Gamsat 2013

WoolahUrma

Well fair play. That takes a nice bit of discipline. Hopefully you'll get your 60 and hopefully I'll get my 50.

After the results then we have another wait for the offers. Is that the end of June? I can imagine that that will be a nerve wrecking time for people that will be on the cusp.

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

Well fair play. That takes a nice bit of discipline. Hopefully you'll get your 60 and hopefully I'll get my 50.

After the results then we have another wait for the offers. Is that the end of June? I can imagine that that will be a nerve wrecking time for people that will be on the cusp.

Where you looking to get in? Yeh, hopefully I get the 60 which should secure a place in UCD for me. 2nd of August (Round 0) offers are issued as far as I'm aware.

WoolahUrma

Preferably rcsi or ucd but I would take anywhere given the length of time I spent preparing, my background and that fact that this was my first go. I have my excuses well rehearsed. I would like to get 50. I think that that would be a fair return for what I have put in so far. Anything more is a bonus for me.

I've decided to leave anymore study until after the results are released but I'm assuming that I'll be tippin over to Bristol to re sit.

I was a little uneasy about the ul course given how old it is but Ive read enough now to have a bit more confidence in it. I would be only too happy to be accepted there. No one has written a word about ucc but the website is convincing.

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

Preferably rcsi or ucd but I would take anywhere given the length of time I spent preparing, my background and that fact that this was my first go. I have my excuses well rehearsed. I would like to get 50. I think that that would be a fair return for what I have put in so far. Anything more is a bonus for me.

I've decided to leave anymore study until after the results are released but I'm assuming that I'll be tippin over to Bristol to re sit.

I was a little uneasy about the ul course given how old it is but Ive read enough now to have a bit more confidence in it. I would be only too happy to be accepted there. No one has written a word about ucc but the website is convincing.

I remember my first attempt at it. I thought I did horrendous and I came home convinced I got like 50-52. Ended up getting a 57 so don't jump the gun with the study just yet. You may be pleasantly surprised.

borrch

Is there as many people applying for GE & mature entry compared to other years? Was wondering if the banking issue was having much of an impact?

There seems to be less activity on boards compared to previous years..

WoolahUrma

Hypnos wrote: »

I remember my first attempt at it. I thought I did horrendous and I came home convinced I got like 50-52. Ended up getting a 57 so don't jump the gun with the study just yet. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for the bit of encouragement. Is the first contact the result?

What is the bank loan issue in a nutshell?

Do they release any info on how many sat and whether the exam was more or less difficult then previous years?

Hypnos

borrch wrote: »

Is there as many people applying for GE & mature entry compared to other years? Was wondering if the banking issue was having much of an impact?

There seems to be less activity on boards compared to previous years..

There is a drop of around 8%. This is an approximate value.
The drop in medicine is because of the banking issue. It crippled the stable GEM system in my opinion anyway.

Until 2010, 3 banks (BIO, AIB and UB) gave out loans for GEM. They gave out up to 100K to cover living expenses and fees. In 2011, AIB stopped providing the GEM loan because doctors who graduated had issues keeping up with the payments (especially with the 100K loan). So bank of Ireland and Ulster bank then decided to cut the loan to just cover 15K/yr.
This is even lower than the fees for RCSI :S :S.

There is definitely less activity. I'm not sure why though. I sat it in 2012 too and the amount of people who sat it were roughly identical. Full hall etc.

The loan issue is my next biggest worry after the results. The loan now is capped at 15K/yr and you absolutely need a guarantor which wasn't necessary during the good ole days where the 100K loan was available. Basically the banks are covering their asses major time. One the one hand, its good to see they are taking responsibility and not making the same mistakes that led to this absolute mess in the economy. On the other had it prevents a lot of people from considering a GEM degree especially if they need a source of income which the 100K loan used to provide.

