GAMSAT 2018

inca2

It’s a fairly straightforward process as you just need to fulfill the defined criteria - so they really should be able to tell you very quickly. You might need to badger them a bit.

futuremedic777

inca2 wrote: »

It’s a fairly straightforward process as you just need to fulfill the defined criteria - so they really should be able to tell you very quickly. You might need to badger them a bit.

What if you don't have a BOI account yet? would that be a problem, or things could take longer for me?

inca2

futuremedic777 wrote: »

What if you don't have a BOI account yet? would that be a problem, or things could take longer for me?

I didn’t have one - they set one up for you as part of the process. They’ll just need to see statements from whichever bank you’re with. Think they wanted six months’ worth from me but it might be different now.

Rainbowdash1

It's still 6 months.
What I don't really get is why they want payslips and stuff? Like going to college to do medicine, surely in 4 years time current earnings won't make any difference? Obviously earnings will be down in the mean time too

e1994

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

It's still 6 months.
What I don't really get is why they want payslips and stuff? Like going to college to do medicine, surely in 4 years time current earnings won't make any difference? Obviously earnings will be down in the mean time too

Do they ask for different things from different people? I haven't been asked for payslips yet but have been asked for 6 month statements for myself & guarantor.

Rainbowdash1

No idea. Both applicant and guarantor were asked for statements and proof of income. Though not all income for guarantor was being paid into the same account.

medgirl18

I called to BOI UL last week just to ask some questions and I was told they only need bank statements. As myself and my guarantor have BOI accounts, she said all they would need is our bank numbers and signatures! There was no mention of payslips or any other documents

Hughsie88

Hi all,

I am a recent graduate seriously considering taking a massive career change and going down the medicine route. Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't just re-sit my leaving cert and do the HPAT rather than sit the gamsat exams and fork out circa 15,000 euro in fees for four years? Thanks in advance!

shakywaky

Hughsie88 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am a recent graduate seriously considering taking a massive career change and going down the medicine route. Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't just re-sit my leaving cert and do the HPAT rather than sit the gamsat exams and fork out circa 15,000 euro in fees for four years? Thanks in advance!

This is a no brainer - do the gamsat and go the grad route, but only if you really want medicine and are fully prepared for how tough a road you are going down. If you can't imagine yourself doing anything else then go for med but if not then don't because you will not make it through otherwise - it needs 100% commitment.

Can people please answer this - For anyone here that needs to sort fees and a move out of home - How are ye financing this? (Assuming a loan for both)

Hughsie88

Thanks a mill for the quick reply! My commitment is not in question, just my ability to finance the fees. Hence am I asking would it not be cheaper to do my leaving cert again and go in as a mature student thereby avoiding the extortionate graduate fees? There must be a reason people don't do this?

Celestial12

Hughsie88 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am a recent graduate seriously considering taking a massive career change and going down the medicine route. Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't just re-sit my leaving cert and do the HPAT rather than sit the gamsat exams and fork out circa 15,000 euro in fees for four years? Thanks in advance!

If you already have a degree from an Irish university then you’ll be paying full fees. Undergrad medicine is cheaper, but it will take a year longer. I think TCD is about 8.5k a year. If you want to go that route than you could apply as a mature student if you’re over 23, and avoid repeating the leaving.

I honestly prefer the structure of the GEM courses, and didn’t consider the mature route.

Hughsie88

That's really helpful thanks so mich. So as far as I understand it-I have a degree already and am 23 so my only option is gamsat? The thoughts of paying such high fees

Celestial12

Hughsie88 wrote: »

That's really helpful thanks so mich. So as far as I understand it-I have a degree already and am 23 so my only option is gamsat? The thoughts of paying such high fees

If you’re over 23 you can apply to mature entry to undergraduate medicine - you don’t need to repeat the leaving for that. There are threads on boards.ie for mature entry medicine.

If you want to repeat the leaving and get in that way you can, but the mature option would be easier. You’ll have to do the hpat, interviews etc. However, you won’t be paying 3k in fees like most people are - as you already have a degree. You will be paying the higher rate, which varies depending on the University and course.

medgirl18

Hughsie88 wrote: »

That's really helpful thanks so mich. So as far as I understand it-I have a degree already and am 23 so my only option is gamsat? The thoughts of paying such high fees

You also have the option for mature entry medicine in RCSI, but the fees are actually higher than GEM and it’s a 5 year course so you’d be paying close to €100K. You will be in with the undergraduate class and all the med courses mix together for the last 2 years. The only difference in application is that you do the HPAT instead of the Gamsat and there are also interviews for the mature route. Your leaving cert doesn’t matter.

If I don’t get a UL offer this year (currently waiting on 54 and not very hopeful), I’m going to apply for mature entry next year in addition to repeating the Gamsat and applying for GEM. You are best to apply for as many options as possible to give yourself the best chance!

