Gamsat 2013

chips365 wrote: »

Appreciate the reply! Safe to say that i havent covered most of the stuff yet! Should have really listened during the science lectures.. could have saved myself a lot of time going back over the "basics".

Not to worry. I'm heading into my final year of a science degree now and some of the stuff was totally alien to me!:pac:

Hello everyone,
In accordance with the great resource that is boards.ie (see previous experiences of CiMaster here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79156947&postcount=14
and others:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055681118)

I would like to give a brief synopsis of how I have come to an offer and acceptance of a place on UCC GEM, with a score of 59 on the GAMSAT (62/82/47).
As you may guess from my section three score, I am not very well trained in science. I actually have a science degree (Psychology through science including two years of chemistry, three of biology) but I was not exactly the most keen student in those days, focusing mainly on other endeavours. I seriously did not remember anything. Likewise you will see that it is the essays that raised my score enough to get me in, as I would probably not have received an offer if my essays had been around the 50s.
I do have certain advice to give to people, but it is probably only relevant to particular types of people. In any case, perhaps if you are reading through various peoples' opinions throughout these threads, there may be a slight snippet here which will be of benefit.

Firstly, I credit myself at having a reasonable grasp at the english language. While the GAMSAT claims to be as accessible to people for whom english is not their primary language, I believe through my experience that it is the english speakers who are wholly with the advantage. Articulation makes for readability, and when people are correcting hundreds of essays, hurriedly scribbled by stressed and exhausted exam-goers, a bit of freshness, originality, or bite makes all the difference. Perhaps you are someone for whom this comes naturally, in which case I would say DISCARD the formulae of essay writing (argument/counter-argument etc) and focus on calmness and time-effectiveness. My approach was one of complete honesty, with a touch of my psychological background (I bet they like when people reference writers or researchers a bit).

So with the essays being so uncertain, with little study possible (and I did buy fancypants academic magazines before the exam, which is a technique some people recommend - I did not read them) one might consider Section I. Again, it is without any doubt that english speakers will score better here - the annoying nuances of language when assessing poetry are TINY. But again, I did not do much study here. One technique I did pick up from Exam Krackers was to pause for about 5 seconds in between each part of section 1. This lets your mind breathe and prevents (to some degree), the brain-freeze while you're answering questions, or those moments when you catch yourself going to sleep with your eyes open, re-reading the same question for the 5th time. Otherwise, I really feel that Relaxation and Time are the key elements.

And thusly, the section that many of us dread, science. I'm not happy with my score here, but let me explain something for anyone who is freaking out about the quantity of information you are expected to revise.
I started looking into studying medicine before Christmas 2011, and actually took steps to register in early january 2012. The exam was the 24th of March. I had been doing a very simple course of Anatomy & Physiology for my own training, so had been very lightly learning topics there, and I used a christmas present of an amazon gift cert to buy Organic Chemistry for Dummies, and its companion workbook. I downloaded the various torrents of Exam Krackers MCAT textbooks (not really recommended but better than nothing) and the Exam Krackers "Audio Osmosis" mp3s. I stressed about buying one of the Des O Neill or GAMSAT Guru packages, but I didn't buy anything apart from Organic Chem for Dummies and the ACER practice papers. In fact I watched one of the Gamsat Guru "free webinars" which was a pre-recorded useless video that continually insisted that you would NOT achieve your dream of being a doctor unless you paid this guy loads of money. It was negative and destructive and really turned me off it. I'm not saying the packages are bad, I would have considered Des O Neill or one of them if I'd had the resources, but something else happened.
In late january my girlfriend of five years discovered she was pregnant and began what was a very challenging first trimester, where she couldn't keep anything down and got quite dehydrated, ending up in hospital for a few days. I spent the majority of the trimester cooking various foods that she might be able to stomach, and cooking again when she couldn't bare the smell of the first food. Taking care of her, and dealing with my own shock of the pregnancy (could i still possibly study med with a newborn?), caused me to admit defeat on the GAMSAT, but I said I'd sit it anyway as a practice run, and if it all worked out fine with work and money for baby's year 1, I'd sit it again next year.

So what I'm saying, to anyone who's really freaking out, is that it is possible to do the exam with absolute minimal study done. I tried re-learning leaving cert physics and organic chem and some of it started coming back to me, but all in all I got 2 weeks of study done I'd say. Maybe a little more considering the anatomy & phys, which was of a very basic level.

I believe that the GAMSAT is really an intelligence test in that you "should" be able to figure out the answers from the information given, if you can keep your cool and watch the time carefully. I caught myself in section 3 giving loads of time to this annoying question about ducks or something, and 20 minutes had gone by without my noticing that I could have given to some of the other "easier" chart-type questions. I completed about half of section 3, and the rest was filling in the dots in the last five minutes. Hence the low score.

