GAMSAT 2018

futuremedic777 · 02-08-2018 9:26am

I got into UCC !

westawake35 · 02-08-2018 9:32am

futuremedic777 wrote: »

I got into UCC !

Congrats future!!

GrabTheCREAM · 02-08-2018 10:20am

So the points stayed exact same as last year except no random selection on UCC at cutoff and now it’s random at cutoff on UL

Limk88 · 02-08-2018 10:33am

Congrats to everyone who got in, I hope ye are enjoying yer well earned celebrations today and are excited for the beginning of a new chapter

Just wondering if anyone else is in my situation, on 55 but didn't get randomly selected? Or does anyone have any advice for someone sitting on 55 who didn't get accepted to UL? I never was good at raffles...

JS0692 · 02-08-2018 10:37am

I was in the same boat last year and got in. Sent you a PM

Limk88 wrote: »

Congrats to everyone who got in, I hope ye are enjoying yer well earned celebrations today and are excited for the beginning of a new chapter

Just wondering if anyone else is in my situation, on 55 but didn't get randomly selected? Or does anyone have any advice for someone sitting on 55 who didn't get accepted to UL? I never was good at raffles...

debbysoap · 02-08-2018 10:39am

Limk88 wrote: »

Congrats to everyone who got in, I hope ye are enjoying yer well earned celebrations today and are excited for the beginning of a new chapter

Just wondering if anyone else is in my situation, on 55 but didn't get randomly selected? Or does anyone have any advice for someone sitting on 55 who didn't get accepted to UL? I never was good at raffles...

Hey sorry to hear you’re still waiting: hopefully it works out for you!
Apparently you can call admissions, asking where you are on the waiting list and basically keep on their case as some people won’t accept their offer and it could go to you. I believe someone also said the better your cumulative GPA is, the greater your chances of getting in.
Good luck!

futuremedic777 · 02-08-2018 11:12am

westawake35 wrote: »

futuremedic777 wrote: »

I got into UCC !

Congrats future!!

Thank you!!

Fla12277 · 02-08-2018 11:52am

Hey, yes I feel your pain. I'm on 55 with no offer!

Fla12277 · 02-08-2018 11:53am

Hi there, I'm also on 55 with no offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

endacl · 02-08-2018 11:59am

Fla12277 wrote: »

Hi there, I'm also on 55 with no offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Imbricate your distal phalanges.

westawake35 · 02-08-2018 12:00pm

Fla12277 wrote: »

Hi there, I'm also on 55 with no offer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Folks I would keep the faith a few people will certainly not take their places due to finances and other issues so hopefully you'll get the nod in a later round !

CharmingApple · 02-08-2018 2:25pm

the very best of luck to everyone waiting without an offer with 55. I am on 54 and was trying to remain hopeful with second/third round offers, but UL admissions said second round offers are all on 55, and that there was a lot with 55!
I am all for being optimistic...but I have to be realistic...I have zero chance...right?

ChromosomeT · 02-08-2018 2:26pm

Would there be much point in contacting UL with a Gamsat score of 53? I'm guessing the waiting list they might have at the minute would be for those on 55 and 54?

medgirl18 · 02-08-2018 2:46pm

CharmingApple wrote: »

the very best of luck to everyone waiting without an offer with 55. I am on 54 and was trying to remain hopeful with second/third round offers, but UL admissions said second round offers are all on 55, and that there was a lot with 55!
I am all for being optimistic...but I have to be realistic...I have zero chance...right?

Ugh so sad to hear this, I’m on 54 too and was hoping there was only a few on 55 that hadn’t gotten an offer. The only thing I’d say is that last year 55 was the round zero cut off and people did end up getting offered places on 53... so you never know! The waiting will be horrible

CharmingApple · 02-08-2018 2:47pm

ChromosomeT wrote: »

Would there be much point in contacting UL with a Gamsat score of 53? I'm guessing the waiting list they might have at the minute would be for those on 55 and 54?

from what the lady on the phone told me today...its all 55 on the waiting list for second round offersðŸ™

29lem · 02-08-2018 3:46pm

I was told it was in the range of about 50 applicants on the waiting list currently for UL, very tight lipped otherwise.

29lem · 02-08-2018 3:48pm

JS0692 wrote: »

I was in the same boat last year and got in. Sent you a PM

Is it super secret?

Celestial12 · 02-08-2018 10:10pm

A considerable amount of people who were offered Limerick today won’t have had it as their first choice, so there’s still hope for those of you around the cutoff mark. Essentially anyone who scored below 58 will be offered UL regardless of whether they want it or not. We have no idea what percentage of people accept first round offers, or application stats in general… So who knows what may happen. Personally, I’d accept any offer I was given, but everyone’s circumstances are different and some people may not be able to accept the offer for whatever reason i.e, not feasible to move to Limerick, cold feet, other opportunities etc. Best of luck to everyone waiting for an offer.

