Coronovirus - Gamsat MARCH 2020

ma003

DivaDanto wrote: »

Hi AThoma,

I'm the same - Trinity graduate - no date of conferral on transcript. They do mention if you don't have date of conferral on transcript you should also attach certified copy of degree certificate. It also has to be in English rather than Latin. If you email Trinity Academic Registry, they will send you a translation of your degree cert and you can send that on to CAO as well just to be on the safe side. I'm sure will be grand either way but no harm organising that ahead of time in case they do require it so you're not under pressure.

Do you mind me asking can you get that if you haven't graduated yet? I don't graduate until November so I just asked AR for a letter saying that I would be graduating but I didn't think about requesting a degree certificate.

AThoma

ma003 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking can you get that if you haven't graduated yet? I don't graduate until November so I just asked AR for a letter saying that I would be graduating but I didn't think about requesting a degree certificate.

I haven’t graduated yet so I emailed academic registry and the graduation department and the graduation department just emailed back saying that timetables have yet to be finalised due to COVID-19 so I just printed that email out and sent it to show I tried to get it. I also emailed RCSI admissions as I felt they would tell me if it was very important and they lady responded with “As long as your transcripts detail all years and your final degree award is not “provisional” i.e. the exam Board has met and your results are ratified, that should be fine as you are due to graduate this“ so that put me at ease but she did mention requiring original transcripts which sort of scared me but I’ve submitted an email from trinity stating they are not doing hard copies and that the printed pdf is as original as I am getting so I’m hoping all will be okay.

DivaDanto

If you haven't graduated yet, then they won't be able to give you a degree certificate or translation so I think your best bet is just to get a letter from TCD stating that your results are as detailed in transcript and that you will graduate in November! They are pretty helpful and got my degree translation to me within a couple of days so I'd say go with that!

hazelnut11

bella11 wrote: »

I guess it would really depend on the year.... I’ve heard a lot of people say UL is a very very tough course so it’s ironic that some people would be snobby about it from other colleges!

yeah Ive heard that aswell that UL is tougher than any of the others....which is why Im hoping to avoid!

repulsebay321

bella11 wrote: »

I guess it would really depend on the year.... I’ve heard a lot of people say UL is a very very tough course so it’s ironic that some people would be snobby about it from other colleges!

I've heard from UL students that UCC is more difficult in terms of science knowledge. It's all anecdotal.

RoundPony

hazelnut11 wrote: »

yeah Ive heard that aswell that UL is tougher than any of the others....which is why Im hoping to avoid!

I honestly don't think any of them are easy so it is much of a muchness where you go.

Really picking your med school of choice is about fit for yourself - what atmosphere, style of teaching, community, resources, etc that you value. At the end of the day they all have to teach the curriculum that the medical council dictates so we all come out of it with the same level of knowledge really. I think you might be a little bit mislead by people if you think one is going to be "easier" than another. The pace of study and depth of knowledge is really the same across all the schools (again thanks to the medical council) so the choice is more what delivery and institution serves you best and how/where you as a person want to spend the next four years of your life.

It is all relative to each individual. A person who doesn't learn as well from didactic teaching as problem based learning will find UCD harder than UL for example and vice versa.

I think what I'm really trying to say across the board is this choice is about you fitting the school not about school vs school comparisons. Pick the programme that feels like the one you can personally do the best in because lets be honest - they are all hard work.

hazelnut11

RoundPony wrote: »

I honestly don't think any of them are easy so it is much of a muchness where you go.

Really picking your med school of choice is about fit for yourself - what atmosphere, style of teaching, community, resources, etc that you value. At the end of the day they all have to teach the curriculum that the medical council dictates so we all come out of it with the same level of knowledge really. I think you might be a little bit mislead by people if you think one is going to be "easier" than another. The pace of study and depth of knowledge is really the same across all the schools (again thanks to the medical council) so the choice is more what delivery and institution serves you best and how/where you as a person want to spend the next four years of your life.

It is all relative to each individual. A person who doesn't learn as well from didactic teaching as problem based learning will find UCD harder than UL for example and vice versa.

I think what I'm really trying to say across the board is this choice is about you fitting the school not about school vs school comparisons. Pick the programme that feels like the one you can personally do the best in because lets be honest - they are all hard work.

okay....

hopefulsucess

I'm a little confused as to why everyone is still debating where to go. I thought the CAO change of mind closed, so surely everyone should have decided by now? Worried I'm missing something here...

taxignorant

I guess maybe for next year? In which case maybe a new thread might be good.

