GAMSAT 2011 ... For discussion of all things related to this exam.

heywood100

Mod note: Now that people's thoughts seem to have turned to next year, here's a clone of Tallaght01's 2010 thread:

As the title says. Stickied to see if it gets used.
L-M.

Anyone interested in forming a study group in or about Dublin?

Don Keypunch

You can sit the GAMSAT UK in September.

Jessibelle

i could be (just waiting to hear back about some stuff first ). Where are ya based???

Don Keypunch

[modsnip] Boards.ie cannot be used to facilitate breach of copyright[/modsnip]

gra123

heywood100 wrote: »

Anyone interested in forming a study group in or about Dublin?

Hi

Think a study group for the GAMSAT 2011 would be a great idea. I would defnightly be on for setting one up. Anywhere in or around Dublin would suit me.

Have only just started studying for them now but am a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Goonerette

Great idea! I'm thinking of sitting it next year. I don't have a science background so September would be too early for me. I'm not really sure where to even begin studying so it would be great to meet up with others who may be in a similar situation.

Let us know where you're based.

etymon

Lads, even if you don't think you'll be ready by September I would strongly advise ye to sit it anyway - the GAMSAT is such a weird test and so much of it is about timing that a practice run is a great help. I sat last March with 6 weeks' study and no science background and I got a 57, sat again this year but delighted I had done it once as I thought it definitely prepared me better. Also, you might surprise yourself in September and take some of the pressure off for next March.

mcdermla

Is it not a lot of hassle to do it in UK tho? Also, from reading through the various GAMSAT posts here, I've read mixed reviews regarding the available study guides. Anyone find genuinely useful material??

MicraBoy

I found the Griffiths Gamsat review useful for orientating in terms of what is required from the exam. Just note though it is a bit out of date in terms of some of the things it says about the logistics of the day. But as a starting point when you are lost in the sea of GAMSAT it is handy.

I would advocate doing a dry run in the UK if you can afford it. Some people say to got Bristol rather than London as the center is smaller and less stressful. You can get a cheap Ryanair flight and hotel for a night or two.

mcdermla

I'm not sure if I can go to UK, it's a good idea but I have placement in September and I don't want to miss a day of it. Better check the dates! Is it only online you can get the test materials?? I don't have a credit card, only a laser, none of the sites so far take Laser.

MicraBoy

It's on Friday 17 September 2010.

I think you'll need a credit card for most sites, even to register for GAMSAT the handiest thing is to use a credit card otherwise you have to do some other shenanigans to pay the fee.

sarah_anne

well im on board ........ going to sit them again in sept so will need all the help i can get .....will you be doin it in england aswell

mcdermla

Ah I can't go then! I'm still undecided about whether to do it or not, I did order some books though, hoping it will make up my mind!