On the day of the GAMSAT I sat behind a guy who smelled more than anyone I've ever smelled. If you are reading this, smelly gamsat guy, pm me and let me know what the story is. I think he was desperately sick, and had that BO that you get when you're super fevery and sweating and vomity and pooey but holy moley, this guy stank. I spent the whole 6 hours breathing through my mouth, which ended up giving me a sore throat and after the exam, I crashed out terribly sick too, but I don't think it was what he had, just general exhaustion leading to flu type thing.
Nonetheless, I merely approached each question as calmly as I could. Calm and Time. Calm and Time. That's what I reckon.

Buying a package? Great, go for it, brilliant study and you'll have a headstart on Year 1 science. Can't afford it or don't like the feel of it? Feck it, there's plenty of free resources online if you look (I Loved the Yale Open University lectures for Organic Chem teaching the history of chemistry - completely useless for what's expected on the exam, but it really sparked an interest in chemistry. I still have no idea what Schroedinger's equation is about, but I enjoyed the history). I'm definitely going to struggle with the science in year one, but the universities are prepared for that and I've read that non-science students are catered for in the first semester (to some degree).

But please, don't panic. Don't feel you need to learn Organic, Inorganic, Phys and Biology all to university level, and above all DON'T TRUST THE PANIC. While there have been tremendously helpful posts up here on boards.ie, there is an ocean of worriers who may be looking for other worriers. Just know the structure of the exam, buy the acer papers and do them (package papers are different I think). And if you do terribly on the practice papers (as I did) then don't worry cause it's a whole different set of questions on the day.
Of course the GAMSAT is a racket in that they dont give past papers, but all you need is...two. You can buy the ones they offer and download another set as torrents. Also with the Weighting of Section 3 being 20 inorganic 20% organic, 20% physics and 40% bio (or whatever they say)- I don't think thats true as we seemed very short on organic and very heavy on bio. In a way it doesn't matter, if you can familiarise yourself with terminology, then the "educated guess" approach is key. I'm a big believer in trusting your instinct in exams, whether its choosing C instead of B (even though they're identical) or writing about a really weird topic for the exam, trusting my intuition has always paid off (some may call it "blagging").

So I hope this helps someone somewhere down the line for the next GAMSATters.

One final note: I was refused the loans from both AIB and BOI. I'm in a tremendously lucky position right now, but if this had been last year I wouldn't have been able to accept my offer from any university. The instant loans that I had been relying on are not there anymore. I had very small and silly blips from about 4 years ago on my accounts, and maybe they would have given me a loan if they hadn't been there, but my feeling is that the banks are really tightening up. So ask your aunties and your parents and whoever for help if you should need, and have a backup plan, it would be a balls to get an offer and not get a loan if you were relying on it. Thank God I have support!

chips365 wrote: »

Hey folks,
Just trying to get my head around section 2 of the exam. I know that it is 2 essays with about 5 quotes in each with a central underlying theme.
So, for example, if the keyword/theme is love, can I write about my understanding of the theme? For example I would be inclined to use my education on this topic and try swinging it towards the love between a parent/child ect. (Very corny I know) but within the context of a child’s unconditional love for a parent with a severe and enduring mental illness. Basically I am going to try swing the essays to an area I can talk about which is nursing... maybe I’m completely off my game but any advice will help folks.
As for preparing for this section, what I have decided to do is take a particular theme every couple of days and watch seminars, listen to speakers on the internet and do some up to date reading on the topic and just make key bullet points that I can work into the essay and build around.

Hi chips365
You'd be absolutely right with this approach, though I would emphasise the importance of practicing your writing skills and in particular, getting your point across within 25 minutes or half an hour. I've seen some papers where the quotes would not be in my favour, and that would mean I would spend more time trying to formulate an argument.
I would think definitely bend the quotes towards your area of study, they allegedly judge on the basis of rationale of argument and not what opinion you actually have. Many people say you should write an argument, propose a counterargument and then find a balance or disprove the counterargument or whatever, which is fine. One essay I wrote had no argument at all and was quite personal, kind of a structured stream of consciousness, so it's hard to say what they're judging on really.
Many people send their essays off to the various Des O Neill/GAMSAT package people to correct, this might help too.
All the best with it!