I dug around UCD website and it seems the orientation / first year isn't starting until 14th Sept, with teaching beginning the following week. I'm not 100% if this extends to grad med schedule too, but if so , it gives people a bit of time to arrange things like accomodation, resignation, childcare and loans.

repulsebay321

hazelnut11 wrote: »

okay....

???

Everything RoundPony has said is true in my experience.

hazelnut11

repulsebay321 wrote: »

???

Everything RoundPony has said is true in my experience.

DivaDanto

This day last year the eligibility emails came out.. surely they will have to be out within the next week!? Gonna be a loooong 3 weeks till the 8th of Aug

Woodcotter

DivaDanto wrote: »

This day last year the eligibility emails came out.. surely they will have to be out within the next week!? Gonna be a loooong 3 weeks till the 8th of Aug

FWIW, RCSI said eligibility emails would be out on the week commencing July 27th

humboldt

DivaDanto wrote: »

This day last year the eligibility emails came out.. surely they will have to be out within the next week!? Gonna be a loooong 3 weeks till the 8th of Aug

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "eligibility emails" please?

taxignorant

I think it means eligibility in terms of does your transcript tick all their boxes and is your gamsat score entered have you filled in all your form correctly, housekeeping stuff.

The wait feels interminable ��

Woodcotter

humboldt wrote: »

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "eligibility emails" please?

I could be wrong but my I’d understanding is that it means your application is accepted by the institution in question, subject to your GAMSAT score being above the minimums announced on 8th August i.e. they acknowledge that you have achieved a 2.1 or higher in your primary degree and that this degree is also eligible under the NFQ framework

I think final enrolment is still be subject to Garda vetting etc. but I believe this happens later

repulsebay321

Woodcotter wrote: »

I could be wrong but my I’d understanding is that it means your application is accepted by the institution in question, subject to your GAMSAT score being above the minimums announced on 8th August i.e. they acknowledge that you have achieved a 2.1 or higher in your primary degree and that this degree is also eligible under the NFQ framework

I think final enrolment is still be subject to Garda vetting etc. but I believe this happens later

Yes, garda vetting and health screening happens the first week of college. If you don't have proof of all your vaccinations, student health will sort you out after a stern warning!

RoundPony

humboldt wrote: »

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "eligibility emails" please?

The CAO offers happen in like two phases - first the universities go in to make sure that each and every student who has applied is actually eligible for the course. They physically go in and check that you have a 2.1 in your primary level 8 degree and that you have a GAMSAT score on file. They obviously need to do this before the offers are out so they only select a cut off score based on eligible applicants.

If you have applied you'll get an email about a week or so before the official offer date so say either "yes you are eligible" or "no there is an issue. You have like 4 days to fix it". They all come out at the same time so usually people start posting here in case you don't see the email.

I've posted on here a few times about being deemed ineligible - it does happen a lot and isn't that bad to rectify things like transcript dates, etc that the universities request. They scrutinize the application paperwork pretty well from my personal experience but it all ends up fine.

They told me they had people that forged documents and GAMSAT scores before so they do give the paperwork a good look over and sometimes have questions that they just want you to answer/provide documentation from. This is more just to calm any fears if people actually do get an email saying they are ineligible.

Garda vetting is required but not done until after students actually get offered a place. Presume this is because of the workload - way more costly to do it for all applicants.

RoundPony

repulsebay321 wrote: »

Yes, garda vetting and health screening happens the first week of college. If you don't have proof of all your vaccinations, student health will sort you out after a stern warning!

In UL they use an Occ Health company for vaccinations. They come in a tell us exactly what we need as proof because only certain documents can be accepted. They also manage the whole process and come into the college to run clinics and get everyone sorted. One less thing to think about - they just send an email with a date, time and room number for you to show up when and if you need to attend any of the clinics throughout the year.

Hopeful GEM

RoundPony wrote: »

The CAO offers happen in like two phases - first the universities go in to make sure that each and every student who has applied is actually eligible for the course. They physically go in and check that you have a 2.1 in your primary level 8 degree and that you have a GAMSAT score on file. They obviously need to do this before the offers are out so they only select a cut off score based on eligible applicants.

