HPAT - The Low Down!
- Marie Russell
- Aug 23, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Jul 25, 2024
Last updated: 25th July, 2024
If you are considering the HPAT or already on your pathway - HERE is a free study resource to help you along the way. If you are interested in a HPAT Study Diary, specifically designed to help you keep track of the different sections and keep your lifestyle balance - please drop me a line on pathwaysguidance@gmail.com to share ideas for your ideal study buddy!
⚕️ What is HPAT?
HPAT stands for Health Professions Admission Test. It is a test developed by ACER and used to help select students into medicine and some other health science courses at university. HPAT consists of questions in three sections:
Section 1: Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving | 44 Questions | 65 minutes
Section 2: Interpersonal Understanding | 36 Questions | 45 minutes
Section 3: Non-Verbal Reasoning | 30 Questions | 40 minutes
⬆️ Why HPAT?
Because the demand for medicine is so significant, the leaving certificate points required to get in became extremely high. Universities therefore needed another method for selecting students into medicine.
🏫 What courses require HPAT?
You will need to sit HPAT-Ireland if you are interested in any of the following courses:
📝 How many questions are in HPAT? What is the structure of HPAT?
There are a total of 110 questions in HPAT, with the number of questions divided among the sections as follows:
Note that applicants to the University of Limerick will also be required to sit a one hour Written English component composed of two essay prompts.
⏰ How long is HPAT?
HPAT takes a total of two and a half hours. There are no breaks between sections.
📆 When is HPAT?
The HPAT–Ireland test window will run from the middle of February (2024 dates were: Friday 16 to Sunday 25 February). Booklet HERE. I will update these dates as soon as they are released for the coming year!
✍🏼 How do I register for HPAT?
You can register for HPAT by visiting https://hpat-ireland.acer.org/register
🔗 When do registrations for HPAT open?
Registrations for HPAT open in December of the previous year.
❌ When do registrations for HPAT close?
Your online registration and payment must be completed by GMT 5:15 pm, on a date circa 20 January each year. Late registrations will be accepted up to a given day/time later in January.
👉 Late registrations must pay an additional fee.
⏳ An exceptional late registration is available until early February. This is only available to test takers who have submitted their application to CAO by the first cut-off deadline (usually 1 February) and attracts an additional fee.
💰 How much does HPAT cost?
The standard registration fee for HPAT–Ireland is €152.80. Late registration fees apply, see payment details.
🙇🏽 When can I sit HPAT? Who can sit HPAT?
You can sit HPAT in your final year of secondary school (6th year) and any year thereafter. HPAT–Ireland is conducted once in February each year.
All HPAT–Ireland test sessions will be conducted via remote proctoring. Test takers will select a time and day that suits them to complete their test.
The test window includes a number of test days for those candidates who experience technical difficulties and need a rescheduled session.
📃 When are HPAT scores released?
HPAT scores are usually released in Late June.
Applicants to the University of Limerick and mature applicants will receive their results in late April.
📧 You will receive an email from ACER which will inform you how to access your results.
🪑 Where can I sit HPAT?
Online! Candidates are advised to begin pre-test procedures with enough time. Ensure you have downloaded the ACER test app to your computer prior to your sitting time.
Candidates may only leave the testing room to use the bathroom. There is no extra time given for this break.
🧐 What do my HPAT results mean?
Your HPAT Statement of Results will display two measures of your performance: HPAT score and HPAT percentile.
Your overall HPAT score is a weighted sum of the scores of your your three sections combined. Sections 1 and 2 are each weighted at 40%, and section 3 is weighted at 20%. Feeling mathematical?The formula for calculating the overall HPAT score is 0.4 x (Section 1 + Section 2) + 0.2 x Section 3.
The HPAT section scores are derived (scaled) from your raw score (the number of questions you got right) using statistical methods that are not publicly available by ACER. Note that you will never know your raw score. Section scores normally, but not always, range in value from 0-20 to 100. The maximum overall score possible is theoretically 300, but in reality very few students obtain an overall score over 200 (they are usually in the top 1% of candidates). Last year the highest overall HPAT score obtained was 237.
Your percentile rank gives an indication of how your overall score compares to other students who sat HPAT in that year. For example, if you obtain a percentile rank of 70, this means you have performed better than 70% of students and 30% of students have performed better than you.
😠 Can Results be Queried if I'm Unhappy with my result?