I spoke to the graduate med woman in the UCD BOI in summer 2012. She's in charge of those loans and I wanted to see how bad the situation was.
She said if your guarantor was with Bank of Ireland (e.g. parents) then that helps a lot and I was advised to open a bank account with them as it would just be wise. So I opened the account and I kept the active over the past year. Storing money on it if it helps at all. My dad is with BOI too and if/when (fingers crossed) the time comes I will need him to be my guarantor; it helps that he has had an account with them for the past 15 years and he has a mortgage too.

Basically I gave her my situation; dad with bank of ireland, house owner, banking with them for 15 years, not in arrears and has a regular income on that account. She assured me that I would not have a single problem securing a loan if my situation remained that way by the time I did apply. Luckily things are still similar to 2012 so I'm hoping that things don't change. She did say their policies on the GEM loan change from year to year.

Her only advice for me was to open an account and use it so there is activity on it. On the other had one of the professors in UCD, who is the head of medicine said that they lost between 5-10 students in 2012 because they could not secure a loan so I'm worried now. It's a bit hazy so I don't know what to think. All I know is you can't apply until you have proof of acceptance (im not 100% sure this is true but I'm quite sure it is).

The last problem we will face is the fact that the fees can just rise by a grand from year to year and your loan will not cover it and I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm fortunate enough to be able to live with my folks for another while but I can't handle additional fees and neither can my parents and I have heard of a person who had to drop out in 3rd yr GEM because she couldn't afford the final year (Im not sure if this is a lie or true) but even if it does happen, do remember you can complete your final year the following year if anything was to happen.

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

Thanks for the bit of encouragement. Is the first contact the result?

What is the bank loan issue in a nutshell?

Do they release any info on how many sat and whether the exam was more or less difficult then previous years?

Covered the bank issue in my previous, long post
The result is the next step, then CAO, then loan. They don't release that kind of info since ACER are very hush hush, but they did release info in 2010 where they said that on average 10,000 students sit it per year.

The exam is based in UK, IRE, AUS so you can split the number into 3...
I know UK and IRE have different populations but the Irish gamsat can be taken in the UK whereas the reverse isn't possible. So you can estimate roughly that there was 3,000 candidates in the Irish gamsat that we're up against who sat it in test centers in Ireland and the UK

borrch

Wow 3,ooo candidates is alot.... doesn't give me much hope

Thanks Hypnos for your other post, it was really informative

Hypnos

borrch wrote: »

Wow 3,ooo candidates is alot.... doesn't give me much hope

Thanks Hypnos for your other post, it was really informative

Ain't hopeless till the results come out. You're graded depending on how others do, not how you do. You have a relative score. You can do "bad" and others could do "worse", relative to you and you will have a "good" score even if it isn't necessarily good.

It's sad how much I know about this exam

WoolahUrma

3000? Seems kinda high. I would have assumed that a larger proportion of the 10000 would have been Aussie and maybe a few less uk.

How do you know it's 8% exactly.

I reckon that there were 50 in Limerick. 550 in Dublin. Cork I'm not sure. There are 275 places, half of them are going to internationals.

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

3000? Seems kinda high. I would have assumed that a larger proportion of the 10000 would have been Aussie and maybe a few less uk.

How do you know it's 8% exactly.

I reckon that there were 50 in Limerick. 550 in Dublin. Cork I'm not sure. There are 275 places, half of them are going to internationals.

True, but like I said, the Irish gamsat is examined in the UK as well. So UK students can sit the Irish gamsat in UK test centers. I'm accounting for the UK students who sat the Irish gamsat. You also have to remember, Australia may be big but it only has a population of around 22 million and UK 3x as much so I don't know. Doing rough estimations based on populations. It's hard to tell but I know that no more than 1,000 sit it in Ireland. I think it's safe to assume that there are at least an equal number of UK candidates who sat it on the same day as us in England. So that's where I got 2,000+

It was 7% actually that was on Today FM a few weeks back. There is an article about it I found on the web too after I heard about this. Maybe have a look. It may not be 7% like it was announced in Today FM but it definitely did decline.

I'm just trying to make rough approximations on the information that is available.

DoctorDre

What are you all planning to do if you don't get in this year? Take another year out to try again? Work? Different course?

