If an engineer designs and builds a bridge that ends up failing, it could cost people their lives. If an architect's blueprints lead to an unsafe building that later collapses, hundreds could meet their end. If a pilot fails to bring the plane down safely - or worse, displays in-flight negligence, they put every passenger at risk. Not just the passengers, either. What if they're overflying a city when the pilot suddenly lapses?
All the professions that hold life in their hands! And yet, only the medical field subjects prospective students to a prequalifying exam. That's not to say that pilots, architects and engineers don't undergo rigorous training. It's only that they don't have to sit an exam to qualify for training in their chosen fields. Why does future medical personnel have to?
We need to understand why undergraduate students have to sit the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT). We need to look at all the resources available to prepare for this ordeal. We have to figure out our revision strategies and whether we should get help with our studies. We'll start by comparing the GAMSAT to the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). It seems that's where the confusion starts.
What is GAMSAT?
First, we need to clear up a misleading statement. Future pilots have to pass various qualifying ordeals to enter flight school. They are all standard exams: an IQ test, a personality test and a flight simulator test. Maths, physics and English questions blend into the IQ exam. Candidates also have to pass a flight simulator test and a medical exam. All of that is sensible and logical.
By contrast, the exam prospective medical staff must sit appears unrelated to medical studies. Candidates must know and understand poetry and literature. They have to analyse famous quotes to find recurring themes, and then write about what they found. They have to know biology, chemistry and physics. And their failure to meet the exam's expectations could bar them from graduate university studies in medicine.
There is a point to GAMSAT's circuitous path to medical school. Every year - twice a year, in some locales, thousands of students register to sit this entrance exam. However, no matter how large the university, there are only so many places open to educate future doctors, dentists and veterinarians. Thus, students must justify their candidacy.
The GAMSAT is not an academic exam. Nor it is a test of intelligence. To some extent, it measures your personality. More to the point, it gauges your personal characteristics. How well can you communicate? How well can you spot recurring themes and discern intent? What about your language skills? Only those who demonstrate superior skills will pursue their graduate medical studies.
What's the Difference Between GAMSAT and UCAT?
Ask your browser what the difference between those two exams is. You might be astounded to find lots of 'Should I sit one or the other?' posts. Knowing the difference between these exams, it seems rather odd that anyone would ask such a question.
The UCAT is targeted at Year 12 high school students preparing to enter university. It is a two-hour, online multiple-choice exam. It's designed to prequalify those students for enrolment in undergraduate medical studies.
GAMSAT is reserved for university undergraduate students who wish to pursue graduate studies in medicine. It assumes you studied biology and chemistry during your early years at university. Students who've followed any degree plan, Science or Humanities may register for GAMSAT.
GAMSAT is a full-day ordeal. The exam itself takes only five and a half hours. The other two and a half hours go to administrative tasks and breaks between the exam sections. Sections I and III include multiple-choice questions. Section II covers essay writing.
High school students without a satisfactory score on their UCAT may nevertheless enrol in university. As long as they have an acceptable Australian Tertiary Admission rating (ATAR), they may choose any course of study they want. However, they can only enrol in undergraduate medical studies with a satisfactory UCAT score.
Likewise, undergraduates may register for graduate studies in any degree plan they choose. However, they may only enrol in graduate medical studies with acceptable GAMSAT scores. Are those the only differences between UCAT and GAMSAT?
Resources to Prepare for GAMSAT
You might not start looking around for past papers and other resources to prepare for GAMSAT until you register. Let us spare you a bit of time. You won't find any past papers. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) does not publish any. But they're not striving for maximum cruelty by limiting your access to revision resources.
GAMSAT is not an academic exam. It features academic elements; multiple-choice questions, essay writing, and science topics. But it doesn't call for you to remember and repeat what you learned in school. As described above, this exam tests you on your personal qualities. By definition, there cannot be any past papers for such an exam. How should you prepare for such an ordeal, then?
You should read a lot. Alternate between poetry and prose; current events and periodical magazines. Read the classics as well as bestselling novels. You won't find a recommended reading list on the ACER website; that too is by design. What you choose to read says a lot about the type of person you are. That's in keeping with the essence of the GAMSAT.
You can and should avail yourself of GAMSAT quote generators online. Section II will present you with five famous quotes, from which you must uncover common themes. You will then write an essay, laying out your thoughts and reflections on one such theme. This is the section that GAMSAT veterans all aver is the most challenging,
Naturally, you'll have to expand your vocabulary. Some of those quotes use archaic terminology. If you don't understand what the quotes say, you won't be able to get their meaning. Also, you need a sizable lexicon to write thought-provoking essays. So you should look for a GAMSAT vocabulary builder. Is that all you will need to prepare for GAMSAT?
GAMSAT Revision Tips
ACER offers up some revision guidelines. They're pretty generic. Their website does offer a good breakdown of what you can expect on each of their exam's three sections, though. It's good to have an idea of what to expect on the exam but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
If you don't know what's expected of you, how can you deliver? This is one of GAMSAT veterans' most frequent laments. Knowing what's expected of you - as opposed to knowing what you can expect, is a sound test-taking strategy. You've probably used it yourself. It's just that, this time, you're not sitting an academic exam.
You still have plenty of revision tricks up your sleeve. You are a veteran test-taker yourself, after all. Did you set up a revision schedule when you were preparing to sit your ATAR exams? You can do the same to get ready for GAMSAT. Did you use flashcards and other revision tools? Those will work for you in preparing for this exam, too.
Many of your past revision techniques will serve you well when you revise for GAMSAT. You just have to modify them a little to fit the circumstances. Read our companion article to find out how.
Advantages of Revising with a GAMSAT Tutor
Of all the revision strategies you could deploy, engaging a GAMSAT tutor is probably the most potent one. GAMSAT tutors have been through the ordeal and came out successful. Now, they want to share their knowledge and experience with you.
You may have revised with a tutor ahead of your ATAR exams. If so, you know what you can expect from these professionals. First, they'll get to know you. Where are your strengths? What do you need more work on? Which aspects of GAMSAT worry you the most?
They will help you find study resources and then, they'll go over them with you. In fact, they'll likely bring study materials to each of your learning sessions, whether online or in person. Many GAMSAT tutors have prepared vocabulary lists, quotes lists and graphs for you to interpret.
Because GAMSAT is unlike any other exam you've ever taken, you can only know a little about it. Never mind what you need to know to pass the exam, you need someone who has been through it. They can 'train' you how to spot an exam question's intent and answer it properly. They can arm you with writing tips so your essays present all the vital points. They can help you develop your critical thinking skills.
Superprof GAMSAT tutors first dispel any standard exam revision expectations you might have. Then, they impose order on your revision efforts. They'll recommend books to read and poems to study. They may even assign tasks for you to work on between tutoring sessions. And those are just some of the benefits of revising for GAMSAT with a tutor.
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