The so called ‘dull student’ became an achiever; some of his inventions are the light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture camera which were brilliant creations that have made a big influence in our daily lives. Through love, patience and belief in her son, Nancy Edison transformed him into a Genius. This is just a small example to help you understand the potential you have in you.

But then, come exam time and students start getting anxious and spend sleepless nights worrying about the coming exams. GAMSAT may be anxiety provoking for some people. Aspirants may worry about an exam days before it is to take place and during the exam, when tackling the paper, they may experience negative thoughts and unpleasant physical symptoms which prevent them from performing to the best of their ability.

Remember, you are not the only one who is facing the GAMSAT examination. Thousands of aspirants have appeared in the past for GAMSAT and thousands will be appearing in the future too. The fact is that one who aspires to become a doctor cannot do away with GAMSAT. Also, many students are able to learn and integrate well, yet when it comes to being tested in a GAMSAT exam, they suffer from ‘exam stress’ and often run out of time.

Guys, Just Relax! There is no need to worry…. It is wise to remember that GAMSAT is not here as a punishment. Instead is it a good way of testing how versatile is your field of knowledge.

The exam blues are normal. Just follow these simple tips to overcome the exam fever.

• Don’t get over anxious: It never helps. Think of all the exams you have attended so far and how you have overcome your fears. Think positive! Talk over your anxieties to your parents & friends and get it out of your chest periodically. At the same time, talk about the subjects you are good in and the chapters you are well prepared in.
• Fix a time and place: Make sure that your study has no disturbance. Move away from that place when you need to take breaks. Take them frequently by structuring your time schedule. Every time you feel fresh, study the difficult or boring subjects first for a few minutes and then move on to the easier ones.
• Exercise and recreation: are as important as studies and they help you concentrate better. Don’t reduce your sleep drastically. Your body needs it.
• Avoid repetitive reading: If you are unable to remember, break up the chapter into points and sub points and try and remember each sub point.
• Do practice GAMSAT sample tests: periodically, especially in the difficult subjects.
• Get a goodnight’s rest before the exam. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing to the exam.

So aspirants, have faith in yourself that you can achieve whatever you set your mind on. And on the day of the exam Relax, remember God is in charge….

Have confidence, you will do well. Believe in yourself.

The GAMSAT physics paper mainly covers the following topics:

Motion, Work, Power and Energy, Light, Sound, Static and Dynamic Effect of Electricity, Magnetism, Gas Laws and Thermodynamics.

You will need to have a thorough understanding of the topics dealt with in the 12^th year physics class to be able to answer this section. The most important topics which appears almost every year in GAMSAT physics paper is Motion and Work, Power and Energy. At least one set of question always appears in the GAMSAT physics question paper every year on these two topics. Questions on the other chapters may or may not appear. So, these are the two most important topics and a thorough knowledge of these two chapters will always come handy.

While you are preparing do not forget to take some time in understanding the topics. By now you must be knowing how important it is to get your basics right! Get a good grasp on the formulae and they should be at your finger-tips. Most of the questions belonging to the GAMSAT physics section are numerical based. The formulae required for the numerical are usually provided, but there may be times when the formulae will not be provided so be prepared for the worst and gear up yourself with all the necessary formulae.

About 80% of the GAMSAT physics questions are numerical based, so practice the numerical from these two chapters properly. But then again memorising the formulae is a strict no-no. Put some thought into understanding formulae evolve. Once you get the hang of the derivation of the formulae you will see that the formulae are at your finger tips. Questions based on graphs are also not uncommon. You must be able to read and interpret the graphs properly.

If you are well versed with these two chapters, you can surely answer about 50% of the questions from the physics section. Now that you know Motion and Work, Power and Energy are the two most important chapters in the physics questions waste no time wondering what to prepare for the GAMSAT physics section.

BEST OF LUCK!!

Organic chemistry, contrary to belief, is nothing to be scared of. If an aspirant studies the concepts carefully and applies them analytically to answer the questions, then nothing can prevent him from getting a good score in GAMSAT Chemistry section. The GAMSAT chemistry section consists of about 50% organic chemistry questions. So scoring well in this section will ensure qualifying marks in GAMSAT Section III.

But how much do you need to study to cross the GAMSAT hurdle? Well, as per the requirements of GAMSAT chemistry questions, you will need to have first year university level knowledge. The trick to score well in GAMSAT is that you may not study each and everything, but you should study intelligently. Now, what is intelligent studying? Intelligent study includes selection of most probable topics and practising them rigorously. Any kind of mugging of topics and books is useless in the case of GAMSAT, so simply avoid it.