The short answer is not anymore. ACER states that HPAT-Ireland results are released ‘only after careful calculation and extensive checking’. It used to be possible, prior to 2020, to request a re-check of your answer sheet at a cost of €85. However, since 2021, HPAT-Ireland has run online, and therefore no appeals against HPAT-Ireland results have been, or will be, considered. So.........it's not possible to request a remark at this time.
😰 How hard is HPAT?
HPAT is a very difficult test! Many practicing medical specialists believe that HPAT was the hardest test they ever sat. The questions are completely different to those you will have encountered at school or university, and there is a strict time limit which means that the vast majority of students do not finish the exam. It is a two and a half hour long test requiring extreme concentration.
The HPAT is the bane of most aspiring medical students in Ireland. Inconveniently timed during the most stressful year of secondary school, with no syllabus or possibility of rote learning and cramming, of questionable relevance and usefulness, and potentially worth up to 3 A1s in points terms.
The best advice? Start early, and put time into preparing.
The good news? It is possible to prepare for and do well in HPAT and there are preparation courses out there to help. The most popular ones available are by MedEntry and the Institute of Education. Usually these packages consist of a weekend course with a sample exam, then access to multiple online practice quizzes and sample papers. If you know anyone else looking to do one, team up and apply together as they usually have substantial discounts for two or more people!
⚒️ Tips from a Past Pupil!
I would aim to do an exam every weekend; on Saturday I would sit down and do the entire exam, sometimes with breaks between to refresh, then on Sunday I would spend almost equally long going through that exam to check my answers.
Failing to review your answers properly and thoroughly is probably one of the major pitfalls that many students meet. Some people only look at their final result and then move on, others may check which ones they got wrong then move on. I would go through every answer, in both the small practice quizzes and the longer sample exams, and if I got the question right I would make sure it was for the right reasons, and if I got it wrong I would try and follow the logic of the answer explanations given for each question. These explanations were invaluable, as they show you where you made a mistake and can thus prevent you from making the same mistake in future! Even if you got the question right, check, as I often got questions right by fluke using the wrong logic.
📚 How can I prepare for HPAT? How can I study for HPAT? How can I do well in HPAT?
Successful preparation for HPAT can be summarised in five key steps:
Understand the importance of HPAT
Familiarise yourself with HPAT-style questions
Learn strategies for tackling each type of question
Attempt full length practice exams under timed conditions
🗓 What HPAT score do I need to get into medicine? What is a good HPAT score? What is HPAT marked out of?
The maximum score that can be achieved in HPAT is theoretically 300, but in reality anyone who gets 200 or more has done exceptionally well in HPAT, and is in the top 1% of candidates sitting HPAT.
The minimum points required to get into medicine varies from year to year and between universities, but a total of at least 720 points is generally required. This is the addition of:
Your adjusted Leaving Certificate points and
Your HPAT overall score
🚨What if I Don't get my Course?
If you miss out on your course of choice this year, there are several options available to you. These are outlined below.
Leaving Certificate points are high, but your HPAT is not? Consider re-sitting your HPAT (note that in most cases you can use this year's Leaving Certificate points for entry into medicine next year)
Leaving Certificate points are not high? Consider re-sitting both HPAT and Leaving Certificate (note that HPAT scores are only valid for one year, so you will need to re-sit HPAT)
Take a longer path? You can pursue graduate entry medicine (however, note that this is a more expensive and time-consuming pathway, and there is still an element of uncertainty involved in terms of obtaining entry)
The HPAT is by no means a walk in the park, but it is very doable if you put in the work beforehand. Get started as early as you can with sample questions, and practice, practice, practice! The long hours and frustrating weeks will be worth it on the day!
🕵🏽 Sources & Further Reading:
ACER provides practice exams which you can (and should) purchase when you register to sit HPAT. Keep in mind that these questions are often easier than the real HPAT, and do not include all the types of questions that you may encounter, particularly the newer style questions.
Don't forget| If you are considering the HPAT or already on your pathway - HERE is a free study resource to help you along the way. If you are interested in a HPAT Study Diary, specifically designed to help you keep track of the different sections and keep your lifestyle balance - please drop me a line on pathwaysguidance@gmail.com to share ideas for your ideal study buddy! I am busy working on this key resource right now, so your input would be most welcome.
To get in touch by DM or:
📧 pathwaysguidance@gmail.com
🕸 www.pathwaysguidance.ie
📞 0868773289
Marie 🪶
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