GAMSAT 2014?

letsdothis

Have arrived in Sheffield for tomorrow's exam. Mananged to do the two full length papers in the end on Saturday and yesterday. Found the purple paper much more difficult. Wish I'd done that one first! Anyway, not a whole lot that can be done about it at this stage, only to relax before exam. Maybe just the one or two drinks tonight to help with that!

Good luck to everyone else sitting GAMSAT UK tomorrow too!

WoolahUrma

Good luck to everyone tomorrow, final hint, STICK TO YOUR TIMING!!!

astaire

How did anyone who sat gamsat ukoay go.Personally mine was a disaster!Was relying on s.1 as my strong pt. and didn'n even manage to fimish it!

concerted

Hey, yeah wasn't overly pushed about it myself. I've found my score predictions to be quite off though with previous trial papers. Sometimes the test can feel crap but still get the marks. So that's what I'm going with until the results are released anyway.

wehec

Got 63 in section 2 in gamsat ireland in march, not a hope I even got close to that today. The essays based around superstition were a killer. Section 1 I thought went okay, more so the second half of it, but it's a hard section to predict. Section 3 as ever was a process of me making as many educated guesses as possible and not really knowing much for definite. Overall fairly disappointed.

astaire

This was my first time sitting it.Wehec, s.2 was the only section I felt comfortable with.Oddly I only prepared 6 essays and superstition and procrastination were two of them.what are the chances!?This means feck all however since the othsections went ****e.Even at that I havebeen torturing myself readi ng forums and now I hear there's aspecif essay "formula" they look for.Who knew!?

wehec

Ah no I don't believe that they do that. As long as you can write a reasoned logic based argument which is also objective incorporating a logical and cohesive flow of ideas then they can't mark you down surely.

letsdothis

Did a good bit of prep for section 1 and had been averaging scores of 70-80, usually finishing test papers with loads of time to spare. This was to be my star section to compensate for the rest. Yesterday I found section 1 to be very complicated. I had to make guesses for questions that I wasn't entirely comfortable with for maybe 20. I ran out of time and had to make guesses for 2 passages (including that incredible long Voter model at the end) without reading the text. Felt like a disaster.

Fair played to you Astaire. I didn't do enough essay prep but not in a million years would I have wrote an essay on superstition if I had! Actually, I chose the least superstition focused quote yesterday - the last one was something like "only with humility can we realise how little we know." I hated the essay titles and was thrown after section one but managed to put together something half decent.

After a poor morning performance, the pressure was well and truly off for the afternoon. I'm science neophyte but I found section 3 to be surprisingly doable. There was very little physics and what was there was fairly basic. That thin lens equation question has come up countless times. There was lots and lots of organic chemistry, some of which seemed fairly easy. One thing I didn't do enough of in my prep was practice of question blocks on biological pathways. This should be a major focus in any gamsat prep, I now realise. I managed to finish all the questions and also had time to recheck the ones I wasn't so sure of my answers to. From my sample papers, I've found it impossible to predict my science scores but sufficit to say I probably got somewhere between bad and barely passable...and improvement from my predicted range of pathetic to barely passable!

Overall, I'm 100% glad I came to the UK for this trial run. If I'm to sit again in march, I know areas that I now need to focus on and the unknown quantity of the day itself will be gone. From my zero base in science a few months back, I'm happy enough with how far I've progressed. Only time will tell if it was enough!!

nifty pineapple914

I've spent yesterday compiling various article sections on many broad topics onto one document sheet, and needless to say 'superstition' did not enter my mind at all! What a bugger. I'll include ignorance as a topic, as opposed to humility- hopefully that will safeguard against the same kind of thing happening when I sit the exams in march.

Letsdothis- sounds like you did well! What biological pathways in particular do you think should be focused on? I'm still settling into studying biology and chemistry for the first time in over five years- its quite overwhelming not knowing where to start.
;

wehec

Basically a whole essay on superstition is a killer, prepared for a whole range of areas and have been deliberately doing abstract essay topics but never would have believed superstition would come up in the manner it did.

nifty pineapple914

Interestingly, AC Graylings books are recommended for postgrad medicine exams, and there are a few interviews with this professor on the topic of superstition and religion.

just-joe

Also glad I went over to do it as a trial run.

I was surprised that I didn't find S1 and S3 as tight for time as is always said. I had time to look back over questions I wasn't sure on. Having said that I am usually fast at going through tests and it never means I have done well, just manage to get through it quickly. Also in S3 there was lot's of chemistry that I didn't have a clue about so just skipped it, and made up time there. I didn't think coming from a maths background would have any positives but when you look at the physics and biology problems some of them are more arithmetic and probability than anything. It creeps into S1 too. Like the question on false positives and true negatives, and the question on cyclical voting.

Chemistry was difficult and couldn't do most of it, but it was encouraging to see things that I had studied, and if I had remembered how to do them correctly, I would have got them right. For example, E and Z stereowhatsitometry wasn't overly complicated I just couldn't remember how.