A thorough knowledge of the following chapters is required to attempt the GAMSAT chemistry questions:

1.      Nomenclature of Organic Compounds – You will have to be thorough with this chapter and have a clear understanding of the concepts involved in this chapter. You should be able to name all the simple organic compounds like the hydrocarbons, halogen derivatives, compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur and the aromatic compounds. You just need to know the basic and the simple organic compounds. For example, you should know the structure of ethyl amine, butanone or p-chloroaniline. You must be comfortable with nomenclature because it is an important component of all the GAMSAT chemistry questions based on Organic Chemistry. This chapter should be on your must-do list.

2.      Basic Concepts of Organic Chemistry and Reaction Mechanism – You need to know all about the basic concepts. You should have a detailed knowledge on the topics like electrophiles and nucleophiles, inductive effect, mesomeric effect and resonance effect. You should also lay stress on the different types of reactions and get a good grasp on the basics. This chapter is integral to your understanding of all the other topics under Organic Chemistry.

3.      Isomerism of Organic Compounds – Get a hang of the different the types of isomerism. Understand the spatial relationship well. The D-L and R-S nomenclature are also important.

4.      Hydrocarbons – Learn about alkane, alkenes, alkynes and aromatic hydrocarbons. All the information about their general properties and important chemical reactions must be at your finger tips. Give stress on the important physical properties of the hydrocarbons and the reactions of alkenes.

The GAMSAT Chemistry questions are nothing to be scared of. It’s just that you have to practise a lot to get a hang of the basic concepts. But a lot depends on the final day too. Just relax and choose your questions carefully. Know your concepts, practice well, use your common sense and apply your knowledge on the final day. If you can do these successfully, no one can prevent you from getting that coveted seat.

All great achievements – be it the discovery of gravity or the invention of a light bulb, or the idea of you getting through GAMSAT, began with a thought.  You may have seen a person being reprimanded by a teacher in a classroom or being mocked at by friends for being “lost in thoughts.” Well, if an apple falling to the ground did not make Newton wonder, we would not have known of the phenomenal force that binds us to the earth. Therefore, it is not too bad to ponder over things; it is what makes us humans. GAMSAT is aced easily by those who do not refrain from thinking in a novel way. This is not just thinking out-of-the-box just for the sake of sounding new and interesting but offering new solutions to an existing problem.

“You are only as big as you feel.” I once read this line in a delightful book called Stuart Little. It is needless to question the validity of this statement. Great success and happiness in life can be achieved by managing one’s thoughts. Thoughts are like waves, an incessant stream of good and bad notions that flood the mind. Meditation, an ‘in’ thing these days, is a process of controlling the quality of thoughts, to be at peace with oneself. This leads to a more aware personality, more adept at handling everyday situations. If you think you will not be able to pass GAMSAT, you have probably already spelt out your fate. Therefore, the magic wand to control your destiny lies in your own hands. Events in life are nothing but a materialisation of thoughts. To be a doctor, you have to first learn to think like one. The more you hold on to a thought, the more power you invest in it. Positive thoughts energise you whereas negative thoughts drain you of your strength. A medical career is bound to be filled with anxious, disturbing and high-pressure situations. Therefore, it is imperative to replace negative thoughts with more positive ones.

But, how do we control our thoughts? How do we separate the chaff from the grain? It is important to analyse our response to situations, words spoken by others, or simply our notion of others and our self. We must learn to ask questions. Were my thoughts positive? Was it essential? What purpose do they serve? People may say, “You will not be able to pass GAMSAT.” The question is will you accept this idea.

If you have decided upon a medical career and get through GAMSAT, then first build a firm belief in yourself. The idea that you can become a doctor is waiting to become a reality. And as the popular commercial tagline goes, “An idea can change your life,” it truly can.

• Australian National University
• Deakin University
• Flinders University
• Griffith University
• Monash University, Gippsland
• The University of Melbourne
• The University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle
• The University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney
• The University of Queensland
• The University of Sydney
• The University of Western Australia
• The University of Wollongong

GAMSAT tests the tenacity of students who would have a long and demanding course that requires both physical as well as mental strength once they get through the test and the interview. GAMSAT Australia is offered only once in a year. The registration process is a simple one and can be done online. GAMSAT tests the analytical faculties of the candidate. When you become a doctor, you are not simply faced with easy choices between ‘GOOD’ and ‘BAD’. Sometimes you have to weigh your options and choose the lesser of two evils and this requires sharp analytical abilities.

