Coronovirus - Gamsat MARCH 2020

hazelnut11 wrote: »

are there still offers going in UL/ new people starting?

Yeh I've heard about people joining this week/next which I don't think is unusual a couple of weeks into term. We're just finishing up week 2 now though and I did hear that that might be the last people they'll let in so they aren't too far behind. Yeh its not ideal tbh but we don't know if its going to be different next year with the way things are going. I keep thinking things are gonna be better and then they go backwards. Did you accept a place or are you still holding out for UCD?

anyone heard from ucd?

Have people seen many people dropping out yet?

ma003 wrote: »

Nope not so far and with a lot of people already gotten their loans/getting them now I don't think people will. Its gone even more online now and people are just going home more/giving up their accommodation but no anyone I've talked to thinks its better to just do the year and get it over with !

Got a round 3 offer today...UCD here I come!

hazelnut11 wrote: »

Got a round 3 offer today...UCD here I come!

congrats
what score did you get?

Hows everyone finding the programmes so far? What’s the verdict on UCD vs rcsi? Mixed reviews!

Alexion wrote: »

Hows everyone finding the programmes so far? What’s the verdict on UCD vs rcsi? Mixed reviews!

Probably controversial to many but loving limerick hahaha!!

I don't know anyone in UCD so I can't comment on their experience but I have been very impressed so far by what I have seen in RCSI and have really been enjoying the course.

Pros
Managing Covid - The faculty seem to have gotten a pretty good handle on managing the programme alongside Covid which is a big stress reliever. We are still getting a good amount of in person teaching vs. online so it doesn't feel like your just sat at your laptop at home all the time. It blows my mind how much organisation must have gone into managing 90 odd students in view of all the restrictions while still keeping everybody safe so kudos to them for that!

Lecturer Quality - I am really impressed by the quality of the lecturers and tutors, they all seem genuinely interested in getting you to where you need to be and all have very impressive academic and clinical backgrounds. Everyone seems to be very approachable and there is a strong RCSI "culture" which can seem a bit strange on your first few days but I think that over time it will be amazing to be a part of that. The 2nd year GEMs have been hugely helpful in helping us to find our bearings and the peer mentor system whereby you are assigned a 2nd year buddy is great!

Cons
Intensity - This is more on me than anything, but the course is intense! We have had 2 quizzes so far both on 3/4 weeks worth of content. For our most recent quiz we had >40 lectures on which the questions were based so you need to be able to hit the ground running and really be willing to put the hours in. I guess that is always going to be the case on a GEM course though...

Any other cons are really Covid/Social distancing related which I imagine are relevant to all schools e.g. we have less time with cadavers etc. Having said that, I am massively appreciative that we get any time at all!

It is early days yet so maybe I am seeing things through rose-tinted glasses but I would recommend RCSI to anyone based on the first 2 months.

If you do poorly this time round, give me a message. I'm offering Gamsat grinds over Zoom, running through Des O Neill papers and more. Got an overall 69 in June 2020

I wonder if your still around