About HPAT Ireland
The Health Professions Admission Test – Ireland (HPAT – Ireland) is an admissions test used to assist with the selection of students into medicine and health professions degree programs.
You will need an HPAT – Ireland score to apply for admission to any of the following courses:
| National University of Ireland, Galway | Undergraduate Medicine |
| Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland | Undergraduate Medicine |
| Trinity College Dublin | Undergraduate Medicine |
| University College Cork | Undergraduate Medicine |
| University College Dublin | Undergraduate Medicine |
| University of Limerick | MSc Occupational Therapy (Professional Qualification)* MSc Speech and Language Therapy (Professional Qualification)* |
HPAT – Ireland measures a candidate’s logical reasoning and problem solving skills, nonverbal reasoning and the ability to understand the thoughts, behaviour and/or intentions of people.
The test is designed to complement academic achievement, by providing assessment of skills in the areas of reasoning understanding and working with people. HPAT – Ireland has a strong focus on general skills and personal abilities. These skills have been identified as important for a competent health professional. The test does not test academic knowledge and candidates do not require special understanding of any academic disciplineHPAT – Ireland is independently administered by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). ACER has an excellent international reputation and a track record in the development, management and research of selection tests for undergraduate medical and health related programmes.
* In addition to completing HPAT – Ireland, candidates applying to the MSc Occupational Therapy (Professional Qualification) and the MSc Speech and Language Therapy (Professional Qualification) at the University of Limerick are required to sit a 1 hour Written English component.
Register
Before registering for HPAT – Ireland, all applicants to MEDICINE must first get their CAO number. You need this number to successfully complete your HPAT – Ireland registration online. To get a CAO number please apply online at the CAO website. If a paper application is submitted, your CAO number will not be available in time to register for HPAT – Ireland. Candidates MUST also download and read the HPAT – Ireland 2016 Information Booklet before registering.
The only way to register for HPAT – Ireland is online. To register candidates must create an online account and provide a valid email address. This email address will be used for all communication from HPAT – Ireland Office, including information on how to access the Admission Ticket and HPAT – Ireland results. When creating an account candidates should ensure that their name and date of birth matches the identification document that they will use on the test day. These details will also be printed on the Admission Ticket and Statement of Results. Once the online account has been activated it can be used for any future registrations.
The option to register for HPAT – Ireland will only appear in the online account while registrations for the test are open. Candidates need to select the test that they wish to register for, fill in the registration form and submit the payment. Upon successful completion of the registration, a registration confirmation and payment receipt will be sent to the registered email address. The status of the registration can be checked in the online account at any time. Candidates can amend their registration details in their online account.
Registrations for HPAT – Ireland 2017 will open in early November 2016 and close on 20 January 2017 at 5.15pm GMT. Late registrations will be accepted until 1 February 2017 5.15pm GMT on payment of a late fee. An exceptional late registration is available until 3 February 2017 at 5.15pm GMT. The exceptional late registration is available only to candidates who have submitted their application to CAO by 1 February 2017 at 5.15pm GMT. No applications for registration will be accepted after 3 February 2017 at 5.15pm GMT under any circumstances.
ACER reserves the right in its absolute discretion to refuse or cancel a registration in any circumstances where ACER considers the application for registration or the registration once completed is not bona fide, or the registration fee as applicable is not received in full and as cleared funds by the payment date or the late registration date given.
Prepare
HPAT – Ireland is not based on any curriculum or subject areas; therefore you do not need any special knowledge. Intensive preparation is not advisable or necessary, although wide and critical reading may provide helpful preparation for Sections 1 and 2. However, as with any test, some practice in answering questions of a similar type, and under similar time constraints as those found in the real test, is helpful and reassuring to most candidates. The purpose of HPAT – Ireland is to assess the general skills and abilities developed over the course of your education and life experience that are considered by the universities to be important to the study and practice of medicine. To operate most effectively in this career graduates will need to:
• Be flexible
• Have good thinking skills (critical and analytical)
• Be able to respond quickly to new situations and problems
• Have a well developed ability to understand and respond to patients’ needs and individual situations.
For these reasons HPAT – Ireland has been developed as a test that is not based on learned academic curriculum or study of particular subjects, but as a test of your response to stimulus that will not necessarily be familiar.
ACER and the universities that require HPAT – Ireland scores do not recommend or endorse any commercially available courses offering HPAT – Ireland preparation. Nor does ACER have knowledge of the content of such courses, or any involvement in their development, or any commercial interest in the programs. Thus the HPAT – Ireland Office is unable to comment on their relevance or usefulness. It is possible that some commercial preparation courses might provide misleading information or advice to candidates. Neither ACER nor the universities conduct HPAT – Ireland preparation courses.
Sit
The duration of the test is 2 1/2 hours. If you are an applicant to UL you will also have to complete an additional 1 hour Written English component. You must report to the test centre at the time stated on your Admission Ticket, but it is not necessary to arrive before that time. The test itself will start as soon as all pre-testing procedures are completed. If you report to the centre after all candidates have been admitted to the testing room you may not be admitted.
No latecomers will be admitted once the test has started. When making transport arrangements you should allow up to 4.5 hours from the arrival time stated on your Admission Ticket to the end of the test, as candidates are not allowed to leave the test centre before the test has finished.
You are advised to have a light meal before reporting to the test centre, as you may have to be there for up to 4 1/2 hours. No food is permitted in the test centre, unless prior permission has been granted by the HPAT – Ireland Office based on medical reasons, e.g. if a candidate suffers from diabetes.
Some test centres are warmer or cooler on weekends than during the week and you should consider dressing in layers so that you can be comfortable no matter what the room conditions are.