Hello,
So basically for section two would it be best to pick themes and then write a story about the theme and include personal experiences on anecdotes?? I'm very worried about this section . I've only got six months to study for this and most of the study will have to be done at the weekends . I work for a medical company and have a science degree so I'm not extremely worried about section 3(yet) but I literally haven't got a clue where to start studying for section 1 and section 2 . . Anyone able to break it down and give a quick run through of what they did ???

agraphia wrote: »

while trying to maintain a fairly colloquial and relaxed approach.

+1

Trying to sound super-intelligent by using lots of big words won't help you in these essays, stay nice and informal

To the people who take the time to write long and detailed descriptions with a lot of specifics... I applaud you and have benefited from some of them myself. I just don't have it in me and what I say would probably amount to re-hashed drivel.

What I will say is this. The GAMSAT is difficult but definitely doable for ANYONE. One thing that I don't see posted around here among the different syllabi/tips etc is that simply its an EXAM. Good exam technique will get you marks. The paper has certain rules/nuances/style to it. STUDY THESE AND KNOW THEM OFF BY HEART. You'll probably need to figure it out by yourself as I did and so just spend time getting to know the practice papers INSIDE OUT.

The type of question asked can be predictable at times.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING. PRACTICE YOUR TIMING and be ruthless when it comes to moving on to the next question.

Learn a simple plan for section two (intro, par 1: for argument-against argument, par 2: repeat, par 3: repeat, conclusion).

There are many courses which you can pay thousands of euro for (I didn't) but I found Griffith's GAMSAT guide particularly useful although I wish I'd seen it months before I did. Also 'The meaning of things' by AC Grayling was very good for section 2 (as I see PeadarGalway just pointed out).

I'm only one of many people on here that have done better than I and know more than I do but those are my two cents for all you hopefuls.

Best of luck!

i have to return some video tapes wrote: »

Hi,
Thanks for the replies . I actually have to buy a few books and the exam stuff from Acer. Quick question , I can't actually really afford to go on a preparation course or pay someone to correct my essays. Is it do able with out this as I hear many people who do well sign up to a course ?

Also I would be up for a study group as soon as I get the material together. I'm originally from the celbridge/maynooth area but am currently living in Dublin. I have a strong enough science background but mainly biology but I have a lot of books and notes and stuff I'm willing to share etc.

I didn't use any package and only covered one tenth of what I had set out for myself to do, so yes, you can do it. There are also resources online you can download which can help

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62101018

For the physics section what stuff do you think should be covered - is there any prevalence gamsat puts on say kinetics over nuc physics etc?

Hi guys, Des O Neill notes are good (but go into a LOT of detail)-perhaps some which are not needed. I have second hand copy. for anyone who is interested in buying them PM me I am hoping that I wont need then for gamsat march as I was confident enough in september!!

Ye good one is gamsatsamplequestions.co.uk .its a communication guy doing GEM in UCD - first yr . Has loads of questions for section 1 - the poetry , newspapers , you name it . It has some tutorials - for numbnuts like myself that lost touch with irony and similes and metaphors .

Howd you fair out with the others ? Ive got science stuff reasonably covered - am doing a degree so its tough , but the dummies books are a real help . Biology wise im covered , doing much of what they do in medicine in my degree- clin med , pharmacology , you name it haha

Full Set of GradMed Gamsat notes for Sale:, Booterstown, Co. Dublin

I sat the Gamsat in March 2012 after doin the full GradMed course and got into RCSI. I genuinely think havin notes would be enough as they tend to just go through the notes in class and theyre so self explanatory (plus saves you €4000!)

Also have a timetable they gave us for each week that way you can pace yourself as you would if you were doing the course.

Includes:
Science:Biology, Physics, Org Chem, Phys Chem, Maths for Science
Written:Verbal Reasoning and explanation papers
EssaysA and B including sample essays and explanations
Full Mock Exam from GradMed
Simulated Science Q book (5papers)
Verbal Reasoning Paper x2
4 Question and Answer papers
2x Science 'half' papers to be done in half the time of original exam.

Looking for €500 for the lot,
Let me know if you're interested

Good Luck
S

PS: if you're interested in doing medicine you should also look into mature entry.. every college does it and its another option if you're 23yrs.for example: RCSI take in 15people a year.. particularly science graduates but there are also business,engineering,nursing,physio the works. you dont need a 2.1, 480points or any of that stuff. just have to sit the HPAT (although an average score seems to do.. dont worry this is not what they seem to solely judge you on!) and a VERY good personal statement. then they bring it down to interviews!only 300 people applied last year and 30 people got interviewed..so the odds are probably higher than people would assume!
i know trinity do it as well however although they dont say it..i believe from talking to people you need a masters to be shortlisted!
May as well its another ticket in the lottery!!

yep ill definitely be in for a study group in dublin. Sundays?