I've gotten a few PMs about this. As many of you might know, I'm in my 3rd year of Biomedicine this year (as of 2015), which meant that I had to sit the GAMSAT. Three times. I scored 90th percentile in my first sitting (64 overall with Melbourne weighting, 67 standard weighting), with a score of 62 in Humanities, 58 in writing and 73 in Science. For my second sitting, I scored 95th percentile (67 overall Melbourne weighting, 68 standard weighting) with a score of 55 in Humanities (I don’t know why it fell), 72 in writing and 74 in Science. Finally, in third year I scored around the 95th percentile again (63 in S1, 69 in S2 and 73 in S3) which corresponded to a Melbourne weighted overall score of 68 (69 with standard weighting)
Like many people, I didn’t do so well on the UMAT and I was quite devastated. Totally dashed my hopes of undergraduate medicine. The thought of doing GAMSAT was pretty much just “WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY DO I HAVE TO DO IT”. For many medical applicants, GAMSAT conveys feelings of stress, anxiety and maybe a bit of apprehension. It’s a big, scary test when you look at it from far away. I’m writing this guide mainly to illustrate how I perceived the GAMSAT and my experience in studying for it. There are many other voices apart from mine around the internet so go searching for them as well!
Is GAMSAT similar to the UMAT?
Whatever result you got for your UMAT, your ATAR, throw it all out and ignore it. The GAMSAT is a test that not only tests how you think, but also your mental stamina and your ability to perform under pressure.
In the UMAT, you were tested on logical reasoning (logic puzzles and ‘games’), understanding people, and non-verbal reasoning. In the GAMSAT, you’re tested on your Humanities/Social Science reasoning (with an emphasis on literature), Scientific Reasoning, and your essay writing. It’s very different. I also felt that I knew whether my answer was correct or not.
The GAMSAT is, in my opinion, easier than the UMAT. It’s easier to prepare for. Essay writing you improve just by writing more and scientific reasoning hinges on how well you can apply scientific information. Of course, it’s at a higher academic level but remember that you will be a university student, not a high school student. You can answer the questions, especially in Science, if you commit! The questions are not designed to torture even the most intelligent PhD student, and the questions are not impossible.
How many times can I sit it?
If you’re applying for a graduate medical course in 3rd year, then you can sit:
GAMSAT UK in September 1st year
GAMSAT AUS in March 2nd year
GAMSAT UK in September 2nd year
GAMSAT AUS in March 3rd year
So you have 4 shots altogether. Not many people sit GAMSAT UK in first year because they’re unprepared for it. GAMSAT UK costs $550 whereas GAMSAT AUS costs $400. They are still the same test but it’s just that the UK sitting costs a bit more. You can sit all of them in Melbourne too.
GAMSAT AUS is often at Melbourne Showgrounds due to sheer numbers (3000+ people). GAMSAT UK is a lot more chill and is at Caulfield Racecourse (around 900). I actually liked GAMSAT UK a lot better because Caulfield is a better testing centre, we didn’t spend as long waiting, and there wasn’t so many people.
When should I start studying?
Whenever you feel comfortable doing it. From experience, you will devote a lot more time to your first sitting. A lot of it depends on your background and how much time you have.
Aim to start studying 2-3 months before the test. Start off by first revising your basic science as well as writing some essays. Then, use the rest of the time to go through the rest of the practise material you have.
Some people study a year or six months before, some of whom did really well and some who didn’t. So here is an important lesson: time =/= success. Success comes from how smart you study and how efficient you make it.
Will my university subjects help me with GAMSAT?
Your science subjects will give you an edge up, since you’ll be familiar with a lot of the critical thinking skills you need when you answer the sort of questions they’ll ask you. However, if you’re thinking about picking subjects to help you improve your writing, it might not be as advantageous as you think. The GAMSAT essay section is about writing a quick, logical piece of writing that shows how clearly you can communicate in a short space of time. You won’t be doing the same thing all the time if you pick subjects that require you to write extremely long essays, which are often much longer and less suited for the style of writing you need in the GAMSAT.