Biologic

Hi all,

While the information is still fresh in our heads and with the benefit of now knowing our scores, I think it would be a good idea to offer experiences of the 2010 process to 2011 applicants. Obviously everyone will have different personal circumstances which will affect how applicable your advice is (time to prepare, background knowledge etc.) so it's worth giving a brief account this before you say how you tackled GAMSAT. Personally, I started preparing for GAMSAT quite late so I found it encouraging to read accounts of people in the same boat who had achieved a good score. Now me...
I got 64(.5 but they rounded me down), which puts me in the 95/96th percentile. Should safely get me into RCSI.
S1: 62
S2: 64
S3: 66
Background: BSc in Biological Science and halfway through an MSc in Immunology when I sat GAMSAT. The BSc helped somewhat with the biology obviously but I was still relatively clueless on the all important chemistry and had never studied physics. The MSc didn't help at all as GAMSAT would never go into that level of detail, in fact assignments got in the way of prep. I hadn't written an artsy essay since ever and I don't read fiction/poetry so was quite unprepared for S1+S2.
Time I had to prepare:
About a month really. I registered late and had to clear an assignment backlog before I went at GAMSAT. On the plus side, I had the last 2 weeks completely clear of any interruption and I had the coffee stores to put in a good few 18 hour days in that time.
What I did:
Bought the ACER papers and Des O'Neills home preparation course including the essay correction. Griffiths GAMSAT Review was particularly useful for S1 I didn't study any further biology at all and just spent an hour or 2 brushing up on the circulatory/lymphatic/respiratory systems. Chemistry took up the vast majority of my time with half of that time spent of organic chemistry. Physics only got 3 days attention max. I bought those "AS/A2 in a Week" books which cover A level physics and frantically worked through the 2 of them in about 3 days. No specific literature/poetry prep for section 1, bar learning a few techniques from Griffiths. I aimed to write 2 essays per day for S2 but in reality I wrote about 15 total over the month.
What worked:
Definitely the essay preparation, I'd recommend it to anyone. My first essay took me 1hr 15mins and it was useless. In the actual exam I had it down to exactly the hour for 2 essays. I'm glad I didn't invest anymore time into biology. I found that the information was mostly in front of you for biology questions, it was just a case of deducing it. Chemistry prep payed off too. Des O'Neill notes give a very comprehensive syllabus for chemistry study and I'm very glad I had it. Without a solid grounding in both physical and organic chemistry I doubt I'd have achieved a decent score. Between Des' notes, ACER papers, Griffiths and an MCAT book I bought, I had way more S1 sample questions than I'd ever need. These were invaluable too as, in my opinion, doing sample questions is the only real way to prep for S1. Even though I was very short on prep time, I allowed myself an easyish day before GAMSAT and a proper nights sleep. I bought nearly every book and resource I thought might help and am glad I did. Even though some didnt really get used, I always had an alternative explanation of something there if I needed it. Lastly and most importantly, I put GAMSAT firmly on top of the priorities list for the last 2 weeks.
What didn't work and what I'd have done differently:
I should have had a more practical understanding of physics. If I'd known the formula of motion kinetics etc. better then I would definitely have scored better. No matter what anyone says, I still believe you're shooting yourself in the foot if you rely on GAMSAT to provide you with all the formula. There's an awful lot of useless stuff in some sections of Des' notes so use intuition if you decide to study them. I'd recommend the course on the whole, but not the more peripheral sections if you're stuck for time. Alot of the time I found myself getting bogged down by complex chemical reactions etc. when I knew it wouldn't pay off. An overall, general understanding of topics is alot more useful than knowing the name and structure of some obscure enzyme. If I could go back I would have allowed myself more time to prepare. 18 hour days are far from ideal and I gathered a sizable sleep deficit.

Conclusion:
You certainly don't HAVE to study for a year to pass GAMSAT but you do need to study, it's not a glorified IQ test. Sure, one or two people will pass without preparation but if you really want medicine then preparation will help alot. Investing in prep material such as Des O'Neill notes payed off, though I wouldn't feel compelled to know everything they recommend. GAMSAT is definitely doable with ~3 weeks prep if you are willing to drop EVERYTHING and punish yourself.

I hope this helps. Other peoples accounts certainly helped me when I was getting into GAMSAT mode. Granted my last minute frantic study regime won't be of much use to anyone until closer to March 2011 but hopefully other people can post what they did and future GAMSATers will find an account of someone who was in a similar situation. If anyone has any questions on anything send me a PM or reply here and I'm happy to answer, I got good support from certain forums (fora?) and am delighted to be able to return the favour .

Biologic

Jeebus

Thanks a lot for the insight ! That will be very helpful when I start to study !
Congratulations on your score also !

If anyone has any GAMSAT materials that they don't need anymore then please send me a PM as I may be interested in taking them off your hands, seeing as I will be sitting the exam next year !

etymon

Sorry if this is too long & wordy. I copied it from my new blog which I am hoping will be helpful to some as I go on to college in September as well. Any Q's PM me!

GAMSAT 2009 – what NOT to do


When I started studying: at the end of January 2009.

What I did for Section III: (score – 42)Unsurprisingly, given my woeful score, not a lot!


◦bought Organic Chemistry for Dummies and Leaving Cert Chemistry & Biology revision books and read about 3/4 of them
◦studied a first-year University Organic Chemistry up to being able to identify the functional groups, but remained clueless about reactions.

◦knew NOTHING about physics, acids and bases, rates & equilibria, other general chemistry and interpretation of graphs etc.

