GAMSAT 2017

Celestial12

Guidance wrote: »

Ok, thank you. I achieved an overall score of 65 in the GAMSAT. I've applied to Scotland and Belfast as regards UCAS.

I'd like to see UCC! I'll also have to go to the open day in UCD.

I didn't go my undergrad in UCC. Finished with a 1.1 science degree in NUIG last year. I was then offered a scholarship to do a PhD in UCC, so here I am now! Absolutely hate it. Going to convert to a masters instead.

The program in Scotland sounds fantastic. They offer a bursary, and there are no fees for EU/Scottish (the rest of the UK have to pay 9k!) students. It would be a fantastic place to get into. It was the only place in the UK that I was interested in applying to, but I left to the last minute and didn't realise you also needed the UKCAT. How was that test? I hope the interviews go well for you! You'll definitely be called with the GAMSAT score you got.

Celestial12

GrabTheCREAM wrote: »

I think it was 59 this year, same as UCD so hoping it doesn’t go up!!

It hasn't been higher than 59 since 2010, hopefully you'll be fine. Are you going to sit the exam again in March?

Guidance

Celestial12 wrote: »

I didn't go my undergrad in UCC. Finished with a 1.1 science degree in NUIG last year. I was then offered a scholarship to do a PhD in UCC, so here I am now! Absolutely hate it. Going to convert to a masters instead.

The program in Scotland sounds fantastic. They offer a bursary, and there are no fees for EU/Scottish (the rest of the UK have to pay 9k!) students. It would be a fantastic place to get into. It was the only place in the UK that I was interested in applying to, but I left to the last minute and didn't realise you also needed the UKCAT. How was that test? I hope the interviews go well for you! You'll definitely be called with the GAMSAT score you got.

Ok, thank you. Without going into too much detail, why do you hold such a strong negative opinion on your current study? Is it the place or the work - or both? Are the Galwegians and Corkonians rivals? 😀

The UKCAT was much more manageable than the GAMSAT and doing the GAMSAT first was a blessing in disguise! It required a decent amount of practise but unlike the GAMSAT, there was no study (in the sense of remembering material).

debbysoap

Guidance wrote: »

Ok, thank you. I achieved an overall score of 65 in the GAMSAT. I've applied to Scotland and Belfast as regards UCAS.

I'd like to see UCC! I'll also have to go to the open day in UCD.

Do you mind please advising on your opinion of the Scottish programme? From what I read, it seems tailored to provide education for training general physicians, a field I wouldn’t be inclined to at all, in all honesty. What do you think?

debbysoap

Celestial12 wrote: »

I need to look into the international reputation of each of the schools, because whilst I don't think it matters much here, I want to make sure I won't be held back if I chose to go abroad if I chose UL over UCD for example (UCD is ranked much higher in university rankings).

This is partly why I’ll be applying to UK universities....still not decided on RCSI vs UCD. RCSI seems to have more clinical expertise overall, even in Pharmacy, however, it’s significantly more expensive and seems to provide the same standard of education as UCD.

GrabTheCREAM

Celestial12 wrote: »

It hasn't been higher than 59 since 2010, hopefully you'll be fine. Are you going to sit the exam again in March?

Yeah im gonna take another crack at it and see if i can get 60+, could definitely improve on my S2 and S3 scores! Also have more time to study now, i pretty much only studied hard 4 or so weeks before the sept. exam hahah

Also ive heard cases of people who got 59 who didnt get an offer from UCD/RCSI so i just want to lock my place in and try stay local

Celestial12

Guidance wrote: »

Ok, thank you. Without going into too much detail, why do you hold such a strong negative opinion on your current study? Is it the place or the work - or both? Are the Galwegians and Corkonians rivals? ��

The UKCAT was much more manageable than the GAMSAT and doing the GAMSAT first was a blessing in disguise! It required a decent amount of practise but unlike the GAMSAT, there was no study (in the sense of remembering material).

It's more the work. I don't think finishing my PhD early will go down well, so I think a fresh start somewhere else would be the best option. I'm registered in the department of medicine and health... The University is quite nice from what I've seen of it (I've only been in the library a couple of times, loads of other buildings I've had no need to ever go into. Completely different experience to being an undergrad).

Are you intending on applying in Ireland too? Have you finished your degree yet?:)

Celestial12

debbysoap wrote: »

Do you mind please advising on your opinion of the Scottish programme? From what I read, it seems tailored to provide education for training general physicians, a field I wouldn’t be inclined to at all, in all honesty. What do you think?

I see they've updated their website slightly to say that people who are interested in branching into other areas of medicine will be accommodated. AFAIK from reading on past threads here, the program in UL was also set up to place an emphasis on training GPs, but that changed over the years as they realised their students wanted to go into different areas.