Hypnos

DoctorDre wrote: »

What are you all planning to do if you don't get in this year? Take another year out to try again? Work? Different course?

Work/take it again....

Lub

DoctorDre wrote: »

What are you all planning to do if you don't get in this year? Take another year out to try again? Work? Different course?

I'll probably spiral into a post-GEM-rejection depression for a few weeks and then go through the motions of taking the exam again. I really don't want to sit around for a year though, so fingers crossed that I've done enough. I'm not overly hopeful though as this was my first attempt.

I'm just totally over my undergraduate degree now and want to move on. I have to complete my blasted thesis and seven million essays/exams first though. Bleugh.

Is anyone else hoping to go directly from undergrad to GEM, or have people graduated long ago?

nerrad01

Lub wrote: »

I'll probably spiral into a post-GEM-rejection depression for a few weeks and then go through the motions of taking the exam again. I really don't want to sit around for a year though, so fingers crossed that I've done enough. I'm not overly hopeful though as this was my first attempt.

I'm just totally over my undergraduate degree now and want to move on. I have to complete my blasted thesis and seven million essays/exams first though. Bleugh.

Is anyone else hoping to go directly from undergrad to GEM, or have people graduated long ago?

if theres one bit of advise i could give it is work!! save as much as you possibly can and reduce the living/loan burden on yourself! if i could do it again this is exactly what i would do

Hypnos

Lub wrote: »

I'll probably spiral into a post-GEM-rejection depression for a few weeks and then go through the motions of taking the exam again. I really don't want to sit around for a year though, so fingers crossed that I've done enough. I'm not overly hopeful though as this was my first attempt.

I'm just totally over my undergraduate degree now and want to move on. I have to complete my blasted thesis and seven million essays/exams first though. Bleugh.

Is anyone else hoping to go directly from undergrad to GEM, or have people graduated long ago?

Im in my final year too. Planning for a transition directly from undergrad. I hope.

WoolahUrma

Lub wrote: »

I'll probably spiral into a post-GEM-rejection depression for a few weeks and then go through the motions of taking the exam again. I really don't want to sit around for a year though, so fingers crossed that I've done enough. I'm not overly hopeful though as this was my first attempt.

I'm just totally over my undergraduate degree now and want to move on. I have to complete my blasted thesis and seven million essays/exams first though. Bleugh.

Is anyone else hoping to go directly from undergrad to GEM, or have people graduated long ago?

I graduated long long ago. I'm 27 now and I've made a few bob since graduating so it would be a sweet deal if I got it this time round.

Same as you it was my first time so I'm preparing myself for the worst that not to say that I won't do a bit of depression spiralling myself.

I wouldn't worry too much about it in al honesty. It would be ideal for you to get it right out of the gate but if not, what's another year?

When I first looked into it my first concern was that I might be a bit too old. The more I've thought about the more I realise how ridiculous that notion was.

Some time away from academia was a must for me after the degree but then again the gamsat wasn't on my raydar at the time

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

I graduated long long ago. I'm 27 now and I've made a few bob since graduating so it would be a sweet deal if I got it this time round.

Same as you it was my first time so I'm preparing myself for the worst that not to say that I won't do a bit of depression spiralling myself.

I wouldn't worry too much about it in al honesty. It would be ideal for you to get it right out of the gate but if not, what's another year?

When I first looked into it my first concern was that I might be a bit too old. The more I've thought about the more I realise how ridiculous that notion was.

Some time away from academia was a must for me after the degree but then again the gamsat wasn't on my raydar at the time

That's true. I heard the average age of a GEM student age is 25. I have a strange feeling that if I get in, I'm bound to be the youngest person there. Can't wait for these results to come out. Another 6 weeks to go.

WoolahUrma

21? Don't worry there are some kids in undergrad that are just out of nappies.

I think it's a degree best done as a grad

IEMedAp

WoolahUrma wrote: »

21? Don't worry there are some kids in undergrad that are just out of nappies.

