GAMSAT query

[Spxtcs]

So I'm hoping to get into Med at UoM in 2018, however this is my dilemma:

The gamsat is verryyyyyy expensive so I'm wondering if I could skip the march 2016 exam and do the september UK 2016 exam?
Then I could do the 2017 march AUS exam, but then if I did the september UK 2017 exam this wouldn't be valid for 2018 entry.

Soooo...if I only did 2 exams (2016 SEP & 2017 MAR) but didn't get high enough scores for either, would I have to do an honours year to be able to do the gamsat another 2 times for 2019 entry? (2017 SEP & 2018 MAR)? Do people take gap years?

Or do you advise me to try and do the 2016 MAR exam as a practice run anyway?

Thanks in advance

[PhishPhillets]

If you're concerned about the financial aspect,  I'd recommend taking the March exams over the September ones as the UK GAMSAT's have an additional £100 ($200 AUD) fee.

You are able to take an honours year and sit the GAMSAT to apply for med,  but be wary that they will take your honours results into consideration rather than your 1st year results.  I know people who do this to get a better GPA.

I'm pretty sure you are able to sit the GAMSAT for postgraduate med as long as your GPA has not expired (I'm not entirely sure about this,  nor do I know how long a GPA lasts).

[Spxtcs]

If you're concerned about the financial aspect,  I'd recommend taking the March exams over the September ones as the UK GAMSAT's have an additional £100 ($200 AUD) fee.

You are able to take an honours year and sit the GAMSAT to apply for med,  but be wary that they will take your honours results into consideration rather than your 1st year results.  I know people who do this to get a better GPA.

I'm pretty sure you are able to sit the GAMSAT for postgraduate med as long as your GPA has not expired (I'm not entirely sure about this,  nor do I know how long a GPA lasts).

thanks for the reply.
wow that's a lot of money haha.
it's more so judging how important it is to do the march exam I guess, I thought I could save that money since I assumed it wouldn't make a difference if I did it in march or not but I guess I'll try and do it.
 

[PhishPhillets]

You have plenty of time left to do a bunch of practice exams and develop ideas for your essays. I can assure you that you'll feel better doing it in March as well, knowing that you have some experience  (hopefully a good score) under your belt,  which removes the stress of performing well later.

Good luck!

[heart]

It's one of those exams you do better each time you do it just from the confidence you develop. I've sat it 3 times and went from 69 to 67 to 77 with my last attempt. So I highly recommend to do it as many times as possible within your budget of course

[Orson]

I know that $300 is a lot of money, but you need to think about what this $300 actually stands for. It is your ticket into medical school. A trial run could be the difference between a competitive GAMSAT, or not. If I were you, I'd save up enough to get as much practice as I need. From what I've read, there's nothing that can be compared to sitting a real GAMSAT, and many people do it a few times to raise their scores.

I haven't done the GAMSAT yet, or paid for it or anything, so I don't really have a valid opinion...

[Spxtcs]

Thanks everyone, very helpful advice.

March it is haha
Ty again 

[EspoirTron]

It's one of those exams you do better each time you do it just from the confidence you develop. I've sat it 3 times and went from 69 to 67 to 77 with my last attempt. So I highly recommend to do it as many times as possible within your budget of course

I agree with heart. The experience is invaluable and you walk away knowing you've gotten a taste of it. It's a fantastic idea if you want to treat March as a "trial" run, it'll help you pick out weaknesses and strengths, which you can then fix before September.