GAMSAT March 2021 Results

bigfathampster

Hi everybody!
Results were released today and I thought I would start a thread of everyone who got results (good and bad), so that we can discuss altogether This was my third time taking the GAMSAT (first: 54, second: 57, third: 63!!!!). I am so happy! How was everyone else's results? So if you were disappointed, don't worry- I've been there, just keep going!

kieran.molo

Congrats fantastic score.
i moved up from 54 to 58.

For anybody getting results today that arent happy with, dont feel disheartened. We have all been through it, This exam is very tricky and becomes a big part of your life for months on end. Its a big time commitment, alot of effort and alot of it comes down to luck on the day.
i am in a simular boat to you bigfathampster, this wasnt my first attempt. we got there in the end.

AoifeK1995

Congrats to both of you, you both got great scores! Actually scored lower than last time so I'm devastated. Put a lot of work into it but I am from a NSB so section 3 was always hard for me. I'm hoping that I might scrape into Limerick with a 56 but who knows.

bigfathampster

AoifeK1995 wrote: »

Congrats to both of you, you both got great scores! Actually scored lower than last time so I'm devastated. Put a lot of work into it but I am from a NSB so section 3 was always hard for me. I'm hoping that I might scrape into Limerick with a 56 but who knows.

56 is still a fantastic score - you should be able to get into Limerick no problem since the final cut-off was 53 (via random selection) and UCC was 56 (I think final round offers from hearsay on this and on Reddit). I'm from a NSB too and I can relate with how hard it is for us especially. Most of the questions might as well of been written in chinese because I had no idea what they were asking lol

bigfathampster

kieran.molo wrote: »

Congrats fantastic score.
i moved up from 54 to 58.

For anybody getting results today that arent happy with, dont feel disheartened. We have all been through it, This exam is very tricky and becomes a big part of your life for months on end. Its a big time commitment, alot of effort and alot of it comes down to luck on the day.
i am in a simular boat to you bigfathampster, this wasnt my first attempt. we got there in the end.

Woww! That's a massive jump CONGRATULATIONS! You must be so so happy!!

AoifeK1995

bigfathampster wrote: »

56 is still a fantastic score - you should be able to get into Limerick no problem since the final cut-off was 53 (via random selection) and UCC was 56 (I think final round offers from hearsay on this and on Reddit). I'm from a NSB too and I can relate with how hard it is for us especially. Most of the questions might as well of been written in chinese because I had no idea what they were asking lol

Thanks so much for the positivity and the boost of confidence! I honestly really appreciate it. I was just going off what the cutoff scores were from the CAO document but I know they don't tell the full story. Stop I really struggled so much with section 3, even the wording of questions was really throwing me off haha.

hcoben111

Actually done worse today then last time , so disheartened.

Can anyone share what they done to improve their score primarily in s1 and s3? Did anyone do any courses?

humboldt

hcoben111 wrote: »

Actually done worse today then last time , so disheartened.

Can anyone share what they done to improve their score primarily in s1 and s3? Did anyone do any courses?

Sorry to hear that hcoben.

Could you outline how you've studied for previous attempts (eg. time spent, resources used, previous degree, anything else that you can think of). I might be able to think of a few suggestions to help you.

Gamsat21

well done on the great scores everyone! I got an overall of 61 which I happy with - really hoping for UCD so hopefully it stays around the 59 mark like the last few years

Gamsat21

hcoben111 wrote: »

Actually done worse today then last time , so disheartened.

Can anyone share what they done to improve their score primarily in s1 and s3? Did anyone do any courses?

Sorry to hear you're disappointed hcoben111.

To answer your question, I did the gradmed course for section 3 and found it extremely useful! I got 47 in that section on my previous sitting and managed to bump it to 65 this time. It is very expensive, but I think worth it - even if you can get your hands on the notes!

bigfathampster

hcoben111 wrote: »

Actually done worse today then last time , so disheartened.

Can anyone share what they done to improve their score primarily in s1 and s3? Did anyone do any courses?

I did chem and biology for the leaving cert but before this I hadn’t touched them for 4 years. All of the Chem questions were about organic chemistry so I thought that I wouldn’t be able to answer them, but I read over the questions and I started to treat them as pattern questions rather than actual science questions and that seemed to help a little. As for the physics, I learnt off the logarithm rules because the past 3 GAMSAT have all had them as a question and they’re so difficult to do without a calculator. Finally for biology, it was mainly graphs and bar charts so I didn’t really need any prior info for them. I think the most important thing is to just keep doing problem questions because it’s not really what you know, it’s if you know how to apply it.

