GAMSAT in a hurry

[clemette]

Hello everyone, I wondered if anyone had any advice for me.
I am Sam, 34, and a full-time teacher and mum to two little ones. I have decided that I want to realise my lifelong ambition to go to medical school and so would like to apply for the 4 year course in Nottingham. I have just, however, realised that the GAMSAT is incredibly close and I am almost certainly out of contention for 2009 entry. I have a degree and doctorate in history but the last science I took was GCSE Biology in 1990!

I have, however, decided to sit the GAMSAT exam in September, not because I think I stand any chance, but because I would like to treat it as a mock exam for next year. I would, however, like to be able to make at least a stab at the science questions and wondered if anyone had any advice on an approach to take that would enable me to at least understand the questions!?

Has anyone else done REALLY intensive preparation?
Thanks,
Sam

[Riffraf]

Sam,

You can pass GAMSAT this Sep and get the interview at Notts! Like you, I'd been out of school (and uni) a while and started preparation about this time last year. It is possible because - although hard - it's more of an aptitude (and endurance!) test than test of knowledge, so there is not too much you can learn. I recommend that you order the official ACER practice questions, sample questions and practice exam off their website; then have a timed stab at one of these - before doing anything else - just to see where your strengths and weaknesses are.

I guess with your background you should be okay with Parts 1 and 2. Then there are a few key areas of Section 3 where you can focus on, depending on how your practice goes. Learning the organic chemistry basics from an AS Chem text book is probably the main area to look at and will mean some (not all!) of the chem questions make more sense (organic chem is easier than it looks!). For the physics, I found understanding the Newton stuff (forces and acceleration etc) as well as basic electronics to GCSE level was useful. For Biology, many of the questions are data interpretation and probably don't require any particular revision. But you'll see all that when you do a practice paper and then make up your own mind what to spend the time working on.

There will still be many questions you don't know the answer to, but don't worry as you should have enough background to make a reasonable guess. Even then, you'll still pass if you get 1 in 3 questions wrong.

Finally, I recommend Griffith's GAMSAT Review (again off the internet). It has some good hints on exam technique and more practice questions.

Good luck!

[clemette]

Thank you so much for that reply - it is really nice to hear a positive take on the exam.
I am going to try my very hardest and see what happens. Do you know how they are marked - if there are 75 questions for example is the test marked out of 75? So if I need a minimum of 50 in section 3 is that basically about 66%?
Thanks again - your reply was really helpful.
Sam

[couldntgetaname]

I may be mistaken, but GAMSAT results from a UK sitting count here in Ireland - so there should be a reciprocal arrangement. This is useful because the Irish sittings are held in March. That would allow you to have a go in September, and then if necessary go again a few months later which should still be in time for 09 entry.

Again, I could be wrong about the reciprocity.

[Riffraf]

Sam,
They don't say how they mark it and "in theory" your GAMSAT score may be different to the percentage of questions you get right. But I reckon they are fairly close, so if you get 66% of questions right (ie 50 out of 75) you might reasonably expect to get a score of close to 66 on GAMSAT. You definitely don't have to get 66 out of 75, because that would be tricky!! It might be reassuring that I actually scored higher on the real test than my % the practice, but that might have been because it was important and I was really concentrating! Also, just to clarify the cut-off for Notts in 2008 from their website:

"Candidates must achieve a minimum score of 55 in Section 2; 55 in either Section 1 or 3 and at least 50 in the remaining section, in order to gain an interview. The GAMSAT cut-off for applicants who applied for 2008 entry was 60."

The cut-offs change very slightly each year depending on what everyone gets, but I reckon if you get 65 you are on comfy ground and you may well get away with a bit less. Each uni also has a different cut-off and uses the GAMSAT in a slightly different way, but they are clear about this on their websites.

Couldn't,
I think you may have a point with some unis. I think Notts require you to sit and pass GAMSAT by Sep in the year before you apply because they use the score to select for interviews in the New Year, but I know Swansea changed their policy half way through last year's selection round and *I think* decided to allow the UK sitting of the Irish GAMSAT (sat in Jan?). This was possible because they didn't use the score to select for interview, but rather as an additional selection criteria at the end of the process. I had heard something about candidates not being allowed to sit GAMSAT twice in one academic year, but this may be wrong so I wouldn't want anyone to read it as gospel! The admissions office of each uni would obviously be the best people to ask for anyone wanting to rely on it.

All the best

Riffraf

[couldntgetaname]

Originally Posted by Riffraf

they use the score to select for interviews

I forgot entirely about the insane concept of using an exam specifically designed for graduate applicant selection and then using interviews - over here, it's GAMSAT-only.

So yes, admissions offices should definitely be the first port of call.

[Deagle]

Hi,

I'd agree with what much of what Riffraf has said. Don't underestimate section 2 as it catches a fair few people out. Looking it the Acer practice papers will give you an idea and the Gamsat Review is probably the best resource for advice for the essays. I also did a very little bit of philosophy reading (Oxford Press' Very Short Introduction series is good) and read some C. S. Lewis (very good on love/relationships and great for quotes).

For section 3 I don't think you need any more than AS books in physics and biology, and an AS/A2 book in Chemistry. I found the Letts series the easiest to use. The Gamsat Review has a rough syllabus and you don't need to cover everything from all 3 A-levels but there are also some small areas no longer covered by A-levels that regularly come up that you can look up on the Internet.

On the marking front, from what I've heard they adjust the value of each correct answer depending on how many other people get the question right. So if you're the only one in the country to get a question right it's worth more than a question that everyone gets right.

I'm putting a load of GAMSAT materials on ebay this weekend including Acer material, the Gamsat Review and A-level text books if you're interested.

Hope this helps and very best of luck!

[clemette]

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[couldntgetaname]

Originally Posted by clemette

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Don't you just love the internet?

[Mad Max]

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Basically I agree with the advice this guy is giving, particularly the part about the guests getting angry with the waitress for not serving any cheese with the apple pie. Follow this guy's advice and you should do well in the GAMSAT. Failing that Griffiths GAMSAT review and A level standard organic chemistry knowledge should see you through the exam pretty well.