medical schools in Ireland and HPAT Ireland exam

OP

Original post by Cyanohydrin

Medicine in Ireland requires AAAA at A2 to be considered (not sure about Scottish Qualifications lol).

what does that mean exactly? I'd be an international so I'm not very much familiar with it... are their entry requirements higher overall when compared to the UK schools?

Reply 3

thestudent92

If you go on to the CAO site, they list the equivalent qualifications for international students. Their system is points based, and for medicine there aren't any specific subject requirements, however, they advise that you have biology and chemistry. You gain a certain amount of points and then the HPAT Ireland score, which is their version of the UKCAT, is added to the points you accumulated from your subject grades. An offer is made based on the overall number of points awarded to each applicant, so therefore it seems fairer, as they look at your performance as a whole, rather than just your GCSE grades or UKCAT score :smile:

Reply 4

Yup.

I applied and got into a few Irish schools. Their system is solely focused around academic achievement. The people with the best combined A Levels/Leaving Cert + Entry test scores on a sliding scale get in. Simple. However, because of the focus on academics, the entry requirements are higher than any medical school in the UK. For example, Galway usually requires the least points but even so would roughly require A*AAA and a score in the top 20/25% of candidate taking the entry test to just scrape a place.

Reply 5

Helloworld_95

19

it seems RCSI is a bit more lenient and only wants ABB

also the tuition fees are ridiculous for internationals, especially for RCSI (48,000 euro's per year)

Reply 6

Original post by Helloworld_95

it seems RCSI is a bit more lenient and only wants ABB

also the tuition fees are ridiculous for internationals, especially for RCSI (48,000 euro's per year)

Source?

I know for a fact that they don't!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 7

Helloworld_95

19

Original post by gozatron

Source?

I know for a fact that they don't!

http://www.rcsi.ie/files/admissions/docs/20111214030254_2012%20NON%20EU%20MIN%20ENTRY.doc

Maybe it's just for international students.

Reply 8

Original post by Helloworld_95

http://www.rcsi.ie/files/admissions/docs/20111214030254_2012%20NON%20EU%20MIN%20ENTRY.doc

Maybe it's just for international students.

Check the last sentence in bold. To get in they'll need much higher!

Reply 9

OP

Original post by gozatron

Yup.

I applied and got into a few Irish schools. Their system is solely focused around academic achievement. The people with the best combined A Levels/Leaving Cert + Entry test scores on a sliding scale get in. Simple. However, because of the focus on academics, the entry requirements are higher than any medical school in the UK. For example, Galway usually requires the least points but even so would roughly require A*AAA and a score in the top 20/25% of candidate taking the entry test to just scrape a place.

did the schools you applied to interview you as well? also, did you pay a flat fee for applying or is it 75 euros per each application? in your opinion, how does the HPAT compare to the UKCAT?

Reply 10

No interviews, no personal statements, no references. Solely academics! Get the points required and you're in.

No I paid the one fee (£35?) to submit the CAO application and the fee for the HPAT exam but nothing else.

The HPAT is like a mix of the UKCAT and BMAT in my opinion. As you probably know it's composed of 3 sections, the 1st of which i found very similar to section 1 of the BMAT, QR and VR of the UKCAT. The 2nd is pretty unique, it's testing you empathy and people skills. The last section is very much like the AR section of the UKCAT. Overall, i found the HPAT a little harder than the UKCAT but mainly that was due to the HPAT having very little practice material (2 past papers at the time). It's a much more formal process (sit down paper exam on one day in Ireland rather than a theory test type relaxed style) and unlike the UKCAT you're competing against the other candidates in your cohort.

Reply 11

OP

Original post by gozatron

No interviews, no personal statements, no references. Solely academics! Get the points required and you're in.

No I paid the one fee (£35?) to submit the CAO application and the fee for the HPAT exam but nothing else.

The HPAT is like a mix of the UKCAT and BMAT in my opinion. As you probably know it's composed of 3 sections, the 1st of which i found very similar to section 1 of the BMAT, QR and VR of the UKCAT. The 2nd is pretty unique, it's testing you empathy and people skills. The last section is very much like the AR section of the UKCAT. Overall, i found the HPAT a little harder than the UKCAT but mainly that was due to the HPAT having very little practice material (2 past papers at the time). It's a much more formal process (sit down paper exam on one day in Ireland rather than a theory test type relaxed style) and unlike the UKCAT you're competing against the other candidates in your cohort.

very interesting... I've been looking on the CAO website about entry requirements, but couldn't find any info on specific countries. some random browsing led me to an agency catering to people with north american qualifications wanting to apply to ireland but according to their website, the application was to include a personal statement, references, interviews, and they wrote that the fee is 75 euros per each choice of school you make. :s-smilie:

do you mind me asking, which schools over there made you an offer and what made you choose UK over Ireland in the end?

Reply 12

Original post by member885283

very interesting... I've been looking on the CAO website about entry requirements, but couldn't find any info on specific countries. some random browsing led me to an agency catering to people with north american qualifications wanting to apply to ireland but according to their website, the application was to include a personal statement, references, interviews, and they wrote that the fee is 75 euros per each choice of school you make. :s-smilie:

do you mind me asking, which schools over there made you an offer and what made you choose UK over Ireland in the end?

Ireland as in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland? Queens University Belfast in NI is under the UCAS system and so would require all those things. But all those in the Republic do not.

You don't get offers for Irish schools. You rank the five schools in order of your preference, then once you achieve your grades/entry test scores if you get enough for your first preference you get into that school, if not then if you have enough for your 2nd you get in there and so on in that fashion. My preferred first choice was Galway and i had enough points to get into that school. I chose the UK over Ireland because i'm living in the UK at the moment and it would have been more hassle and expense to go over to Ireland to study. However i intend to work in Ireland once i graduate from Birmingham (hopefully!).

Reply 13

OP

Original post by gozatron

Ireland as in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland?

the republic of ireland only

Original post by gozatron

You don't get offers for Irish schools. You rank the five schools in order of your preference, then once you achieve your grades/entry test scores if you get enough for your first preference you get into that school, if not then if you have enough for your 2nd you get in there and so on in that fashion. My preferred first choice was Galway and i had enough points to get into that school. I chose the UK over Ireland because i'm living in the UK at the moment and it would have been more hassle and expense to go over to Ireland to study. However i intend to work in Ireland once i graduate from Birmingham (hopefully!).

this ranking system sounds pretty good, less pain in deciding in the end. do you plan on going back to ireland afterwards mainly due to personal preference or do you find that the situation in ireland is better as far as their health care system standards and doctor salaries are concerned?

Reply 14