What I did for Sections I (score – 63) and II (score – 80):

Nothing, although I had been doing a creative writing course as a hobby & had a law degree so I had some experience of waffling at length (Section II) and interpreting some exceedingly BORING passages (Section I).

My typical essay style was as follows:

1.Choose a quote or stimulus from those given. You have a few minutes’ reading time before the 30 mins to get all your thoughts down.
2.Briefly re-phrase or paraphrase this to show your understanding of it. Use the passive voice rather than personal opinion e.g. ‘most would intepret this to mean-’ rather than ‘I think this means-’.
3.Give examples of one point of view. For example, one topic was Censorship. I gave examples of historical attitudes such as the trial of D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterley’s Lover) for indecency and of China’s restrictions on Google and Facebook in modern times.
4.Give examples of the other point of view. In the Censorship example, I wrote about most Western societies’ respect for autonomy when it comes to accessing media of certain themes that would have been banned in the past but with the proviso that certain sectors of society should still be protected.
5.Wind up with a conclusion on how both approaches are useful in different circumstances and a brief personal opinion on a preference or a combination of approaches. Throw in a quote or proverb to finish if one hits you. Paraphrase if you can’t remember – the examiner will get the gist.
I followed this loose formula both years for the essay section, however others have used dialogue/play, fiction and newspaper-report styles and scored well.

GAMSAT 2010 – a slightly more realistic approach!


When I started studying: September of 2009, so I put in about 6 months’ part-time study (with some seriously guilt-ridden slacking around Christmas time!).

I would say I put in 1-2 hours per day, although some study time was hardcore timed MCAT question answering and some was lounging about under the duvet with a handout on something nice like anatomy of the heart while the TV was on


What I did for Section III (score – 59):

◦Got the Examkrackers (marketed as MCAT preparation tools in the USA) Audio Osmosis CDs and listened to the Organic Chemistry section at least 20 times over the next 6 months.
◦Ploughed through the Examkrackers 1001 Questions in Organic Chemistry text three times in all and saw a steady improvement in what I was getting right – and noted what I kept getting wrong!
◦Compiled all the ‘end of lecture’ questions from the end of each chapter in the Examkrackers Organic Chemistry text and did them the week before the GAMSAT – great for a final overview of the course.
◦Downloaded the University of New Orleans Organic Chemistry lectures from iTunesU (a great free resource!)
N.B. Apparently, organic chemistry has always predominated on the GAMSAT but this year a lot of my study was wasted effort given the woeful lack of orgo on the 2010 paper. Bear in mind that future papers might go back to a higher proportion of orgo or might, like this year’s, concentrate more on physical chemistry and maths-y stuff (ugh).


◦Got a Leaving Cert Physics revision book but, to be honest, I did feck all with it apart from peer at it in wonder and look at the pretty pictures.
◦Got Guyton & Hall’s Physiology text which was amazing for learning about cell metabolism and the trans-membrane stuff, etc. It was also great for reading about the cardio, renal & pulmonary systems. A lot of the graphs look similar to GAMSAT stuff and came in very handy. (plus, if you end up in med school, the book won’t go to waste!)
◦Got an A Level book – ‘AS & A Level Chemistry through Diagrams’ which was great for general chemistry topics like acids & bases, Gibbs Free Energy, rates & equilibria etc. These are must-know topics and can be off-putting at first but become clearer over time. (I got the Biology one too which was pretty surplus to requirements and not that helpful.)

◦Did LOADS of Kaplan MCAT practice questions and from January 2010 I did one full length MCAT every Saturday coming up to the exam. I split the sections into Verbal Reasoning and Essays first (to mimic the GAMSAT’s Sections I and II) and then picked randomly what would equate to 110 science questions (to mimic Section III). I sat them in a local library with earplugs and timed myself strictly. Oddly enough, my scores declined for a while but then picked up again. MCAT is a different format (especially the verbal reasoning) but it was great for spotting little tricks in the science paper. On the Sunday I would then use the detailed answer explanations to ‘correct’ the exam.
◦All this time I had a little black notebook and everytime I learned something I did not previously know, or realised a silly error I made, I noted it and looked up the correct information. I then read that little notebook the day before Gamsat (and nothing else).
◦Made a Word document from the Australian Paging Dr website listing what topics came up in 2008 and 2009. I then filled in the ‘answers’ or cut and pasted paragraphs of information following each topic and read it coming up to the exam, filling in info I did not know by research. The contents of c.70% of the 2010 paper were somewhere on that list. Some questions were reproduced in full and I had cut and pasted forum posters’ answers into my little ‘cheat sheet’ which was great. Some questions reappeared but focused on different things, but I still had the gist of the question so found it easy to focus.