Over on the GAMSAT Reddit page, a lot of people said that they think that the courses are just a money racket and are actually outdated at this point. I have some prep materials that I could send you if you wanted? (All acer papers, ozimed , and Des O’Neill)

bigfathampster

AoifeK1995 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the positivity and the boost of confidence! I honestly really appreciate it. I was just going off what the cutoff scores were from the CAO document but I know they don't tell the full story. Stop I really struggled so much with section 3, even the wording of questions was really throwing me off haha.

I know! I had such trouble with the physics questions and I kept second guessing myself the whole time! Yeah the CAO cut off is a bit behind I think (maybe they only show the round zero offers?) but I know from anecdotes that people who kept bugging the UL admissions office about if there were any extra places or if people dropped out, they got in on 53 (which is a bit scandalous since there were more people on 55 and 54 who didn’t get in)

bigfathampster

Gamsat21 wrote: »

well done on the great scores everyone! I got an overall of 61 which I happy with - really hoping for UCD so hopefully it stays around the 59 mark like the last few years

Ahhh congrats on a great score! Do you think the points will fluctuate at all? It says that applications for Med went up 25% between graduate entry and LC entry, I’m really hoping they don’t go up please!!! I can’t predict it myself yeeee

Gamsat21

bigfathampster wrote: »

Ahhh congrats on a great score! Do you think the points will fluctuate at all? It says that applications for Med went up 25% between graduate entry and LC entry, I’m really hoping they don’t go up please!!! I can’t predict it myself yeeee

It is difficult to tell, however I don't think they will fluctuate that much. A large chunk of that id say is from undergrad as these predicted grades are making it slightly easier for high achievers to get high points. Last year there was much discussion on how much the scores would go up for COVID reasons etc. and again they stayed the same. So, i'm inclined to think they'll remain stagnant. You have 63 also so you got this! try not to worry too much as you are pretty much guaranteed anywhere you apply to! Where are you hoping for?

Rizzlefish

Hey everyone!

I did the GAMSAT in September last year ( I got 78 so I was really pleased! ) so I had my results for a while before starting my CAO application. CAO said that ACER would forward the September GAMSAT results to them once the March results had been released but there’s no sign of of them on my CAO account yet. I just assumed that they would get forwarded on automatically as soon as results were released but maybe it takes time and I’m just being impatient? Just wondering if anyone else has had word from CAO that they’ve received their results?

NOG92

Hey, sat the GAMSAT in March and got 57. I'm hoping to get into UL, but worried it may be tight. I was speaking to a University lecturer recently and she said I should be okay but I am still worried. Perhaps I am just over thinking it. Does anyone on here have any thoughts on how cut-off scores will go this year? Also, well done everyone on your results!

AoifeK1995

NOG92 wrote: »

Hey, sat the GAMSAT in March and got 57. I'm hoping to get into UL, but worried it may be tight. I was speaking to a University lecturer recently and she said I should be okay but I am still worried. Perhaps I am just over thinking it. Does anyone on here have any thoughts on how cut-off scores will go this year? Also, well done everyone on your results!

I'd be pretty confident that you will get into UL with a 57! It's so hard to know which way scores are going to go, I know there was a record number of people applying to the CAO this year, but not sure how this will affect GEM courses. Hoping to get into UL with a 56 myself, but I'm not counting on it.

NOG92

AoifeK1995 wrote: »

I'd be pretty confident that you will get into UL with a 57! It's so hard to know which way scores are going to go, I know there was a record number of people applying to the CAO this year, but not sure how this will affect GEM courses. Hoping to get into UL with a 56 myself, but I'm not counting on it.

Cheers AoifeK1995...I am just fretting about nothing I'd say. Look we will unfortunately just have to wait and see. Any tips on how not to stress out while waiting? 😂 On a serious note, are the CAO zero round scores the minimum score anyone who got accepted onto the course needed, or just the minimum for the initial round of offers? According to the published list, UL was 55 last year. Incidentally, do you know if there's a group like on Facebook or anything for prospective students applying to UL. I've looked but found nothing... would be handy to have a forum to discuss stuff just.