Unfortunately the fees are horrible but there’s nothing we can do about it except get the loan and work our asses off after graduation to pay it back

If you entered college initially through the access route, you’d have a shot at the UL scholarship too. They pay your fees and give you money each semester. But applications are only open to access students.

Kirby2k07

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Kirby2k07

Hughsie88 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am a recent graduate seriously considering taking a massive career change and going down the medicine route. Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't just re-sit my leaving cert and do the HPAT rather than sit the gamsat exams and fork out circa 15,000 euro in fees for four years? Thanks in advance!

I never even considered it because I (maybe naively) assumed there was no specific student loan scheme for the full fees mature entry? i.e you'd go to the bank for a standard loan 8500 per year for 5-6 years that you have to pay almost immediately, monthly with little moratorium, and probably paid in less that the 10-15 years offered to GEM. No idea though, correct me if I'm wrong.

Plus the reserved mature spaces are tiny and the chances of you getting in super slim (by probability alone and also for myself, from hearing anecdotes that they seem to favour offering places to the candidates with the more unconventional backgrounds and experiences outside the healthcare/science sector).

As for the unreserved mature places, your chances of getting in will be based solely on successes in the hpat(imo arguably harder than the gamsat and only offered once a year) and at minimum 6 separate leaving cert exams, of which you'll have to do irish, english, higher level maths and for every school except trinity , a third language (and two sciences if you want to enter the 5 year programme). I presume you have a 2.1 from uni. So it comes down to performing excellently in at least 7 exams you can only sit once a year, versus only 1 you can sit twice a year (gamsat) to get into GEM, which will get into actually working as a doc faster too.

moss house

Has anybody got an idea when the second round of offers will be out

medgirl18

moss house wrote: »

Has anybody got an idea when the second round of offers will be out

Round 1 is the 20th at 6am and round 2 is the 29th at 10am

Limk88

Are GEM applicants definitely part of those offers?  I thought they were just for leaving cert students...

JS0692

Limk88 wrote: »

Are GEM applicants definitely part of those offers?  I thought they were just for leaving cert students...

Definately

DS94

I am also waiting for the second round with a score of 54 hoping for UL. Does anyone know if it’s the 20th or the 29th that they will be sending out the second round offers? 🙈

DS94

shakywaky wrote: »

For anyone here that needs to sort fees and a move out of home - How are ye financing this? (Assuming a loan for both)

The credit union seem to be the best from what I’ve heard from past students! If it’s for education they’re more likely to give it and apparently they’re doing 7 year loans now too

Kirby2k07

Anyone else UCD-bound get an email regarding Garda vetting? Haven’t received anything to do with the gem programme itself at all but I did receive that, bit odd

Pingding

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Anyone else UCD-bound get an email regarding Garda vetting? Haven’t received anything to do with the gem programme itself at all but I did receive that, bit odd

Yeah me too, I emailed the InfoHub to see what the story is about setting up an account because how else are we meant to start the vetting application

brendanwalsh

Hughsie88 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am a recent graduate seriously considering taking a massive career change and going down the medicine route. Could someone please tell me why I shouldn't just re-sit my leaving cert and do the HPAT rather than sit the gamsat exams and fork out circa 15,000 euro in fees for four years? Thanks in advance!

Nobody seems to have answered this question. This would work out cheaper but longer in duration. If you have a decent leaving already (>500) you could just sit the hpat. I know a few people who did this even when they already had 2.1 degrees and ignored the grad route.

If u already have a good leaving go hpat.
If u already have a 2.1 id go gamsat route.
If you have a bad leaving, it's a big gamble to repeat it . No guarantee of 600 points.

Rainbowdash1

The difference is about 20k in fees.
On the other hand you've the extra year of college expenses and another year of not earning.

Celestial12

Pingding wrote: »

Yeah me too, I emailed the InfoHub to see what the story is about setting up an account because how else are we meant to start the vetting application

Did they get back to you?

TerryS66

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TerryS66

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Fluffy6654

Where can you get statistical information regarding GEM such as;

1. How many people sit GAMSAT each year in Ireland ?
2. How many people apply for GEM each year in Ireland ?
3. How many places are given to Irish graduates in the 4 GEM Schools ?
4. Which of the GEM schools resorted to randomised selection last year in Round 0 ?

Also I am puzzled as to why where one does not get a Round 0 offer because of randomised selection why the Schools do not tell you what your place is in the waiting list . That waiting list is set in stone once randomised selection has been used at a cut off point . You can only go up on that list if places are offered in Round 1 . Surely if you are number 40 ( having been allocated to lowest random number ) on a waiting list of 40 you should be put out of your misery and know that your prospects are nigh to Zero . I am on 55 for UL with a very low random number and feel I should know where I am on the UL waiting list.

Any thoughts or suggestions