As a doctor you will have to interact with people from various walks of life. Your prospective patient may be a babbling toddler or a cynical wizened adult. A doctor has to bridge the gaps and communicate with his patients on a personal level in order to understand their medical condition more accurately. There has to be a level of comfort for the patient to confide in the doctor. Hence, communication is an essential tool. GAMSAT is a test of your communication skills and your ability to express your thoughts in a concise form.

The question papers for GAMSAT are prepared keeping a strict professional standard in mind. Questions are framed and developed by a team of ACER writers who are experts in their specific field of knowledge, in consultation with university faculty members. These questions are then trial- tested and reviewed before being finally approved. Issues of race, gender, religion are kept in mind while formatting the questions and every effort is made to minimize biased notions. The GAMSAT Policy Committee has even established an Ethics Committee to examine and report on any controversial issues relating to the content and conduct of GAMSAT.

A good, grounded knowledge of bare facts coupled with sharp reasoning skills will equip you to face the challenge more effectively. Equip yourself with the right set of tools available and give it a balanced approach and then nothing will be able to come between you and your dream medical college.

Following the pattern of GAMSAT Written Communication writing tasks, let’s suppose that you are asked to frame an essay in response to one or more of the following set of quotations:

• Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. (Epictetus)
• He who knows how to be poor knows everything. (Jules Michelet)
• Poverty is the worst form of violence. (Mahatma Gandhi)
• It is not the creation of wealth that is wrong, but the love of money for its own sake. (Margaret Thatcher)
• It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. (Mother Teresa)

Let’s assume that you want to frame your essay around the quotations of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Now, both these quotes bring out the brutality of poverty as it affects real people. These quotes do not idealise/romanticise poverty, they expose its harshness. If you are to focus your essay on these, you need to have a rather forceful beginning for your essay.

Thus, instead of beginning your essay with some vague generalisations, why not get real with some hard-hitting facts? Nothing can beat the straightforwardness of bare facts, stated in a no-nonsense manner. Given below is a sample introductory paragraph that begins with a fact as the hook sentence, and then moves on through the transition to the thesis-statement.

UNICEF records state that 25,000 children die every day due to poverty. Irrespective of whether they inhabit a remote village or some busy city, invisibly tucked away from the glitz and glamour of the rich, and so also from their conscience, these dying multitudes remain as uncared for and as anonymous in their death as in their life. Mahatma Gandhi was indeed right in saying that no form of violence can be worse than poverty.  But the alarming concern about poverty in today’s world has more to do with the disquieting reality that one man’s poverty comes at the cost of another man’s greed. Mother Teresa’s brilliant expression, “It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish,” turns the concept of poverty on its head, insisting that poverty is a state of mind, not the lack of material things or possessions. Yet, it also highlights the brutal reality that the poverty of one man is often the consequence of the avarice of another.

Writing an essay is no mean task. One of the basics is that your language should be neat. Neat and free from common errors that can mar even a beautifully thought-out and well planned essay. Read on to find a very useful tutorial on common lexical errors in English. This should come in handy in your preparation for GAMSAT section two- Written Communication (GAMSAT Essay).

Certain words in the English language are very commonly confused. These are usually different parts of speech that are mistakenly used because they sound/ look. Given below is a list that, though not exhaustive, is a fairly comprehensive record of the same. Examples are given that differentiate the usage of these words:

The above table should clarify your doubts about the use of some of the most commonly misused/ misconstrued words in the language. You should try to write five sentences with each of these words and get them evaluated by your teacher or somebody in your study-group who is strong in English. Once you master the use of these commonly misused words, your language will improve greatly and that will be a great boost in writing your GAMSAT essay.

By now you must be aware of the importance of a strong vocabulary if you are planning to sit for GAMSAT. You will have to find ways by which you can develop a strong sense of words and avoid all grammatical errors. In this regard, the following points will be useful while you carry a constructive exercise on your vocabulary for GAMSAT.

1. Increase Vocabulary by General Reading: One of the most common ways to develop your vocabulary is by reading. It does not matter what you are reading but it is always best to begin with classics and newspapers. You may choose to read mysteries or fiction or in other case any other books. In the process of reading you may come across words you have never heard before. Once you read a number of books and articles you will learn in which context a particular word can be used. This exercise will also teach you spellings and the use of punctuation.

