GAMSAT Preparation

I have seen many threads on the forum talking about the value of practice questions. What does it really mean? And how they can help you to ace the GAMSAT? These are the two topic areas that I want to discuss here. I am sure; it would encourage the candidates towards practicing question papers. It is significant during your revision time.

Revision is really important to face any kind of test. Working out sample question papers during your revision will add more value. There are many candidates who are reluctant to test their capacity. They will be afraid to know that they are not ready for the test. So they won’t be interested in practice questions. Instead, they would keep on cramming stuffs and afraid of writing practice tests.

Be bold and write the practice tests. It shall help you to identify where you need improvements. It is the thermometer to measure the level of heat to write the test.

It is evident that few questions are repeated every year. It is worthy practice with previous year question papers so that you may get questions similar to what you practiced.

I would like to share how the practice questions may help you in GAMSAT. The further information enables you to be fervent in revising with the sample or previous year GAMSAT question papers. It shall help you in time management as well.

Benefits of practice questions:

There are numerous benefits of practicing the question papers. It is the pillar where you can build good preparation. Below points reveals the benefits of practice questions:

1. You become familiar with the question pattern. It would reduce your exam fear as you already know how the question paper looks. It gives you more confidence to write the exam.

2. It evaluates your capability. It is the good option to know where you lack and need more concentration. It will help you to repair yourself and to be prepared for the exam.

3. You would understand the GAMSAT question strategies by practicing with more question papers. When you practice with many previous years question papers, there are chances for you to get the same questions that you have already practiced. It enables you to do your GAMSAT well.

In GAMSAT, the questions get repeated every year. It is worthy practicing with previous year’s question papers.

4. As GAMSAT has broader syllabus, working out many question papers will help you to identify the most likely topics. You can focus on them without getting deviated.

5. When you take many model tests, you would be able to practice the time management. It would enhance you to complete your exam on time.

These are the advantages of working out the question papers. Hope the candidates who hate practice question papers would understand the value of it.

Candidates’ opinion about various practice tests:

There are different opinions in the forums. I would like to show you a comment shared by the former GAMSAT candidates. It would be an example of people who relied on GAMSAT question test.

“I think the ACER questions are the closest (ps if you are in Brisbane go to the UQ library they have copies of the Acer books, you can save money)

The med prep questions I found harder that is being more ambiguous

The Des O’Neil questions ( only looked at some that a mate had) and they seem to be simple questions that is not giving all of the back ground info.

The whole point of the questions is to work out the areas you know well, know ok and those that need work.

I never did chemistry at high school and very limited amounts in 1st year university. On the flip side I have done a truck load of biology and physics – specifically bio mechanics way for the stress strain graph! Back to the point. Over the 3 years of doing gamsat my chemistry has significantly improved, that has come from a chemistry bridging course and my own study. In 2006 I read 2-methyl-butane and had no idea what they were talking about. This year there were only a few questions that I really struggled with, one was the last with the Ortho, para and Meta placement of structures I was running close to time in the exam so I did not really have a great deal of time to fully take in everything they commented on to determine the answer.

As for section 1 you will never know what will be in here. Last year they were comparing Shakespeare to metallic. All you know is that they are going to give you tough passages and ask whether the writer is being satirical and some other crap. So practice questions would help you to make yourself ready to face the test.

Use the guides wisely maybe with the older sample papers you might run into a question that is the same but with different values. You just need to prepare carefully.

Now we can conclude that GAMSAT practice questions help to have a complete preparation. Your preparation gets its full form when you practicing the sample question papers.

Do you ever think about the “one thing” that makes sense in your life? Is that your job? Or Is that your studies? Or is that your work? No. That “one thing” is your goal that comes out of your passion. All of us have inner passion. That inner passion will make its own way to reach the goal.

An ordinary man can image to reach the stars. Imagination has no limitation.

Why we believe in the higher levels? A beggar adores becoming a rich man. Why don’t rich men love to become a beggar? It is simply because we feel miserable to go to the lower lever. Also we love more comforts.

Like this, I fixed up my goal to become a doctor in my childhood. Doctors inspired me in many ways. I was born in a small village in India. When I was 4 years old, I had three reasons why I want to be a Doctor.

1. Our Doctor was the only person owned a car in my village. I want to own a car so I want to become a Doctor.

2. My Papu (My dog) fell down in a pit. I want to heal his wounds so I want to become a Doctor.

3. Our Doctor had given me chocolates whenever my mom took me to the vaccination. He had box of chocolates in his room. I want to have more chocolates so I want to become a Doctor.

These were the childhood thoughts about my goal. As I grow up, my thoughts have changed but my goal remained the same.

What made me to stick on my Goal?

