Coronovirus - Gamsat MARCH 2020

galwaypharmer · 27-04-2020 12:10pm

Ah they will, there are lots of ways for a course to continue and social distance especially with online learning and everything!

corcaigh96 · 27-04-2020 12:25pm

Is anyone here sitting GAMSAT to gain entry to graduate entry vetmed? I can't help but feel it's not as necessary as it is for GEM, just to whittle down the numbers of irish applicants to 5 or 6, but I'm still paranoid it won't go ahead at all and that'll be my chance of 2020 entry gone, woohoo!

galwaypharmer · 27-04-2020 12:41pm

Not applying to vet met, but I would say it will go ahead, Universities will need all the students/fees they can get at the moment, international students will be way down with this pandemic, trinity have an embargo on recruitment because they anticipate such losses due to lack of international students.

corcaigh96 · 27-04-2020 4:24pm

Yeah, I contacted UCD a while back and they did note that ACER are aware of how much universities need this to go ahead. Currently wondering how the lack of international students will affect our chances of getting a place, usually for vetmed they only take on 5-6 Irish grads, so hoping they'll bump it up this year! I assume it'll be the same for GEM.

markocokram · 27-04-2020 5:32pm

I just chose two lovely Sunday AM spots on ProctorU so that's a massive relief.

I was also wondering if anyone thinks that acceptance scores might go down this year? I think they might for a number or reasons; 1) Potentially less international students because of you know what and the unit's will be hungry to fill those spots. 2) Higher unemployment therefore some may find it harder to afford the tuition fees. 3) People can't do prep courses or grinds die to restriction (I know people would have already done them leading up to March).
What do people think?

purnimasnow · 27-04-2020 5:36pm

Careful when you are booking, the times are in IST not GMT!

markocokram · 27-04-2020 6:09pm

You gave me a scare for a second but all g

galwaypharmer · 27-04-2020 6:29pm

markocokram wrote: »

I just chose two lovely Sunday AM spots on ProctorU so that's a massive relief.

I was also wondering if anyone thinks that acceptance scores might go down this year? I think they might for a number or reasons; 1) Potentially less international students because of you know what and the unit's will be hungry to fill those spots. 2) Higher unemployment therefore some may find it harder to afford the tuition fees. 3) People can't do prep courses or grinds die to restriction (I know people would have already done them leading up to March).
What do people think?

Fingers crossed! If the test is comparable to other years and scores stay the same, it makes sense points would drop

corcaigh96 · 27-04-2020 7:59pm

Am I correct in saying IST is 5 and a half hours ahead of GMT?

corkgal_89 · 27-04-2020 8:41pm

This may be a really silly question.. but how are they going to monitor the whole different questions scenario?

I originally thought that they'd have different questions for each day and that it would be going ahead on each day at the same time.. but surely if you can pick what time your sitting is across 6 days this will cause issues? As in, if you were sitting was first thing in the morning and someone else was sitting the exam later that afternoon.. surely you'd have time to leak the questions to them if you were that way inclined!?

corcaigh96 · 27-04-2020 9:34pm

Christ I'm an idiot, it's IST as in Irish Standard Time? Not Indian Standard Time. Hopefully this mistake isn't indicative of my performance on the day

corkgal_89 · 27-04-2020 10:08pm

corcaigh96 wrote: »

Christ I'm an idiot, it's IST as in Irish Standard Time? Not Indian Standard Time. Hopefully this mistake isn't indicative of my performance on the day

Are we sure about that!? Aaaah, why is this is confusing!! I thought it was IST that’s 5.5 hours ahead too and booked my slots accordingly! Will need to change them if it’s Irish standard time so..

taxignorant · 27-04-2020 10:20pm

I chose GMT+1 Ireland for time zone when I set up my account, so I thought Irish standard time?

Planemo · 27-04-2020 10:22pm

Just booked mine there and the times are in BST

(also picked Ireland when registering my account). I'd say shoot them an email if you're really unsure.