And I waffled through the essays, first one felt much better than the second but I am not a strong writer, and would be very surprised if the mark is good.

All in all good for a practice run, and absolutely no idea how the mark will go.

When do they come out?

Mad amount of people sitting it in London eh?

And, S1 and S2 in a row is a long time to hold off going to the bathroom.

concerted

Yeah I had this exam down as a trial run but harbored hopes of not needing the second chance. Had done an hour a night for a good while and then a month of cramming but just isn't enough to get it all in, especially that Organic Chemistry lark. Caught off a bit with the extent to which they used it and don't think my educated guesses will do it.

Has anyone compiled all the previous years questions as they would be handy to have available.

stephenlane80

just-joe wrote: »

Also glad I went over to do it as a trial run.

All in all good for a practice run, and absolutely no idea how the mark will go.

When do they come out?

Mad amount of people sitting it in London eh?

And, S1 and S2 in a row is a long time to hold off going to the bathroom.

I was in London also yesterday, heard loads of Irish accents. You weren't by chance the guy with the same Dunne's Stores hoody as me!!! There were some amount at it alright. Couple of thousand between the different areas?

S1, I thought went ok, I think every one was caught for time in S1 as i think there were more long passage based questions than seemed to be in the practice tests. I had to guess 9 at the end but was happy with the ones i answered. I was averaging around 70 in the practice ones, so id say i got between 60 and 70 there.

I wrote 2 ok essays and have about 3-4 mins to look over them. I chose the essay on procrastination and the one about being humble about what we don't know. The topics surprised me as i thought they didn't ask religious type questions.

I did ****e in S3 like everyone else around me it seems. I did all of the physics and biol and some of the chem, did hardly any of the organic chemistry ones as i hadn't a clue. Id say i got between 40 and 50 correct, which i assume would give me a score somewhere in the 40's. I was very encouraged to see the the questions following a very similar pattern to the practice tests. I think with some focused work i could really bring up the science in march. My preparation consisted of reading the examcrackers books/leaving cert books which I think is pretty useless for gaining an understanding of the more advanced stuff if like me you haven't studied science previously. Id say i might have scraped a 55 or so but ill be applying to the UK as i have a 2:2 in my primary degree and i will need a score in the 60's. I drank loads of water at the break and HAD to go to the loo which wasted loads of time so be careful of this.

Is the anyone else around the limerick area that is taking the gamsat in march and wants to set up a study group and pool our resources?

just-joe

Nope that wasn't me (green tshirt orange bodywarmer) I was sitting beside an Irish girl though and saw a few UCD hoodies and irish passports on the tables.

Yeah it would be good to compile some questions, or the specific knowledge required to answer them.

Like the difference between a quip and a barb, was wishing I knew the answer to that!

nifty pineapple914

Perhaps it would be a worthwhile effort for those who have sat the UKgamsats to briefly jot down here any vital sections to cover and study methodologies, which they've gleamed from having sat a trial paper this week?

Congrats to all who went. I had it booked and paid for, but hadn't remotely enough covered. I'm not too worried about the essays having done an English degree, but org chem. is a big worry- it was never my strong point.

Is it fair to say the best means of study is to use the sample papers as a springboard for study, as opposed to using textbooks for a few weeks before moving onto examining the papers?

letsdothis

nifty pineapple914 wrote: »

Perhaps it would be a worthwhile effort for those who have sat the UKgamsats to briefly jot down here any vital sections to cover and study methodologies, which they've gleamed from having sat a trial paper this week?

Congrats to all who went. I had it booked and paid for, but hadn't remotely enough covered. I'm not too worried about the essays having done an English degree, but org chem. is a big worry- it was never my strong point.

Is it fair to say the best means of study is to use the sample papers as a springboard for study, as opposed to using textbooks for a few weeks before moving onto examining the papers?

Will write up something soon, still trying to catch up with work from last week. I'll say quickly though that I cannot recommend Organic Chemistry as a Second Language highly enough. It was recommended here to me. I'm confident that you went through this book and were familiar with its contents - esp. nomenclature, resonance, functional groups, mechanisms, you would be well placed to answer every question on the GAMSAT. It is comprehensive enough for this exam. If you had difficulty with any of the contents in it, you should supplement it with For Dummies I and the work book that goes with it.

nifty pineapple914

Perfect, I have a download of Org as a 2nd Language and the Dummies book. I reckon I'll hunt down a proper copy of the latter though as sometimes studying off the screen is taxing on the eyes. Thanks for the feedback.

just-joe

Nifty Pineapples914, you probably should have went to london just to give it a shot. It was worth it for practicing each section, even though I too wasn't amazingly well prepared for the science. I guess if you are strong at English you could ace S1 and S2 on your first go. But anyways.