Many times I have seen sick people die without the proper medical facilities in my village. I felt really miserable when it happened to my Grandfather. It has induced my hunger to become a Doctor. I need to serve my people. It has created a great passion towards this profession. I have firmly fixed up my destiny to study medicine.

What caused a sudden disaster?

I have successfully completed my year 12 with high marks. Though I was from ESL background, I tried all the way to apply for medical entrance but I could not. It is the huge disappoint in my life. My financial status and circumstances caused a great disaster to my dream. I left with no option. I had to take commerce. I was managed to change my mind and adapted to study commerce. I dropped all my dreams of becoming a Doctor.

I have completed my under graduation in Commerce. I have joined as an accountant in a private company. My entire family has relocated to the city from my village. Being an accountant, my full time operation was with numbers.

My colleagues laughed at me when I told about my goal. It’s true that “Man proposes but God disposes”. Many of our dreams can only be dreams.

I spent almost my 7 years as an accountant.

How I restored with hope?

On my birthday, I was having coffee and heard a big noise from the Kitchen. I rushed from my table and got shocked to find my mother on the floor. She fainted because of the low blood pressure. My dad and I managed to take her to the hospital.

There was another shock in the hospital. I met my classmate after 7 years when I entered the consulting room. He was a Doctor after completing his degree in commerce. I was just staring at him till I come out of his room. I don’t want to waste his precious time. I did chat with him for 10 minutes and invited him to my home.

The excitement still remains in my heart. I asked him how it is possible for a non science student to become a Doctor. He explained me about the possibilities. It has restored my hope. It is my renewed hope of studying medicine. He showed me this new way of Examination called “GAMSAT”.

GAMSAT is Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test. It is designed to select the best candidates from various fields to study medicine. ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) conducts this exam in Australia, UK and Ireland. It occurs once in every year. It is a great chance for the students from non science and ESL background. Also it’s an advantage for the medical schools to select the very best candidates from a large pool of talented candidates.

The struggle being an ESL student:

Though I am from ESL background, I applied to sit GAMSAT.

It is easy to fix goals but I struggled hard with my communication. I can speak acceptable English and am a good listener but these alone do not help in GAMSAT.

Section 2 contains quotes for essay writing. Doctors need to have the good command in global language. It is the reason for them to keep the written communication test.

High fluency in written communication is mandatory to write this exam. We don’t concentrate much on grammar while speaking but writing is entirely different. You can create effective essays only if you have good vocabulary skills.

Though there are many resources, I understand the struggles being an ESL candidate. Still, it is possible to get through with good marks in GAMSAT. A systematic plan can help to develop the language. These are the encouragements that I heard from my friend. Also he helped me with the ways of effective preparation for section 2. I have shared them below:

Easy Ways to develop your skills:

The best way of improving word power is reading. I know many ESL students regret reading English novels. They prefer reading magazine or newspapers in their language. I was one among them before.

The clear structure of sentence formation can be found in newspapers or magazines. There are plenty of novels and short plays available. It gives chance of learning new words. By reading one book we can learn more number of new words. It improves the quality of communication.

Here are excellent vocabulary building books designed for the non-English speaking students:

1.  English Vocabulary in Use – Advanced by Michael McCarthy, Felicity O’Dell

2.  Compelling Conversation: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics – An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students by Eric H.Roth, Toni Aberson.

3.  Practical Faster Reading: An Intermediate/Advanced Course in Reading and Vocabulary (Cambridge Classical Studies) by Gerald Mosback, Vivienne Mosback.

Simply practice! Practice! Practice! This is the formula I am applying to do the GAMSAT well. I will suggest the same here.

My savings and overseas education loan supported me financially to write this exam. Also I got sponsors from my Government for my studies. My inborn passion towards medicine helped me to reach my destiny. Also my friend is supporting me with notes and practice question papers. Now, I am a student preparing for GAMSAT. It makes sense to dream higher. The justified goals can easily be achieved though it is beyond your tendency.

This article is for the students who are saying, “I know only to write scientific report”. Science and non science are the contradicting areas always. It would be very difficult for the non science students to understand the science concepts. They will need to undergo effective science learning courses to be improved. In the same way, science students find it difficult to go through the non science areas.

GAMSAT is an entrance exam occurs once in every year. It selects potential candidates for medicine from all the majors. It receives candidates of many majors. GAMSAT has designed to tests the reasoning ability, analyzing and problem solving skills of the candidates.

It has constructed with three different sections. Section 1 tests the reasoning ability in humanities and social science. Section 2 tests the English writing communication and Section 3 tests the analyzing and problem solving skills in Science.

Section 1 is the biggest challenge for the Science students. Many candidates run out of time in this section. There are questions from different areas such as nonfiction, fiction, poetry, proverbs and quotes. There will be passages, cartoons, charts and tables type of questions in section 1.

Section 1 is about time management and ability to interpret information quickly and effectively.