I think it's a degree best done as a grad

Some of us are so old we're not far off needing to wear nappies again.

WoolahUrma

IEMedAp wrote: »

Some of us are so old we're not far off needing to wear nappies again.

Well this is it. Im fairly resolved to getting into this course now so if it takes a stair lift to get onto that stage to be conferred, Ill be there, nappies and all.

nerrad01

WoolahUrma wrote: »

Well this is it. Im fairly resolved to getting into this course now so if it takes a stair lift to get onto that stage to be conferred, Ill be there, nappies and all.

i got in when i was 27 too, although i do feel old in comparison to some of the fresh grads, id say this
The avg age as said is 25ish,
About 1/3-1/4 of the class will be somewhere around the 27 mark.

You have the advantage of having worked/ done other things which make you a lot more well rounded and able to interact with patients better.

You have enjoyed your 20s for the most part without slaving away during arguably the best years of your life doing 100 hour weeks( a major gripe of my undergrad friends who long for a 9-5 mon-fri [i keep telling them it loses its appeal very quickly]

And finally but most importantly you will be mature enough to know if its really for you or not!

not beating on the fresh grads just wanted to give some perspective as i went through lots of "what am i doing here moments myself" and still do at times! just remember it is normal and there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

21? Don't worry there are some kids in undergrad that are just out of nappies.

I think it's a degree best done as a grad

Yeh, just recently. Started undergrad having just turned 17. It's ok. I'm the youngest in undergrad now too. Used to it.

WoolahUrma

100 hours?

At the exam I made some friends all of whom were around my age no bother. Socially I'm not worried about the course. First of all it's getting in and secondly, will I want to stay in?
As you were saying, the what am I doing here situation.
Do you find that you have much time outside of study and lectures?

Hypnos

WoolahUrma wrote: »

100 hours?

At the exam I made some friends all of whom were around my age no bother. Socially I'm not worried about the course. First of all it's getting in and secondly, will I want to stay in?
As you were saying, the what am I doing here situation.
Do you find that you have much time outside of study and lectures?

I know I'm not the one to be answering this since im not in GEM but I personally know a 5th yr med who has plenty of time to socialize and nothing like 100hr weeks! In fact I was out for coffee with him 2 days ago. Even the badly treated interns on the news were getting 90hrs tops in some extreme cases. Where is 100 coming from? He's does have some weeks that are hectic but the majority of the time he tell me it's completely fine, time wise. There is a bit more to do than normal but he's finds time for a lot of things. I was with him just there on Wednesday to get some more impressions on what to await if I manage to get and catch up times.

I know these horrible hours are to be expected as an intern but the my mate there never described GEM like that since I've known him and I don't know where you're studying but he's 5th year RCSI GEM.

Hypnos

Besides wasn't there someone a few pages back on this post who said that they have a couple of people in the class with part time jobs in GEM... I'm sure there was. Don't think you'll have any free time with part time job though.

WoolahUrma

Hypnos wrote: »

Besides wasn't there someone a few pages back on this post who said that they have a couple of people in the class with part time jobs in GEM... I'm sure there was. Don't think you'll have any free time with part time job though.

I'm all for hard work and I assume that I'll be studying quite a bit more than I did for my undergrad. I also expect that the intern year would be tough going.

That said I don't fancy 4 years of drudgery and a small mountain of debt.

Incidentally, do the colleges set you up with the internship?

nerrad01

sorry when i said 100 hour weeks i was exaggerating! i was more getting at the long hours and socially awkward shifts that follow on after intern.

In regards, free time i find yea in not insane in terms of work, but think a lot depends on the individual and where you go, my brother is in UL and the hours seem insane due to the set up down there, im in ucd and i feel i dont put in as much as they do simply due to the set up of the course.....but who knows!

and as you said the staying in was/is a big problem for me.....i found i was so focused on getting in that i kinda forgot about the realities of going back to college for 4 years

WoolahUrma

What year are you in?
If you were leaving something that you enjoyed and were well paid for I would imagine that that would be tough.