As I had so little science knowledge I couldn't go straight to the questions. Spending a lot of time with organic chemistry for dummies and googling things helped prepare me to understand different terminology. I don't think you could just read that and be ready though, so maybe that other OC book is better. I also read here that the OC for dummies workbook is vital so maybe with the book and workbook it would prepare ya a lot better.

In the end I went from textbooks to questions, thinking ahhhh I need to do more of the other. So for me both are necessary.

nifty pineapple914

I totally agree it would've been great to do, but I only decided in July that I had to go for medicine again lest i go crazy and/or remain in shoddy jobs, plus I was still in work until this weekend. I had essentially only managed to organise my downloads and source the proper materials and print out some papers by the time flights had to be booked, so it would've been more a waste of money and less of an effective measure of exam timing and preparedness. I've quit work now and may well be studying exclusively until March, and i'll sit the exams in both march and september 2014. Also looking into a course in the new year which I've heard good things about. I need all the help I can get really, having been out of a science-study mentality for so long.

Ordered Dr. Klein's book, too. So no excuses now to not go gung-ho on it

letsdothis

nifty pineapple914 wrote: »

I totally agree it would've been great to do, but I only decided in July that I had to go for medicine again lest i go crazy and/or remain in shoddy jobs, plus I was still in work until this weekend. I had essentially only managed to organise my downloads and source the proper materials and print out some papers by the time flights had to be booked, so it would've been more a waste of money and less of an effective measure of exam timing and preparedness. I've quit work now and may well be studying exclusively until March, and i'll sit the exams in both march and september 2014. Also looking into a course in the new year which I've heard good things about. I need all the help I can get really, having been out of a science-study mentality for so long.

Ordered Dr. Klein's book, too. So no excuses now to not go gung-ho on it

Get yourself a iPad or other tablet, an invaluable toll for studying for GAMSAT and (as it seems also) for GEM! Couldn't have used all the ebooks available without it.

I agree with just-joe on the For Dummies and workbook - the cross between these and As A Second Language is great for reinforcing. With enough work, OC won't be a bother to you after using these books. No if only I had more time..... having a bit of non-study guilt at the moment but have decided to give it a break until the UK results come out. In the meantime, all I'm going to do is up my reading of novels and current affairs. Almost like leisure!

yer man!

I know this question has been asked before but, how do people prepare for the essay section of the paper. I come from a chemistry background so the science section isn't too bad. I just have trouble with section 2. Is there any study guides to help or is it shear trial and error with doing out multiple essays?

rachel273

I sat the GAMSAT this year and scored 67 but I really want to score 70+ so I am sitting again next year. I didn't do any preparation courses but I have signed up to METC essay course as this was my weaker section, I receive feedback on 52 essays and so far the feedback has been fantastic, I have lots to work on before I sit the GAMSAT again! I am thinking of signing up to their revision courses as well but I am not sure if it will be worth it as I did quite well on the other sections however it would be great if it helped me boost my score!

letsdothis

rachel273 wrote: »

I sat the GAMSAT this year and scored 67 but I really want to score 70+ so I am sitting again next year. I didn't do any preparation courses but I have signed up to METC essay course as this was my weaker section, I receive feedback on 52 essays and so far the feedback has been fantastic, I have lots to work on before I sit the GAMSAT again! I am thinking of signing up to their revision courses as well but I am not sure if it will be worth it as I did quite well on the other sections however it would be great if it helped me boost my score!

Thanks for the info on the course. Might look at that if I'm up for a resit. I did very little for the essay section for September's exam.

Out of interest, why isn't 67 good enough? I think this would do for all the UK and Ireland universities that accept GAMSAT for GEM

rachel273

letsdothis wrote: »

Thanks for the info on the course. Might look at that if I'm up for a resit. I did very little for the essay section for September's exam.

Out of interest, why isn't 67 good enough? I think this would do for all the UK and Ireland universities that accept GAMSAT for GEM

I was happy with 67 but it is such a competitive entry into medicine and I didn't receive an interview this year, so I was hoping that I will be able to secure an interview if i am able to achieve a GAMSAT score of 70+.

2_fri

rachel273 wrote: »

I was happy with 67 but it is such a competitive entry into medicine and I didn't receive an interview this year, so I was hoping that I will be able to secure an interview if i am able to achieve a GAMSAT score of 70+.

A score of 67 would get you into every med school in Ireland and an interview at least in every grad med school using the GAMSAT in the UK.

Your GAMSAT score is not the problem, it's something else on your application!

pharmacrunch

Have a very first run at the ACER sample paper today- first time ever sitting down to do anything in any shape or form GamSat related :O

Not as bad as I had led myself to believe, difficult yes, and a lot of work needed- but doable!

pharmacrunch

Can I ask two questions, hopefully someone who has sat this before will know:

1) Do we get "rough work" paper during the exam to use ?

2) Is a periodic table provided for the science portion of the exam?

Thanks!

beardedmaster

1) Yes
2) No

Any molecular weights you would need are given in the questions.

nomoreexams

There isn't any rough work paper but you are allowed to write on the exam paper.