The biggest appeal to me would be that it's free! Not sure I'd like living in rural Scotland, or having to commit to the NHS there for a few years.

debbysoap wrote: »

This is partly why I’ll be applying to UK universities....still not decided on RCSI vs UCD. RCSI seems to have more clinical expertise overall, even in Pharmacy, however, it’s significantly more expensive and seems to provide the same standard of education as UCD.

In general Irish universities have a fantastic reputation, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. If your first choice is UCD for example, then go for it. A large portion of the students studying Gradmed in Ireland are North Americans (mainly Canadian) and they come here knowing that Irish medical schools have a good reputation. Ireland is the #1 destination for Canadians looking to study medicine abroad.

That's why I'm not considering RCSI. I haven't checked fees for next year, but I think it's 2,000 more per year, which will be 8,000 over the four years and I don't think it's worth it. I'd also prefer to be in a bigger university.

Celestial12

Has anyone applied to the CAO yet?

GrabTheCREAM wrote: »

Yeah im gonna take another crack at it and see if i can get 60+, could definitely improve on my S2 and S3 scores! Also have more time to study now, i pretty much only studied hard 4 or so weeks before the sept. exam hahah

Also ive heard cases of people who got 59 who didnt get an offer from UCD/RCSI so i just want to lock my place in and try stay local

Best of luck! I think I could improve my S2 and S3 scores too, but not S1! It's the hardest section for me. ACER are bringing out a practice test 3 so I'd recommend buying it. The other tests are quite old, so this one is supposed to be more up to date. I felt the science this year didn't require much of a background, most of them were reasoning based.

ilovesmecounty

I'm obviously going back to do it again in March. I'm assuming the right thing to do is apply for the CAO using my 55 mark from September, in the hopes of UL. Then do March and update the mark (hopefully!!) in May. Is that possible?
I had a panic attack last night and woke up in the middle of the night to get out my university transcripts to check I actually had a 2:1 degree! I don't know where that fear came from! :pac:

Celestial12

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

I'm obviously going back to do it again in March. I'm assuming the right thing to do is apply for the CAO using my 55 mark from September, in the hopes of UL. Then do March and update the mark (hopefully!!) in May. Is that possible?
I had a panic attack last night and woke up in the middle of the night to get out my university transcripts to check I actually had a 2:1 degree! I don't know where that fear came from! :pac:

You have to apply to the CAO by February 1st. I think ACER forward the score to CAO but I'm not sure. If you sit the exam in September and March, then they'll use the better score of the two. I'd imagine a lot of people sitting in March will be doing it first time, so you'll be at an advantage in that regard. I'm going to register this week anyway and see what happens. I need to go into NUIG to get original copies of my transcripts to post in, I have them as PDFs but you can't use those.
Lol about the degree! I feel kind of superstitious about applying through the CAO now, worried I'll do something stupid and not apply properly. :P Should be fine though. It's quite a simple process here. The 2.1 and GAMSAT score is much easier than the process in other countries.

ilovesmecounty

The last time I applied for the CAO it was pen and paper and nobody did it online for fear of dialup not doing the job properly! Did my Leaving in 2001. Studying Physics today on a day off. How I've changed! The 55 score really motivated me though. It showed I could do it. I'm going through the stuff I need to understand one more time and I'm hoping I'll be lashing into practice questions within a few weeks. There was no point in me trying them when I don't understand what they're asking me to do, whereas now, I still might not know how to do it, but at least I know what the question is asking. It's all very challenging and exciting. I think I've also discovered that I was a closet nerd. :cool:

debbysoap

Does anyone know what the procedure is for final year students applying for GEM via CAO this year? For example with final year transcripts, wouldn’t get them until about mid-June or even later....

debbysoap

Celestial12 wrote: »

In general Irish universities have a fantastic reputation, so I wouldn't worry about that too much. If your first choice is UCD for example, then go for it. A large portion of the students studying Gradmed in Ireland are North Americans (mainly Canadian) and they come here knowing that Irish medical schools have a good reputation. Ireland is the #1 destination for Canadians looking to study medicine abroad.

That's why I'm not considering RCSI. I haven't checked fees for next year, but I think it's 2,000 more per year, which will be 8,000 over the four years and I don't think it's worth it. I'd also prefer to be in a bigger university.

Yeah you’re right, good point thanks. Have you thought about a loan yet, if you don’t mind me asking

Properhen

I took the September sitting as a practice run as I only had a week of prep, but I managed to get 62, DO you think this will be enough for UCD? The points will hardly go up by three in a year will they?

Guidance

debbysoap wrote: »

Do you mind please advising on your opinion of the Scottish programme? From what I read, it seems tailored to provide education for training general physicians, a field I wouldn’t be inclined to at all, in all honesty. What do you think?

