GAMSAT 2018

Rainbowdash1 · 22-05-2018 9:51pm

What was making them unsure if you don't mind me asking?

Beariski01 · 22-05-2018 9:54pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

What was making them unsure if you don't mind me asking?

Just they wanted a fair amount of information about their finances and if they earned enough per week to cover repayments....it was a nervous wait but the guarantor was accepted in the end

Limk88 · 22-05-2018 10:56pm

I definitely agree with ringing BOI and discussing your case individually as with any substantial loan from banks they need to look at each case in fine detail and everyone’s financial situation and the financial situation of the guarantor is probably going to be different. The person I was dealing with said that the guarantor had to be a relative and that they would need proof that they could repay the loan on the off chance that you defaulted. In my case my mom died when I was young and my dad is retired, a retired person as a guarantor is ok as long as they have cash built up that could fund the loan in case you default on the loan. As for the country of residence of the guarantor she said it is easier if they are in Ireland or the UK as it would be much easier to access their financial records and credit ratings but didn’t explicitly rule out a guarantor living in another country. In terms of interest rates I think she said it is 6.7% and it begins as soon as you draw down the loan.

My point is that every situation is going to be different and so I would definitely encourage contacting BOI soon if you are considering the loan option to get your ducks in a row and it’s one less thing to worry about. At the open day in UCC they also stressed the importance of getting your finances in order to fund your GEM course as soon as you possibly can...

Limk88 · 23-05-2018 11:37am

Apologies the interest rate is 6.3%

e1994 · 23-05-2018 12:36pm

Limk88 wrote: »

I definitely agree with ringing BOI and discussing your case individually as with any substantial loan from banks they need to look at each case in fine detail and everyone’s financial situation and the financial situation of the guarantor is probably going to be different. The person I was dealing with said that the guarantor had to be a relative and that they would need proof that they could repay the loan on the off chance that you defaulted. In my case my mom died when I was young and my dad is retired, a retired person as a guarantor is ok as long as they have cash built up that could fund the loan in case you default on the loan. As for the country of residence of the guarantor she said it is easier if they are in Ireland or the UK as it would be much easier to access their financial records and credit ratings but didn’t explicitly rule out a guarantor living in another country. In terms of interest rates I think she said it is 6.7% and it begins as soon as you draw down the loan.

My point is that every situation is going to be different and so I would definitely encourage contacting BOI soon if you are considering the loan option to get your ducks in a row and it’s one less thing to worry about. At the open day in UCC they also stressed the importance of getting your finances in order to fund your GEM course as soon as you possibly can...

Thanks for the advice I'm going to try and get on to them asap! It would be awful to miss out on a place because you couldn't secure a loan

ilovesmecounty · 24-05-2018 3:38pm

Hey I have a massive box of Gamsat notes, prep, papers etc. Like huge. It has science books, the lot. Where would be the best place to try and offload it? I'm dying to get that corner of my spare room back and not be reminded of the horror each time I go in there!

indiep · 24-05-2018 3:54pm

Hey, I bought all my Gamsat stuff on Adverts off this absolute legend! She was so helpful and the materials were amazing

e1994 · 24-05-2018 4:34pm

Yeah I got some stuff off adverts.ie too, I'd say that's your best bet

e1994 · 27-05-2018 10:24pm

I know it's impossible to say but would anyone have any guesses as to what a 'safe' gamsat score might be for any of the colleges?

futuremedic777 · 27-05-2018 10:51pm

Based on cut-off scores for the past 7 years'
60+ Safe for all
59 Safe for UCC and UL
56-58 Safe for UL

Safe when referring to certain cut-off scores each Medical school hasn't reached yet

ilovesmecounty · 28-05-2018 10:02am

Thanks guys, I put an ad on adverts.ie so hopefully the notes will help another poor soul while also helping my soon to be very poor pocket.

Celestial12 · 28-05-2018 11:10am

I paid over £100 for PDFs of all my notes. I've no problem sharing them. I hope none of the 20+ people I've sent notes to for FREE, are cashing in on them.

ilovesmecounty · 28-05-2018 11:49am

Celestial12 wrote: »

I paid over £100 for PDFs of all my notes. I've no problem sharing them. I hope none of the 20+ people I've sent notes to for FREE, are cashing in on them.

That sounds like a post making assumptions. I'm selling books I bought myself, and notes I printed out, at significant cost to myself, (I actually reimbursed my employer 378 euro for all the printing I did) including very expensive prep materials. I've also advertised my own very thick folder of self-written notes. Not selling any pdfs whatseoever.