What I did for Section I (score – 72):


◦At first, I was disappointed with my 63 in the 2009 exam as I was convinced I had aced it! Looking back. though, I was so naive to think that. I flew through Section I and had 20 minutes to spare which I spent sitting there smugly thinking about how I had gotten 100% for sure. However: I did not read the questions properly. I did not take account of little clues like ‘according to narrator A’ vs. ‘according to narrator B’ which can give two totally different answers. I was choosing answers too quickly which were ‘right’ but not the ‘best’ – I wasn’t examining all the answer options. Instead, I would just pick the first one that I agreed with and move on.

◦For 2010, I got the Examkrackers 1001 Verbal Reasoning Passages (which is DRAINING) and got into the habit of reading each answer carefully before eliminating the answer choices in turn until one was left. (The passages in the book aren’t necessarily similar to those found in GAMSAT, which has more visual and poetry stimuli, but the practice was still useful.)
◦The week before the Gamsat I saw on the ACER website that ACER administer lots of different exams, such as the MSAP which has a very similar style of question to the GAMSAT Section I. I got the trial papers for all those different exams online (free sample questions are available for all the exams) and also a sample booklet of MSAP questions from a friend who happened to be sitting it. I found that even though some questions were a bit skewed off topic (some of the subject matter in the business or HR type exams, for example) they still had graphs and required logical reasoning so were useful for practicing those skills. I spent an afternoon doing all these questions the week coming up to GAMSAT and got into a sort of ‘ACER mindset’. Again, some questions were far more GAMSAT-ey than others but it was still good practice.

What I did for Section II (score – 76): just the timed practice essays as part of my fake ‘GAMSAT’s on the Saturdays leading up to the big day.


Obviously, everyone studies differently and finds different topics more of a struggle. I’m not sure if these tips are going to be of much use given that I look back on that period and wonder who the crazed carbon-counting loon crashing in my bedroom was. Hopefully, it’s clear that the science IS do-able, but, in my opinion, you need time if you’re going to start from scratch like I did.

Biologic

Great post Etymon. I don't know why I didn't compile a list of previous Q's from PagingDr, thats an excellent tip. It might be worth editing in your overall and section scores so people can relate your prep to your result.

PS: I look forward to the future blog updates, especially as we might be going through the same programme .

etymon

will do some editing, also ppl have asked me to do an essay outline so will add those in - thanks for feedback!
The compiling previous Q's is risky as it might divert attention from actually reading the passages again in the exam if some topics are repeated and I didn't think it would be any use but after the exam I couldn't believe how much is repeated.

Yes Biologic we must get acquainted in cyberspace before college!! I am 99% set on RCSI but going to try and get a tour of UCD before making up my mind. Either way it's exciting! I would hope to get some people starting in the other colleges to do some posts if interest in the blog picks up.

Paella

Thanks a lot for the post. I'm planning on doing the GAMSATS in the UK in September so you've given me an idea of what's required and whats useful to study.

eagle_&_bear

ditto

got good section 1 and 2 scores but bad in section 3 so have to go back to the grind stone. Registering for UK in September - anyone got any ideas where the exams are held?

I'm moreso thinking of a hotel to stay but if anyone has any idea of the locations then it'll help with hotel room.

cheers guys

MicraBoy

eagle_&_bear wrote: »

ditto

got good section 1 and 2 scores but bad in section 3 so have to go back to the grind stone. Registering for UK in September - anyone got any ideas where the exams are held?

I'm moreso thinking of a hotel to stay but if anyone has any idea of the locations then it'll help with hotel room.

cheers guys

Sorry to hear that man. This is the place the GAMSAT was held in last year in London.

http://www.horticultural-halls.co.uk/venues/lawrence-hall/find-us/

There are several hotels literally within seconds of this place (on Vincent Sq) so if you can get one of them that would be perfect.