If there was one subject which would definitely give you an edge up, it’s Chemistry. First year is enough. If you can’t do Chemistry problems quickly then you will very likely bomb out on Section 3. Physics may also help but if you go to UniMelb then it’s better to actually open up a textbook yourself, spam questions, and learn the theory on Youtube. Brightstorm and Khan Academy are great.
How vital are preparation courses?
The more practise questions that you get, the better. That being said, you definitely don’t need to attend a preparation course to do well – many get through just by studying themselves.
ACER gives you four practise exams (two for free) and you must definitely do them. They resemble the actual exam the closest. I recommend leaving them for the last few weeks of preparation. Unfortunately, not all of them come with solutions but Gold Standard on Youtube have videos going through all of the ACER questions, so use that when you’re reviewing your test. In addition, in the 2015 test, some of the questions on the science sectio were recycled word-for-word and answer-for-answer from the practise ACER questions - so there were essentially some free marks!
Des O Neil’s was pretty handy because it gave me a lot of practise material. The GAMSAT is a reasoning-based test and it’s testing how you can apply the information they give you, so chances are, they’re going to test you on stuff you aren’t really familiar with. This is where Des is pretty helpful – people often complain that their science questions are too hardcore and on stuff they’ve never learnt, but that’s the point. Doing them and THINKING about them trains you to think on your feet and how to become more creative in your problem-solving. In addition, their Reading Comprehension book also had some difficult passages, although their answers were very vague sometimes.
Des offers three books: Reading Comprehension MCQ, Science MCQ, and Science Revision. I made sure to go through all of them as part of my preparation, before moving onto the ACER papers. The Science Revision book is ok since it just freshens up your basic application and problem-solving. Certainly don’t waste time reading all the Biology notes though, it’s pointless. Now you can just buy his books second-hand and not actually attend a full-fledged course, which is what I did. I was able to get a good deal on eBay. They can be quite expensive, I’ve seen some offers of $600-900 just for the second hand books.
There are also many other companies that offer practise questions, of varying qualities. I didn’t try GradReady but their practise questions, at first glance, seem good. Examkrackers test more MCAT material but it might help a little bit – I bought all the Examkracker books (except for Biology) and tried to go through them on my first sitting but it didn’t improve my practise scores, so I stopped using them.
How should I prepare for Section 1?
Take my advice for a grain of salt here, but I think Section 1 is probably the hardest to improve. Despite feeling pretty good about it on my second sitting my score actually dropped. Others have said that their scores for S1 have consistently stayed stable throughout the years. It’s reading comprehension, but on a more difficult scale. My only advice here is to spam questions. Reading might help, but I found that it took away too much time and it didn’t really help me to improve my practise scores anyway. What you really need to focus on is the main points of the passage, which might not always be obvious but if you analyse things more deeply then it becomes clearer. Of course, this doesn’t mean to assume stuff that’s not in the passage – if you do that you will certainly get things wrong.
It’s not all just passage-based material either. Some of the questions will get you to interpret data through graphs and tables, or they might get you to analyse social/philosophical points using a quadrant diagram, so again, do questions. There’s not much else you can really do! There are also poems and cartoons. If you have the time, grab a poem daily and try to figure out its main points and how it uses language. The New Yorker is also a great source of cartoons which are similar to those found in the GAMSAT.
Also, improve your vocabulary. It will help a lot, because yes the GAMSAT is going to be testing you on it, often giving you two words that have similar meanings but different connotations. During my first sitting I had so many flashcards of new words but it didn’t really help because I would just forget them and I never had the time to go through all of them. Vocabulary.com is a great resource I used on my second sitting though, because they actually quizzed me on the meanings of the word based on the passage. This was much more efficient because it actually got me to actively learn new words.
It also helps to just be open-minded for a change. Read something critically and judge afterwards. Don’t get boxed in by your own feelings and experiences.
Again, take my advice for a grain of salt here because despite getting higher practise test scores for Humanities when I was preparing for my second sitting, my score still dropped.
What should I do about Section 2?
Write, write, and critique your own work. That’s the fastest and only way you’re going to improve. You need someone to read over your essays too – I contacted a private tutor and they were very useful and convenient, since I could just send them my work online and they’d get back to me in 2-3 days.