Candidates need to go through much nitty-gritty to have a good section 1 preparation being science students. I have researched to help you with effective tips to go through this section successfully. I would like to share those tips with you. Here we go:

What is Humanities?

Humanities is the combination study of tradition, human values, ancient histories, cultures of classical antiquity, namely the Ancient Greek and Roman culture, literature, language, music, dance, philosophy and religion. It is the typical area requires more of your worldly knowledge.

The basic ingredient requires to study effectively is “Interest / curiosity”. Candidates should be interested in knowing about the above listed areas.

Tips to study Humanities:

1. It is good to take notes while studying. Keep the notes organized based on the subjects covered in section 1.

2. Science students can focus on studying text books related to the topics in Humanities. You can learn Ancient Greek and Roman culture history books.

3.  It is good to work out practice questions. It would help you in time management. Use the humanities study guide, or purchase the comprehensive guide.

4.  It is advisable to buy the GAMSAT preparation materials. Study the material, then take all of the sample tests. Read the full explanations for each question. Always time the test based on the GAMSAT testing limits.

5.  Focus on poetry, fiction and non fictional areas as you may get many questions related to them.

6.  Practice with more passage type of questions and questions based on cartoons.

7. Read newspaper regularly and update your current affairs.

8. Improve your vocabulary skills and practice with the complicated phrases and words.

9. The New Yorker magazine and Harper’s magazine (note: not Harper’s Bazaar!) are good magazines to read for more intellectually high-brow articles, poetry and cartoons. Time magazine is easy to read and brings you up to date with general news stuff, although it’s probably better for section 2.

10. I would also definitely recommend reading some journal articles in sociology or history.

Also I would like to share this information that I have gleaned from the forum about the cartoon analysis. It was shared by an expert former candidate.

Cartoonists’ Persuasive Techniques:

“Symbolism:

Cartoonists use simple objects, or symbols, to stand for larger concepts or ideas. After you identify the symbols in a cartoon, think about what the cartoonist means each symbol to stand for.

Exaggeration:

Sometimes cartoonists overdo, or exaggerate, the physical characteristics of people or things in order to make a point. When you study a cartoon, look for any characteristics that seem overdone or overblown. (Facial characteristics and clothing are some of the most commonly exaggerated characteristics.) Then, try to decide what point the cartoonist was trying to make by exaggerating them.

Labeling:

Cartoonists often label objects or people to make it clear exactly what they stand for. Watch out for the different labels that appear in a cartoon, and ask yourself why the cartoonist chose to label that particular person or object. Does the label make the meaning of the object clearer?

Analogy:

An analogy is a comparison between two unlike things. By comparing a complex issue or situation with a more familiar one, cartoonists can help their readers see it in a different light.

After you’ve studied a cartoon for a while, try to decide what the cartoon’s main analogy is. What two situations does the cartoon compare? Once you understand the main analogy, decide if this comparison makes the cartoonist’s point more clearly to you.

Irony:

When you look at a cartoon, see if you can find any irony in the situation the cartoon depicts. If you can, think about what point the irony might be intended to emphasize. Does the irony help the cartoonist express his or her opinion more effectively?”

Candidates can use this guide to identify the persuasive techniques used in political cartoons.

How do you study social studies?

Social studies are the subjects will make many science graduates to sleep. I would like to help you how you can effectively approach this area of Section 1. Let us see how we can prepare the social studies being a science student.

1. Study as a group and mingle with the students from arts / history background.

2. It is good to listen to the history details from them instead of studying all by yourself. It consumes lot of time if you start studying by yourself.

3. Give your attention: Study this subject with more concentration. It is good to use pencil and highlight significant points and make quick notes.

4. Make a study plan before you start. It shall help you to focus on the necessary areas and you don’t have to get deviated.

5. Practice with the previous year question papers. It would help you to identify your level of preparation. Also questions get repeated every year in GAMSAT. It shall help you in time management as well.

These are strategies which could enhance your level of preparation being a science student. Section 1 is also significant as all the other sections. It shall help the science students to score well in the GAMSAT section 1.

“I don’t want to waste my time studying the same thing again! Instead, I would study new information. Why should I simply look back the studied information?”, these are the thoughts arises in the mind of time conscious people.

Do you feel you are wasting your time on revision? If you are the one, please keep reading this article. I write this article with the actual scientific proof and the advices from the former candidates. You will come to a good conclusion by cruising through this article.

Is revision necessary?

Let me explain this through science. The research on the human brain says, “The memory of our brain works through pattern. In this context, pattern refers to a series of similar recurring events that are encountered by our brain. There are many patterns being stored in our brain and they are built through regular formation based on repetition and periodicity.”

I would like to highlight the word repetition. Our brain has the capacity to store the information which was repeated and periodic basis. Your preparation will go in vain if you keep on dumping so many information. It is wise to prepare how your brain functions. It is better to keep something than lose everything!