I've seen a few people on here saying that going to the Bristol venue is less stress than London.

vinylqueen

hey! i'm zepplin on NMM, another possible RCSI-er for 2010. i sat the gamsat once in the uk last september (originally it was to be a trial run) and got 64.

S1: 66
S2: 87
S3: 51 (ahem)

Background:

haven't taken the most orthodox route to medicine it has to be said. i wasn't exactly the most diligent student in 6th year (too busy blogging about how miserable the leaving was, oh noes!) but somehow scraped through LC chemistry & physics. went off and did a BA in english & history. followed that up with a fun few years taking photos of bands and working minimum wage retail. realised about 2 years ago that i actually wanted to do something that challenged & interested me. i'd always found medicine fascinating so did lots of work experience, research and talked to people to make sure i wasn't away with the fairies. cue gamsat.

Time I had to prepare:

i started studying part time in mid-may but had to go right back to basics. took a few weeks off completely during the summer for a holiday but generally i tried to get in a few hours most days and then full days study towards the end. nothing insane.

What I did:

it'd been 8 years since i'd done anything relating to science and i remember the rather crushing realisation on day one that looking up every third word wasn't working so pulled out junior cert (completely useless) and leaving cert (better!) revision books for the first few weeks to get a grip on the foundations again. a friend gave me their grad med notes which were invaluable and pretty comprehensive, as was buying organic chemistry for dummies & doing the whole workbook. played with a borrowed molecular kit a bit to get a grip on stereochemistry (and to leave C2H5OH models on the kitchen table as a hint for my boyfriend every time it wasn't going great) etc. i got all the acer booklets i could get my hands on and made sure i answered and then explained the answer in detail for every question. i work in a shop that sells magazines so i got the manager's permission to nick the economist, time and the new yorker every week and devoured them cover to cover.

What worked:

consistency with the study. i got out of bed every day i was off and sat my bottom in the chair and learnt some science whether i was hungover or tired or whatever.

reading so much about current affairs. i love all that stuff anyway but it definitely helped me have some fresh ideas and arguments for the essay section and also kept my brain happy with a bit of variety from all the science.

as others have said, practise the essay timing like crazy. i wrote about 30 practise essays over the time i was preparing and they were all complete rubbish until about essay 20 because i wasn't focusing my arguments enough and ran out of time.

doing every GAMSAT-esque question i could and making sure i could explain it thoroughly. as that mtv celebrity diaries thing used to say, 'you think you know, but you have no idea...'

What didn't:

SIII was a complete disaster for me on the day so to be honest i was just glad i'd passed. i'd been rattling along happy as a clam until the lunch break which was rushed and extremely stressful. i'm a coeliac but couldn't get to my food in time due to the crowds in the locker room so basically ended up having one bite of my gf sandwich, a slug of diet coke and a handful of raisins while queuing for the bathroom. it freaked me out and the lack of food definitely contributed to fuzzy head and some defeatist thoughts halfway through sIII but at least i got through it. definitely would advise you to find a quiet place to lunch away from all the people going 'OMG I HAVE A PHD IN NEUROSCIENCE' and possibly have a friend waiting with food outside the venue if you've any specific dietary needs because the queues in london will be insanely long to get anywhere/do anything.

replacing pub quizzes with GAMSAT questions when your baffled mates are over having beers and you're sober and locked in a room surrounded by books. no, they don't know why some random animal's respiratory cycle looks like that and no, it's not rly rly cool like you think it is. at least not to them!

