GAMSAT 2015

GeneralC · 17-08-2015 01:41AM

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Any idea what gamsat cut off was required this year?
Thinking of switching over, currently finished first year gems in ul,

53 for physiotherapy 2015, 12 places.

Junoon · 17-08-2015 06:12AM

ANY ONE RECEIVED ROUND 1 OFFERS?

SwiftEagle · 17-08-2015 08:23AM

AndrewTheCat wrote: »

Any idea what gamsat cut off was required this year?
Thinking of switching over, currently finished first year gems in ul,

Quitter!

TGJD · 17-08-2015 08:28AM

Junoon wrote: »

Thanks for the info but could you please elaborate on " essays " you mentioned ...

4 essays due a few weeks after christmas as the assesment for the professional competencies module. From 600 words to 1000 words or so depending on the discipline. The 4 pcs are public health, health law and ethics, psychology and sociology. I found them handy but if you don't have a background in writing these kind of essays then i suggest asking someone who does for advice before submitting. The module runs before christmas and this is the only assessment for it. It's taught in various lectures week to week but i never found it necessary to attend as i did most of this in my undergrad. Go to them if you think it will help but i found them a waste of time i could use to study. Very interesting if you have free time though admittedly from the few i attended but a waste of valuable time none the less.

Junoon · 17-08-2015 09:27AM

TGJD wrote: »

4 essays due a few weeks after christmas as the assesment for the professional competencies module. From 600 words to 1000 words or so depending on the discipline. The 4 pcs are public health, health law and ethics, psychology and sociology. I found them handy but if you don't have a background in writing these kind of essays then i suggest asking someone who does for advice before submitting. The module runs before christmas and this is the only assessment for it. It's taught in various lectures week to week but i never found it necessary to attend as i did most of this in my undergrad. Go to them if you think it will help but i found them a waste of time i could use to study. Very interesting if you have free time though admittedly from the few i attended but a waste of valuable time none the less.

thank you ...I am not very good with those type of essay writing and is it only in 1st year and are they form a huge percentage/ part of overall assessment ?

TGJD · 17-08-2015 09:53AM

Junoon wrote: »

thank you ...I am not very good with those type of essay writing and is it only in 1st year and are they form a huge percentage/ part of overall assessment ?

Not sure, think there are some in 2nd year too but couldn't say. They are the entire pc module and you have to pass 3 of them to pass the year. They genuinely aren't that tough though. You have to pass the 3 modules that make up the year individually. Pc being the easiest, then clinical skills, with knowledge of health and illness being the tough module which is examined in the 3 written exams mentioned earlier, the saq, emq and spotter. I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Everything will be explained as you go and everyone is in the same boat. Just study for pbl and do the minis and don't focus on exams until they get closer.

mick_murphy · 18-08-2015 08:44AM

Anita Blow wrote: »

In terms of proving you're a student, they took my CAO Proof of Acceptance and my Certificate of Attendance at UCD. If you start registration now you can logon onto SISWeb and download your certificate of attendance as PDF and print it.

They also took a copy of my payslip. That's all as far as I remember other than bringing your passport, bank statements etc.

My parents were my guarantors. Not much was asked of them besides the initial form they had to fill out detailing their savings, assets and liabilities and then they had to give their signature a couple times.

How did you arrange an appointment to obtain the forms, etc. I can't find a direct number to the UCD branch. Did you visit the branch itself?

ohblackbetty · 18-08-2015 11:13AM

HI Friends,

Just wondering about claiming tax back on the GEM loan. Do you need to have paid enough tax during the year to cover the credit (i.e. if you have not paid 1400 in tax are you not eligible for credit)? If not can a parent/guarantor claim for the fee?

Cymini Sectores · 18-08-2015 01:49PM

From my experience of dealing with the revenue office, everyone is entitled to something (but MANY don't bother finding out). Walk into the tax office with your fees receipt (and p60 if you have one). Last year, I got about 1500 eur tax back and that helped.

ohblackbetty · 18-08-2015 04:19PM

Cymini Sectores wrote: »

From my experience of dealing with the revenue office, everyone is entitled to something (but MANY don't bother finding out). Walk into the tax office with your fees receipt (and p60 if you have one). Last year, I got about 1500 eur tax back and that helped.

Yes - but had you earned enough last year that they were able to deduct that 1500 from taxes you had already paid?

Cymini Sectores · 18-08-2015 05:31PM

ohblackbetty wrote: »

Yes - but had you earned enough last year that they were able to deduct that 1500 from taxes you had already paid?

I kept 2 jobs at the time, so I'd say I earned enough BUT I believe the 1500 tax back was solely based on my fees.

How one's tax is calculated is so unclear (at least to me). Your best bet of getting any money is walking into the tax office yourself.

Junoon · 19-08-2015 04:48AM

Cymini Sectores wrote:

I kept 2 jobs at the time, so I'd say I earned enough BUT I believe the 1500 tax back was solely based on my fees.

May I ask u what kind of shifts or jobs you were doing ? How did u manage to do 2 jobs and studies ? I didn't mean to intrude but just being curious and wishing to keep my job while on the course.

Cymini Sectores · 19-08-2015 08:07AM

Junoon wrote: »

May I ask u what kind of shifts or jobs you were doing ? How did u manage to do 2 jobs and studies ? I didn't mean to intrude but just being curious and wishing to keep my job while on the course.

I had a permanent job and I worked for an agency (don't wanna say what job). Quit my permanent job the weekend before college resumed. My agency job is such that you could decide when you wanna get paid by sending in timesheet of shifts done. Before college, I had 3 months of unpaid shifts.