I have seen many candidates dumped so many definition and information. They became null without revising what they learnt. It was my own experience also. I was studying new information until I step into the exam hall. I was so sure about the studied information. When I opened the question paper, everything looked alien for me. I forgot everything that I studied without since I failed to revise the studied information. The results become zero, if you fail to spend few weeks to recap the studied information.

Hope you would have understood the significance of revision. Now I would like to share how you can revise effectively for GAMSAT.

How should be the revision for GAMSAT?

1. The last few weeks GAMSAT preparation needs to be revision. It is the time to stop stuffing new information.

2. I recommend you not to read any new information during 2 or 3 week before the exam.

3. If you are focusing on studying more during the last few weeks, you cannot remember anything. Instead, you can spend your time on practicing the studied details.

4. It is the time to have many mock GAMSAT tests. There are many sample questions papers are available. You can choose Des O’Neil sample question paper, ACER, previous years question paper and Ozimed sample Test paper.

5. It will take away the fear of writing the exam. You will be more familiar with the question paper. It helps you in time management as well.

6. Questions get repeated every year in GAMSAT. It is evident that questions were asked similar to the Des’s sample question paper. So it is worthy practicing mock tests with those question papers.

7. It would help you to identify your level of preparation. You can study the information where you need improvements.

8. It is wise to allow the last few weeks on practicing with question paper. It is obvious that you will be tempted to read new information. Better to avoid those and only concentrate on the things that you have prepared already.

9. Take away the exam anxious. It will confuse your body and mind. Stay relaxed always.

Recap fills the gap between your preparation and the exam. Revision gives a complete shape to your preparation. It is the check list to identify your gray areas that you missed to study. It identifies and helps to correct your gray areas. Your preparation is incomplete without revision. It does not give any hope to write the exam. Your foundation will be shattered with the lack of revising the known information.

Revising with mock tests is mandatory for GAMSAT. It helps you to practice to think and analyze effectively. GAMSAT tests the reasoning ability of the candidates. You could improve your thinking and problem solving ability by practice. Revision plays a vital role. Stay relaxed and do your exam well.

Are you wondering about how long you need to prepare for the GAMSAT? It’s a time sensitive test. There is something you cannot prolong it for a lengthy session, also cannot complete it in a short span. A particular time period will be sufficient. I write this article to define that “Particular time period” based on the views of the experts and the former candidates.

In GAMSAT, time management starts in the preparation level itself. Few candidates may take one year, few may take 6 months or few experts may write the exam with no preparation. Though the time depends on candidates, there is a standard time to finish the GAMSAT preparation. By knowing this, you can be stress free. Also you can be aware and start your preparation at the right time.

Planning a straight forward time is little difficult. I had to cruise through many discussions and contradiction on the “time frame” related topics. Forums and GAMSAT communities helped me to identify the “Standard time taken” to prepare for GAMSAT. I would like to share the same with you.

Is it necessary to plan the time?

He who fails to plan is actually plans to fail. Planning your time in beforehand is necessary. It gives you the clear vision of your goal. It keeps your vision narrow without getting deviated. You can see the future through your plans. It would encourage you to move forward. Perfect planning brings victory.

Defining the standard time is significant in GAMSAT preparation.

What is the standard time followed by successful candidates?

There are different opinions based on their own experiences. The standard time shall be derived from the two boundaries mentioned by successful candidates. Most of the candidates declared that 2 to 3 whole months will be sufficient to prepare effectively for GAMSAT.

They spent around 9am to 6pm 5 days a week, about 2 months to score well in GAMSAT. The major of this time can be spent in revision. It is applicable for the candidates from the science background. Section 3 is the major part of GAMSAT.

Non science students spent around 5 to 6 months preparing for the GAMSAT. Science is the major part of GAMSAT and it requires time to understand the basic knowledge.

Below are the quotes from the candidates who got good marks:

1. “I got 67. I started practicing essays in about December, and started studying in January. I would do a few hours a week studying, increasing as I got closer. Was constantly (and I mean all the time) doing practice questions. I got as many as I could get my hands on (des, acer etc etc). Especially for humanities.. The only way you can really study is by doing questions and reading a wide range of things.”

2. “If you’re not so good with essay writing, definitely practice them! But start early, since it’s a skill that is not learnt overnight.”

3. “If you’re 9am-6pm 5 days a week, about 2 months. Depending on with what you are already familiar! Though the verbal reasoning and essay sections are variable.”

4. “I think it’s entirely subjective on how long to spend revising for the GAMSAT. I am from a science background too and spent about 2 months working pretty much every day, for ~6-7 hours and I got 64. However, I have a friend who spend a couple of hours every day for about 3 weeks and got in with a score of 58. I recommend getting the ACER books and see how you get along. I think it’s better to be over prepared for the exam though, as it is so time pressured! Good luck!”

