The Student Room Group

Medicine at Trinity College Dublin

Hey :smile:

Can anyone give me an average offer for medicine at TCD?

Also, would three A2's be acceptable or not?

Thanks :smile:
Reply 1
Here is the webpage with the minimum requirements and points cut off from last year: http://www.tcd.ie/courses/undergraduate/az/course.php?id=187

Medicine in Ireland is extremely competitive. The points cutoff was 730 last year. I'm not sure what points the A levels are awarded but I think the maximum is 160 points per subject. You then have to combine the points from you subjects with the score form your HPAT. It is kind of like the UKCAT but a bit longer. If your combined score is greater then the cut off point you will be offered a place.

I should point out however that the cut off point changes each year depending on the quality of applicants.
Reply 2
Original post by panda8714
Hey :smile:

Can anyone give me an average offer for medicine at TCD?

Also, would three A2's be acceptable or not?

Thanks :smile:


I have applied this year, so here's the info you need

They don't give out offers, you get points based on your A-level grades and an extra test called the HPAT, and if you're above a cutoff, you get a place on results day. your A-level grades are out of 565, and HPAT out of 300, and for Trinity last year you needed 739 points, so the higher you get in the HPAT the less you need from your A-levels.

A* at A level are 150 points, As are 135, Bs 120 etc. You also get 25 extra points for A level maths.

After yo have reached 550 points from your grades, every 5 points you get actually count for 1, so for e.g. if I get 580 points, that gets scaled down to 556.

You then add your HPAT score onto your points from grades. Although they don't say you need 4A2s, to get enough points you definitely need them.

For example: I got 191/300 in the HPAT, and from grades I will most likely get A*maths ABB - 550 points so overall 741 points, which would have got me into Trinity last year, but unlikely this year as points go up around 8 each year

Any more questions, just ask :smile:
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by InkyOne
I have applied this year, so here's the info you need

They don't give out offers, you get points based on your A-level grades and an extra test called the HPAT, and if you're above a cutoff, you get a place on results day. your A-level grades are out of 565, and HPAT out of 300, and for Trinity last year you needed 739 points, so the higher you get in the HPAT the less you need from your A-levels.

A* at A level are 150 points, As are 135, Bs 120 etc. You also get 25 extra points for A level maths.

After yo have reached 550 points from your grades, every 5 points you get actually count for 1, so for e.g. if I get 580 points, that gets scaled down to 556.

You then add your HPAT score onto your points from grades. Although they don't say you need 4A2s, to get enough points you definitely need them.

For example: I got 191/300 in the HPAT, and from grades I will most likely get A*maths ABB - 550 points so overall 741 points, which would have got me into Trinity last year, but unlikely this year as points go up around 8 each year

Any more questions, just ask :smile:


Thanks so much for your help :smile: So, was the HPAT really difficult then, any more so than the UKCAT?
Reply 4
Original post by panda8714
Thanks so much for your help :smile: So, was the HPAT really difficult then, any more so than the UKCAT?


I thought it was more of a test of intelligence than the UKCAT - I got about the same in both, but I found that in answering the HPAT questions it was more a challenge of my mind, whereas the UKCAT was more challenging my speed reading and mental maths. - to show how they compare, I got 687 in the UKCAT and 191 in the HPAT, and I know someone in the 630s UKCAT and 170s HPAT.

The HPAT has 3 sections, the 1st is like a normal intelligence test, the 2nd is about interpretations of inter-personal relationships, i.e. they give a scenario then ask what the characters are feeling/thinking etc. (That bit's actually quite fun, but my worst section lol) the 3rd section is like a normal non-verbal reading test.

I didn't do the BMAT, but apparently the HPAT is more similar to the BMAT than the UKCAT.
Original post by InkyOne
I thought it was more of a test of intelligence than the UKCAT - I got about the same in both, but I found that in answering the HPAT questions it was more a challenge of my mind, whereas the UKCAT was more challenging my speed reading and mental maths. - to show how they compare, I got 687 in the UKCAT and 191 in the HPAT, and I know someone in the 630s UKCAT and 170s HPAT.