Kirby2k07 · 28-05-2018 8:56pm

Random question, just wondering if anyone knows for any of GEM UCC, UCD or RCSI, at what stage do you actually link up with the undergrads? Or do you do mixed modules with them from the start of first year for certain subjects? Thanks

Limk88 · 28-05-2018 9:42pm

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Random question, just wondering if anyone knows for any of GEM UCC, UCD or RCSI, at what stage do you actually link up with the undergrads? Or do you do mixed modules with them from the start of first year for certain subjects? Thanks

Hey Kirby2k07 I know that in UCC the 3rd year GEMs join up with the 4th year undergrads and they complete their last 2 years as the one class

Pierre_Robin · 28-05-2018 9:59pm

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Random question, just wondering if anyone knows for any of GEM UCC, UCD or RCSI, at what stage do you actually link up with the undergrads? Or do you do mixed modules with them from the start of first year for certain subjects? Thanks

UCD: A couple of modules throughout the first two years, and completely from year 3 (Res year). Also on/off on nights out :pac:

Specsy · 29-05-2018 2:55pm

Hi all,

Having scored a 62 in the gamsat this year I am hoping to be offered a place in rcsi (EU student). The minimum gamsat score listed on their site is 58 for 2017.

With 30 places for EU students and 52 for non-eu, would a score of 62 mean guaranteed entry? Or is it possible that the cut off for EU students was higher than 58 and the cutoff listed on their website is for non-eu as there are more places and hence less competition? Would I be safer putting down UCD as number 1 due to more EU places?

Many thanks

Limk88 · 30-05-2018 10:08am

Specsy wrote: »

Hi all,

Having scored a 62 in the gamsat this year I am hoping to be offered a place in rcsi (EU student). The minimum gamsat score listed on their site is 58 for 2017.

With 30 places for EU students and 52 for non-eu, would a score of 62 mean guaranteed entry? Or is it possible that the cut off for EU students was higher than 58 and the cutoff listed on their website is for non-eu as there are more places and hence less competition? Would I be safer putting down UCD as number 1 due to more EU places?

Many thanks

Hey Specsy first of all congratulations on the brilliant GAMSAT score! As far as I’m aware the scores are for EU candidates... if you want to get clarification though then I would email the universities to double check!

I would always advise that you put the place that you want to go to first, list your preferences based on where you would like to study medicine not the courses that you think you will get into.

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 12:57pm

Hey i was just wondering if anybody got offered any place before that wasn't their first choice? I have a score of 57 and I am debating whether to change my first choice from Dublin to Limerick because I would be guaranteed a place in Limerick (girl in admissions office told me this). I am from Dublin but I'm worried that if I don't change my first choice to Limerick that the Dublin points won't come down either and I will just be left having to wait another year.

Any advice?

e1994 · 31-05-2018 1:05pm

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Hey i was just wondering if anybody got offered any place before that wasn't their first choice? I have a score of 57 and I am debating whether to change my first choice from Dublin to Limerick because I would be guaranteed a place in Limerick (girl in admissions office told me this). I am from Dublin but I'm worried that if I don't change my first choice to Limerick that the Dublin points won't come down either and I will just be left having to wait another year.

Any advice?

the cao works the same for GEM as it does for undergrad - You list the courses in order of preference and then you get offered whatever one that you have the points for that's highest in your list of preference... e.g. If you have Dublin as 1 and limerick as 2 and Dublin ends up having a cutoff score of 58 and limerick 54 well then you will still get offered limerick?
Not sure if that makes sense.. but basically your not losing out by having Dublin first regardless of what the cut off scores end up being (so long as you have limerick somewhere on the list)

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 1:13pm

Yeah that's what I thought too but when I rang UL yesterday they said they allocated their places to people who have UL as their first choice with a sufficient GAMSAT before allocating to applicants who have it as another preference position. Hence my confusion. Before calling them I also thought that it just defaulted to where I have the points for and bipassed the one I didn't.

medgirl18 · 31-05-2018 1:14pm

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Hey i was just wondering if anybody got offered any place before that wasn't their first choice? I have a score of 57 and I am debating whether to change my first choice from Dublin to Limerick because I would be guaranteed a place in Limerick (girl in admissions office told me this). I am from Dublin but I'm worried that if I don't change my first choice to Limerick that the Dublin points won't come down either and I will just be left having to wait another year.

Any advice?

If you don't have enough points for your first choice, you will still get your second or third choice if you've enough for that. So you can absolutely put Dublin as number 1 and if the points go up you will still get UL. It works the same way as the leaving cert.

I only have 54 and Limerick is my second choice, even though I'll need a miracle to get anywhere!

e1994 · 31-05-2018 1:14pm

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Yeah that's what I thought too but when I rang UL yesterday they said they allocated their places to people who have UL as their first choice with a sufficient GAMSAT before allocating to applicants who have it as another preference position. Hence my confusion. Before calling them I also thought that it just defaulted to where I have the points for and bipassed the one I didn't.