Also I would like to share the below comment from the non science candidate. The candidate spent around 6 months and scored 66 marks in GAMSAT.

5. “I spent 6 weeks (no science background, 2-3 hrs/ day) for try number 1 and scored a 57. I spent about 6 months (1-2 hours per day) for try 2 and scored a 66.
I feel both scores fairly reflected my abilities, however many others study for a long time and can’t improve their score while others do very little study (or claim to) and do very well. A lot depends on the paper in question and the luck of what ‘suits’ you as opposed to the cohort who sit it with you, as they are who you are marked against. I think 2-3 months will be enough time to cover all the knowledge you need for this exam if you are from a science background. You must understand your strategy and apply it ruthlessly on the day.”

If you are a science student, it is the right time to start your preparation for the GAMSAT March 2011. No worries, if you are from non science background. You have plenty of time to prepare for the GAMSAT UK 2011.

Planning your time beforehand would help you to prepare thoroughly. It is good to start early and go ahead with your preparation slowly! I would suggest you to spend more time on working out the sample question papers.

Essay writing is an art. Best combination of words produces the best essays. You need to have passion in “writing” to create quality essays. Most of us hesitate to read and write. You need to be a good writer, if you want to become a doctor. GAMSAT requires candidates who are experts in English written communication.

Section 2 in GAMSAT tests the English writing skills of the candidates but it is not only restricted to the English candidates. It allows even the non science and the ESL candidates to become a doctor. Section 2 is a challenging area for ESL candidates. I would like to share the tips to write good essays in Section 2.

Candidates will be provided with 2 sets of quotes. Two essays have to be written based on those quotes within 60 minutes. I would like to show you the steps involved in essay writing.

How to choose the best topic from the quotes?

It’s quite easy to make a nice essay out of the quotes provided. Quotes in one set will be related to each other. You can read through all the quotes and find the theme. This theme should be the title of your essay.

Quotes may be different on their view point but the theme is common. You can either build an essay based on one quote or all of the quotes from the set.

The first step is to understand the meaning of the quotes. You need to create a comprehend essay based on the quote or quotes.

Steps to Create the Content:

1. Write down the dot points that come to your mind about the quotes.

2. You can choose to be stick with one or two quotes or all the quotes. It is up to the candidate’s skill.

3. You will get added points, if you quote some proverbs or sayings related to your essay.

4. Don’t get deviated and make positive sentence. It provides positive impression on the raters.

5. If you stick to a set structure, then it will just be a well-rounded piece of writing despite the constrains of time and exam conditions. It will give you points for the ‘organisation and expression’ component of the essay, and all you need to worry about is arranging your ideas logically and cohesively with examples.

6. Sometimes, if quotes are complementary, you could incorporate both views into the synthesis. And if there are quotes that are a “pro and con” pair, you can use the other in your antithesis.

Former candidates’ formula to write good essays:

As I gone through the forums and communities, I came across good tips on essay writing. They were from the successful former candidates. I have compiled them and would like to share the same here.

1. When compiling your paragraph, think of their SEXC-ness. That is, they should each contain:
Statement, Example, eXplanation and Conclusion.

2. In your introduction, think about the main points you are going to present in the body of your essay. Try to state each point concisely so as to prepare the reader’s mind to your main points. In the introduction, it’s good to be neutral and give a balanced appraisal of both sides. State your points and even state your purpose. E.g. “This essay attempts to elucidate the nature of and reasons for punishment.”

3. The ideal paragraph should begin with a general overview of the paragraph, a topic sentence. This sum up what the paragraph will be about. It can also act as a linker from the previous paragraph to improve flow

4. There need to be one idea per paragraph. At least attempt to have 2 contrasting view points (synthesis and antithesis).

5. Don’t forget to add examples. You need to support your statement with evidence (or at least elaborate on it if there is no example – talk about any assumptions or implications of the quote, and dig into it).

6. Although you might not always have an example, you may know some fact or have some deeper insight on the matter. Just delve into it more deeply and provide a thought provoking point of view. In the more personal/discursive writing (section B of the essays) it’s a good idea to include personal experiences.

This is how you can explain your thoughts about the quotes.

7. Finally, the conclusion must follow on from your points. Restate those main points very briefly. You will have to provide insight and opinion into your conclusion.

In the conclusion, give your final view and opinions on the matter, but in an impersonal format (in section A-type essays, I try and avoid first person). When compared to the introduction, the conclusion is more definite. Sometimes there will be a good quote that might sum things up and you can finish off your conclusion with that.

Practice Makes Man Perfect!

