The Hpat is one of the most important and decisive exams that students who aspire to be doctors sit in Ireland. It can decide the future of many people. After waiting for about a month and a half longer than other years for Acer to open registration for Hpat and give us the details about the exam, most people were disappointed to hear that the exam is to take place online on a computer on the 20th or 21st of February. This has caused lots of stress and anxiety for many students for the following reasons:

Firstly, the Registration for Hpat opened on the 15th of December, over a month later than usual. We strongly feel that Acer’s new style of exam should have been made known to us much earlier as the short notice isn’t appropriate for those who delayed preparation due to the uncertainty of how the Hpat will take place this year. It is also inappropriate for those who now need to buy certain equipment and all the necessary requirements Acer is demanding. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford this equipment in the first place. Some people will have to buy new computers just to be able to take this exam. Acer made the requirements very specific as shown below

• macOS X 10.5 or higher, Windows Vista or higher. Linux or Chrome OS can be difficult to support so should be avoided.

 • Desktop computer or laptop (tablets, Chromebook and cell phones do not meet the technical requirements)

• A working built-in or external webcam and microphone

• Internet speed must be at least 2 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload. Hot spots are not recommended

• Browser with pop-up blocker disabled

 It makes more sense for Acer to provide this to us in multiple testing centres around the country. Many current and former leaving cert students sit this high-stakes exam and all the new changes can be overwhelming and unnecessary as it is an already stressful year for many. Many who are currently in university sit this exam along with many people who are from different countries. Given the current circumstances, many people are piled with studies, work, and assignments. On top of this, many people need to make sacrifices to have a chance to study in one of Ireland’s 5 medical schools. I feel it isn’t practical to hold exams online with the amount of things that are likely to go wrong like losing internet connectivity, technical issues, etc. Students who have decided to sacrifice a year of their life by deciding to repeat the Hpat have most likely come to this decision based on their previous experience of sitting the Hpat in the last few years so this experience will not be deemed as useful for them this year while every other year, people who have repeated the hpat surely benefitted from their previous experiences of the traditional paper exam. Paper is preferred by many as it is significantly easier to interpret data, graphs, highlight and underline key information. Also in the Hpat 2021 booklet Acer said that we will be allowed 2 A4 pages on the side for rough work which is ridiculous as many people use up more than this. Many used the actual hpat booklet last year for their rough work as the answers were given up on an answer sheet.

Secondly, many were surprised that Acer have not even given the option for us to sit the computerised exam in a testing centre (Ucat and Bmat give you this option). Hpat candidates come from different parts of the country. For example, some candidates may live close to construction or sites, or they may live close to noisy areas of the city, or they may live in the country side with poor internet connection, or they may have younger siblings who can disrupt their exams etc. There are just too many personal issues candidates may have and I feel it is only right if Acer give people the option to sit the exam in a testing centre to solve many of our problems. Why risk all the hard work and preparations candidates are doing for this exam by doing it online? Why not consider a more practical option of having multiple testing centres with social distancing. I find it hard to believe that schools are open every day of the week for students but Acer cannot accommodate candidates by holding the exam for one or two days across many centres in the country.

Thirdly, Acer have mentioned in their hpat 2021 booklet that the fee for sitting the hpat this year is €152.80. This is an increase from last year’s hpat fee. I feel that the fee for sitting the hpat fee should be much less than last year or any other years as Acer isn’t giving us the option to do the exam in a test centre or they are not providing us paper. Rather, they are asking us to use our own equipment. Acer may argue that they need to pay the online proctors but this is ridiculous as Acer is requesting over 150 from each student. Acer doesn’t even provide a financial bursary scheme that is used in the UCAT for financially disadvantaged students. All moneys paid as part of a registration to sit the HPAT – Ireland test are also non-refundable .Why does Acer make the Hpat exam a financial burden for many people?

Finally, I hope Acer will address the many issues that candidates have as soon as possible. We feel like we have been completely disregarded and not accommodated in the appropriate manner. We demand that Acer change their spontaneous decision to release information about the new Hpat 2021 online in the middle of December. We feel that it is not right for Acer to take advantage of the Covid situation like many people are doing at the moment as we feel Acer are more than capable of working out a better solution to the exams this year. I have suggested an alternative which is to hold the exam in multiple testing centres rather than doing online proctoring. The main issue for many people is not so much the computerised form of the exam but the exams being held online. Although, a digital exam is an issue of itself we would like Acer to address the many other problems of sitting an exam online.