Conclusion:

clearly science wasn't my strong suit either before or during the GAMSAT but it's like learning a new language and the more you learn the more accessible it is. if you're from an arts background accept that you cannot waffle your way through this one and you'll need to put in a good bit of study to get through. your reasoning and deductive skills may come in handy for interpreting the biology portion of SIII but mostly it's going to be a bit of a mountain to climb, particularly initially. it's totally doable though. giving a specific time period is hard because it'll depend on how you study. i didn't see the point personally in killing myself right at the end and had the luxury of being able to work part time in the few months preceeding the exam so took my time and made sure i really understood organic chemistry etc.

i second etymon's recomendation of guyton & hall as an AWESOME book for physiology. if i was doing the GAMSAT again i'd try get a loan of a copy because i'm reading it now and its thrown so much more light on certain things and its full of graphs like the exam. granted, you probably could get through the GAMSAT as a science grad without investing much money or time in anything other then the acer papers, but if you need all the help you can get then go down to the likes of the clarendon medical bookshop, flick through some cell bio and physiology texts and if something seems like it'd work for you then grab it. watch the chemguy videos on youtube and use resources like www.revisegamsat.com. one of the most frustrating things about the gamsat is the lack of a clear syllabus and you could get bogged down in detail but just try and get a good general understanding of the key topics. learn off some common physics formulae and know how to apply them. keep a ridiculously sharp eye on the clock on the day and most of all, don't panic. it's a hard exam but it's really not the bogeyman it's made out to be. best of luck everyone

vinylqueen

eagle_&_bear wrote: »

ditto

got good section 1 and 2 scores but bad in section 3 so have to go back to the grind stone. Registering for UK in September - anyone got any ideas where the exams are held?

I'm moreso thinking of a hotel to stay but if anyone has any idea of the locations then it'll help with hotel room.

cheers guys

sorry to hear that but i'm sure next time will be better!

i took a really cheap option and stayed in wigram house (a uni of westminster halls of residence) for a few days because they're literally 5 mins walk away from the london exam hall. it wouldn't be to everyone's taste because its pretty basic but there's two tiny self-contained flats that you can book and it served myself and my mum perfectly while we were there. there's definitely loads of fancier hotels close by if you're happy to shell out though too

susiemac

hey guys, im just wondering is anyone willing to sell/share GAMSAT prep material? im hoping to get my hands on the Griffiths GAMSAT review and/or Des O'Neill's essay notes if possible. thanks a mill, Susie :P

Malbec

eagle_&_bear wrote: »

ditto

got good section 1 and 2 scores but bad in section 3 so have to go back to the grind stone. Registering for UK in September - anyone got any ideas where the exams are held?

I'm moreso thinking of a hotel to stay but if anyone has any idea of the locations then it'll help with hotel room.

cheers guys

Hi,

I'd recommend Bristol as a location. It has been held in the Thistle the last few years so you literally just have to walk downstairs on the morning of the exam & is only n hr from Dublin by plane. Much more laid back than flying to London etc.I went there last September and will be going back again this year.

Biologic

susiemac wrote: »

hey guys, im just wondering is anyone willing to sell/share GAMSAT prep material? im hoping to get my hands on the Griffiths GAMSAT review and/or Des O'Neill's essay notes if possible. thanks a mill, Susie :P

Hi Susie,

As far as I know Griffiths isn't available in a hard copy, only in a PDF download from this site. O'Neills essay notes are quite good but the most useful part is getting them corrected and sent back to you. If you get them second hand you won't be able to do this. On the downside, the essay package alone will cost you about 180 quid for 7 essays corrected which by all accounts is a rip off. I'm still glad I did it though, my essays were useless at the start and I ended up with a 64 in SII.

Bio

locum-motion

susiemac wrote: »

hey guys, im just wondering is anyone willing to sell/share GAMSAT prep material? im hoping to get my hands on the Griffiths GAMSAT review and/or Des O'Neill's essay notes if possible. thanks a mill, Susie :P

Mod Warning: I confess I don't know whether these materials are copyrighted or not, but I suspect they would be. If they are, then copying them would be a breach of such copyright, and Boards.ie cannot be used to facilitate this. Please bear this in mind when posting replies.

danthefan

If you sit the GAMSAT in September (this is in the UK I assume?), surely that can't get you a place in a course in Ireland in 2010, can it?

danthefan

I asked this in another thread but not sure if it'll get any replies so I'll ask again:

If you do the GAMSAT in the UK in September, I assume this is too late to get you into a course in Ireland in 2010?

vinylqueen

Yeah 'fraid so. Scores are valid for 2 years but GAMSAT results need to have been submitted by the May of year of entry and you need to have applied to the CAO by Jan of the year of entry so you'll be going for 2011 entry if you sit it in September.

danthefan

vinylqueen wrote: »

Yeah 'fraid so. Scores are valid for 2 years but GAMSAT results need to have been submitted by the May of year of entry and you need to have applied to the CAO by Jan of the year of entry so you'll be going for 2011 entry if you sit it in September.

