The GAMSAT exam is challenging to say the least, especially on the day of the exam, because you may be affected by nerves. A lot is riding on this exam after all. Because of that, it might be easier to stumble into pitfalls. It’s helpful to learn more about the common pitfalls in the GAMSAT exam so you can avoid them.
#1: Not Familiarising Yourself with the Exam Structure
It’s very important that you peruse the ACER Information booklet. This will help you gain an understanding of the structure of the GAMSAT exam, what is expected of you in each section. This is especially important in times of uncertainty such as during the coronavirus pandemic.
#2: Trying to Master Everything
No matter how much you study, the fact is that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it’s practically impossible to master everything in the exam. You should focus on your strengths and don’t stress to much if there’s a part that you don’t expect to do too well in.
#3: Trying to Cram for the Exam
The GAMSAT exam encompasses a huge variety of content, and it is geared toward testing your problem solving skills, which needs to be trained over time. That’s why it’s not wise to try to cram for the exam.
#4: Not Doing the Practice Questions
As mentioned previously, the GAMSAT exam is geared toward analysing problem solving skills. The only way to improve your problem solving skill is by doing practice questions.
#5: Betting Your Whole Life on the Exam
There’s no denying that the GAMSAT exam is important, but your life doesn’t end even if you can’t get the score that you wanted the first time. Thinking this way will only increase your anxiety levels and reduce your performance effectiveness.
#6: Trying to Answer All the Questions
Time management is very important in the GAMSAT exam. Let’s say that you’ve encountered a problem that you’ve had trouble solving in the past. You know that it’s going to take you a very long time to figure out the question, and the answer you arrive on might not even be correct. Instead of wasting time here, it’s better to answer randomly and mark the question for later if you have some extra time to work on it.
#7: Trying to Write an Impossibly Good Essay in a Short Amount of Time
Some people are blessed with the ability to create an amazing essay within a very short amount of time, but this is not the case for everyone. It’s better to practise putting your thoughts together quickly and produce an essay that is well thought-out and conveys your ideas properly instead of trying to reference all the texts that you’ve studied before.
#8: Stressing Over How You Performed During the Exam
When all is said and done, it’s not a good idea to stress over how many questions you might have gotten wrong, or what score you might get. It doesn’t do anything but make you anxious, and it might not be as bad as you thought. Think positive for now and only reflect on the results after the results have come out.
For more information, check out our full article here: https://gradready.com.au/posts/gamsat-preparation-courses/common-pitfalls-that-students-make-in-the-gamsat
