GAMSAT score 54 what are my chances?

spotsanddots

GAMSAT score 54 ..what are my chances of getting into UL?? last yr the cut off was 54.I just got my GAMSAT score this morning..Did it for the first time in sept in bristol....hoped i would get around 60:(..S1 and S2 brought my score down..I'm in 4th yr now and don't really want to resit in march because at the end of the day you still need a 2.1 in your degree and i think it needs my full concentration if i want to do my best.
Any advice??

imported_guy

spotsanddots wrote: »

GAMSAT score 54 ..what are my chances of getting into UL?? last yr the cut off was 54.I just got my GAMSAT score this morning..Did it for the first time in sept in bristol....hoped i would get around 60:(..S1 and S2 brought my score down..I'm in 4th yr now and don't really want to resit in march because at the end of the day you still need a 2.1 in your degree and i think it needs my full concentration if i want to do my best.
Any advice??

depends how hard your degree is, if its arts sure, give it another lash in march, but if its something like engineering or science and you need to put work in to get somewhere, you can always take a year out and have 2 attempts at gamsat (UK + IE)

spotsanddots

I'm 4th year science..is it possible to find out how many people got into UL with 54?

Jmul91

Id say dont sit it in march.. Im in 4th year science aswel and Im up the walls with work for this never mind tryin to fit in GAMSAT study ! Like ther's still a decent chance you could get into UL and if the trend follows last year and points go down you'd be safe !.. If not and points go up you'l still have a good grade in your degree (2.1 or 1.1) and you might be able to get a decent job and earn some money for the year whilst preparing for both the september and march sitting of the GAMSAT. That's what I'l do if points go up past 57..

Yillan

I say do it again in March. €300 against the possibility of spending another year not doing medicine is nothing. It's up to you how much time you put into preparing for it. Having merely done it before, you should do better the next time without all that much prep. See how well you're doing in terms of getting your 2:1 and use that to determine how much time you put into improving your grade. Definitely do it again though. Don't take anything for granted in terms of how the gamsat cutoffs will come out.

DoctorDre

I'm in the same position, probably am going to be sitting it again in March. I have a science background and it was my worst section in the exam...no idea how to bring my score up!

spotsanddots

I just think ill have way too much to do with my thesis at that time of year:(

Jmul91

ya like im doin de thesis at de moment and my head is wrecked from it .. the thoughts of doin GAMSAT study on top of this would actually drive me cracked !Unless you just studied a bit over crimbo and then looked over it the odd time if you have any free time (which was few and far between with my project).. you'l probably do better anyways just because your timin will be better and you'l know what to expect (kind of).....

you think there's a possibility the points for UL could go past 57?

imported_guy

Jmul91 wrote: »

you think there's a possibility the points for UL could go past 57?

lowest they've been before last year was 56 in round 2 or something i think, normally its been 57, should be safe but you never know with guessing games.

spotsanddots

I think if funding goes down for courses the points could drop!

imported_guy

spotsanddots wrote: »

I think if funding goes down for courses the points could drop!

also if banks stopped giving out loans like they stopped giving out mortgages. would work well if you're planning on funding medicine on your own, no competition from people who were planning on getting a loan :cool:, which looks pretty likely from where i'm standing, AIB is trading at 7 cents a share, down from 20 euro a share 3 years ago LOL

Roger_that

imported_guy wrote: »

also if banks stopped giving out loans like they stopped giving out mortgages. would work well if you're planning on funding medicine on your own, no competition from people who were planning on getting a loan :cool:, which looks pretty likely from where i'm standing, AIB is trading at 7 cents a share, down from 20 euro a share 3 years ago LOL

I was at the UCD open day and the student who spoke gave the impression that a fair number of people, including himself, were dependent on the loan and nothing was said about it being withdrawn for this coming year. I, in my completely unqualified opinion, think that the course would fold without the facility and one of the UCD lecturers said that they spoke to all of the banks before the course commenced a few years ago to see what packages they could come up with and they all responded.

ALSO, a little birdie tells me that AIB is 3billion down on its lending targets for this year so they're actually gagging to give out money, its just that the loan conditions for mortgages are horrible at the moment. A doctor seems a lot safer bet to pay the money back than many other professions. Like driving instructors are in constant demand to teach newbie 17yr olds how to drive, there will always be sick people needing indebted doctors to look after them! :pac:

imported_guy

Roger_that wrote: »

I was at the UCD open day and the student who spoke gave the impression that a fair number of people, including himself, were dependent on the loan and nothing was said about it being withdrawn for this coming year. I, in my completely unqualified opinion, think that the course would fold without the facility and one of the UCD lecturers said that they spoke to all of the banks before the course commenced a few years ago to see what packages they could come up with and they all responded.