EDIT: When I booked I thought it was 12pm but it's 12AM BST?? I don't mind doing a test at midnight but WTF

taxignorant · 27-04-2020 10:26pm

There was also an option. GMT - UK / Eire on the drop down on account set up. I think that is BST British standard time. Thank goodness they have a countdown to next exam on the webpage &#55357;&#56833; it's so much easier to just rock up to OReilly hall at 8 in the morning on the bicycle! Maybe in September &#55357;&#56841;

taxignorant · 27-04-2020 10:28pm

I actually just googled "what time zone am I in" thank you Larry and Sergei, it said GMT+1 - I'm located in Dublin. Where are you planemo?

Planemo · 27-04-2020 10:32pm

Also Dublin.

Figured out how to change the test time to the afternoon for S1+2 but S3 is only letting me pick 12am.

taxignorant · 27-04-2020 10:35pm

It's like a question from Section 1 ...comprehending the time your exam starts, lol. Below is from ireland.com ,..

"GMT is an absolute time reference and doesn't change with the seasons.

The time on the island of Ireland is the same as Greenwich Mean Time less than half of the year.

During the summer it becomes GMT+1, that's Irish Standard Time (IST) in the Republic and British Summer Time (BST) in Northern Ireland.

BST and IST start from 01:00 GMT on the last Sunday of March until 01:00 GMT on the last Sunday of October."

taxignorant · 27-04-2020 10:36pm

You need to adjust the time in the drop down menu above and click search, it should load other options for you then

corcaigh96 · 28-04-2020 2:30am

I had never heard of Irish Standard Time so even though I had my ProctorU account set to GMT+1, when I saw times listed in IST I Googled "difference between IST and GMT" So of course Indian Standard Time was the answer and I ran with it lol.. I had my time slots booked accordingly too!

Here's how I checked if I was correct: I found a website that does countdowns to any date or time you set and compared it to the exam countdown on the ProctorU site. Turns out I was off by 5.5 hours and when I changed my booking according to Irish Standard Time both countdowns matched up. So apparently IST = Irish Standard Time. Might help anyone else wanting to triple check theirs, would definitely make a nice practice Q!!

sbm_s · 28-04-2020 12:56pm

is ti just me or are some people gone a bit obsessed about booking times on proctoru? Wont we all have to get a specific time? I just looked there and there are loads of time slots still available on each day. I just picked the two earliest days as I want it over with. Very annoyed over all the changes and scheduling etc and proctoru keeps telling me my internet speed isnt good enough when their technician tells me it is. I have no motivation now i just want it all over

corkgal_89 · 28-04-2020 1:34pm

sbm_s wrote: »

is ti just me or are some people gone a bit obsessed about booking times on proctoru? Wont we all have to get a specific time? I just looked there and there are loads of time slots still available on each day. I just picked the two earliest days as I want it over with. Very annoyed over all the changes and scheduling etc and proctoru keeps telling me my internet speed isnt good enough when their technician tells me it is. I have no motivation now i just want it all over

I'm in the same boat with the internet speed.. don't know why considering I've 5G and live in the city!? Who knows! Hopefully it will go ok anyway!

sbm_s · 28-04-2020 2:01pm

according to reddit there are others who have had the same problem. but the technician approved it so hopefully it will be ok.

sbm_s · 28-04-2020 2:01pm

on a lighter note.. where are you all planning/hoping to go in Sept/Oct if all goes ahead?

markocokram · 28-04-2020 5:31pm

RCSI - hopefully the admission scores stay the same/drop a point or two due to less international students and less demand in general due to covid ðŸ˜…

Planemo · 28-04-2020 5:49pm

RCSI for me too, but I only have one other choice (UCD) cos I can't afford to move out of Dublin.

