How HPAT-Ireland is scored
Each of the three sections gets a scaled score on a scale of 0 to 100. These are not percentages of questions answered correctly. ACER converts your raw marks onto a measurement scale so that results can be compared fairly across different versions of the test.
Your overall score is out of 300. ACER weights Sections 1 and 2 twice as heavily as Section 3: Section 1 and Section 2 each make up 40% of the overall score and Section 3 makes up 20%. You also receive one overall percentile, which shows how you performed compared with everyone else who sat the test. Because the overall score is calculated before section scores are rounded, you cannot recreate it exactly from the numbers on your result.
Applicants who sit the Written English component receive an additional score for it.
Is there negative marking?
No. Marks are not deducted for wrong answers, so answer every question.
What is a good HPAT score?
There is no pass mark. ACER suggests aiming for 160 or more out of 300. ACER’s published results for 2026 put an overall score of 158 at the 60th percentile and 181 at the 90th percentile, and these points have barely moved since 2023.
What counts as competitive also depends on the course and on your Leaving Certificate (or equivalent) results, because the two are combined.
How the HPAT counts for CAO points from 2027
For entry to medicine up to 2026, Leaving Certificate points above 550 were scaled down (so 625 counted as 565) and the full HPAT score out of 300 was added, for a maximum of 865. The universities have announced that from 2027 entry this changes: Leaving Certificate points are no longer scaled down, and the HPAT is weighted to a maximum of 150 points, for a new maximum of 775. ACER still reports your HPAT score out of 300; the universities apply the weighting. Check the CAO’s medicine entry rules for your year, because past cut-offs out of 865 cannot be compared with 2027 totals.
When results come out
Most applicants receive their results in late June. Mature applicants and applicants to the two University of Limerick master’s courses receive theirs in mid to late April. ACER sends results to the CAO for you, so make sure your CAO number is correct in your ACER account.
How long a score lasts
An HPAT-Ireland result can only be used for courses starting in the same year as the test. If you apply again in a later year, you need to sit the test again.
Facts on this page are taken from the official HPAT-Ireland website and the ACER Test Taker Information Booklet for the 2026 test, checked in October 2026. Always confirm dates and rules at hpat-ireland.acer.org before you register.