I did some shifts while in college, still working this summer and hopefully, would have enough shifts until Christmas before college resumes. I am funding my fees, so that's how it is.

Tennisfan1 · 19-08-2015 11:45PM

Anybody else incredibly nervous about starting GEM next week?
Paid the fee on Monday and finding it difficult trying to get police clearance from the UK, as well as a record of all my previous vaccinations etc when my regular GP seems to have only half the information I need. I'm already stressed and I havn't bloody started the course yet! So much paperwork and so many people that are only too happy to take my money. Grr.. Hope all this is going to be worth it.

RichieRichRich · 22-08-2015 02:10AM

Hi All,

Accepted a place in UCD GEM but I'm shaking in my boots about heading down to bank of Ireland to apply for the loan. Would be so disappointing to fall at this last hurdle. Anyone tell me about their experience with UCD BOI and getting the loan this year and the requirements? Does anyone know of any people who didn't get the loan and the circumstances?
I have no idea what to expect

Academia · 22-08-2015 02:26AM

Yeah it'll be awful not to get loan but with a guarantor who is financially viable, you should get it.

gaffer93 · 22-08-2015 03:25PM

Got the UCD BOI loan after two days of applying. Paula is very nice but I would ring her before you go to make sure you have all of the right documents, forms and to book an appointment. Bring your guarantors and make sure they have their bits and pieces too. After that it's in the hands of the gods I suppose. If you have no bad credit history and it looks like your guarantors could pay the loan off if it came to it then you should be fine.

RichieRichRich · 22-08-2015 11:03PM

Cheers Gaffer,

Are these forms available online or just in the UCD Boi branch?

gaffer93 · 23-08-2015 03:48PM

RichieRichRich wrote: »

Cheers Gaffer,

Are these forms available online or just in the UCD Boi branch?

Give Paula Gaffney a ring on 0766231264. She'll email them to you.

Bank of Ireland: Sarah · 25-08-2015 09:41AM

RichieRichRich wrote: »

Hi All,

Accepted a place in UCD GEM but I'm shaking in my boots about heading down to bank of Ireland to apply for the loan. Would be so disappointing to fall at this last hurdle. Anyone tell me about their experience with UCD BOI and getting the loan this year and the requirements? Does anyone know of any people who didn't get the loan and the circumstances?
I have no idea what to expect

Hi RichieRichRich,

Hope you don’t mind us jumping in here.

If you haven’t already contacted UCD branch, we will be happy to help arrange a call back to you to have a chat about your loan application. If you’d like us to do this, please just send us a PM here on Boards. More information on Student Loans can be found here

Thanks,
Sarah

gaffer93 · 25-08-2015 09:47AM

Did anyone receive the bank giro from UCD?

Tennisfan1 · 25-08-2015 12:11PM

I just asked the fees office in UCC about possible refund of the fee if I decide the course is not for me.
In Cork, you have until the 13th October to drop out and get a refund of your 14,580 minus the capitation fee of 165 euro.
That gives me 6 weeks to see how I find the course, which gives me some peace of mind. Ever since I paid that fee I have been in two minds about whether this is right for me. It's such a huge commitment and I want to be absolutely sure that I love the course and want to stick with it. Those 6 weeks will be very valuable for me.
Hope I will just love the course but its something that I feel better knowing about.

Junoon · 25-08-2015 01:29PM

Called BOI and they said that they can't give loan without a guarantor. Bad luck

Any advice?

gaffer93 · 25-08-2015 01:53PM

Don't know if someone was saying on this thread that you can get tax back on your fees? Well I was just in the tax office and that can only happen if you're actually paying tax while in college.....which would make a lot of sense!

loopylulu · 25-08-2015 02:03PM

If you paid tax this year then you can claim tax relief. You can claim up to a max of 7000 per course per year. This first 3000 is disregarded. So you get 20% of 4000 tax relief i.e 800euro tax back. That's if you have earned enough and paid 800 tax though.

Edit: if you haven't paid tax this year then get a parent to submit the receipt in their name so they can get tax relief.

gaffer93 · 25-08-2015 02:08PM

loopylulu wrote: »

If you paid tax this year then you can claim tax relief. You can claim up to a max of 7000 per course per year. This first 3000 is disregarded. So you get 20% of 4000 tax relief i.e 800euro tax back. That's if you have earned enough and paid 800 tax though.

Edit: if you haven't paid tax this year then get a parent to submit the receipt in their name so they can get tax relief.

Thanks for that. I kind of suspected that the girl in the office just wanted to get me out of her hair.

Cymini Sectores · 25-08-2015 05:09PM

Junoon wrote: »

Called BOI and they said that they can't give loan without a guarantor. Bad luck

Any advice?

That's a major disadvantage of the whole damn thing!

If you are in a credit union, that might help... not sure if it'll work long term.

Or just go to the bank and talk to someone face to face.

chocice94 · 26-08-2015 06:03PM

Got my admission ticket for London today, the nerves are real now

sReq | uTeK · 27-08-2015 11:34AM

chocice94 wrote: »

Got my admission ticket for London today, the nerves are real now

Got mine for Liverpool also, best of luck.

I don't think I've done enough but hopefully the experience will stand to me come March when I sit the Irish one.

danube · 29-08-2015 07:29PM

I am going to be sitting GAMSAT next March. i am from a non-science background. Will the following books be enough to prepare me for the science section:

Des O’Neils (Human Biology, Biochemistry, Physics, Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry.

GAMSAT 2015

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