AoifeK1995

NOG92 wrote: »

Cheers AoifeK1995...I am just fretting about nothing I'd say. Look we will unfortunately just have to wait and see. Any tips on how not to stress out while waiting? 😂 On a serious note, are the CAO zero round scores the minimum score anyone who got accepted onto the course needed, or just the minimum for the initial round of offers? According to the published list, UL was 55 last year. Incidentally, do you know if there's a group like on Facebook or anything for prospective students applying to UL. I've looked but found nothing... would be handy to have a forum to discuss stuff just.

Stop I know, it's so hard to not let it take over! But it's completely out of our control now so the best thing to do is just to put it out of your head as much as possible, which I know is easier said than done! I am pretty sure the round zero scores were the minimum for the initial offers and then people on lower scores were offered places in the next round. Honestly none of it is overly clear, it would be great to know what was the points range of everyone who accepted a place in UL last year. As far as I know there's not but I haven't looked too much in to it! Would be great to have when we all know for sure whether we have gotten in or not.

Medchem123

Rizzlefish wrote: »

Hey everyone!

I did the GAMSAT in September last year ( I got 78 so I was really pleased! ) so I had my results for a while before starting my CAO application. CAO said that ACER would forward the September GAMSAT results to them once the March results had been released but there’s no sign of of them on my CAO account yet. I just assumed that they would get forwarded on automatically as soon as results were released but maybe it takes time and I’m just being impatient? Just wondering if anyone else has had word from CAO that they’ve received their results?

Hi There,

I just checked CAO and my GAMSAT results are now on My application. I did the GAMSAT in October (59-hoping for UCC) so I would have a look, they should be up.

NOG92

Medchem123 wrote: »

Hi There,

I just checked CAO and my GAMSAT results are now on My application. I did the GAMSAT in October (59-hoping for UCC) so I would have a look, they should be up.

I just logged in and spotted that. I actually contacted UL and UCC and they said that their cut off last year for 2020 was 55* and 57* respectively. This is slightly different to the CAO pdf for GEM 2020 zero round offers available online which has cut offs for UL at 56* and UCC at 58*. They advised that as GAMSAT scores tend to be fairly consistent year-on-year they don't expect them to shift much this year. Again, there's a caveat there too however as it's impossible to predict until all scores are received, applications are assessed and offers allocated. I would like to think that, given Magee in Derry will open their new GEM course this September with an intake of 70, that this will go some way towards reducing the upward pressure on cut-offs as hopefully students will funnel through there who may otherwise have opted to study in the south.

AoifeK1995

NOG92 wrote: »

I just logged in and spotted that. I actually contacted UL and UCC and they said that their cut off last year for 2020 was 55* and 57* respectively. This is slightly different to the CAO pdf for GEM 2020 zero round offers available online which has cut offs for UL at 56* and UCC at 58*. They advised that as GAMSAT scores tend to be fairly consistent year-on-year they don't expect them to shift much this year. Again, there's a caveat there too however as it's impossible to predict until all scores are received, applications are assessed and offers allocated. I would like to think that, given Magee in Derry will open their new GEM course this September with an intake of 70, that this will go some way towards reducing the upward pressure on cut-offs as hopefully students will funnel through there who may otherwise have opted to study in the south.

That's great news! Fingers crossed UL stays around 55* then and yeah, I never even thought about the fact that Derry should ease the pressure a bit. It will be a long wait until August, but I'm definitely feeling more hopeful now

Rizzlefish

Medchem123 wrote: »

Hi There,

I just checked CAO and my GAMSAT results are now on My application. I did the GAMSAT in October (59-hoping for UCC) so I would have a look, they should be up.

Hey, yeah I just checked now and my results are now on my application too, thanks Just seems strange cause CAO said they would notify us when the results were uploaded so I was waiting for an email that never came but as long as they're recorded on the application all's good.

Tacadh

Is it really true that some people got into UL on 53?
Like I got a 54 so how could someone with a lower score than me get in? Anyone who can confirm this?

bigfathampster

Tacadh wrote: »

Is it really true that some people got into UL on 53?
Like I got a 54 so how could someone with a lower score than me get in? Anyone who can confirm this?