ALSO, a little birdie tells me that AIB is 3billion down on its lending targets for this year so they're actually gagging to give out money, its just that the loan conditions for mortgages are horrible at the moment. A doctor seems a lot safer bet to pay the money back than many other professions. Like driving instructors are in constant demand to teach newbie 17yr olds how to drive, there will always be sick people needing indebted doctors to look after them! :pac:

I agree with some of the points you mentioned, but we also have to remember the outside factors (i'll get off topic if i go into too much detail) but the UK government recently decided to let banks give out mortgages at 5% deposit... which is what started all this in the first place, irish might start doing the same

would the course fold? I dont know, HSE is only paying half the money, next year the government's budget is 3.8 billion shorter, this gif explains the potential new students that might flock to the course (probably not the best for picking doctors)



also, wonder how many people attended the event? I heard that hardly anyone showed up at the RCSI one, and it was like it was a sell out few years back so they had to have another one for the people who missed out.

etymon

Roger_that wrote: »

ALSO, a little birdie tells me that AIB is 3billion down on its lending targets for this year so they're actually gagging to give out money, its just that the loan conditions for mortgages are horrible at the moment. A doctor seems a lot safer bet to pay the money back than many other professions. Like driving instructors are in constant demand to teach newbie 17yr olds how to drive, there will always be sick people needing indebted doctors to look after them! :pac:

as of September anyway they were NOT cool about giving out the money, they will keep doing it as RCSI is their business client but from this year a new requirement of life assurance policies etc were brought in for this year's first years onwards. I brought up the issue of fees increasing but the 25k not increasing to match this and the lending officer basically said 'tough ****, and I wouldn't advise you to borrow from anywhere else because you're up to your eyes in debt already'.

She didn't actually SAY 'tough ****' but her attitude did...

imported_guy

etymon wrote: »

as of September anyway they were NOT cool about giving out the money, they will keep doing it as RCSI is their business client but from this year a new requirement of life assurance policies etc were brought in for this year's first years onwards. I brought up the issue of fees increasing but the 25k not increasing to match this and the lending officer basically said 'tough ****, and I wouldn't advise you to borrow from anywhere else because you're up to your eyes in debt already'.

She didn't actually SAY 'tough ****' but her attitude did...

i thought the life insurance etc were there from day one (or maybe it wasnt for AIB, could have been some other bank), i doubt the fees go up by all that much, even if tuition fees comes in this would only be another 2-3k bump over the 2k for most places, unless some universities deviate from "uniform" increases like they have in the UK (some universities are charging alot more than others over there)

im more worried about insolvency of the banks rather than the government, and actually the government looks to be in a surprisingly good shape compared to some others, shame it cant be said the same for the irish banks.

alot of the people who got into debt didnt realise how much it actually was, sure there are a few ways to look at the much quoted "100k" figure

a loan of 100k

a loan of 100k wich you'll be paying off with a crappy salary no matter where you move to (america is the worst place, residency salaries are utter sh*t)

a loan of 100k which you will have to pay off with a 7.xx% interest, compounding.


i think most people didnt get how they would be affected by that last line.

etymon

The college fees themselves go up by a few hundred each year - not a big deal. It's the registration or student services fee or whatever it's called that's the problem.

imported_guy wrote: »

i doubt the fees go up by all that much, even if tuition fees comes in this would only be another 2-3k bump over the 2k for most places,

... which is a third of our living expenses for the year gone, which doesn't make continuing feasible for anyone relying on the loan. Where will that extra 3k come from?!
I don't know why we have to pay that registration fee, we aren't in the 'free fees' programme, we are pretty much paying for a private education, tuition, services etc in the college fees. GEPS should defo be exempt from having to pay it.

imported_guy

etymon wrote: »

The college fees themselves go up by a few hundred each year - not a big deal. It's the registration or student services fee or whatever it's called that's the problem.



... which is a third of our living expenses for the year gone, which doesn't make continuing feasible for anyone relying on the loan. Where will that extra 3k come from?!
I don't know why we have to pay that registration fee, we aren't in the 'free fees' programme, we are pretty much paying for a private education, tuition, services etc in the college fees. GEPS should defo be exempt from having to pay it.