Fair enough, thanks. I'm pretty positive I'll be taking the GAMSATs to try get in in 2011, but September might be a bit too soon.

MicraBoy

danthefan wrote: »

If you sit the GAMSAT in September (this is in the UK I assume?), surely that can't get you a place in a course in Ireland in 2010, can it?

Nope, but 2011 and 2012 you betcha!

danthefan

MicraBoy wrote: »

Nope, but 2011 and 2012 you betcha!

Figured as much, thanks.


Just how difficult is it to get a place in UCD or RCSI, i.e. get a score of 61 or 62 or whatever it is? I'd have to stay in Dublin for financial reasons.

etymon

danthefan wrote: »

Just how difficult is it to get a place in UCD or RCSI, i.e. get a score of 61 or 62 or whatever it is? I'd have to stay in Dublin for financial reasons.

Speak for myself when I say it's f*****g hard

Biologic

danthefan wrote: »

Just how difficult is it to get a place in UCD or RCSI, i.e. get a score of 61 or 62 or whatever it is?

That's a pretty hard question to answer. It depends on your ability and the amount of effort you're willing to put in. Check out this thread to see what level of prep will likely be required.

danthefan

Biologic wrote: »

That's a pretty hard question to answer. It depends on your ability and the amount of effort you're willing to put in. Check out this thread to see what level of prep will likely be required.

As I was posting I was thinking to myself "this is a daft question" but posted it anyway, sorry on that count, and thanks for the link.

drrunner

I think how hard it is depends on ability, background and specific aptitude for these kinds of tests (as opposed to aptitude for medicine!) - e.g. do you stay calm under pressure, can you speed read, have you got a well developed sense of pragmatism and probably most importantly have you got a good sense of your own strengths and weaknesses and ability to play to this?

I got a 64 on 5 or 6 weeks prep - quite possibly got lucky - but I reckon what got me through was a natural enjoyment of reading, debate and discussion and above average numeracy skills - I have no background (or knowledge lol) of organic chemistry or biology and factored this pragmatically into my preparation. One area where I think there might be very high correlation of good GAMSAT performance is with LC English - if you are a very high achiever in this, I think you are going to breeze through sections 1 and 2 (with some focused preparation).

Start by looking through ACER sample papers and figure out what you're naturally good and bad at within sections and also between sections. Make sure you capitalise fully on your strengths and be prepared to ditch topics where you feel you can only make limited progress in the time you have.

Work as hard as you can for the test - it is IMHO definitely not an aptitude test where you can just walk in and score above 60.

And try to enjoy the actual day of the exam as a personal challenge....a lot easier said than done, I know, but more likely to lead to a relaxed frame of mind!!!

danthefan

etymon wrote: »

Speak for myself when I say it's f*****g hard

Expected as much really. Cheers.

drrunner wrote: »

I think how hard it is depends on ability, background and specific aptitude for these kinds of tests (as opposed to aptitude for medicine!) - e.g. do you stay calm under pressure, can you speed read, have you got a well developed sense of pragmatism and probably most importantly have you got a good sense of your own strengths and weaknesses and ability to play to this?

I got a 64 on 5 or 6 weeks prep - quite possibly got lucky - but I reckon what got me through was a natural enjoyment of reading, debate and discussion and above average numeracy skills - I have no background (or knowledge lol) of organic chemistry or biology and factored this pragmatically into my preparation. One area where I think there might be very high correlation of good GAMSAT performance is with LC English - if you are a very high achiever in this, I think you are going to breeze through sections 1 and 2 (with some focused preparation).

Start by looking through ACER sample papers and figure out what you're naturally good and bad at within sections and also between sections. Make sure you capitalise fully on your strengths and be prepared to ditch topics where you feel you can only make limited progress in the time you have.

Work as hard as you can for the test - it is IMHO definitely not an aptitude test where you can just walk in and score above 60.

And try to enjoy the actual day of the exam as a personal challenge....a lot easier said than done, I know, but more likely to lead to a relaxed frame of mind!!!