I saw someone on Reddit who is in UL (who got 53 in GAMSAT) now say that during the offers period they kept calling the admissions office asking if anyone had dropped out, eventually they said that the office got friendly with him and got sick of him calling that when a spot opened up (someone dropped out of UCC so a UL student took it) they called him and gave him the spot rather than putting it back to the people in the CAO. This was a story on Reddit by an Irish student in UL so I’m assuming it’s true, however I’d say take it with a grain of salt.

Tacadh

bigfathampster wrote: »

I saw someone on Reddit who is in UL (who got 53 in GAMSAT) now say that during the offers period they kept calling the admissions office asking if anyone had dropped out, eventually they said that the office got friendly with him and got sick of him calling that when a spot opened up (someone dropped out of UCC so a UL student took it) they called him and gave him the spot rather than putting it back to the people in the CAO. This was a story on Reddit by an Irish student in UL so I’m assuming it’s true, however I’d say take it with a grain of salt.

Any chance you could pm the link to the post on the subreddit?

gem2021

hcoben111 wrote: »

Actually done worse today then last time , so disheartened.

Can anyone share what they done to improve their score primarily in s1 and s3? Did anyone do any courses?

Hi hcoben, I got 53 in September and 57 in March. Hoping it’ll be enough for UL. I did the Barry Lo section 3 course from thescienceofgamsat.com and found it v useful. I’m from a NSB and don’t do chemistry or physics for the LC so was very poor in this area. PM me if you ever want more info on that course specifically:)

AoifeK1995

Just a question for anyone that can help. So if I get offered Limerick on the first round and decide to take it, does that mean I can't get offered Cork on the second round? Or would you need to give up your first round offer to see if you got anything in the second? I took my first offer for the Leaving Cert, so I'm not overly clear on how it all works.

Gamsat21

Yes, if you get offered UL first and accept it and then points go down in round 2 for example and you have the points you will get an offer despite having already accepted UL.

AoifeK1995

Gamsat21 wrote: »

Yes, if you get offered UL first and accept it and then points go down in round 2 for example and you have the points you will get an offer despite having already accepted UL.

Great thank you for that!

Beggerboy

Tacadh did you get to the bottom of UL entrant at score of 53 ?

What were you told was the minimum score for UL entry in 2020.

Did you give you it another shot this year.

Any views on what UL minimum is likely to be for 2021.

NOG92

Beggerboy wrote: »

Tacadh did you get to the bottom of UL entrant at score of 53 ?

What were you told was the minimum score for UL entry in 2020.

Did you give you it another shot this year.

Any views on what UL minimum is likely to be for 2021.

It's impossible to ask anyone to crystal ball gaze given all the variables involved but, as you can see from the cutoffs from round zero over the past few years, they are fairly consistent.

2015 - 54*
2016 - 55
2017 - 54*
2018 - 55*
2019 - 54*
2020 - 55*

I'd say a few things may come into play to influence them this year. The new Med school in Derry may absorb some demand; fewer international students and those coming from UK and EU owing to the precarious nature of the pandemic may do likewise. On the other hand, this could be counterbalanced by more people having deferred places from last year because of the very same reason. In truth, I think it's difficult to say for sure but, having spoken with staff at UL, they seemed fairly confident that the scores wouldn't budge a great deal, + or - 1 either way.

Gamsat21

NOG92 wrote: »

It's impossible to ask anyone to crystal ball gaze given all the variables involved but, as you can see from the cutoffs from round zero over the past few years, they are fairly consistent.

2015 - 54*
2016 - 55
2017 - 54*
2018 - 55*
2019 - 54*
2020 - 55*

I'd say a few things may come into play to influence them this year. The new Med school in Derry may absorb some demand; fewer international students and those coming from UK and EU owing to the precarious nature of the pandemic may do likewise. On the other hand, this could be counterbalanced by more people having deferred places from last year because of the very same reason. In truth, I think it's difficult to say for sure but, having spoken with staff at UL, they seemed fairly confident that the scores wouldn't budge a great deal, + or - 1 either way.

I am inclined to think the same. In terms of percentiles points moving 3 or 4 points is absolutely massive regardless of demand. I suppose we will have to see as I know the number of applicants increased this year but it does seems rather unlikely that they will shift significantly.

Gamsitter

Gamsat21 wrote: »

I am inclined to think the same. In terms of percentiles points moving 3 or 4 points is absolutely massive regardless of demand. I suppose we will have to see as I know the number of applicants increased this year but it does seems rather unlikely that they will shift significantly.

