HPAT (Health Professionals Admissions Test)

Our course and the skills we teach have evolved to tackle the HPAT as it changes over time. We are constantly reviewing the newest exams to ensure that our students have the most up to date material available.

Yeats College has been delivering first-class HPAT courses for over a decade. In that time, we have created a comprehensive library of HPAT material to develop the skills of our students.

Our course and the skills we teach have evolved to tackle the HPAT as it changes over time. We are constantly reviewing the newest exams to ensure that our students have the most up-to-date material available. However, our culture of intensive learning and competition has remained constant.

We encourage an environment of diligence and competition in our classrooms, allowing our students to learn together, not in isolation. 

What is the HPAT?

The HPAT (Health Professionals Admissions Test) is an exam required to study medicine in Ireland. It is a three-part exam, with each section examining different skills: problem-solving and data analysis, reading comprehension, and pattern recognition for sections 1, 2 and 3, respectively. All of these skills can be taught.

We at Yeats College provide a full six months of intensive preparation for 6th years, and a full year and a half of lighter preparation for 5th years. We focus heavily on testing and the development of skills for the exam. The students are encouraged to compete against themselves and against each other in exams while working together in the classroom to hone their skills.

All exams will be strictly supervised under official HPAT exam conditions. During the year, our prospective Medical students shall attend two 90-minute classes a week, and sit an exam every 2-3 weeks, including three original mock exams developed by our team at Yeats College. These mock exams and our extensive archive of sample questions have been developed over the last decade by mathematicians, engineers, physicians and former HPAT students. Our students will make full use of these during their tenure at Yeats College.

In December and January, we conduct a two-day intensive revision course of the entire curriculum.

Our Comprehensive HPAT courses include:

  1. Extensive Testing and Exam Preparation
  2. Development of Problem Solving, Comprehension and Analytical Skills
  3. Biweekly Classes
  4. A Challenging and Engaging Learning Environment 
  5. Student Support
  6. Guest Speakers from veterans of the exam
  7. Weekly HPAT drills provided by Yeats College
  8. Exam Tips and Tricks

HPAT skills provided are:

  1. Problem Solving
  2. Data Analysis
  3. Numerical Reasoning
  4. Vocabulary Expansion
  5. Text Analysis
  6. Reading Comprehension
  7. Speed Reading
  8. Pattern Recognition
  9. A Complete and Comprehensive Understanding of the HPAT Exam

At Yeats College, continuous assessment is a vital aspect of our curriculum. Students will be given a rank on every examination based on their performance relative to the rest of the class. This will give a representative perspective on the abilities of the students. Parents and students will be provided with their percentage and decile after each exam. The students will fully review and study the exams in class after being given their results.

One-Year HPAT Course

Yeats College offers an intensive, one-of-a-kind, HPAT preparation course for first-time and repeat Leaving Certificate Students. At Yeats College, we strive to ensure that all our students reach their full potential in the exam.

Sample HPAT Questions​

Section 1 Question

5 Adults attend a GP clinic for a check-up and are weighed by their GP. They all have different weights.

  1. David weighs three times as much as Martin
  2. Martin weighs twice times as much as Nancy
  3. Nancy weighs half as much as Oisín
  4. Oisín weighs half as much as Paul
    Paul weighs less than Larry but more than Nancy

 

Question: Which of the Adults is the lightest?
a) David
b) Martin
c) Nancy
d) Oisín

The easiest way to solve this is to draw a vertical line and rank the names from top to bottom based on how heavy they are in relation to each other. Try it now at home! Based on the text:

  • David>Martin
  • Martin>Nancy
  • Paul>Oisín
  • Oisín>Nancy

 

Based on this, we know Nancy must be the lightest person in the group.

Section 2 Question

Read the following scenario and answer the question.

Ahmet Tekin was a fifty three year old Turkish Taxi driver with a wife, four children, and six grandchildren. He entered the ward a little past one in the morning after experiencing chest pains while driving across through the Financial District. Within a matter of minutes, I had learned that he took pills for his high blood pressure, that he still smoked a pack a day but was trying to cut down, that he suffered from haemorrhoids and occasional bouts of dizziness, and that he had been living in America since 1987. After the doctor left, Ahmet and I talked for close to an hour. It didn’t matter that we were strangers. When a man thinks he’s about to die, he talks to anyone who will listen.

QUESTION 1:
What do the symptoms tell us about the man?
a) He is active and healthy.
b) It is impossible to determine based on the information.
c) He takes his family for granted.
d) He ignores his health.

Answer: D

In the text, we learn that Ahmet’s symptoms are; high blood pressure, haemorrhoids and occasional bouts of dizziness. We also learn that he is a heavy smoker and works in a sedentary occupation.

These factors infer that Ahmet is not fit and healthy; therefore, A is false. There is nothing in the passage that suggests that Ahmet is unhappy. Nor is there anything to suggest that he takes his family for granted. B, therefore, is false.

C states that it is impossible to determine the solution based on the information. This can only be true if all three other options are provably false.

D states that he ignores his health, which can be inferred from his symptoms and his lifestyle.

Therefore, D is correct.

Section 3 Question

Answer: C

Each row and each column has one string of letters, one star and one arrow in a circle. There are three stars and three arrows but only two strings of letters. Therefore, the answer must be a string of letters.

The strings of letters in the grid are three letters long and contain two consonants and one vowel. The only possible option that follows this pattern is C.

Note that the words formed are completely meaningless. The characteristics of the letters and the number of them were what made the pattern.

HPAT Preparation Courses

Our next HPAT Preparation Course takes place in Yeats College Galway on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th of January 2024 from 9am to 4pm

For group bookings of 3 or more students, please call Yeats College Galway for more detail on 091 533500.