Above all, you need to have a great amount of practice to get the hang of writing an essay based on some quotations. I would suggest you to pick up random quotes/ adages/ sayings and just write down whatever it brings to your mind. Practicing once a fortnight and working up to 2 essays at a time to is a really good idea. It stimulates the exam conditions.

Read some periodicals (The Economist, Time, and The Bulletin), newspapers etc. It shall help you to increase your knowledge of current events. There are some good books by A. C. Grayling. They have mini-essays on abstract topics such as love, friendship, mercy etc. It’s a good thing to read in preparation.

Section 2 is not a big deal when you follow the above points. It is possible for an ESL candidate to go through successfully, if he is willing to put more efforts on learning. As said before, your passion will take you to the destination that you desire. Have great passion to write! Practice writing more essays will help you in time management.

“Change” is unchangeable. We go through many situations in our life but only few have the impact on our daily living. This life changing circumstances offer a great exposure to us. It’s really interesting to dig more about the word called “impact” in our life. I would like to share few interesting information about an exam. How could an exam create such impact in the study regime?

It is called “GAMSAT”. It is the tough medical entrance exam and requires more efforts to score well. It can be abbreviated as “Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test”. It occurs once in every year in Australia, UK and Ireland. It selects the potential candidates for medicine. It requires your reasoning and problem solving skills to answer the questions. It gives chance for the non science and ESL students to study medicine. It is the greatest advantage of this exam.

I analyzed many forums to know about the impact of GAMSAT. This article has been written based on the truths shared on the forums.

What are all the changes?

Habit of cramming:

Few candidates felt that they had a big change after sitting the GAMSAT. They faced changes on the study hours and the way of reproducing the studied information. They mentioned that they never spent more than a week to prepare for any exams. They had spent more than 6 months to have a good GAMSAT preparation.

Cramming is the best techniques students had ever followed. GAMSAT entirely changed their attitude of cramming. You cannot face this exam if you are a memorizer or a crammer. GAMSAT requires your ability of reasoning and applying the subject knowledge on the appropriate areas.

Candidates have given up cramming and they started to understand the basic ideas. They practiced to analyze and come up with the solution.

GAMSAT questions are designed to test the reasoning ability and the problem solving skills of the candidates. There will not be any direct questions to fill the memorized definitions. The questions will be in the form of cartoons, passages or graphical representation etc. Multiple choice questions will be asked based on those cartoons, passages or graphical representation. It would be a situation and they test how smart you are to think and answer.

Time Management:

Time management is essential in writing this test. You need to complete your sections on time. Studying for GAMSAT is very different than studying for any university exam. Obviously there is no set syllabus that you need to cover before you sit the GAMSAT, but as for any exam the more you know the better! I think it is easier to start studying several months before the GAMSAT simply because we have the entire university break, from mid or late November to late February/early march, to study for it.

The portion is wide and you need to spend more time on studying. Your habit of reading increases day by day. The study regime also got changed once you have started your GAMSAT preparation.

I think persistence and routine are the keys to face the questions in GAMSAT. It would be hard to keep dragging yourself out of bed to commune with the great subjects of chemistry but have to keep at it. It has changed the attitude towards studying a concept. GAMSAT increased our confidence to implement the studied knowledge in the real situation if it is required. It is the wonderful beginning to study science in your med school.

I got amazed to see my friend’s efforts. We together applied to sit GAMSAT September 2010. She got pregnant and her delivery date was on the GAMSAT day. So she could not attend the test last year and transferred the amount to September 2011 GAMSAT.

She had a baby boy. Now she has started her GAMSAT preparation. I felt really miserable to see her studying as well as parenting her child. The baby is hardly 65 days now. Hope mothers can understand the struggles of parenting a new born baby. Imagine she has to study along with this. I asked her to give few months break but she has to get into the med school as soon as possible.

Her sacrifice is invaluable. She is sacrificing her enjoyments with baby. These are the important days to see your baby moves on the floor, baby’s smile and cute activities. The child needs its mother’s complete attention. She sacrificed everything considering her passion. I am sure that she is a great example and encouragement for the GAMSAT candidates who are rethinking about writing the test due to their new born child.

My friend is smart in planning and execution. I would like to share her struggles and how she is managing to study with her new born child. It would encourage the studying mothers to manage both the activities.

The struggles of a mother:

These are the early days of after your delivery. Physical pain and illness are obvious. You would have felt more tired as you are breast feeding the baby. You need a lot of rest and nutrition food.

New born child do not sleep through the nights for several weeks. So you won’t be able to sleep through the night until the baby adjusts to day and night.

Your busy schedule starts from the moment of the arrival of your baby. It is possible for you to be stressed while caring your newborn baby.

The health issues that you need to go through and take care of the baby all the time would be more stressful.

It would be more painful than writing the exam while you are pregnant. Let see how she managed.

How she has managed:

The first month she could not study at all. Her study schedule started after a month.