Start the first few under non-timed conditions if you want, then start writing to time because that time limit is what gives this section pressure.
You have two essays to write. Topic A is easier for expository approaches whereas Topic B is better for more personal/discursive approaches, but you can stick two expository for both If you want to. Your choice.
For the expository essay:
It helps to be aware of current affairs and to just have a decent knowledge on society in general. Watch the news. I keep ABC News 24 on ALL THE TIME when I’m at home studying, so I just kinda soaked it all in without really making an effort. Anything on ABC is generally entertaining and informing (Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, The Chasers, Q&A, Four Corners, Media Watch). I also found The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver very good as well. Read up on some history in your spare time and actually ask questions. Don’t be naïve, think – why is democracy necessary, if it is? Can single-party states actually be more pragmatic than democracy? Why should we reject authoritarianism? Are there any other factors that could contribute to social and political unrest? You need to be FLEXIBLE with your ideas in this section.
This essay writing section is very much all about how you develop an argument. You need your basic essay writing skills down pat first, but remember, the argument is what’s going to get you marks. And no, writing about an example for an entire paragraph does not count as a constructive argument. It’s often counter-productive too because you’re more likely to digress rather than actually making thoughtful claims and explaining them. I have seen many people do this so don’t fall into the same trap.
If you need an example, only use it to briefly illustrate your argument. The examiners are more interested in your ability to come up with new ideas rather than recounting a history lesson. Try make your arguments logical by tackling the topic directly – try to relate to the prompt(s) as much as possible.
When you write, also try to cut down on generalising and being too definite. I make it a policy to often qualify my arguments. If you make broad, sweeping claims (e.g “Everybody knows that politicians break their promises”), you are much more vulnerable to attack because there may be a few cases that will nullify your argument. Qualifying them with “many”, “often”, “some”, “may” is preferred because it’s a much more defensible position. So break the habit of seeing everything in black and white terms!
Also try not to write like a wanker. Don’t just throw in fancy words because you think it’ll impress the examiner, especially if it reduces your clarity. My vocabulary in my essays was nothing special and to be honest the more simple my language was, the higher marks I would get. This is an example of what I would consider bad writing:
“Contemporary society is undeniably navigated and propelled by the almost unavoidable supremacy of the media.”
When you’re using words that aren’t really suitable for the context then your clarity suffers. And the use of extremely definitive words like “undeniably” is a problem too.
Now, the GAMSAT gives you 5 prompts for each essay (you have 2 to write). People are often not sure whether to respond to the theme of all 5 prompts or respond to a single one. Either way is acceptable, but I find it a lot easier to respond directly to a single prompt because you find yourself writing with a lot more focus and your writing is so intertwined with it that you’re basically hugging the prompt to death. In my first sitting I wrote to themes and I would always find it difficult to establish a focused sense of direction for my essays. I also ran out of themes to write on quite quickly when I was preparing. In my second sitting I wrote to single prompts and I had so many to respond to. I found it also easier to just develop my argument because I was basically agreeing or disagreeing with the prompt and explaining my reasoning.
Now, essay writing isn’t all you should do. PLAN. WRITE THOSE DAMN PLANS. In my first sitting, I wrote heaps of essays (40+) but bombed out in the exam since I wasn’t really inspired by the available topics. It was the worst, I tried to respond to everything as a theme but I got so many mind-blanks and it felt like I was writing something from the GAT. I didn’t do very well in that sitting. The second time I actually got around to writing plans and I think it helped me immensely because I was able to come up with arguments a lot more quickly, no matter the topic, so I was able to write a lot more fluently and developed a much more tailored and appropriate argument. They don’t need to be elaborate, just stuff like:
Quote: "Laws are silent in times of war."
Intro: During war time there is often a breakdown in order which makes it almost impossible to maintain a fully-functioning judicial system, and it is only after war time when order is regained and laws can be enforced again.
P1: The law is almost impossible to enforce during times of war as there is often no judicial presence in the affected regions.