Hi! I was a little confused about your question until I read Celestial12's post and realised that you are referring to ScotGEM! I'm not applying to that programme. I'm applying to undergraduate courses in Scotland.

Guidance

Celestial12 wrote: »

It's more the work. I don't think finishing my PhD early will go down well, so I think a fresh start somewhere else would be the best option. I'm registered in the department of medicine and health... The University is quite nice from what I've seen of it (I've only been in the library a couple of times, loads of other buildings I've had no need to ever go into. Completely different experience to being an undergrad).

Are you intending on applying in Ireland too? Have you finished your degree yet?:)

Hi, thanks for the information. Yes, I intend to apply to graduate entry courses in Ireland this year. I finished my degree in May of this year.

medennial

I logged onto the CAO website today for the first time in years and could hardly navigate it. I don’t know why I was surprised ha, typical! I managed to get there in the end but didn’t apply formally as I didn’t have my debit card to hand to pay the application fee.

My transcripts (the verified ones I got from undergrad a few years back) magically fell out of a folder I was sorting through today as I’m getting ready to move house. I took that as a good omen I wasn’t even sure I had one.

I was speaking to one of the BOI loan officers at the UL Open Day and he was nice enough. He stressed the importance of applying for the loan early, ever before you were formally offered a place through CAO. If your GAMSAT score is good enough you’ll have an indication of your chances and it wouldn’t hurt to apply in May/June/July I don’t think in order to go through the process. He did say that he’s never come across an application that was accepted without a guarantor, and that the guarantor had to be a blood relative.

letsdothis

medennial wrote: »

He did say that he’s never come across an application that was accepted without a guarantor, and that the guarantor had to be a blood relative.

Maybe thinks have changed (I'm final GEM) but my guarantor is my partner, so relative by law rather than blood and it was never questioned.

ilovesmecounty

What's the story with these loans? I have enough saved to pay for two years of college but I'd need to finance the final two. I'd assume I could just apply for it when I need it rather than getting it at the start? Even writing that makes me question whether or not I'm crazy. Others are buying houses and I'm hopefully going back to school.

Celestial12

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

The last time I applied for the CAO it was pen and paper and nobody did it online for fear of dialup not doing the job properly! Did my Leaving in 2001. Studying Physics today on a day off. How I've changed! The 55 score really motivated me though. It showed I could do it. I'm going through the stuff I need to understand one more time and I'm hoping I'll be lashing into practice questions within a few weeks. There was no point in me trying them when I don't understand what they're asking me to do, whereas now, I still might not know how to do it, but at least I know what the question is asking. It's all very challenging and exciting. I think I've also discovered that I was a closet nerd. :cool:

Lol! Best of luck with your study. At the UL open day they had a doctor who just graduated this year give a brief talk on what her experience was like, and she was late 30's/early 40's. It's much more common for older people to do medicine now. I was reading a post on Quora from a 46 year old anaesthetist who didn't start her degree until she was nearly 40!

debbysoap wrote: »

Does anyone know what the procedure is for final year students applying for GEM via CAO this year? For example with final year transcripts, wouldn’t get them until about mid-June or even later....

That's not an issue, I think it could be if you defer any exams though.

debbysoap wrote: »

Yeah you’re right, good point thanks. Have you thought about a loan yet, if you don’t mind me asking

I should be able to fund first year anyway, so I haven't really thought about the loan yet. Going to try to avoid getting one as much as possible. Sounds like it's difficult to pay back, especially seeing as interns only start on 30k... Are you aiming to start next year or in 2019?

Properhen wrote: »

I took the September sitting as a practice run as I only had a week of prep, but I managed to get 62, DO you think this will be enough for UCD? The points will hardly go up by three in a year will they?

It depends on what the numbers were like last year. If the bottom ten applicants were all on 59, then it's not likely to increase. However, if the bottom ten were 64,63,63,63,62,62,62,60,59,59 or something like that then a 3 point increase could happen. Seems unlikely it will go up by more than a point or two, if it increases at all.

Guidance wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the information. Yes, I intend to apply to graduate entry courses in Ireland this year. I finished my degree in May of this year.

Do you know what you first choice is going to be yet?

medennial wrote: »

I logged onto the CAO website today for the first time in years and could hardly navigate it. I don’t know why I was surprised ha, typical! I managed to get there in the end but didn’t apply formally as I didn’t have my debit card to hand to pay the application fee.

My transcripts (the verified ones I got from undergrad a few years back) magically fell out of a folder I was sorting through today as I’m getting ready to move house. I took that as a good omen I wasn’t even sure I had one.

I was speaking to one of the BOI loan officers at the UL Open Day and he was nice enough. He stressed the importance of applying for the loan early, ever before you were formally offered a place through CAO. If your GAMSAT score is good enough you’ll have an indication of your chances and it wouldn’t hurt to apply in May/June/July I don’t think in order to go through the process. He did say that he’s never come across an application that was accepted without a guarantor, and that the guarantor had to be a blood relative.