I have seen her studying with a baby on her laps. She utilize the time when the baby takes nap.

Sleep deprivation is unavoidable. Her husband is very supportive. He takes care of the child when he is at home (came back from the work). She uses that time effectively to sleep or to study. Both are essential at the moment as she has to be awake for the whole night. Her child sleeps in the day and awake during the night.

She is very much health conscious. She avoided the food comes with preservatives and also sodium containing foods, because sodium can make you jumpy. She increased the intake of very natural foods such as salads, green vegetables, fruits, and warm healthy soups. It would make her to be active for whole day.

Her mom was supportive during the weekend. She was able to study more during the weekends. She studied effectively and practiced with sample question papers. It is more important to be a good mother to her child. She has provided me the below tips how she is spending time with her newborn child.

Tips for the new mother who are preparing for GAMSAT:

The below tips would help you to cope up with the child.

1. Give yourself a break from taking care of your newborn baby as and when you can.

2. Sleep when your baby sleeps, take a small nap yourself. Your night sleep will be disturbed in the initial days.

3. Take the help of your friend or relative to look after your baby in the afternoon timings; so that you can take rest. Allow them to share some of your regular chores.

4. It is important to have your food regularly. Make sure you are getting nutritious, balanced meals, complete with fresh vegetables, fruits, and proteins.

5. Take green leaves and fresh vegetables in your meals regularly. It gives you good energy.

6. These initial days are very stressful, it is better to talk with some people like your mother, friends or your family doctor who will give you a patient hearing.

7. Your endorphin levels will get boosted by regular walking, which in turn relieves tension. It is good taking a 30 minutes’ walk in a day.

The most important thing is to find time to rest and to relax yourself. Do not be stressed with your baby and studies. Enjoy your motherhood as well as focus on your studies when the baby sleeps. Start early and study gradually.

GAMSAT preparation won’t be critical as you are not leaving your baby and going anywhere else. It is possible to study at home with your new born baby with little more sacrifice and patience.

Is the GAMSAT an easy exam? How many struggles have you gone through? How did you prepare for the exam? Etc. These are the usual questions every candidate must answer. A more pressing question that affects most people but is seldom considered is this; “How well did my Arts or Science prepare me for the GAMSAT?”

GAMSAT is the medical entrance test in Australia, UK and Ireland. Students who have completed high school sometime consider which course is the best in order to prepare for the GAMSAT. Likewise prospective undergraduate students also question how much their degree helps or hinders them when it comes to the GAMSAT.

Does any Undergraduate course really prepare you for GAMSAT?

Let’s see what previous successful GAMSAT candidates have to say about whether their degrees helped them?

One student wrote – I graduated with majors in Psychology, Anthropology and Criminology. I sprinkled my degree with electives in Anatomy, Neuroscience but also Latin and Social Work. To be honest what I learnt from my degree was my learning style and also what subjects really invigorated me.

I really believe my degree did not contribute towards my gamsat performance. What did help was actually paying for one of those courses and then spending 3 months before the exam practically being a hermit and studying at least 4 hours per day for 5 days of the week. It’s not because I enjoy studying but because I knew that I wanted a fighting chance against biomedical students I had to thoroughly learn (and it was for the first time) all the topics tested in the exam. It was hard work but well worth it for my circumstance.”

Lots of humanities students worry that they are at a disadvantage compared to the science students, as other candidates testify; this does not have to be the case.  A successful candidate recounts below their experience applying their humanities study experience to the sciences;

“I studied advertising & Film/TV production for my undergrad – having fun with pretty colors on Photoshop, obsessing about fonts and sound editing etc. It was pretty much as far away from Gamsat study as possible. My year 12 chemistry teacher was worried that I had chronic fatigue because I’d always fall asleep in his class. Always. I decided to sit Gamsat with two months to spare so my study had to be efficient. Oh and I was short of coin. Massively. But I got through this year and I’ll share my little “study” tips.

All previous study is worthy and the way you study for humanities can easily be adapted to science. Draw pictures if it helps you, make up silly songs to remember formulas. I used to crack myself up with stupid anagrams to remember things but they made me smile in the exam and I was a little less stressed. “

It is evident that their UG studies helped most of the candidates. No matter whatever they studied. They could apply the knowledge in one of the any sections. Few candidates have done both arts and Science majors in their UG degree. The below threads are the few examples.

As obviously most candidates suspected, grounding in Physiology and Biology is a big plus, a double degree is even more useful.  One double degree candidate writes;

“I did Arts/Science with majors in politics/philosophy and Anatomy/Physiology.

I’d definitely say my prior learning in that course (even just at a very basic level) helped me in the gamsat. I sat it last year with NO study whatsoever and got good marks.”