I’ll be going to UCD. Excited to be moving to Dublin!

shakywaky · 03-08-2018 12:51pm

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

ChromosomeT · 03-08-2018 1:37pm

medgirl18 wrote: »

Ugh so sad to hear this, I’m on 54 too and was hoping there was only a few on 55 that hadn’t gotten an offer. The only thing I’d say is that last year 55 was the round zero cut off and people did end up getting offered places on 53... so you never know! The waiting will be horrible

I called UL today but the person I was talking too seemed fairly tight-lipped on anyone every getting in on 53 on later rounds. now I'm not sure if she might've been new and honestly didn't know or else they just don't like to say this to people in general. she advised me to call the CAO but I have a feeling they would give even less away even if a waiting list was drawn up for candidates on 53

medgirl18 · 03-08-2018 1:59pm

ChromosomeT wrote: »

I called UL today but the person I was talking too seemed fairly tight-lipped on anyone every getting in on 53 on later rounds. now I'm not sure if she might've been new and honestly didn't know or else they just don't like to say this to people in general. she advised me to call the CAO but I have a feeling they would give even less away even if a waiting list was drawn up for candidates on 53

I tried calling a few times but I haven’t been able to get through - I guess they are being inundated with calls! I’m not going to try again until after people have had time to accept or reject offers as they might have a better idea then.

I personally know someone who got an offer last year on 53, he was in my undergrad. It was a phone call from admissions the week before orientation and not a cao offer. I guess they don’t want to advertise that because it looks better for them to be in line with the other colleges!

Have you registered for Gamsat in September? I didn’t and I’m really regretting it now! I emailed Gamsat yesterday to see if there was any way of registering because it was only a day late, but it was a firm no from them!

ChromosomeT · 03-08-2018 3:55pm

medgirl18 wrote: »

I tried calling a few times but I haven’t been able to get through - I guess they are being inundated with calls! I’m not going to try again until after people have had time to accept or reject offers as they might have a better idea then.

I personally know someone who got an offer last year on 53, he was in my undergrad. It was a phone call from admissions the week before orientation and not a cao offer. I guess they don’t want to advertise that because it looks better for them to be in line with the other colleges!

Have you registered for Gamsat in September? I didn’t and I’m really regretting it now! I emailed Gamsat yesterday to see if there was any way of registering because it was only a day late, but it was a firm no from them!

I was thinking along those lines also that they wouldn’t want to be advertising it. I guess there’s always a bit of hope until term starts! I did register just the day before the deadline in case doomsday happened (which it did). It’ll be a fun month trying to bring myself up another few points! At least I can now apply for mature entry this year too.

Rainbowdash1 · 03-08-2018 6:31pm

How long does it take to hear back on BOI loan?

futuremedic777 · 04-08-2018 12:26pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

How long does it take to hear back on BOI loan?

Have you contacted them yet? I'm trying to figure out when the deadlines are for tuition and accommodation costs etc.

inca2 · 04-08-2018 12:33pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

How long does it take to hear back on BOI loan?

Don’t panic about it - there’s loads of time. I know plenty in UL who didn’t start the process til April/May and got the loan. Obviously not telling you to do that, but just to give you an idea of what happens in reality. They want fees paid by some time in September but I personally got mine sorted by early November last year and it was fine. The worst they do is threaten you with not releasing exam results after Christmas.

Congrats/commiserations to all here.

Rainbowdash1 · 04-08-2018 5:05pm

There's not loads of time if they end up refusing it though.

inca2 · 04-08-2018 5:35pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

There's not loads of time if they end up refusing it though.

Obviously. But my point is that there’s no massive rush on Tuesday morning to get it all sorted. The sensible thing is to do is email the contact in the bank and get the process started. They can advise you on what you’ll need - basically, a strong guarantor. But the college won’t be putting pressure on you for fees to be paid immediately.

Rainbowdash1 · 04-08-2018 6:05pm

We've already started the process. They just haven't given any indication on whether the guarantor is good enough or not.

inca2 · 04-08-2018 6:10pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

We've already started the process. They just haven't given any indication on whether the guarantor is good enough or not.

I got approved the day after I applied - and I knew on the day that there should be no issues. They should be able to tell you either way very quickly.

Rainbowdash1 · 04-08-2018 6:20pm

Really? We put everything through a week ago and nothing yet.

inca2 · 04-08-2018 8:07pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:48am

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 · 05-08-2018 8:47am

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 · 05-08-2018 12:12pm

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 · 05-08-2018 12:22pm

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 · 05-08-2018 1:27pm

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 · 05-08-2018 2:48pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:07pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:12pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:19pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:24pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:46pm

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 · 05-08-2018 3:55pm

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 · 05-08-2018 4:02pm

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 · 05-08-2018 5:25pm

edit

Kirby2k07 · 05-08-2018 5:46pm

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 · 06-08-2018 2:51pm

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

medgirl18 · 06-08-2018 3:34pm

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 · 06-08-2018 4:35pm

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

JS0692 · 06-08-2018 4:45pm

Limk88 wrote: »

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

Definately

GAMSAT 2018

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