No way sorry I never realised that! I just presumed it was the same system. I wonder could you try ringing the CAO?

medgirl18 · 31-05-2018 1:15pm

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Yeah that's what I thought too but when I rang UL yesterday they said they allocated their places to people who have UL as their first choice with a sufficient GAMSAT before allocating to applicants who have it as another preference position. Hence my confusion. Before calling them I also thought that it just defaulted to where I have the points for and bipassed the one I didn't.

Omg I commented before I saw this... that's crazy, I guess I'll change mine so haha

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 1:23pm

Yeah I know, that's why I don't know what to do. I have 57 and the points for rcsi and ucd could potentially drop to 57, they have in the past, so I don't know what to do. The lady in UL told me that last year there was 3 places offered in second round to people who had UL as the 3rd/2nd choice. I wanted to find out if anybody has previously been offered a place in UL and where they had it as a preference?

Limk88 · 31-05-2018 1:40pm

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Yeah I know, that's why I don't know what to do. I have 57 and the points for rcsi and ucd could potentially drop to 57, they have in the past, so I don't know what to do. The lady in UL told me that last year there was 3 places offered in second round to people who had UL as the 3rd/2nd choice. I wanted to find out if anybody has previously been offered a place in UL and where they had it as a preference?

This sounds very strange and against I think what everyone else has heard... I think you should ring the CAO as someone else has mentioned previously - I imagine that if you are on a score that not all applicants get in on then they may prefer the ones that have that university first but your best bet is to ring the CAO to be sure.

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 1:42pm

I just looked at the CAO explanation and this is what it says;
"You will be offered a place in the highest of your course preferences to which you are entitled. This will be done, independently, in respect of Level 8 and Level 7/Level 6 choices."

so maybe I should leave Dublin as my first?

Limk88 · 31-05-2018 1:43pm

Yeah I think you should. If points drop as well then you will be kicking yourself that you put Limerick down first and you will definitely get an offer from Limerick

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 1:50pm

I rang the CAO but they have a message machine on. I've emailed them. Yeah I would have assumed it would default to the course you are eligible for. Apparently the universities meet with the CAO in July to go through scores and allocation of places. The girl in UL told me yesterday that the universities know who they're accepting in mid July, about 2 weeks before the students themselves find out.

Limk88 · 31-05-2018 2:01pm

So technically can we ring the universities in mid-July and ask them if we got in instead of waiting until the start of August?

She sounded quite helpful... when I rang UL a few weeks ago they didn't tell me anything, not even past GAMSAT entry scores but you can find all of them online if you google CAO round zero offers.

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 2:14pm

Haha She was super nice. She was a girl in admissions. No she said you can't ring in July. I tried that haha

HopefulGEM18 · 31-05-2018 2:36pm

Ok everyone the cao responded and said "if not successful with your 1st choice then the application process will take into account the remaining course choices"

moral of the story? I'm leaving dublin as first

indiep · 31-05-2018 3:28pm

Jaysus this series of responses scared me! UL all the way

Sgro · 01-06-2018 11:05am

HopefulGEM18 wrote: »

Hey i was just wondering if anybody got offered any place before that wasn't their first choice? I have a score of 57 and I am debating whether to change my first choice from Dublin to Limerick because I would be guaranteed a place in Limerick (girl in admissions office told me this). I am from Dublin but I'm worried that if I don't change my first choice to Limerick that the Dublin points won't come down either and I will just be left having to wait another year.

Any advice?

Could be wrong but I am 99% certain GEM works like the regular CEO - i.e. you should always have your choices according to preference. If you don't get first choice you are first in line for second choice, and so on. So someone with a lower score than you but UL for first choice would not get a place over you with a higher score and UL as second choice.

brendanwalsh · 02-06-2018 8:06pm

Guys it works the same as the normal cao.

Places are absolutely not offered based on who ranked the colleges 1st. If you rank Dublin first you will get it if you have the points, if not you will get your second or third choice.

This is absolute fact.

Not surprised someone from UL spread such misinformation to you, the course and admin there is appalling, I'd avoid it at all costs.

Celestial12 · 02-06-2018 9:14pm

brendanwalsh wrote: »

Guys it works the same as the normal cao.

Places are absolutely not offered based on who ranked the colleges 1st. If you rank Dublin first you will get it if you have the points, if not you will get your second or third choice.

This is absolute fact.

Not surprised someone from UL spread such misinformation to you, the course and admin there is appalling, I'd avoid it at all costs.

If you were applying to GEM what would your first choice be?

Not sure if you went through the undergrad or graduate route.