“ I did law/science but I think the humanities and science mix is what you’re asking about. I think doing these 2 degrees definitely helped. I did no study at all last year, was just sitting it to see where I stood and got 65 in Section 1, 76 in section 2 and 67 in Section 3. The overall score was 69.

From what I’ve read on this thread, I tend to agree that the arts may have been detrimental, as it resulted in overly complex essays. My essays were fairly vague and made no specific mention of facts, writers or overly complex theories. I just wrote simple, but well structured, passionately written essays which flowed well and apparently they liked that.

In terms of which science subjects to do, I majored in biochemistry which I found definitely helped and since sitting GAMSAT I’ve done some physiology which in hindsight i think would have been very useful.

The law obviously wasn’t that helpful for section 1 which was disappointing but i think being able to write persuasively and build an argument within a time limit was helpful, even without the philosophical foundations.”

Without a doubt having backgrounds in the biomedical sciences will help with your GAMSAT preparation, but the smart candidate can find ways to use their background (whatever undergraduate degree that may be) to their advantage.

My friend was very much worried. He has invited me to join him on the celebration. He has scored good marks in GAMSAT. He has arranged a wonderful dinner. Now, I got really confused to see his behavior. He was depressed completely. I asked him why he should worry though he scored well. He said that his GPA is low.

What is GPA? I am not sure about the exact details of GPA? I understand that it is important to get into the medical college. Good GAMSAT score alone cannot help you to get into the medical schools. It is important for you to have a GPA fixed up by the Universities. Each medical schools and universities fixing up the GPA

It has increased my curiosity to know more about GPA. I was ready to put my efforts as I am going to sit GAMSAT. I would like to share about GPA in this article.

The meaning of GPA:

It can be abbreviated as Grade point average. It is the mean value calculated from the total performance from middle school through college.

How to calculate GPA?

The GPA of the local applicants can be calculated online using the ACER GPA calculator.

The GPA calculates based on the most recent three full academic years of study (including bachelor, honours, graduate diploma, and masters by coursework level). They will also recalculate the GPA of applicants who have undertaken such qualifications (whether complete or incomplete) in the valid period of study. The interview offers will be based on this recalculation. It will be done prior to the interview. It is also proposed that Graduate Certificates be used in the GPA calculation if they fall within the valid period of study for the calculation.  Further information on whether Graduate Certificates can be used in the GPA calculation for the 2011 entry should be available on this website in late May on the ACER website.

How GPA works to enter the medical college?

Good GAMSAT score would allow you to apply for the various medical school or Universities across Australia. Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) takes care of the initial application process to the Universities. You may list upto three choices of the Universities or med schools in your ACER application. Though you have applied for up to three graduate medical schools across Australia, you will only have the chance to be interviewed by one medical school.

Here comes the Grade point average (GPA). You have to include the submission of information on your academic performance while the process of application. Generally, it should be at least 5.5. It can be calculated on the ACER website. There would be online calculation facility is available as I said before. GPA counts the university studies. The calculation of your academic performance includes your bachelor, honours, graduate diploma and masters by coursework level study. Applicants who wish their semester one results to be included in their GPA for interview selection, will need to send copies of their final semester results directly to the Faculty

While applicants will need to submit their GPA calculation using the ACER guidelines, Universities will recalculate GPAs in their own manner.

What to do with low GPA?

Candidates must have a minimum GPA of 5 to get the interview call. If your GPA is lower than this, the universities will not consider you.

No worries, if your GPA is under 5. It may be 4.95. Then you can write to University of Queensland (UQ). They would entertain the candidates and provide proper suggestion.

I read this thread on the forum which was made during 2007. A candidate sent an email directly to the UQ regarding his GPA and received an email response from UQ as follows:

Thank you for your emailed queries. You are required to have a GPA of 5
or above at the time of application. If you wish to obtain confirmation
of this from the head of Admissions at The School of Medicine, please
feel free to email (attention to Helen Fischer) via
admissions@som.uq.edu.au and she should get back to you by the end of
next week (she returns from leave next week).

If your Honours year was ‘on-course’ Honours, and you received first
class Honours, you would be able to have your GPA calculated on the
basis of your Honours category and accordingly be assigned a GPA of 6.5

This candidate was doing 3rd year at UQ in 2007. His GPA would not be 5 at the time of application, but will be by the end of the year. The GPA must be 5 to even apply. It says on the 2007 guide (UQ),

“GPA calculations are often incomplete at the time of offers for interview. You are advised not to apply if your GPA does not or will not meet the required miniumum.”

He took honours and got first class. He was confused whether the one year honours will be considered for calculating the GPA and emailed to UQ. The email response cleared all of our confusions.

My friend is also going through the same scenario. I researched on the forum and got this thread. I showed him this thread and he was very happy that he got first class in his honours. So the GPA calculated would be 6.5 and he is eligible for the interview.