Which universities use GAMSAT?

[Le Pom]

so far, keele, warwick and birmingham.

any hints or tips as to where else as my 4th? i cant choose.

[Delgado]

That really depends on the type of course your looking for. Some people prefer a more science oriented course over PBL. If you're looking to stay in the Midlands, why not try places like Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle or Leicester. It's probably best as well to pick five year as well as 4 yr courses which are highly competitive. It's really up to you. Why not visit the Unis on open days to get a good perspective, that might help make up your mind better since you're going to be living there while studying.

[Le Pom]

not necessarily dear, if i attend keele or warwick i shall be living home still or with relatives in warwick.
nottingham sounds a good choice to me, i dont like leicester, ino offense to anyone who attends, its just not suited to me,
but thanks, you seemed to get the idea i wanted to stay in the midlands, which is indeed true.

so everyone tells me applying to grad med is loads harder?
what can i do to make me feel more comforatble about applying for such competative places? what will make me more experienced or different?

so far i have 2 voluntary jobs. one in radiology department helping admin, fetching equipment ie different type catheters, sizes and names, eg, cobra etc, i'm learning. plus i will get to observe surgical procedures.
the other voluntary job is with red cross, and i am working with home from hospital persons andi am gonig to do some first aid through them hopefully.

then i have two work experiences lined up with jaguar cars clinical department and with a gp.

i am arranging a visit to romania to help teach english and possibly africa.

i will be going to reflexology classes for 5 weeks.

i may be doing 2 weeks in austrailia with my uncle and aunt in their various osteopathy clinics.

i have a waitressing job.

when i go back to my second year of study in a few weeks, i'm going to look to sign up for a society or charity work.

and this is all in one year. plus i will study and reearch a particular area of mediine that interests me, i am also collecting a scrapbook of newspaper articles realting to medicine to keep me well informed on nhs and related issues.

any hints as to other thing i can do please?

[Delgado]

I think you've pretty much covered the whole work experience criteria. A word of warning though, I see that you intending to apply to Birmingham. Not sure if this is for 4 or 5 yr course, but from you what you've posted, I assume that you're going for the 4 yr course. I've read from various threads and heard as well that birmingham have a strong habit of taking only those who have already achieved their class degree and usually only take in a 1st. I think that it even states that on their website. So if you haven't already achieved your class, you need to think carefully about that. You should ask people who attend the school or anyone whose intending to apply there about this. If you send an email to them they'll probably reply with a mandatory message listing their entry criteria from the prospectus.

Make sure you know the course layout, so that you're familiar with the way the schools teach the course. If I think of something else I'll let you know.

[Dick Cheney]

If you meet the GAMSAT cutoff, you are guaranteed an interview.

I don't agree with Arch_Angel's comments on the GAMSAT being knowledge-based; it is not. The GAMSAT does require a minimum basic science knowledge (A-level), but is mainly problem solving combined with a bit of essay writing.

[Arch_Angel]

I'll re-phrase:

To set the tone, I haven't done the exam yet, but have spent all summer preparing for it (it's been dull). It's not a knowledge based exam in the same way an A level is. For example in A level the question may say:

Q. Specifically where/on/in what are proteins synthesised?
A. Ribosome

The GAMSAT will expect you to have this basic knowledge, give you a passage to further your knowledge onto something past (sometimes way past) A level, then give you a situation thus:

Q. IgG1567 is a new synthesised antibody that targets proteins made in cells infected with a particular strain of rhinovirus. The proteins that are tagged by the antibodies can no longer function. If they were ligands why would they no longer work?:

A: Protein Denatured
B: No longer fit the active site
C: Digested by antibody
D: Caused to enter lymph system by antibody

(This however will come with a passage telling you most of what you need to know) (can anyone answer this one ??)

Now, I will say that I may be worrying and perceiving it as harder or more complex than it should be, so take what I've said with a pinch of salt and listen to Mr. Vice president. Personally however, I think it's best to know the stuff before you go in rather than having to try and learn it at the desk from the sometimes page long text.

The UKCAT is apparently one that you cannot revise for. This is of course nonsense, you can, but if you are good at that sort of thing you can go in and do well. The GAMSAT is one that you will fail hard if you are unprepared. Ergo, in my book, the test is based on both knowledge and "problem solving skill".
Nik

[Le Pom]

well thanks guys, your advice as always is much appreciated.
I have always not been so keen on Birmingaham, they're so nit picky on everything.

maybe i should start revising for gamsat and ukcat now, like 2 years before i'd be going to med school. would that help?

i was told i need to know basic gcse physics for something? or am i hearing random things?

i guess a knowledge of everything would be useful, something i dont think my brain could process.

anyways, i'll keep you posted, for now, i need to look over all of my first year biochem and neuro things.

[shawn_ellisuk]

Q. IgG1567 is a new synthesised antibody that targets proteins made in cells infected with a particular strain of rhinovirus. The proteins that are tagged by the antibodies can no longer function. If they were ligands why would they no longer work?:

A: Protein Denatured
B: No longer fit the active site
C: Digested by antibody
D: Caused to enter lymph system by antibody

Because ligands donate their electrons via covalent bonding, then maybe it causes a conformational change in the shape of the protein and antibody, therefore causing the protein to be denatured (due to the change in its shape from all the electrons)?

(this is just a guess)

[Victoria09]

Originally Posted by shawn_ellisuk

Q. IgG1567 is a new synthesised antibody that targets proteins made in cells infected with a particular strain of rhinovirus. The proteins that are tagged by the antibodies can no longer function. If they were ligands why would they no longer work?:

A: Protein Denatured
B: No longer fit the active site
C: Digested by antibody
D: Caused to enter lymph system by antibody

Because ligands donate their electrons via covalent bonding, then maybe it causes a conformational change in the shape of the protein and antibody, therefore causing the protein to be denatured (due to the change in its shape from all the electrons)?

(this is just a guess)

OMG. I'm seriously having second thoughts about applying to the GAMSAT schools...

[Le Pom]

yeah shawny shawn that makes perfect sense but i mean the possible answers ie a and b seem similar, so people are going to have to know their specifics.

victoria, i want to apply for 2009 grad med also. its scaring me,