GAMSAT is the acronym for Graduate Australian Medical School Admission test which is developed & conducted by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) in collaboration with Consortium of Graduate Medical Schools.

1. An Account on GAMSAT & Effective Tips on Preparing for it
What is GAMSAT?
GAMSAT is the acronym for Graduate Australian Medical School Admission test which is developed &
conducted by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) in collaboration with Consortium of
Graduate Medical Schools. The mission of the test is to select candidates interested to take part in
Graduate-Entry Programs of Australian, British & Irish Universities for medicine, pharmacy, dentistry &
veterinary science courses. The GAMSAT program was first initiated in the year 1995 by 4 medical
schools in Australia to select eligible candidates for studying medicine. 4 years later the program was
adopted by British Universities followed by the Universities of Ireland since the year 2007. As per the
ACER statistics nearly 10,000 students sit for GAMSAT examination every year presently.
The post here presents a brief account on GAMSAT followed by a small write up on its effective
preparation strategies.
Eligibility criteria
The GAMSAT examination can be attempted by any student, irrespective of his/her discipline. It implies
that you need not be a science student to take part in the examination. Science degree won’t be the
prerequisite here & academic hold on social sciences and humanities is encouraged highly. The
candidate appearing for GAMSAT is expected to complete his/her Bachelor degree. Students in the final
year of their Bachelor program are also eligible for participation in the test. However, it is suggested that
the students from non-science background should possess a standard knowledge on the science
subjects since the GAMSAT syllabus covers a good part of biology, physical science and chemistry.
GAMSAT Syllabus
The GAMSAT syllabus is divided into 3 major sections, reasoning in Social Sciences & Humanities,
Written Communication & reasoning in Physical Sciences and Biology. The appearing students are
required to have a solid knowledge on first year university standard chemistry and biology, Australian plus
2 level physics & HSC level English.
The first section comes with 75 questions & the candidate would be allotted with hundred minutes
to complete the section. The Reasoning part on social sciences is arrayed with question in
Multiple Choice pattern. There would be passages on imaginative, personal as well as
argumentative writing. The particular segment is aimed to test the students on their critical &
conceptual thinking ability, subjective & objective thinking, logical reasoning & understanding
abilities.
nd
The 2 section would test the thinking & writing abilities of the candidate. There would be two
questions to be completed within an hour. The questions would be themed on socio-cultural &
personal issues.
rd
The 3 part includes 110 questions & the allotted time for the students would be 170 minutes.
The particular section would actually test the student’s knowledge and understanding of basic
scientific facts and concepts. The candidates here would be marked on their capacity to interpret
& analyze data, discover the scientific relationships, categorize & compare information, formulate
& make deductions etc. 80% of the questions would be distributed between Chemistry & Biology
equally and the other 20% would be allotted to Physics
st rd
There would be 10 minutes reading time allotted for the 1 & 3 sections while 5 minutes is reserved for
nd nd rd
2 section. There would be a lunch break between the 2 & 3 section for an hour.

2. GAMSAT exam pattern:
The GAMSAT exam is held once in a year. It’s generally scheduled for March or early April for Australia
and Ireland & around mid or end September for UK. The interested candidates must take a time
registration which starts from end of January for Australia and Ireland & from August for UK. The test
generally starts from 8 in the morning and continues up to 4 p.m.
How to go with GAMSAT preparation?
Enhance knowledge on literature and current affairs
As told earlier the first 2 sections would be on social affairs and humanities and hence the candidate here
is needed to develop his skills accordingly. The GAMSAT experts advise to focus on reading widely. As a
GAMSAT candidate you have to concentrate on novels, periodicals and the newspaper, since there
would lots of questions on current affairs. Your preparation doesn’t end with reading a piece but rather sit
back and think about the top, criticize it and try to develop your own unique understanding on the piece.
Practice essays
Essays are a vital part of GAMSAT exam and hence you have to practice hard on essay writing. Start
reading good pieces and there are a lot of essay practice books which could be of great help.
Join up GAMSAT forum & groups
It’s advised to sign up with GAMSAT forum or the local GAMSAT study groups. Discuss and debate on
the pieces or facts read to develop and hone your thinking and analyzing skills.
GAMSAT practice guides
The GAMSAT practice guides or manuals are a great help for GAMSAT preparation. These manuals
come up with all the smart strategies to prepare for the exam and crack the typical GAMSAT questions
interpreting their underlying meaning.
Previous years’ question papers
This is something really vital if you are appearing for the GAMSAT exam. Make sure to collect the
GAMSAT question papers from the previous years. The previous question papers can provide you with
an idea on the actual question pattern and the marks distribution as well. It also enables you to
comprehend the most frequent questions over the years so that you can design your study routine
effectively.
Hope the following tips would be able to guide you along.