Does anyone think fewer International students might mean higher fees?

markocokram · 28-04-2020 6:36pm

Does anyone think fewer International students might mean higher fees?[/quote]

No way that would be crazy, they can't do that. Plus the internationals pay a lot more I believe. If it comes to it I'd say they'll just fill from Irish people

Hopeful GEM · 28-04-2020 8:20pm

I'd love a place in RCSI too. Do you guys really think the points will stay the same or even drop? Feels like I'm kinda at the cusp of missing out on a place so I'm really counting on the drop haha. Especially given we have to wait longer to get an offer this year

galwaypharmer · 30-04-2020 6:44pm

Hopefully the points drop, it seems logical that they will given the fact so many colleges are cancelling Erasmus programmes and that, so hopefully there will be more Irish places available in each college

markocokram · 30-04-2020 8:58pm

galwaypharmer wrote: »

Hopefully the points drop, it seems logical that they will given the fact so many colleges are cancelling Erasmus programmes and that, so hopefully there will be more Irish places available in each college

.

Have colleges really cancelled Erasmus?

Hopeful GEM · 01-05-2020 2:13pm

galwaypharmer wrote: »

Hopefully the points drop, it seems logical that they will given the fact so many colleges are cancelling Erasmus programmes and that, so hopefully there will be more Irish places available in each college

Don't think they'll up the number of places tbh. I emailed RCSI Admissions about it and they said they're gonna keep the same number of EU places which is what we're all up against

galwaypharmer · 01-05-2020 4:32pm

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Don't think they'll up the number of places tbh. I emailed RCSI Admissions about it and they said they're gonna keep the same number of EU places which is what we're all up against

Oh well- hopefully points stay around the same anyways:o

markocokram · 01-05-2020 4:35pm

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Don't think they'll up the number of places tbh. I emailed RCSI Admissions about it and they said they're gonna keep the same number of EU places which is what we're all up against

They didn't mention non-EU explicitly so?

Hopeful GEM · 02-05-2020 10:21am

markocokram wrote: »

They didn't mention non-EU explicitly so?

They mentioned specifically EU (30) and Non-EU (52) unfortunately. I'm hopeful they might decide otherwise later on in the middle of all this given the situation here and in other countries. Doubt it'll all just be magically okay come September across the globe so might be a few more deferrals if anything

Sccgmsccgm · 03-05-2020 10:05am

Hey everyone,

Just wondering what computer devices people are using for the exam in May?
My laptop has a 13 inch screen which I don't think will be ideal but I don't really have any other options.
Are others doing it on laptops or do people have desktop devices?

Hopeful GEM · 03-05-2020 8:46pm

galwaypharmer wrote: »

Hopefully the points drop, it seems logical that they will given the fact so many colleges are cancelling Erasmus programmes and that, so hopefully there will be more Irish places available in each college

Today an article came out in RTE saying that more places will go to Irish students given 80% of international students won't be able to make it to first year this year. There's hope yet of a points drop! Fingers crossed now

markocokram · 04-05-2020 12:43am

That would be a real silver lining after the heartache of this wretched exam. It would be quite irresponsible to allow international students in

Planemo · 04-05-2020 3:18am

Anyone know if RCSI or UCD have officially pushed back the starting date for the Fall semester? I know some other colleges have but I can't find any info on those two.

Hopeful GEM · 04-05-2020 11:13am

Planemo wrote: »

Anyone know if RCSI or UCD have officially pushed back the starting date for the Fall semester? I know some other colleges have but I can't find any info on those two.

UCD definitely haven't, they're quite focused on the end of semesters rn. They're only releasing final results of that 14th of July, unlike RCSI which have pretty much finished with those and have results. What UCD have said is that orientation is later in the trimester which is a hint at first years starting later which may or may not affect us, depending on how UCD wants to do it because usually GEMs are put in with first years in the same orientation. Some colleges are doing a blended first semester so I wonder will RCSI and UCD follow that approach as an attempt to hold onto some international students

corkgal_89 · 04-05-2020 12:18pm

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Today an article came out in RTE saying that more places will go to Irish students given 80% of international students won't be able to make it to first year this year. There's hope yet of a points drop! Fingers crossed now

Hopeful GEM, would you happen to have a link to that article by any chance!? What college are you hoping for yourself?

Hopeful GEM · 04-05-2020 2:11pm

corkgal_89 wrote: »

Hopeful GEM, would you happen to have a link to that article by any chance!? What college are you hoping for yourself?

Of course, here is the article here!