- Many punishments are extrajudicial and are often conducted on the spot
- No thorough legal process – many perpetrators may not actually face justice, and therefore are not deterred to commit war crimes
- Makes it extremely difficult to report and track down misconduct and crime, since there is often a breakdown in authority
- After a period of lawlessness, crimes become commonplace and begin to just form a part of everyday life for affected people.
P2: The resumption of the rule of law is usually only possible when there is order and a lack of conflict.
- Allows judicial and law enforcement authorities to re-establish themselves
- More order means less crimes are being committed, making perpetrators easier to track down as it does not stretch resources
- War criminals can then be prosecuted for their actions during the war after its conclusion, and proper due process can be carried out.
- Therefore, for law and order to be possible it is integral that there be an atmosphere of peace and stability
Note that I haven’t actually resorted to using real-life examples but I’m explaining my reasoning step by step.
For the discursive essay:
Write from the heart. Be honest, try to make the examiner connect with you. It’s a tough thing to do, but if you can write about your feelings it makes it a lot easier.
My approach with a discursive essay was to spend the first body paragraph philosophising on the topic (sort of – it’s hard to describe). My second body paragraph would then be a personal story that links up with the first body paragraph, and that would be where most of the connection comes through. For example:
The process of labelling and reinforcement forms an almost vicious, complementary cycle. It is through this process that prejudice may unwittingly strengthen in an individual. Labelling somebody is a biased act, skewed by underlying prejudices, and subsequently many of their actions will seem to conform to our pre-conceived image of them. This selective bias makes it appear as if our internal thoughts were in fact the truth, and therefore we are more likely to draw many similar conclusions from them in the future, adding more fuel to the cycle . Unfortunately, reiterating our initial interpretations of others only breeds narrow-mindedness and can slowly distance us from reality, so it is ideal for us to be aware that our first impressions can be inaccurate and are of limited value. Arming ourselves with this knowledge at least injects a sense of flexibility and freedom when we begin to label others; it encourages us to analyse others more critically and dispel as many prejudiced conclusions as possible. Therefore, we should endeavour to prevent our anticipations from clouding our judgement of others, even when this is a habit we may be naturally accustomed to.
Perhaps this pattern of labelling can explain how racist phobias can persist even when they are frowned upon. My grandparents witnessed Japanese war crimes first-hand during the Japanese invasion of China in World War II. Seventy years on, both my grandparents and my parents continue to generalise all Japanese people as murderous thugs, and this is not helped when state television in China continues to highlight the possibility of Japanese re-militarization. They only view this as evidence of Japanese support for another imminent war in Asia. I cannot even criticise their views without invoking their anger; when I tell them that not all Japanese people are the same, they rebuke me without a second thought, reminding me of the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities. As somebody who has many Japanese friends, it is extremely disheartening and embarrassing, to watch some family members voice their racist views out loud. I cannot invite them to my house lest my parents find out their ethnicity. When my friends ask why I cannot, I must make up an excuse, feeling the shame tighten around my throat. I sincerely hoped that there would be a time when their prejudice would fade, but I have resigned myself to accept that their views will never change, no matter how hard I try to dispel them. Once people have adhered to their prejudice for too long, it seems almost impossible for them to stop using it to judge certain people.
How should I study for the Science section?
If you’re doing a Science based degree, congratulations, this is the section you’ll probably score the highest in. But first I’d like to dispel a few notions.
1. Rote-learning is not going to help you as much as you think.
2. Biomed does not prepare you better than a Science degree.
3. ACER is not focused on testing what you know, they are testing how you think.
Now that it’s out the way…
A foundational grounding in Physics and Chemistry is necessary for you to think about how to apply information. Don’t go in the test not knowing about forces and fluids etc. Learn the fundamentals at least! ACER says that 1st year Biology, Chemistry and Year 12 physics is enough. In my opinion it’s more like 1st year chemistry and then year 12 physics and bio. Maye even Year 11 bio.
I say Year 11 bio because most of the Biology related question do not involve rote-learning, remember. They are often interpretation questions, sometimes involving many graphs and diagrams. They often give you something you’ve never studied before (temperature tolerances in different types of fish) and it’s up to you to use the information you’ve been given to answer the question. It might sound hard but if you’ve spammed a lot of practise questions you’ll get the hang of it.