Beariski01 · 02-06-2018 10:42pm

UL was my first choice and I don't regret my decision ! Same as any course, you get what you put in to it

brendanwalsh · 03-06-2018 12:44pm

UCD would be my number 1
UCC number 2
RCSI

Then depending on what part of the country you're from id apply to North West GEMS for next year or else UL.

UCD is undoubtedly the best run programed. 100% of material tested in exams is delivered in lectures. This unfortunately is not the case in UL due to the haphazard, "medicine by breadcrumbs" nature of the PBL course down there.

brendanwalsh · 03-06-2018 12:54pm

Beariski01 wrote: »

UL was my first choice and I don't regret my decision ! Same as any course, you get what you put in to it

I think this is a bit facetious. UL requires an exponential amount of greater effort to get through than somewhere like UCD.

UCD provides lecture material covering everything they can test.

UL will kindly tell you that you need to know all of microbiology, biochemistry, pathology , physiology etc and you then have to go and figure out where to learn all of that material from. Sporadic lectures given by GPs which are more suited to the clinical years rather than the pre clinical, have no relation to the exams.

Beariski01 · 03-06-2018 1:15pm

brendanwalsh wrote: »

UL will kindly tell you that you need to know all of microbiology, biochemistry, pathology , physiology etc and you then have to go and figure out where to learn all of that material from. Sporadic lectures given by GPs which are more suited to the clinical years rather than the pre clinical, have no relation to the exams.

I think that's kinda the point of PBL and self directed learning?

The lectures from GPs and consultants are based on the PBL case for that week and are relevant to the background biomedical sciences that need to be comprehended. Its true that we do a fair amount of clinical skills in our first 2 years which is then beneficial when we reach the hospitals in third year.

The style of learning suits some people and wouldn't suit others I guess. Its the right fit for me, I learn more now than I did in my undergrad which was didactic. I like being able to manage my own time in terms of when and what I learn and the PBL cases provide the framework of what needs to be covered. Its hard work but so is any medical degree. We can all have our own opinions

Beariski01 · 03-06-2018 1:32pm

@Celestial12 Current students from different medical schools would a be a good resource to give you the pros and cons of each so you can see which one would be the best fit for you. There are generally Facebook groups for current students of each school so that could be a good start, either way best of luck!

Kirby2k07 · 10-06-2018 11:46pm

Digging online and randomly came across this, really in-depth look at what you'll be doing in first year, a student to student guide for RCSI gem http://online.fliphtml5.com/veau/mphq/#p=1

ilovesmecounty · 11-06-2018 2:42pm

Kirby2k07 wrote: »

Digging online and randomly came across this, really in-depth look at what you'll be doing in first year, a student to student guide for RCSI gem http://online.fliphtml5.com/veau/mphq/#p=1

Just read through that, thanks for posting. Super interesting... and I also just got a stab of fear! There's a lot going on!!

Rainbowdash1 · 12-06-2018 5:31pm

Are ye hoping for rcsi?

futuremedic777 · 12-06-2018 8:16pm

my choices
1.UCD
2.RCSI
3.UL
4.UCC

indiep · 12-06-2018 8:19pm

futuremedic777 wrote: »

my choices
1.UCD
2.RCSI
3.UL
4.UCC

Same!

Rainbowdash1 · 12-06-2018 8:26pm

Why ucd over rcsi?

futuremedic777 · 12-06-2018 8:59pm

Rainbowdash1 wrote: »

Why ucd over rcsi?

simple reasons;
-Costs a little less studying in UCD for both tuition+living costs.
-It's a lot more EU friendly, as in more spaces for us than for international students, therefore im more likely to get an offer with my gamsat score if i made UCD my first choice, while rcsi would feel more limited.
-My Uncle studied at UCD medical school, so im more inclined to pick it lol
In my opinion, ill be happy to get into either, they are both tied in terms of overall reputation, but the points i raised really makes a difference for me.

futuremedic777 · 12-06-2018 9:01pm

indiep wrote: »

futuremedic777 wrote: »

my choices
1.UCD
2.RCSI
3.UL
4.UCC

Same!

Hey cool !

whats your reason for putting UL as 3rd choice

indiep · 12-06-2018 9:18pm

futuremedic777 wrote: »

indiep wrote: »

futuremedic777 wrote: »

my choices
1.UCD
2.RCSI
3.UL
4.UCC

Same!

Hey cool ! whats your reason for putting UL as 3rd choice

Happy to get anything! UCD & RCSI above UL because I live in Dublin but my Gamsat would suggest UL is the place for me

. I put UL 3rd because of the problem based learning and the feedback I've received from current students it sounds like its been well designed for the older demographic

GAMSAT 2018

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