I've never lived in dublin, but I always thought the half of "25k" (i know the half bit has withered over the years) which is 12.5k was enough to live comfortably in most areas as a student (outside home obviously), last year i lived on campus (nice ensuite room), paid about 3.x thousand in rent for the year, and spent about 2k in spending money, again this wasnt dublin though, i dont go out every week etc, but i would have thought 9-10k in dublin would go pretty far in terms of living expenses, leaving about 15k for fees

etymon

imported_guy wrote: »

I've never lived in dublin, but I always thought the half of "25k" (i know the half bit has withered over the years) which is 12.5k was enough to live comfortably in most areas as a student (outside home obviously), last year i lived on campus (nice ensuite room), paid about 3.x thousand in rent for the year, and spent about 2k in spending money, again this wasnt dublin though, i dont go out every week etc, but i would have thought 9-10k in dublin would go pretty far in terms of living expenses, leaving about 15k for fees

well I'm paying 400 pm in Blanch, that's 4800 a year gone, half of the 9 and a bit thousand. That's 100 quid a week left over for everything... doesn't go too far. I have some savings but many don't. Any increase in that poxy Govt fee is gonna bugger us all.

I wish they would just eradicate it and bring in fees for everyone, whatever loan system they have to bring in to do it. Oh and get rid of children's allowance too for the vast majority. Listen to me ranting on about the government. It's almost as if I don't have an MCQ in the morning...

imported_guy

etymon wrote: »

well I'm paying 400 pm in Blanch, that's 4800 a year gone, half of the 9 and a bit thousand. That's 100 quid a week left over for everything... doesn't go too far. I have some savings but many don't. Any increase in that poxy Govt fee is gonna bugger us all.

I wish they would just eradicate it and bring in fees for everyone, whatever loan system they have to bring in to do it. Oh and get rid of children's allowance too for the vast majority. Listen to me ranting on about the government. It's almost as if I don't have an MCQ in the morning...

potential for new bolg post... :P

I dont know, the welfare system is pretty bad, im all for no welfare (im libertarian), but i dont think its doable at this stage of society, we're too socialist, there are people abusing the dole and children's benifits etc, along with the student grant.

fees for everone is a good idea, privatization (or atleast semi-privatization) of universities/colleges is also a good idea. I dont think educating the people is the job of a government anyway, they cant even balance a check book lol

I do believe everyone should have access to higher education though, so some sort of grants/low/no interest rate loans should be made available by the government.

I like the american higher education system, everyone pays for their own fees etc, instate/out of state tuition concept is pretty good too, something like this would knock off the imbalanced population distribution too, but the thing is in america the taxes are very low, and most "loans" are federal grants etc, sort of like it is in the uk (but its not a "graduate tax", alot of people on that will probably skip country and not declare their earnings)

also a big thing in america is sports scholarships (there are plenty to go around too, football/soccer/baseball/basket ball/golf/hockey), if you get one you are set. there are people in america who get into medicine with less than competitive college credentials, who make up for it by playing sports at a high level/good EC's

sort of like this guy (he did do good in college too though) 2nd smartest professional athelete (NFL pro and future neurosurgeon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Vh9Y9P6wg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myron_Rolle

SpiderP

etymon wrote: »

The college fees themselves go up by a few hundred each year - not a big deal. It's the registration or student services fee or whatever it's called that's the problem...

I don't know why we have to pay that registration fee, we aren't in the 'free fees' programme, we are pretty much paying for a private education, tuition, services etc in the college fees. GEPS should defo be exempt from having to pay it.

.

As far as I'm aware there is no registration fee for GEM students in UCD. The fees this year are €13,914.80, consisting of "student centre levy" of €158 and "undergraduate tuition charge" of €13,756.80. No registration fee cited. This is exactly what's on my account with UCD and on the GIRO they send out.

horsemeat

Well look at you two medics, how progressive of you to believe that bringing in fees is the way forth. you'd know well you are both from the upper echelons of society. what is it? a lawyer and a fancy scientist.

Heaven forbid someone from an underprivileged area might want to go onto third level education but won't be able to because the people sitting at the top table (ie fat cat medics and their ilk) have circumvented the system to only allow the wealthy to follow in their paths.

Let me guess - you also think the American Health system is the way of the future and if you can't pay for healthcare you should be left to rot on the side of the street. Whoever said Grad Meds were going to be more personal, likable, altruistic and with a different viewpoint due to their ''life experiences'' was clearly wrong. The people getting into GEMS are no different than their undergraduate counterparts, except they have to pay for the privilege (but come on,be honest it's coming out of Daddy's purse right?)

And getting rid of children's allowance!!?? shameful opinions to hold.

Your posts are sickening.

imported_guy

horsemeat wrote: »

Well look at you two medics, how progressive of you to believe that bringing in fees is the way forth. you'd know well you are both from the upper echelons of society. what is it? a lawyer and a fancy scientist.

