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GAMSAT 2014?
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26-04-2013 5:41pm#1
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pc11 Thank you for the advice. I will consider sitting the UK one in September however I don't know that I would be ready for it. I have never done physics or chemistry so I need start with those over the summer. Would be good to get a practice in though, or if I did do well to not have to worry about taking the exam while in my final year of college!
Biologic thanks for that information! I did wonder if it was something of a rip off and your post has made me wonder even more. Will have to do more research on all the study material available to see what's best. I saw you said you used something called Des O' Neill's GAMSAT prep, where would I be able to get one of these? I haven't come across them before.
Thanks!
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hey guys just wondering if anyone can tell me how long it takes to prepare for the gamsat?
I will have a degree in science education with a major in chemistry with maths in less than a week. I have done some biology and physics. Is there enough time to prepare for the GAMSAT in the UK this September?
Also any suggested resources would be appreciated. from what im reading i hear gradmed notes are a must have but not bother with gold standard gamsat. is this true?0 -
lulufinn90 wrote: »hey guys just wondering if anyone can tell me how long it takes to prepare for the gamsat?
I will have a degree in science education with a major in chemistry with maths in less than a week. I have done some biology and physics. Is there enough time to prepare for the GAMSAT in the UK this September?
Yes. Not a doubt.
Don't overhype the GAMSAT. It's tough but totally doable. I am 15 years out of college. I did just 49 hours GAMSAT prep while I was quite ill and barely able to focus, and sat UK GAMSAT last September while still unwell, and only as a dry run, and yet somehow got a 67, so I didn't even need to do the Irish GAMSAT after all. And I didn't buy any expensive study material. You should have more than enough science already. Work on your communication skills, reasoning and practice exams. Write essays under test conditions and get them read by someone experienced.
Register for the UK GAMSAT; it will focus you, give you a realistic practice and give you an idea if grad med is really for you.
My strong advice is to sit UK GAMSAT, it would be crazy not to. Do not wait till next March to find out. Give yourself this extra shot.0 -
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Just to chime in on this, I will be honest in that I do not believe the prep courses offer much. I am from a science background myself but I can guarantee you that I did not focus on learning of formulae or methods or tricks or any of this stuff. I just got my results last week and got a 70 overall (Sect. 1 = 66, Sect. 2 = 72 and Sect. 3 = 71) without any of these courses or the likes If you need more of a guide I'd be happy to type one up for you! 0
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Just to chime in on this, I will be honest in that I do not believe the prep courses offer much. I am from a science background myself but I can guarantee you that I did not focus on learning of formulae or methods or tricks or any of this stuff. I just got my results last week and got a 70 overall (Sect. 1 = 66, Sect. 2 = 72 and Sect. 3 = 71) without any of these courses or the likes If you need more of a guide I'd be happy to type one up for you!
Excellent score, well done! I'm preparing to sit the GAMSAT in September and have no intention of sitting a prep course yet have a slight feeling that I'm missing something! Would love to read your guide if you get the chance to type it up.0 -
letsdothis wrote: »Excellent score, well done! I'm preparing to sit the GAMSAT in September and have no intention of sitting a prep course yet have a slight feeling that I'm missing something! Would love to read your guide if you get the chance to type it up.
Ah, just spotted the separate thread on this, thanks 0 -
letsdothis wrote: »Ah, just spotted the separate thread on this, thanks
No bother, I hope it helps out a bit and feel free to ask any questions, not sure how helpful I can be but will try my best!0 -
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Hopeful Gep wrote: »How are people practicing for S1? Is going through the few ACER papers that are available enough?
So far I've mainly been using MCAT sources for Section 1 prep. It isn't exactly the same but there's far more practice questions out there than there is for GAMSAT. The passages tend to be longer (can only be good for practice, I think) and limited to comprehension-style questions, whereas GAMSAT S1 is more varied (includes interpretation of graphs, diagrams, poetry, prose, etc.). Doing these questions also helps with developing techniques in taking in information quickly, speed reading, fast and confident elimination of incorrect answers, and so on. There's piles of MCAT questions on The Internets if you need them. Section 1 is 25% of the marks, so 4 sample papers doesn't seem like enough emphasis to me. Of course, I should take some of my own advice when it comes to prepping for Section 2
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Agnieszka_88 wrote: »UL would be my first choice (especially considering the UB loan and that they offer a scholarship) if it weren't for the PBL aspect. I'm a worrier, I worry all the time about things and problems that could happen, and the big problem with PBL is, for me, that you could just miss something by accident.
I wouldn't write off UL over this. What do you mean by "miss something by accident"? When you're studying you're going to miss a lot of things. Believe me, you'll miss things every single day.
We did a bit of PBL in UCD, to be honest I hated it. I felt the pace to be too slow and we didn't really get to go through many cases. All that being said, I don't know if I was at a level to appreciate that kind of learning. I find that I'm more suited to PBL now than I was as a student.
PBL is a different way of approaching medical training alright. It seems to work for UL by and large though, I met some howlers over the years as well as people who knew everything. UCD is the same, as are RCSI and Cork.It's great that they don't spoon-feed you knowledge, but the possibility that you could work your ass off and still end up going in the wrong direction just terrifies me.
As you said yourself, you're a worrier. I wouldn't be stressing out over going in the wrong direction, a good grasp of the basics is far more important than any of the fancy stuff. Horses for courses and all that, but of all the negative points of PBL, this is one I wouldn't worry about.PBL isn't for everyone, and it certainly isn't for me.
You can't tell that now. Maybe it isn't, then again maybe it is. I wouldn't write it off just because it's different to 'regular' methods.And the lack of cadavers also throws me off a little, because I think I might end up going into pathology (or at least try to get a closer look at it, maybe organize an elective).
I have mixed feelings about cadavers. Maybe it was the mix of being hungover half the time, and not having studied the other half, but I never really got much from the anatomy lab. Nothing I couldn't gain with watching Acland's or reading Moore's. Surface anatomy is much more important day to day than the course of the thoracic duct.
As for your interest in pathology, it wouldn't make any difference whatsoever if you went to UCD or RCSI over UL. Access to the anatomy lab is fairly limited and will have very little in common with hospital pathology. Ring the lab in Limerick General and ask can you come in to see the place or do an elective. They'll probably organise a taxi to pick you up they'll be that happy to have you. There's very little interest in the subject by most medical students so they'll be happy to have you, cadavers or not.
In general, electives are related to who you know and how well you get on with them. I did two electives, plastic surgery and ob/gyn. I got the plastics one by getting on well with the SpR and asking her could I do one. I wrote an email to the Prof of obs in Holles Street for the other one. Admittedly being from UCD helped the ob/gyn one, as I had done my training there but still. Cadavers don't play a big role.I would probably be willing to overlook it, but combined with PBL it just makes me put UL at the end of my list. A shame, really, because everything else seems to speak for the school.
I didn't pick UL either, so don't take what I've said as a recruitment drive or anything. I'm just suggesting that you may be worrying a little too much over the small stuff, you probably know that yourself anyway though 0 -
It all makes sense what you're saying, and of course rationally you are right, but in the end you have to pick one school which you would like to put in the first place on the CAO list and, as all four seem good, it's the little things that everyone bases their decision on. I did have a trial run with PBL during university and I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either (ended up going in the wrong direction after all), so I'd rather not have to repeat that particular experience. And as for cadavers, I simply want them, there is nothing logical about it. 0
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