Changes to Medical Entry from 2027

Medical school entry in Ireland is changing from 2027. Irish universities have announced modifications to how the HPAT will be used alongside Leaving Cert points to determine entry into undergraduate medicine.

What is HPAT?

The Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT) is a crucial component of medical school admission alongside Leaving Certificate results. The test assesses three sections: logical reasoning and problem solving, interpersonal understanding, and non-verbal reasoning. All universities offering undergraduate medicine in Ireland require students to succeed in the HPAT.

HPAT is currently marked out of 300 points. Students receive both a numerical score (which gets added to adjusted Leaving Certificate points) and a percentile ranking showing how they performed compared to other test-takers that year.

What's Changing?

From 2027, the HPAT scoring system will change. The maximum HPAT score will be reduced from 300 to 150, creating a new combined maximum of 775 points (625 from Leaving Certificate + 150 from HPAT).

The ‘adjustment’ of Leaving Certificate points will also be removed. Under the current system, Leaving Certificate points above 550 are adjusted down - every 5 points above 550 becomes just 1 point, capping the Leaving Certificate contribution at 565 points. This adjustment will be removed in the new system, allowing the full number of Leaving Certificate points to count.

Other requirements remain:

• Students will need both HPAT and Leaving Certificate scores to apply to medicine
• Students must sit HPAT in the same year in which the medicine course is due to commence
• Students will need to achieve a 480-point minimum Leaving Certificate score

These changes only affect students entering medicine from 2027 onwards - those sitting their Leaving Certificate in 2025 or 2026 will use the current system.
 

Why are HPAT changes being made?

The universities state that the changes are being made due to concerns about equity in the current system. While HPAT was designed to assess ‘natural’ aptitude, the reality is that like any test, performance can be improved through familiarity with questions, developing the required skills needed to succeed, and practice. The changes aim to rebalance the weighting between academic achievement and HPAT assessment.

HPAT Still Matters

Despite the reduced weighting, HPAT will remain vital for medical school selection. While the changes mean more emphasis will be placed on Leaving Certificate performance in the admissions process, HPAT continues to be a critical differentiator. With approximately 3,000 students taking HPAT annually but only around 500-600 undergraduate medical places available across all Irish universities, competition remains fierce. Realistically, most successful applicants will need to achieve 80^th percentile or higher in HPAT alongside a strong performance in their Leaving Certificate to claim one of the limited places available.

HPAT preparation therefore remains essential as the test will remain challenging, and will be used to differentiate between highly able applicants.

Further, most people tend to overlook the benefits of HPAT preparation. HPAT tests foundational (generic) skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking and emotional intelligence. Developing these skills, as well as test-taking and stress management strategies, will boost Leaving Certificate points. Furthermore, no matter which profession candidates pursue in future, these ‘21st century’ skills will help with success. 

For MedEntry Students

All MedEntry preparation resources, practice materials, and scoring systems will continue to be updated to reflect these changes when they take effect in 2027. Any other changes that emerge will be reflected to ensure that MedEntry students continue to receive the most effective, affordable and relevant HPAT preparation available.

Read an analysis of the change by MedEntry’s Director of Education, Dr Ann Deely, published in the Irish Medical Times:
https://www.imt.ie/opinion/the-medical-entry-system-in-ireland-is-set-to-change-for-the-first-time-in-over-15-years-29-07-2025/

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