Thanks for that. I like the sound of English helping, it was always my best subject in school and I got an A in the Leaving Cert, would be fairly rusty at this stage though. My background is engineering, I have no biology at all and very little chemistry but I guess I'd be comfortable enough with sciences. It's a long way away anyway, lots of time to prepare.

MicraBoy

danthefan wrote: »

Figured as much, thanks.


Just how difficult is it to get a place in UCD or RCSI, i.e. get a score of 61 or 62 or whatever it is? I'd have to stay in Dublin for financial reasons.

I'll tell you in August

Sitting on 61 and hoping for RCSI or UCD. To be honest I think 61 isn't likely to get RCSI but fairly likely to get UCD. It'll get me a place some where though (I assume).

BTW I did bugger all work to get that 61. As other posters have said on this and other threads, playing to your strengths can get you places, but it won't have you sitting too comfortably if you restrict yourself to only half the schools available.

danthefan

MicraBoy wrote: »

I'll tell you in August

Sitting on 61 and hoping for RCSI or UCD. To be honest I think 61 isn't likely to get RCSI but fairly likely to get UCD. It'll get me a place some where though (I assume).

BTW I did bugger all work to get that 61. As other posters have said on this and other threads, playing to your strengths can get you places, but it won't have you sitting too comfortably if you restrict yourself to only half the schools available.

I'm not restricting myself, I'd happily move, but it's just not financially feasible. I can't afford it.

I'll just have to hope that I can prepare myself well enough to get Dublin.

As for yourself, 61 was good enough for RCSI last year (I think), is it expected to go up?

drrunner

The vagaries of the CAO and applicant behaviour patterns make it impossible to accurately predict the requirement trajectory from year to year. However, given the fact that the number of applicants overall increased by about 100 and the fact that AFAIK RCSI places will not increase, if the applicant population behaves the same way as in 2009, RCSI cutoffs would be expected to increase....
There are so many other factors though that make this the stuff of pure speculation!!!

eagle_&_bear

Yes because offers are made in July/August and you begin the course in early september. So if you sit them September 2010 then you're looking at taking a place (fingers crossed) in September 2011.

eagle_&_bear

Mod... can we sticky this Gamsat 2011 thread and keep it at the top of the list (easier to find)

MicraBoy

danthefan wrote: »

I'm not restricting myself, I'd happily move, but it's just not financially feasible. I can't afford it.

Yeah I understand. I was the same when I started into the process. In fact I initially decided not to do gradmed because of the financial implications. Other changes in my circumstances helped with that.

One thing to bear in mind as well, is that Limerick is the only place offering any kind of scholarship for GEM.

hurdygurdy85

MicraBoy wrote: »

Yeah I understand. I was the same when I started into the process. In fact I initially decided not to do gradmed because of the financial implications. Other changes in my circumstances helped with that.

One thing to bear in mind as well, is that Limerick is the only place offering any kind of scholarship for GEM.

Yeah they offer €18,000 per year + contributions towards living costs. Nice work if you can get it. I'd say everyone applying for UL applied for the scholarship.

barleybooley

Hi everyone! Would really love to do Medicine and hope to sit the GAMSAT next year with a view to starting in September 2011. Have to get the 2.1 first though . Just introducing myself to the rest of you hopefuls

mcdermla

I need some serious motivation to study right now!

eagle_&_bear

Nottingham, September 2010 here I come

Spoke to the Gamsat office in UK. They recommend Nottingham if you're like me and no working knowledge of UK for ease of travel and cheaper accomodation

Study starts on Monday

stoptalking

Does anyone need some GAMSAT revision material?? I have the blue green and orange ACER revision and practice books and Griffths Gamsat Review?

Willing to post if necessary but you will have to cover the postage charge as the griffith book is printed and 190 pages long...

stoptalking

I have test materials. The Orange, Blue and Green ACER books and griffths book if your interested...

etymon

tip:
great book for graph-y and data questions
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Data-Interpretation-Medical-Students-Hamilton/dp/1904627668
pleased with it as it's my weak area and wanted a flick through it before I start college. Wishing I had got it before GAMSAT.
Hopefully might be of some use.