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0503/1136316-covid-19-universities/?fbclid=IwAR28vD4v012jsSKfAxMJRFbUIT3H4qjGMG2YCgHOeIRP-vVIF84A8-SoT-Y

Dying for a place in RCSI! What about yourself?

galwaypharmer · 04-05-2020 2:44pm

Of all the courses, graduate medicine has the most international students, especially Canadians. It makes sense that there has to be more places this year for Irish students, with the sacrifices the whole world is making, its highly doubtful that travel to that extent between Continents will be allowed this year. RCSI is so internationally dependent, it must be a worrying time for them.

Hopeful GEM · 04-05-2020 2:57pm

Oh I have no doubt it's terrifying for them, but at least the government is stepping in by funding more places for domestic students. They contribute about 10 grand per place per EU student for GEM so it's still a big investment. But no doubt they'll find a way to make up for it during the summer with a Summer School programme or admit more internationals the following year

corkgal_89 · 04-05-2020 3:07pm

Hopeful GEM wrote: »

Of course, here is the article here!

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0503/1136316-covid-19-universities/?fbclid=IwAR28vD4v012jsSKfAxMJRFbUIT3H4qjGMG2YCgHOeIRP-vVIF84A8-SoT-Y

Dying for a place in RCSI! What about yourself?

Very interesting... thank yooou!
UCC, here.. Went to the RCSI open day and it looks amazing there but just wouldn't be able to afford renting/living in Dublin for 4 years while studying and paying the astronomical fees!

Hopeful GEM · 04-05-2020 3:24pm

corkgal_89 wrote: »

Very interesting... thank yooou!
UCC, here.. Went to the RCSI open day and it looks amazing there but just wouldn't be able to afford renting/living in Dublin for 4 years while studying and paying the astronomical fees!

I'm from Dublin so I'd save a fortune staying at home! Really hope you get UCC

sbm_s · 05-05-2020 11:14am

galwaypharmer wrote: »

Of all the courses, graduate medicine has the most international students, especially Canadians. It makes sense that there has to be more places this year for Irish students, with the sacrifices the whole world is making, its highly doubtful that travel to that extent between Continents will be allowed this year. RCSI is so internationally dependent, it must be a worrying time for them.

UL will be in the same boat.. they have a total of 140 places in which (I think) approximately 40-50 are allocated to international students. I highly doubt so many will be travelling over here given the current circumstances. SO I am hoping they open up more places in UL for Irish applicants

sbm_s · 05-05-2020 11:14am

how is everyone's study going?

humboldt · 05-05-2020 3:02pm

Does anyone else think that if the colleges don't have enough international students coming in they'll both increase Irish places (lowering points) but will also raise our fees significantly to make up the shortfall? Personally, I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect to be honest.

(and fees have been going up by nonsignificant amounts each year anyway ie. UCD has had an increase of over €950 yearly tuition over the last two years, with expected increases of 4% each year)

Hopeful GEM · 05-05-2020 4:03pm

humboldt wrote: »

Does anyone else think that if the colleges don't have enough international students coming in they'll both increase Irish places (lowering points) but will also raise our fees significantly to make up the shortfall? Personally, I'm not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect to be honest.

(and fees have been going up by nonsignificant amounts each year anyway ie. UCD has had an increase of over €950 yearly tuition over the last two years, with expected increases of 4% each year)

I mean they have already released the fees for this year and if the government pitches in, which is what they would have to do to even be able to increase the number of Irish places, there would be no reason to up our fees and they can't make such an ad hoc change because that would violate the terms and conditions on their part. They set out the fees early in the year so people can know what they're up against but if they suddenly changing it, students have a right to opt out of the college on the basis of this. They can only up the fees when you are already in the course and going for the following year, and even then you have to have already agreed to the higher fees, i.e. the 4%

campmed · 06-05-2020 9:11pm

Has there been any news on the September GAMSAT exam, whether it’s online or in person? I’ve applied for undergraduate medicine and unsure if I’ll be able to get in with the recent turn of events.

Coronovirus - Gamsat MARCH 2020

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