Hi there,

What do you mean by percentiles shifting 3 or 4 points? And what are the possible implications of this? Thanks

Gamsat21

Gamsitter wrote: »

Hi there,

What do you mean by percentiles shifting 3 or 4 points? And what are the possible implications of this? Thanks

Sorry, that probably wasn't clear. Just that one point is a lot in terms of percentiles for the GAMSAT so e.g. 58 - 60 is around 10 percentiles different. So even if demand were to go up I cant imagine the scores shifting by 3/4 points as this would be a huge percentile jump.

Gamsitter

Gamsat21 wrote: »

Sorry, that probably wasn't clear. Just that one point is a lot in terms of percentiles for the GAMSAT so e.g. 58 - 60 is around 10 percentiles different. So even if demand were to go up I cant imagine the scores shifting by 3/4 points as this would be a huge percentile jump.

Thank you. When do universities Or the CAO publish the cut off points do you know ? I just checked my CAO account there, so it’s like score 1, score 2, score 3 then result 1. Is this what you have too? Thanks a mil

NOG92

Gamsitter wrote: »

Thank you. When do universities Or the CAO publish the cut off points do you know ? I just checked my CAO account there, so it’s like score 1, score 2, score 3 then result 1. Is this what you have too? Thanks a mil

It will be "early August". Having spoken with a few of the college registration teams, it's believed it'll be around the first week of August and will coincide with the release of round zero offers.

Gamsat21

Yes, thats exactly what's displayed on my account also

Gamsitter

Thanks. How do we find out our random numbers btw?

Gamsat21

Gamsitter wrote: »

Thanks. How do we find out our random numbers btw?

I saw on some other thread you can contact the CAO if e.g. UCC was 58* and you have 58 to see what your random number is. Where are you hoping to go ?:)

Gamsitter

Sitting on 55! So Limerick is only the possibility. Hoping they drop to 54 so I have better chance. If they stay 55 then it’s all about luck. 😭. And your self?

Gamsitter

I better not ring CAO for the random number. It would be dreadful to find out if I got a low one. (
I’d just wait for the offers instead. Fingers crossed!

Gamsat21

Gamsitter wrote: »

Sitting on 55! So Limerick is only the possibility. Hoping they drop to 54 so I have better chance. If they stay 55 then it’s all about luck. 😭. And your self?

Agh amazing well done! I'll keep my fingers crossed - they've been 54/55 for a long time now so you have a great chance. Hoping for UCD:) Have 61 so I'm really hoping hehe

Gamsitter

Oh you’ll be grand! Well done!

Tacadh

Beggerboy wrote: »

Tacadh did you get to the bottom of UL entrant at score of 53 ?

What were you told was the minimum score for UL entry in 2020.

Did you give you it another shot this year.

Any views on what UL minimum is likely to be for 2021.

I think the 53 thing is Bull to be honest!
I emailed the admissions office and asked them what about it and they reassured me that limerick was indeed 55* this year.
Yes I resat this March and got a 56 which I am happy enough with.
I also have an interview for Derry which is what I really want.

Gamsitter

Is Derry via CAO or UCAS? And what’s the current GAMSAT cut off there atm? Thanks

AoifeK1995

Gamsitter wrote: »

Is Derry via CAO or UCAS? And what’s the current GAMSAT cut off there atm? Thanks

It's via UCAS and nobody knows what the cutoff score will be since it's a new course. I saw someone say that they got called for an interview on 56 so it could be around that.

hcoben111

Tacadh wrote: »

I think the 53 thing is Bull to be honest!
I emailed the admissions office and asked them what about it and they reassured me that limerick was indeed 55* this year.
Yes I resat this March and got a 56 which I am happy enough with.
I also have an interview for Derry which is what I really want.

hey tacadh, how did you submit your ucas id and cao number on your acer account?

Gamsitter

https://www.gamsat.ie/medical-schools-ireland

These are the cut off points from 2011. Going by the pattern, hopefully LM drops to 54! But there’s no way of telling really. ( Can’t do anything now but wait oh well. Best of luck to everyone.

gamsatter

Has anyone looked at the graphed supplied with the results this year compared to last year? From what I see there has been a slight downward shift?

Gamsitter

Noticed that too. Still unsure what implications it has on cut off points.