How to achieve 100th percentile in the HPAT

The HPAT Mindset

When I first saw HPAT questions I thought the whole thing was ridiculous (still kind of do) but as I practiced more and more of them I began to think in the way the questions wanted me to. You have to train yourself to adopt a HPAT mindset.

Positive attitude

Put aside all your dislike and doubts around the HPAT, they will only hold you back. Try to limit complaining about the HPAT as it will only bring down your attitude and demotivate you. Instead, pretend you enjoy it or at least find it useful – who knows you might be thanking HPAT one day for getting you those extra few points you needed. ‘When you can’t beat them join them!’ as they say.

Practice makes perfect

PRACTICE!!! My number 1 tip for succeeding in the HPAT is to do practice papers – they really are everything. Get your hands on them any way you can – ask friends/family/older students who’ve sat the HPAT before if they have any sample papers buried in the attic. Any kind of sample HPAT paper is useful. However, above all I do recommend doing the ACER sample papers as they are the company who make the exam. You can purchase these from the ACER website once you’ve registered for the HPAT.

link to ACER website:https://hpat-ireland.acer.org

Goodbye perfectionism

Ditch the perfectionist. Accept the fact that you are NOT going to get 100% in the HPAT (100th percentile is very different to 100%). The top people in the HPAT usually only get about 2/3rds of the questions right. So it’s totally ok to get questions wrong or make a few wild guesses – even on the day.

When to start preparing for the HPAT?

As an anxious perfectionist who shudders at the thought of cramming I began my HPAT journey at the end of 5th Year. DON’T PANIC if you’re halfway through November of 6th Year reading this! It’s never too late to start (except the week before might be a bit of push for most).

It really depends on what suits you. If you like taking things slow and steady like me then start early, if you prefer to give it your all in one short burst then you can leave it a bit more last minute. My personal advice would be to have your prep under way by Christmas.

How to prepare for the HPAT?

Practice papers are crucial!

Courses can be helpful but they’re very expensive. The main thing is going through papers and getting used to the style of questions asked.

Step 1

Go through a few practice questions (maybe about one to two papers) without any time limit. Focus on getting used to the style of questions asked. At this stage don’t put yourself under pressure to be getting the right answers just take your time and be gentle with yourself as your brain learns this new approach to thinking.

Note: It’s so so important to correct your practice questions and go back over how to get the right answer for any you got wrong (which will probably be a lot at the beginning) and any you guessed right! This applies to all stages of your HPAT prep.

Step 2

Once you feel confident enough try doing a paper under time pressure. Don’t freak out when you start practicing questions under time – it feels like an impossible race against the clock but every time you practice it will get easier (more or less, it’s not always linear).

The most important thing to learn is to ‘guess and move on’. Some questions are simply too difficult to do in the time allowed. It’s better to just move on from these questions when you reach the time limit rather than spill over into other (potentially easier) questions’ time leaving yourself with a load of unanswered questions at the end.

Step 3

Try to practice a HPAT paper within the exam time limits every few weeks. Balancing the HPAT with all your other subjects is a challenge. I did a HPAT paper every 2nd/3rd weekend but it’s up to you how much time you want to dedicate to the HPAT. If you run out of papers there’s no harm in reusing them.

Step 4

Make sure you know what to expect for the day of the exam. On the ACER website you can find an information booklet with all the information you need, there’s quite a lot to read through so make sure to give yourself time. Have everything ready for the exam in advance. Know what materials you’re allowed to have with you during the exam and have them ready. If the exam is online as it has been the last few years make sure you have all your tech & room set up properly in advance.

Since the HPAT has been moved online you’re allowed to use either 4 A4 pieces of paper or a small erasable whiteboard for rough work. If you can, practice with both and see which one works best for you.You can find whiteboards here. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

link to ACER website:https://hpat-ireland.acer.org

Section 1

• Brush up on your mental maths (fractions, percentages, decimals, basic times tables, Venn diagrams etc)
• For questions with graphs try to understand the graph before launching into the questions (Read the HEADING & AXES of the graph!)
• Make a list of questions you struggled with (this way you can identify your weak spots so you can work on them)

Section 2

• Make vocabulary lists/flashcards – when you come across a word you don’t understand add it to the list along with its definition (go back over these when you can)
• For questions like ‘what is the strongest emotion?’ or ‘what is the main message?’ focus on repetition & punctuation

Section 3

• Apparently this is the easiest section to improve on with practice (although I found it pretty tricky myself)
• Make a list of common patterns that you notice crop up a lot in past questions
• Make a list of patterns you get wrong and go back over them
• If you’re stuck on a pattern pick one feature of it (for example a smily face/shaded box) and follow it

Balancing the Leaving Cert with the HPAT

Your Leaving Cert (LC) is always more important than the HPAT;

• Your HPAT only lasts 1 year whereas your LC points remain valid for years. (So if you do poorly in the HPAT you only have to repeat the HPAT but if you do poorly in the LC you’ll have to repeat both regardless of your HPAT score).
• Repeating the LC takes more work in my opinion than repeating the HPAT – the HPAT is 1 subject the LC is 6.
• You can get into other great courses with your LC points whereas the HPAT is only for medicine.

That being said in the weeks coming up to the HPAT it is important to prioritise the HPAT over the mocks (as they tend to fall around the same time unfortunately). Although I do recommend sitting the mocks if you’re up to it, as they’re a great trial run for the real thing – don’t take your mock grades too seriously. Treat them like a practice run to see how the LC works rather than a test of your abilities. If your mock results take a hit for the sake of the HPAT so be it.

It’s important to pace yourself. Personally, I believe studying for the HPAT is more of a gradual learning process rather than something you can cram. I did start early but that meant I could spread out my study (too much HPAT in one go can make your brain a bit fuzzy if you know what I mean). There was never a time where I was doing HPAT all day everyday (even the week before the final exam I still made some time for my other subjects & mental health).

Tips for during the exam

1. Stick to your time limits
2. Stay calm and carry on

The HPAT is made deliberately stressful in order to test your ability to cope with stress. Don’t let it get the better of you. Even if it feels like everything’s falling to pieces, keep going, stick to your plan and finish the exam – you never know you might do better than you think.

Here are some coping strategies that helped me manage stress;

Leading up to the Exam:

• Prioritising my health; making time for moving my body, getting outdoors and sleep
• Chatting with supportive friends & family
• Allowing myself to take time for things I enjoy

During the Exam:

• Breathing exercises
• Mantras (some examples; ‘it’s ok to guess and move on’, ‘you have done this before, you can do this again’ and the classic ‘keep calm and carry on’)

Summary

• Don’t be too hard on yourself – you don’t need to get 100% in the HPAT
• Do practice papers
• Practice with time limits
• Don’t just do papers, correct them too
• Keep calm & carry on

If you have any questions or tips please share them in the comments below!

Best of luck! You’ve got this!

link to ACER website:https://hpat-ireland.acer.org

link to small erasable whiteboards for rough work during the exam: Click here! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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