The HPAT has 3 sections, the 1st is like a normal intelligence test, the 2nd is about interpretations of inter-personal relationships, i.e. they give a scenario then ask what the characters are feeling/thinking etc. (That bit's actually quite fun, but my worst section lol) the 3rd section is like a normal non-verbal reading test.

I didn't do the BMAT, but apparently the HPAT is more similar to the BMAT than the UKCAT.


Just wondering how did you practice for the HPAT?
Reply 6
Original post by NoFunnyBusiness
Just wondering how did you practice for the HPAT?


I did a course called 'medentry', it was really expensive though, but for me, worth it, as I never do as much practice for stuff as I intend (if any) and it really gave me a firm basis for the HPAT. There are other options such as an online subscription with tutorials and practice questions and papers too.
Original post by InkyOne
I did a course called 'medentry', it was really expensive though, but for me, worth it, as I never do as much practice for stuff as I intend (if any) and it really gave me a firm basis for the HPAT. There are other options such as an online subscription with tutorials and practice questions and papers too.


How much was it? Did you also get resources from ACER? When do you find out you've been given a place?
Original post by maherro
Here is the webpage with the minimum requirements and points cut off from last year: http://www.tcd.ie/courses/undergraduate/az/course.php?id=187

Medicine in Ireland is extremely competitive. The points cutoff was 730 last year. I'm not sure what points the A levels are awarded but I think the maximum is 160 points per subject. You then have to combine the points from you subjects with the score form your HPAT. It is kind of like the UKCAT but a bit longer. If your combined score is greater then the cut off point you will be offered a place.

I should point out however that the cut off point changes each year depending on the quality of applicants.


Well done for getting into Medicine! :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by NoFunnyBusiness
How much was it? Did you also get resources from ACER? When do you find out you've been given a place?


from what I remember, 500 euro ish for the course and the resources, for just the resources its about 200 euro. I didn't bother with the resources from ACER, as they are only 2 past papers, and sedentary gave me tonnes. I find out a couple of days after results day, but luckily I have Newcastle and Kings offers as insurance!
Original post by InkyOne
from what I remember, 500 euro ish for the course and the resources, for just the resources its about 200 euro. I didn't bother with the resources from ACER, as they are only 2 past papers, and sedentary gave me tonnes. I find out a couple of days after results day, but luckily I have Newcastle and Kings offers as insurance!


WOW, I got all four rejections this year, so going to take a gap year. What did you get for your UKCAT grade? And if you don't mind me asking how did you revise for that too?

Also I know you aren't allowed to talk about specific questions, but what was your King's interview like, what kind of questions were they - ethics/personal statement stuff?
Reply 11
Original post by NoFunnyBusiness
WOW, I got all four rejections this year, so going to take a gap year. What did you get for your UKCAT grade? And if you don't mind me asking how did you revise for that too?

Also I know you aren't allowed to talk about specific questions, but what was your King's interview like, what kind of questions were they - ethics/personal statement stuff?


Bad luck! I hope I can help for next year!

So for my UKCAT I got 687.5, not ace, but for King's I think my GCSEs made up for it due to their sliding scale thing. I bought the online resources from ace medicine to revise and just practiced a bit, wish I did it at the beginning of the summer not the end! But I talked to people who did a kaplan course, and they said it was very good.

I'm pretty sure I signed something at the beginning of my King's interview to say that I can't talk about it, and i'm not sure to what degree they meant that I can't talk about it, but in general, and from talking to other applicants, I think that everything in general is covered that you'd expect in a medicine interview, but you may not get everything in one interview. If that makes sense? So I think overall they cover everything, but in each interview just a small part, so what comes up is pretty random.

Quick Reply

Latest