Heaven forbid someone from an underprivileged area might want to go onto third level education but won't be able to because the people sitting at the top table (ie fat cat medics and their ilk) have circumvented the system to only allow the wealthy to follow in their paths.

Let me guess - you also think the American Health system is the way of the future and if you can't pay for healthcare you should be left to rot on the side of the street. Whoever said Grad Meds were going to be more personal, likable, altruistic and with a different viewpoint due to their ''life experiences'' was clearly wrong. The people getting into GEMS are no different than their undergraduate counterparts, except they have to pay for the privilege (but come on,be honest it's coming out of Daddy's purse right?)

And getting rid of children's allowance!!?? shameful opinions to hold.

Your posts are sickening.

lets all be communists and we'll be treated equally. :pac: #occupy health science at boards.ie

ciara84

horsemeat wrote: »

Well look at you two medics, how progressive of you to believe that bringing in fees is the way forth. you'd know well you are both from the upper echelons of society. what is it? a lawyer and a fancy scientist.

Heaven forbid someone from an underprivileged area might want to go onto third level education but won't be able to because the people sitting at the top table (ie fat cat medics and their ilk) have circumvented the system to only allow the wealthy to follow in their paths.

Let me guess - you also think the American Health system is the way of the future and if you can't pay for healthcare you should be left to rot on the side of the street. Whoever said Grad Meds were going to be more personal, likable, altruistic and with a different viewpoint due to their ''life experiences'' was clearly wrong. The people getting into GEMS are no different than their undergraduate counterparts, except they have to pay for the privilege (but come on,be honest it's coming out of Daddy's purse right?)

And getting rid of children's allowance!!?? shameful opinions to hold.

Your posts are sickening.

its the principle of things. if you dont think the welfare system in ireland is not being heavily abused then you are either abusing it yourself too or are blind to what is going on around you. people staying on the dole for YEARS, double dipping, working on the side etc etc, people having kids just so they can get more child care money, its sick. I'll be glad if the fees came in, atleast the government wont waste any money on wasters who go to college, get their fees paid, get a grant, and are never seen in class again.

Roger_that

imported_guy wrote: »

horsemeat wrote: »

Well look at you two medics, how progressive of you to believe that bringing in fees is the way forth. you'd know well you are both from the upper echelons of society. what is it? a lawyer and a fancy scientist.

Heaven forbid someone from an underprivileged area might want to go onto third level education but won't be able to because the people sitting at the top table (ie fat cat medics and their ilk) have circumvented the system to only allow the wealthy to follow in their paths.

Let me guess - you also think the American Health system is the way of the future and if you can't pay for healthcare you should be left to rot on the side of the street. Whoever said Grad Meds were going to be more personal, likable, altruistic and with a different viewpoint due to their ''life experiences'' was clearly wrong. The people getting into GEMS are no different than their undergraduate counterparts, except they have to pay for the privilege (but come on,be honest it's coming out of Daddy's purse right?)

And getting rid of children's allowance!!?? shameful opinions to hold.

Your posts are sickening.

lets all be communists and we'll be treated equally. :pac: #occupy health science at boards.ie

I hate to quote Thatcher but it's quite apt:

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money

imported_guy

Roger_that wrote: »

I hate to quote Thatcher but it's quite apt:

The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money

how was the UCD open day by the way? many people there? :eek:

Jammyc

imported_guy wrote: »

how was the UCD open day by the way? many people there? :eek:

I was at the open evening and found it fantastic. There were around 40 -50 people there I reckon, though they do run several a year so that may have had an effect.

Roger_that

how was the UCD open day by the way? many people there? :eek:[/Quote]

There weren't as many people there as last year anyway. 30% less is a very flimsy guess but defo a marked decrease in interest. Also less handouts etc. content was the same and the tour was the same but the people on mine didn't have any q's for the nice Canadian tour guide. Just seems like less interest than in previous years, something also noted by www.doc2be.ie at the RCSI open day

imported_guy

I swear UCD staff are some spoofs. I asked them how many people attended etc and how the event went as I couldnt attend because I dont live in dublin and was working on my thesis, this is the email i got off them (Marie Mc Peak or what ever)

Dear XXX,
There were approximately 100 people in attendance last night. The event went well. Please do let us know if you are interested in attending one of our Medicine Visiting Programme days.
Best of luck with your thesis,
Marie

LOL

SpiderP

The talk was held in one of the lecture theatres that holds well over 100 people and while people certainly were not spilling into the aisles, it was close to full.

