So I’m slowly starting to realise the hpat is only a few months away and that’s pretty scary. Seeing as the test has only been needed to apply for medicine in Ireland for the last 2 years, none of us are as informed on it as we’d like to be and accurate predictions are highly unlikely.
Although these courses that are available for students who want to sit the HPAT exam are a total rip off, and, in my opinion, a money making scam, there’s one workshop that’s been recommended to me by a few people going into medicine this year. (Of course, the most expensive one) The platinum package is a ridiculous 570 euro,which includes a two day workshop (they visit numerous places around Ireland between December and February) and you get unlimited practice questions and all that kinda stuff.Theres a cheaper way around it, though. If you get one more person to register you each get it for 350 euro,which works out to be the average/below average price of all other full package prep courses in the country.
If anybody applying for medicine is also interested in doing the course(and wants to save a good deal of money) let me know on this or send me an email : [email protected]
Heres a link to the site: http://www.medentry-hpat.ie/platinum_detail.asp
Kiera
The institute of education course is two days and costs €350
Yeah I know.Thats one Ive been looking at too but the other ones a little more recommended and you get alot more with it.So im gonna see if i can get someone else to do it and itll work as the same price as the institute of education
hey, im a student from the North who’s interested in sitting this course im doing the Hpat for university of ulster it has the same structure as the Irish Hpat. be very gratefull for any info and if you’ve found a partner to share the cost yet..?
“These courses that are available for students who want to sit the HPAT exam are a total rip off ,and,in my opinion,a money making scam,”
Huh? Yet you want to go and do one?
Read through it again and you might see the word “ALTHOUGH” at the start of the sentence. 🙂
just cos she said theyre trying to make money out of it,it doesnt mean the course isent good.actually,she said she heard the course was good.thats probably why she wants to do it ?
Ohhhhh, sorry! I even cut the although out of the quote…it’s late…I’m gettin’ old…more tired ramblings…
Anyway, as I said in an earlier blog about HPAT, I know people who got into med without a prep course, with a prep course but I also know people who didn’t with no prep course. It really is tough to gauge their worth, I wish they published some stats showing what percentage of people who do their course get into med.
The jury’s still out whether I’ll do MedEntry or not. Beware of a lot of online shilling by prep course companies though.
Good luck!
Hey,common mistake maybe I need to work on my clarity for the english exam 😉
Yeah I wish they would too.I think were at the unfortunate early stage of the hpat,so,as i said, info is limited.They`ll probably give all those percentages in a few years.Acer themselves will probably bring out preparation courses in the next couple of years (more money after all)
I know what you mean alot of these companies see golden opportunity to make money out of students whod do anything to get medicine.But I read over my first blog yesterday and a girl doing medicine this year left a comment recommending the medentry course.as have 2 guys from my school last year.and my guidance counsellor.
I actually didnt know you were a blogger.Are you going for medicine ya?Its a tough call but I think MAYBE its worth doing the course for peace of mind,but then it depends on the person.Some people can just sit apptitude tests and ace the thing with little effort at all.Im not one of them 🙁
No, no, just hope you never have a corrector like me that disregards key words every now and again! 😛
I doubt ACER will ever do a prep course, it would undermine the exam really if they did. It’d be like having a LC teacher who’s involved in the making of the biology paper teaching you biology! They’ve released a new practice test booklet this year though, so there’s now two availiable on the HPAT (but they’re 22€ each + 5.50 P&P).
Another test booklet worth getting (it comes in computer format, so you can print it off) is the UMAT papers. UMAT is the Australian version of the HPAT, and the format is very similiar to HPAT. I hope the UMAT practice papers are not similiar to the HPAT practice papers on questions though, but I’m not sure!
Yeah, I’m going for medicine this year too. 😀 The whole point of the HPAT is that ANYONE should be able to sit the test and ace it with no specialist knowledge of any in-depth knowledge of any specific subject. I think (but for the love of god, don’t blame me if it all goes wrong! I haven’t done the HPAT before, or a prep course) the greatest thing you’d acquire from the preparation courses is confidence, which can be gotten for free by being confident in your own ability and just chillin’. Prepare for the test by getting the timing right using the practice tests from ACER.
As I said, I still haven’t made my mind completely up about doing a prep course, but I’m erring on the side of trusting my own ceann. :-/
Even if the coaching doesn’t help, the thinking skills developed should be useful in life:
From http://www.medentry.edu.au/news.asp
Coaching Enhances Performance at University
The Psychometric Entrance Test (PET) is a standardised test used for medical admission in Israel, administered by the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE). At the 35th International Association for Educational Assessment Conference in Brisbane (August 2010), the Director of the NITE said that while the organisation does not approve of coaching colleges (because they make NITE’s task in distinguishing between students more difficult), students who undergo coaching for PET perform better at university because they have more developed thinking skills.
I did the hpat in 2009 and got in the 50th percentile but then repeated it the next year and got in the 96th percentile!! If u ask me it’s all down to practice and just doing a hell of a lot of practice exams!
Dave,thats unreal!Well done!Either your apptitute increased DRAMATICALLY over 12 months,or hard work really does pay off!i think ill go with the latter and hope for the best!!:)
Sorry for posting on an old post, but I know people that have done all the really expensive practise courses and said that all they did was help with the timing of it all.
Apparently the questions in the actual exam are much harder than practise questions:(
I don’t know from personal experience though.. Haven’t sat the test yet
Most of my friends did the HPat and started medicine last year. One did a prep course, the others could not afford it. You can easily get it using books and a cynical, critical mind. Those courses are a money-racket.
anyone still interested in the group discount?