While it may feel like a shock and a great disappointment you must quickly bounce back and focus on your CAO choices. So here are a few

– pick a similar degree & come back to medicine

– do a gap year & retake HPAT

– go for a different heath career

– choose something else

Pick a similar Degree & come back to medicine

Identify similar courses to studying medicine and start on one of these degrees. On completion with at least a 2:1 honours degree and successful completion of the GAMSAT you’ll be able to apply for the graduate-entry route to medicine – this is generally a four year degree and open to graduates of any cognate degree subject (yes Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business, and STEM based areas). However if you do similar subjects in your degree to those in the first years of Medicine then the graduate route will most likely be familiar and easier, and perhaps you may even be able to request exemptions from certain modules if you have covered them in your undergraduate course (eg physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, chemistry, anatomy, etc – check the medicine degrees descriptions). The disadvantage of this route is that it takes a few years longer (probably 8 years in total as opposed to 5/6 years) and the graduate-entry fees, etc make it considerably costlier than the undergraduate option. While this option gives you the opportunity to come back to study medicine later it also offers you other career options.

Do a gap year & retake HPAT

Take a year out to practice and retake the HPAT next year. This will also give you the added advantage of time to seek out health related work experience/s and most importantly personal conversations with professionals about their choices and experiences. It also offers the benefit of focused time to research to better inform yourself about what lays ahead in the study and training required to become a doctor, with the distraction of the leaving cert, CAO & college/university choices and school. These added experiences and information often lead to greater maturity of choice and focus of effort, whatever you choose.

Go for a different heath career

Decide to focus on a different health related career and give-up on studying medicine – most of us are suited to many diverse careers in which we can be successful and very often our choices are just a reflection of our preferences as we try to match our needs, interests, aspirations and strengths. We can be happy in many career directions.

Choose something else

Do a totally different degree type – probably only a good idea if you are well informed and committed to the course. Maybe the year out option might be better if you haven’t researched alternatives or are unsure – see above.

And of course there are other options out there.

Qualifax & CareersPortal will help you list the alternatives but also check out the university’s own degree description section ‘what can you do with your degree in …’ . And of course talk to your loved ones. If you need more then call us for professional help.

So yeah, not alway easy, these are adult choices – pick one, commit yourself to it and make sure you enjoy the journey.