Yillan

imported_guy wrote: »

I swear UCD staff are some spoofs. I asked them how many people attended etc and how the event went as I couldnt attend because I dont live in dublin and was working on my thesis, this is the email i got off them (Marie Mc Peak or what ever)



LOL

What more did you want?

imported_guy

Yillan wrote: »

What more did you want?

a little honesty, as JammyC who was there quoted a number less than half that.

ciara84

Jammyc wrote: »

I was at the open evening and found it fantastic. There were around 40 -50 people there I reckon, though they do run several a year so that may have had an effect.

my little sister went to that and she can confirm this, she said there were over 30-40 people but nowhere near 100 and even 50-60 would be stretching it, she also came to our RCSI one which she really loved.

horsemeat

horsemeat wrote: »

Well look at you two medics, how progressive of you to believe that bringing in fees is the way forth. you'd know well you are both from the upper echelons of society. what is it? a lawyer and a fancy scientist.

Heaven forbid someone from an underprivileged area might want to go onto third level education but won't be able to because the people sitting at the top table (ie fat cat medics and their ilk) have circumvented the system to only allow the wealthy to follow in their paths.

Let me guess - you also think the American Health system is the way of the future and if you can't pay for healthcare you should be left to rot on the side of the street. Whoever said Grad Meds were going to be more personal, likable, altruistic and with a different viewpoint due to their ''life experiences'' was clearly wrong. The people getting into GEMS are no different than their undergraduate counterparts, except they have to pay for the privilege (but come on,be honest it's coming out of Daddy's purse right?)

And getting rid of children's allowance!!?? shameful opinions to hold.

Your posts are sickening.

Horsemeat I've LOTS of experience of working with people, both children and adults who are disadvantaged. I've worked tirelessly for a longtime, both in an educational and healthcare point of view, and believe you me, NO-ONE, from the people I've worked with, who had the potential, no matter how much I have encouraged them to go for the best grades they could get, would ever consider a career in medicine. Fees or not.

horsemeat

Deleted User wrote: »

Horsemeat I've LOTS of experience of working with people, both children and adults who are disadvantaged. I've worked tirelessly for a longtime, both in an educational and healthcare point of view, and believe you me, NO-ONE, from the people I've worked with, who had the potential, no matter how much I have encouraged them to go for the best grades they could get, would ever consider a career in medicine. Fees or not.

doesn't mean the option shouldn't be available to them.
And please, let's not extrapolate information on the entire lower social bracket populus based on your ''work with LOTs of disadvantaged adults and children'', which i'm sure equates to popping in and out of your local soup kitchen every christmas eve.

sam34

horsemeat, tone it down please. no further warnings.

JordyWordy

to the OP - sit the GAMSAT.

Buy the sample testbooks, find the list of topics that come up frequently (it is here on boards somewhere), and just study for it. Worst outcome is that you dont do a lot of work for it, you might get a good score anyway.

Most importantly, dont get freaked out by other GAMSATers saying how much work they do, or how many courses they take, or how much they spent on notes. Just look at what comes up, learn it and keep a cool head. It is only an exam, and it's very do-able.

Roger_that

JordyWordy wrote: »

to the OP - sit the GAMSAT.

Buy the sample testbooks, find the list of topics that come up frequently (it is here on boards somewhere), and just study for it. Worst outcome is that you dont do a lot of work for it, you might get a good score anyway.

Most importantly, dont get freaked out by other GAMSATers saying how much work they do, or how many courses they take, or how much they spent on notes. Just look at what comes up, learn it and keep a cool head. It is only an exam, and it's very do-able.

I definitely agree with this. Its tough yes but its tough for everyone. Just because people say that they are studying loads isn't a sign of intelligence! As JordyWordy said... practice practice practice. Any exam system can be learned and this is no exception. In my own experience familiarity is key and give good attention to all sections and don't try to compensate with one over . I did well enough in Sec's 1 and 3 but an 81 in section two, a bit of a surprise to be honest, got me the score that I wanted.

Good luck!

spotsanddots

I have sat the exam and it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be..im planning on resitting in sept and maybe getting the ozimed papers since i have done all the acer ones....thoughts??I'm way too busy with college at the moment to sit it in march

spagboll

i think people say the ozimed papers are a little too easy but that the essay prep course is good

the essay course takes 10 weeks to do i think, so it might be good to start it sooner rather than later

Roger_that

MCAT verbal reasoning book is very good if not exactly the same as GAMSAT. The timing is a little easier but the passages are longer. It gives detailed explanations of the best answer which is very helpful. Like I said, in my opinion it is about familiarity with the exam and the material and a wee bit of luck thrown in.

I also found that it wasn't as bad as I had expected but its really an exam of truth. There is no hiding and you get what you deserve.