2. Make Yourself Familiar with Vocabulary Building Books: The perception that novel reading is the only way to increase vocabulary for GAMSAT is completely wrong. In fact, there are several vocabulary building books that help you to improve your knowledge of words. Try not to gather books that are difficult to read and understand. You may probably start reading but leave half a way. So go for books that are simpler yet of high quality. Some excellent vocabulary building books that you can use when you prepare for GAMSAT are:

a) English Vocabulary in Use – Advanced by Michael McCarthy, Felicity O’Dell.

b) Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics – An Engaging ESL Textbook for Advanced Students by Eric H. Roth, Toni Aberson.

c) Practical Faster Reading: An Intermediate/Advanced Course in Reading and Vocabulary (Cambridge Classical Studies) by Gerald Mosback, Vivienne Mosback.

3. Prepare a List of Words: The first and foremost thing that you should do while reading is to keep a notebook with you. Note down the words which seem unfamiliar and look up for the meaning of the words in the dictionary. You can make this exercise even more fruitful if you also collect the antonym and synonyms for the list of words. When you are done try and write down sentences with each word. This will develop your vocabulary to a great extent.

4) Improve Vocabulary through Word Games: Another way to improve your English skills is to play word games. Doing so will help you to learn more while you enjoy the fun of games. You can play with crosswords and puzzles to increase your vocabulary. The moment you get stuck upon a word, look up for its meaning in the dictionary. There are a number of word games all over the internet which are very interesting. Checkout the website, Many Things, where you will come across a wide range of fun ways to learn the English language. Consistent practice will surely help you to grow your word power and ace the GAMSAT.

Now, there are many approaches designed by ACER to test your reasoning ability in individual units. Most of the multiple choice questions (MCQs) are included in units containing text passages or schematic diagrams or graphical representations. In addition to these, there are a few units consisting of Assertion-Reason based statements.

This type of unit contains two Statements, generally one is Assertion and the other is Reason. But there are occasions when both the statements are assertions or both are reasons.

In comparison to the other passage or figure based questions, Assertion-Reason Statements type questions require higher levels of logical reasoning along with the basic knowledge on the subject to figure out which one is assertion and which one is reason. This is because all the other types of units contain some passages or diagrams or graphs, but here you will have no additional information to depend on or to analyze and come to some conclusion. The one and only approach to get the correct answer is by analysing the two Statements thoroughly and subsequently identifying, which one is assertion and which one is reason.

For example,

Statement I: Physiological phenomenon like sweating and shivering, are important in maintaining homeostasis in the body temperature.

Statement II: Sweating and shivering, normally maintain body temperature near an ideal normal value, or set point.

In the above set of statements you have to identify which one is assertion and which one is reason. However, since no background passage or flow chart is given, so deducing a correct conclusion is much tougher. In this case, Statement I is more about stating a phenomenon rather than an analytical explanation, therefore it can be considered to be an assertion statement. Statement II is more about explaining a physiological process rather than simply stating. Therefore, it can be considered to be a reason statement.

In conclusion, from GAMSAT point of view (where the main emphasis is on testing the logical reasoning of aspirants) Assertion-Reason based Statements are unique as well as highly important though they are fewer in number as compared to the other types of questions. The limited quantity signifies that these questions are designed specifically for those candidates who possess greater levels of logical reasoning skills than the average aspirants. Hence, it is possible that these questions carry more marks than the easier ones. Therefore, it is highly advisable for GAMSAT aspirants like you to take this piece of information seriously and start practicing more Assertion-Reason based questions for your GAMSAT preparation.

In a recent conference at the Melbourne University, the career counsellors made it clear that a career in medicine is something more than “just a job.” Are you interested in people and are willing to commit yourself to a life-long process of learning? Do you think that your interest in Biological Sciences is unsurpassed? If your answer is yes, then becoming a doctor is the best career option for you. Now you must be thinking what are the indications for not becoming a doctor or sitting for GAMSAT. Well, if you want to become a doctor just because your family wants you to or because you want to be rich, then you are surely on the wrong path!

Medical institutions are on the lookout for candidates who possess academic flair along with correct perception. These are the two ingredients that go on to make a good and successful doctor. It is for this same reason why you can take the GAMSAT even if you are from a non-science background. GAMSAT contains questions that will test your aptitude in the basic concepts. If you have problems in understanding the basics then chances are that you will not make the GAMSAT cut-off!

Another aspect that GAMSAT seeks to test is your tenacity to carry on with a course which will last for more than four years. Very often there are students who fail to carry on with the trials of such a rigorous course. So the examiners look for candidates who are motivated from within.

If you feel that your wish to become a doctor can surpass all the hurdles then you are at the right place. Take the GAMSAT and find the key to achieve something that you have been yearning for so long.