Whether I'm correct only time will tell, as I said NUIG is now relying on how many people put it down as their first choise, say for example a significant number of people who got higher points (eligible for the other Universities) and put down Galway it will cause Galway to go up. Hopefully this won't happen.

vladd25

Hello,

I am an EU student and when I contacted the admissions affice at RCSI I got a reply that I don't really understand. Here's what they said:

"A percentage of all other EU applicants (not Irish Leaving Cert) with the highest combined points will be allocated places in August.



The percentage of places allocated to Group B applicants - GCE A Level Students and all other EU School Leavers - Group C is calculated by the total number of eligible applicants from each group.



There is a much higher proportion of GCE A Level candidates achieving 625 points than there are Irish Leaving Certificate students, so a quota is in operation for these two other groups assuring equity across all EU systems. Your points and those of hundreds of other EU applicants will be applied and ranked. We will not know what the points cut off will be until it is published in August. There could be 10 other EU applicants ahead of you on the lists with higher points. We won’t know your position until all applicants have been ranked and offers have been released."

Does anyone have any information about these A,B and C groups?

What I gather from this email is that there might be different cut-off points for each group. Is this correct?

OMGeary

vladd25 wrote: »

Hello,

I am an EU student and when I contacted the admissions affice at RCSI I got a reply that I don't really understand. Here's what they said:

"A percentage of all other EU applicants (not Irish Leaving Cert) with the highest combined points will be allocated places in August.



The percentage of places allocated to Group B applicants - GCE A Level Students and all other EU School Leavers - Group C is calculated by the total number of eligible applicants from each group.



There is a much higher proportion of GCE A Level candidates achieving 625 points than there are Irish Leaving Certificate students, so a quota is in operation for these two other groups assuring equity across all EU systems. Your points and those of hundreds of other EU applicants will be applied and ranked. We will not know what the points cut off will be until it is published in August. There could be 10 other EU applicants ahead of you on the lists with higher points. We won’t know your position until all applicants have been ranked and offers have been released."

Does anyone have any information about these A,B and C groups?

What I gather from this email is that there might be different cut-off points for each group. Is this correct?

I think it means you are only against EU students not sitting the LC in terms of points. So there is a set number of places for this category every year, and the people with the highest points in the group get accepted. I think, hope this makes sense

vladd25

OMGeary wrote:

I think it means you are only against EU students not sitting the LC in terms of points. So there is a set number of places for this category every year, and the people with the highest points in the group get accepted. I think, hope this makes sense

That's what I understood as well, but does this mean that there are different scores for each group?

randylonghorn

vladd25 wrote: »

That's what I understood as well, but does this mean that there are different scores for each group?

It looks like it. Translating different grades systems across countries is a difficult business at the best of times, so I think what they're saying is "we hold a quota of places in 3 groups:

A - LC students
B - A-level students
C - all other EU

and those within each group are ranked by score, and the top X (where X = quota) gets a place.

So, realistically, there will always be different cut-offs for each of the groups, as they are independent of each other.