I'm going to apply on Thursday or Friday of this week. Need to head into NUIG to request a new copy of my transcripts. I'm sure I have the originals somewhere, but I'm not going to spend ages digging them out! Do you remember if they gave you the option of entering your GAMSAT number? It says on there FAQ that anyone who sat the GAMSAT in an Irish test centre in September or March wouldn't need to forward their results. Might just post in a print out of it anyway once I get my transcripts in the post.

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

What's the story with these loans? I have enough saved to pay for two years of college but I'd need to finance the final two. I'd assume I could just apply for it when I need it rather than getting it at the start? Even writing that makes me question whether or not I'm crazy. Others are buying houses and I'm hopefully going back to school.

You have to do what makes you happy. It's definitely a big decision doing gradmed when it works out so expensive, but it should be worth it in the end if it's what you want to do, and what will make you happy. There's also the potential for big earnings down the line if you put the work in. Your future house will be worth the wait. :cool:

letsdothis

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

What's the story with these loans? I have enough saved to pay for two years of college but I'd need to finance the final two. I'd assume I could just apply for it when I need it rather than getting it at the start? Even writing that makes me question whether or not I'm crazy. Others are buying houses and I'm hopefully going back to school.

It’s 4 separate loans so it’s absoutely fine to apply just for the last two. You start accumulating interest as soon as you draw down the money so it’s better to wait til the last two years. Yes, it’s a massive commitment which does involve great sacrifice but if is something you want to do, go for it. But you’re absolutely right not to go into it blindly.

Kirby2k07

Celestial12 wrote: »

It depends on what the numbers were like last year. If the bottom ten applicants were all on 59, then it's not likely to increase. However, if the bottom ten were 64,63,63,63,62,62,62,60,59,59 or something like that then a 3 point increase could happen. Seems unlikely it will go up by more than a point or two, if it increases at all.

Is this even possible? Surely by looking at the curve from September and March its evident that far more than just a couple of people sit on numbers lets say around 58-63?

medennial

letsdothis wrote: »

Maybe thinks have changed (I'm final GEM) but my guarantor is my partner, so relative by law rather than blood and it was never questioned.

Yeah I was surprised when he said it, as my partner has already offered to be my guarantor but it looks like he’s off the hook for it now!

Properhen

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Is this even possible? Surely by looking at the curve from September and March its evident that far more than just a couple of people sit on numbers lets say around 58-63?

Yeah I think you're right, looking at the curve there is about a 25-30 percentile difference between 63 and 58

Celestial12

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Is this even possible? Surely by looking at the curve from September and March its evident that far more than just a couple of people sit on numbers lets say around 58-63?

I have no idea, it's not likely. Not everyone who fulfils the requirements for GEM will enrol next year though. I was reading a post from a girl on student rooms who was offered a place in UCD last year, but couldn't get the loan so wasn't able to start her studies. Others would have been in a similar position. I also know some people who sat the GAMSAT but had 2.2 degrees.

Points aren't likely to differ much from year to year, but it would be interesting to see what the points are like across the board for people applying to GEM.

ilovesmecounty

Celestial12 wrote: »

I have no idea, it's not likely. Not everyone who fulfils the requirements for GEM will enrol next year though. I was reading a post from a girl on student rooms who was offered a place in UCD last year, but couldn't get the loan so wasn't able to start her studies. Others would have been in a similar position. I also know some people who sat the GAMSAT but had 2.2 degrees.

Points aren't likely to differ much from year to year, but it would be interesting to see what the points are like across the board for people applying to GEM.

Did the people who had the 2.2 degrees sit it without realising they needed the 2.1, or in the hopes they'd be accepted anyway? I know you can't speak for them but it'd be interesting to find out why they sat it.

Celestial12

ilovesmecounty wrote: »

Did the people who had the 2.2 degrees sit it without realising they needed the 2.1, or in the hopes they'd be accepted anyway? I know you can't speak for them but it'd be interesting to find out why they sat it.

You can do medicine in the UK with a 2.2 degree, Nottingham accept them and I think one of the universities in London does too, but I'm not sure. There's also people who sit the GAMSAT before they've finished their degree - and they may not achieve the 2.1 requirement.

ilovesmecounty

Celestial12 wrote: »

You can do medicine in the UK with a 2.2 degree, Nottingham accept them and I think one of the universities in London does too, but I'm not sure. There's also people who sit the GAMSAT before they've finished their degree - and they may not achieve the 2.1 requirement.

Duh. I had that realisation as soon as I posted that question! Having a slow mind morning!

Guidance

Does anyone intend to go to the UCC open day this Saturday?