Students to face aptitude test in medical entry overhaul

STUDENTS hoping to get into medical school straight after the Leaving Certificate under new entry methods may need a combination of up to 500 points as well as a good aptitude test score, the Irish Examiner has learned.

A task force set up by the Department of Education in 2003 to examine medical entry reform recommended a cut-off at 450 points, suggesting anyone with this score who also took a test to help measure candidate suitability should be eligible.

But it is understood that experts now finalising the details want the mark raised nearer to 500 points, with a score of around 480 likely to be picked as a compromise.