If you have applied you'll get an email about a week or so before the official offer date so say either "yes you are eligible" or "no there is an issue. You have like 4 days to fix it". They all come out at the same time so usually people start posting here in case you don't see the email.

I've posted on here a few times about being deemed ineligible - it does happen a lot and isn't that bad to rectify things like transcript dates, etc that the universities request. They scrutinize the application paperwork pretty well from my personal experience but it all ends up fine.

They told me they had people that forged documents and GAMSAT scores before so they do give the paperwork a good look over and sometimes have questions that they just want you to answer/provide documentation from. This is more just to calm any fears if people actually do get an email saying they are ineligible.

Garda vetting is required but not done until after students actually get offered a place. Presume this is because of the workload - way more costly to do it for all applicants.

Does the email come from CAO or the institution themselves?

repulsebay321

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Does the email come from CAO or the institution themselves?

CAO.

RoundPony

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Does the email come from CAO or the institution themselves?

Yea as repulsebay321 said they come from the CAO. But this just might be helpful for some - if it happens to anyone, the email I got was somewhat unclear and I had no idea what they wanted from me. I wasted time trying to call the CAO (their number was endlessly busy) and the CAO told me that I needed to call the universities themselves to find out what documents would be acceptable to cover issue I had.

So if you are deemed ineligible and want to clarify anything, call the admissions office (I only called my 1st pref UL) as they are the only ones who can give you details. The CAO literally just facilitates the whole thing and knows nothing about details. The admissions officers are the only ones who can tell you want they want from you to fix it.

This is just to save somebody the headache of trying to ring the CAO for like 4 hours and wasting all that time!

bella11

Three week countdown is on....!

taxignorant

bella11 wrote: »

Three week countdown is on....!

I'm a little like a kid, "how many sleeps"? Thankfully weather provides a great distraction.

I'm wondering if UCD start of term will be delayed further as it was already 14th for orientation and 21st for teaching.

How long between the initial offerings on 8th August and the round after first refusals?

DivaDanto

I think I read that UCD wouldn't be changing their start date and they have already told international students that they need to be here 2 weeks ahead of that for isolation purposes. Not sure about the different rounds of offers though!

RoundPony

taxignorant wrote: »

I'm a little like a kid, "how many sleeps"? Thankfully weather provides a great distraction.

I'm wondering if UCD start of term will be delayed further as it was already 14th for orientation and 21st for teaching.

How long between the initial offerings on 8th August and the round after first refusals?

Normally two weeks from Round 0 to Round 1. Assuming this should be the same for you guys - can't see why it wouldn't because you only have limited time to accept your place. But people still accept and then drop out at a later date and that's when you get the single person offers here and there in the first few weeks of the semester (even after it starts).

I doubt it would be delayed further as I would assume that UCD is like UL and has been given special permission to deviate from the UCD dates.

A second year UCD student that I know told me they were starting late Sept. That was a few days ago. As DivaDanto said, they have to account for the international students and quarantine so I would doubt the dates will change.

Cl101

taxignorant wrote: »

I'm a little like a kid, "how many sleeps"? Thankfully weather provides a great distraction.

I'm wondering if UCD start of term will be delayed further as it was already 14th for orientation and 21st for teaching.

How long between the initial offerings on 8th August and the round after first refusals?

I was in touch with the CAO about subsequent offer rounds for rejected GEM places and they said that there might be another offer before Round 1, but that this is yet to be confirmed.

Contemplate98

What factors influence your chances of getting a good internship after getting your degree? Does university “prestige” really matter? Sorry I’m not entirely sure how the whole process works! Best of luck with offersðŸ€

RoundPony

Contemplate98 wrote: »

What factors influence your chances of getting a good internship after getting your degree? Does university “prestige” really matter? Sorry I’m not entirely sure how the whole process works! Best of luck with offersðŸ€

No school does not matter and plays zero part in the process. The intern matching uses your centile ranking in the class. So if two people apply for the same intern post, the applicant with the higher centile will get the post. If they have the same centile, it is a lottery system.

redser1

Im just re-reading posts from when the exam was held, its funny how people then were concerned about the exam not being properly standardised and then when they got the result they wanted it was not to be mentioned and back-lashed.... obviously understandable but still as a Sept sitter awaiting offers its frustrating....