Physics and Chemistry require a bit more grounding. Organic chemistry in particular involves quite a bit of pattern recognition and if you’re used to following all of these reactions then it makes life easier. You also need to know how to manipulate your equations in physics and the like. Of course, all of this is addressed by just doing questions. If you’re obsessively writing notes after each topic then you may quickly find that it is inefficient, and most likely not going to help you.
You can’t use a calculator in the test, but don’t panic. Get into the habit of rounding and using scientific notation (i.e putting things in powers of 10). Primary school-style maths might also get you through. If you see something like 0.1 / 0.000125 don’t freak out, convert it to powers of 10 (1E-1/1.25E-4), and by cancelling you can easily see its like (4/5)(E3) = 0.2E3 = 2E2. So brush up on basic maths!
There are also quite a few data interpretation questions so make sure you’re comfortable with analysing data.
What is it like to sit the GAMSAT?
The first time you sit it, you might feel very exhausted.
I first sat the GAMSAT in March of second year. I had done some reading on what the GAMSAT was like, what people generally did for study, over the previous year. In December I began to sort of start preparing – I revised over my Chemistry and Physics slowly and also began to read some literature (although I don’t think reading helped me very much). In January I started to complete Examkrackers and Des and I continued doing that until late February, when I started the ACER practise exams. I also wrote 2-6 essays per week during that time and always took time to review my practise exams, and make a logbook of why I was wrong on certain questions. Since GAMSAT AUS is in March I was able to do most of this in the holidays, and on reflection, probably didn’t need to start that early since I had so much time.
Obviously I was a bit nervous and edgy on my first sitting of the test. I got a good night’s sleep and arrived at Melbourne Showgrounds at 8AM. Heaps of damn people there. I don’t think we got started until around 9.40am. Lunch break was at around 1pm and we didn’t start the Science section until 3.20. We finally got to leave at around 6.40pm and it took even more time to get out of the gates.
What did I learn from my first sitting? Have a damn good breakfast and a damn good lunch. I had lunch but my stomach already felt empty halfway through the Science section. Also, don’t mess up your timing – I remember in the essay section I screwed up my perception of time, thinking there was 10 more mins on my watch so I had to rush the rest.
I decided to sit GAMSAT UK primarily because I was dissatisfied with my essay writing score. The test was in Week 8 of Semester 2, and I was studying Pharm, Microbiology and HSF at the same time, so I had to start early. I began revising my first year Science quickly in mid-July, after which I went through all of Des’ MCQs in around 10 days (20 units per book per day, which would take maybe 4 hours, so it wasn’t much). From around the start of University in late July, I completed one full exam per weekend. Like the March sitting, the separate sections in Des were sat separately – I would sit S1 and S2 on Saturday morning and then S3 on Sunday morning. The ACER exams were completed in one full day though (often with no break…because if you push yourself with harder conditions, you’ll find the actual exam easier). I also wrote around 2 essays per week.
GAMSAT UK was a much better experience than the March sitting. We started at around 9:20am and got out of the centre by 5:30pm. I also felt that because I knew what to expect, I was a lot more relaxed and I just felt more engaged with the material as a result. I didn’t feel any sort of drain in stamina because this time I actually ate a lot of low GI-foods throughout the day and because I had completed the ACER practise exams with no break, so unlike the March sitting, I was not at all tired throughout the entire day. Retrospectively, the GAMSAT felt like two ordinary university exams combined into one sitting. It’s probably because I was desensitised to the pressure of the test but I ended up maintaining my score in Science with a bit of a backslide in Humanities. It was ok since my S2 improved quite a bit.
How do I manage my time in the exam?
You definitely must manage your time well in this exam. You have 2 essays to write in 60 mins, 75 Humanities questions to do in 100 mins, and 110 Science questions in 170 mins. This is not including reading time of course (which is 5 mins for essay writing, 10 mins for Humanities and 10 mins for Science).
