How will Hpat changes affect my chances of securing medicine?

I’ve decided not to proceed into year three of my engineering degree. My real passion is medicine. I plan to spend the next year studying for the Hpat (Health profession admission test) exams in spring with a view to securing an undergraduate medical place in September next. I secured 560 CAO points in my Leaving Cert in 2022. Is this the best option to secure an undergrad medical place?

Under the current rules relating to medical school entry, applicants need 552 CAO points plus a sufficiently high score of at least 190 out of 300 on the Hpat test to access an undergraduate medical place.

If you don’t achieve that score in 2026, the rules are changing in the following year. From 2027, students can use their full CAO points score for undergrad medical entry purposes, and the Hpat score will be marked out of 150 rather than 300.

As I see it, 560 points is a long way off 625, and I expect that few if any securing under 580 CAO points in their Leaving Cert from 2027 onwards can expect to secure a place in the undergraduate Irish medical schools. You are currently 20 CAO points under that ceiling.

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A second concern I would have is cost: under rules as applied by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), a student will only be funded once at each year of a degree.

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Your current university has been funded for years one and two of your level 8 engineering degree. If you were to secure a place in medical school, you will have to pay the full cost of your education for those two years. HEA funding to universities varies regarding the agreed subvention for each course. Medicine would be at the very top of that funding model. That cost will be in addition to the current €3,000 registration charge.

A radical alternative might be to consider applying now to study medicine abroad. Countries such as Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia offer English-taught programmes, often with lower tuition fees than at home.

Italy also has several public universities offering medicine in English. In fact, it is becoming a popular study destination for Irish students, for programmes including dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, nursing and others. Entry is usually through an entrance test. See Eunicas.ie