GAMSAT® is short for Graduate Medical School Admissions Test. It is a standardised exam arranged by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) to ‘assess the capacity to undertake high-level intellectual studies in the medical and health professional programs.’
All but one Graduate Entry Medical course in Australia requires a GAMSAT® score for an application to be considered, not to mention various other dentistry, optometry and podiatry courses. The GAMSAT® assesses your analytical and critical thinking skills as well as how you arrange and communicate your ideas.
The total test in itself is 6 hours, but ACER recommends that you be prepared to spend at least 9 hours at the test centre, taking into consideration registration and procedural time.
Which Universities require the GAMSAT ® Exam?
There are currently thirteen Med Schools that provide a Graduate Entry Medical Program, twelve of which require a GAMSAT® score. Of these twelve, ten are members of the GAMSAT® Consortium and their medical courses are participants in GEMSAS (Graduate Entry Medical Schools Admissions System).
GEMSAS acts as a main hub for applications to the med schools that make up its members. It manages applications, calculates GPAs and applies individual school selection rules to arrange interview and course offers to candidates around Australia.
GAMSAT ® Exam - Theory vs Problem Based Learning
It is important to recall that the GAMSAT® exam focuses on testing your reasoning and problem solving skills rather than your memory of specific content. In this sense, the GAMSAT ® Exam is totally different from a typical university assessment, and as such, you also need to prepare accordingly.
GAMSAT ® Exam Structure
The GAMSAT® Exam is made up of 3 sections:
Section 1: Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences. 75 MCQs, 110 Mins (including 10 mins reading time).
A multiple choice section. It tests your interpretation and understanding of concepts in a cultural and social context. In this section, you will need to respond to various types of texts, from fiction and cartoons to poetry.
Section 2: Written Communication. 2 Essays, 65 Mins (including 5 mins reading time).
The sole written section of the GAMSAT ® Exam. This section has two 30-mins writing tasks. For each essay you are given a set of prompts (generally quotes) to be used as the basis of your response. The two essays usually differ in focus - The first essay typically involves socio-cultural issues while the second task tends to involve personal and social issues.
Section 3: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences. 110 MCQs, 180 Mins (including 10 mins reading time).
Another multiple choice section. It tests your science-related reasoning and problem solving skills. The questions are based on three discipline areas: Biology - 40%, Chemistry - 40%, Physics - 20%.
In order to pass the exam, you generally need to have a level of biology and chemistry basic knowledge equivalent to that of a first year university student. You will also need a Year 12 level of physics.
For more information about the GAMSAT exam plus useful free resources & materials to start your exam prep off on the right foot, check out our article here: https://gradready.com.au/what-is-gamsat