The most important thing is to go through the entire paper, but to not blindly guess many of the questions. Don’t do that just so you can end the exam with 20 mins of checking time because chances are you’re going to be flipping through the pages to different questions and in the end your judgement is just all over the place. Checking over your work in the GAMSAT is inefficient in my opinion. Do a question correctly the first time around, because you’re probably not going to look over it again in the interest of time.
For S1, I aimed at doing 15 questions per 20 mins.
For S2, I devoted the reading time to coming up with a mental plan for both essays. I’d scribble down a couple of words in the first 30 seconds. Then I’d spent around 5 mins doing my introduction, 7 mins for each body paragraph, and then 5 mins for my conclusion. This applied to both essays. In the end I’d have a little bit of time to proofread too.
For S3, I aimed at doing 20 questions per 30 mins.
Since the exam is likely to start at some obnoxious time (eg 9:46am or something ridiculous) I recommend resetting your watch so it starts at 12 when each section starts, so you definitely know how many mins have passed. Each minute counts in the GAMSAT, and you need to keep track of every minute.
Each time I completed a “set” of questions (eg 15Qs of Section 1) early, I would go through the set again and just make sure that my reasoning for the questions were satisfactory before I moved onto the next set of questions. So, if I completed 15 questions in 15 mins, I’d use the remaining 5 mins dedicated to that set to just check through the more difficult questions in that set of time since it was more fresh in my head. Once those remaining 5 mins passed it was onto the new set, and I rarely ever went back.
When will results come out?
Around 2 months after you sit the test (so mid-May or Mid-November)
I didn’t do well! What should I do?
Don’t beat yourself up, first of all. Most people need to sit the GAMSAT multiple times before they get a score that’s competitive. I think one of the most important things is to critically analyse your performance and your preparation. What seemed to help you the most? How did you feel on the day? Try work out what did and didn’t work out for you. Then you know what to improve on in the next sitting. Don’t just repeat the same mistakes – adapt and change your learning style. For example, I found that Examkrackers and reading literature did not really help me so I stopped doing them when studying for GAMSAT UK. I also knew that on my first sitting, the essay section was terrible because I felt too uninspired by the topics, I was having a bad day, and I just found it difficult to respond to the prompts, so I changed my approach – I began to write a number of essay plans, I switched from responding to a theme to a single prompt, and this really helped me avoid the sort of terrible experience I had in my first sitting. I knew I was hungry as hell in my first sitting, so I changed my food intake the second time around. The point is: learn from your mistakes, use them to improve your performance next time around.
It also helped for me to treat my first sitting as a practise run than a definitive, final exam. Chances are, even if you do somewhat well, you’re going to aim for a higher score anyway.
What’s a safe score to get into a graduate medical course?
It depends on which university you apply to.
UQ often needs you to get insanely high scores (72+ overall with standard weighting), but you just have a GPA hurdle requirement and no interview.
USyd had a GAMSAT cut-off of 68 for 2015 entry, with a GPA hurdle and an interview.
UoM takes into account your GPA, your interview and your GAMSAT scores – to be in the running for a BMP/CSP you would need at least 6.7 GPA + 67 GAMSAT overall with Melbourne weighting (Melbourne weights all sections equally, unlike other universities which give double weighting to Science)
Monash and Deakin have lower requirements than Melbourne, so if you get rejected from Melbourne you still have a shot at them.
If you’ve got a good shot at the medical school you’re aiming for, whether you resit the GAMSAT to improve your chances is up to you. Even now I am totally conflicted as to whether I should sit it again.
Concluding remarks
The GAMSAT may seem like a huge scary monster waiting to destroy your hopes of medicine, but it's a beast that can be tamed if you approach it with a plan. Just like any game of chess or even war, you need a strategy - that is, a goal. You're trying to improve your reasoning skills and your communication. Then you need tactics to achieve your goal - that is, practising the right questions and having a good and consistent study routine. Certainly do not let it consume your whole life because that's not really necessary. You don't need to spend 3 months studying 8 hours a day (jesus that is overboard). Yes, the exam might feel like the hardest you've ever sat, and it's really difficult to gauge how you went. But that's just part of the journey. It is scary but don't let it phase you out, because with hard work, determination and smart execution, you can overcome this huge obstacle of a test.
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