Just imagine that there's only two weeks left to study for GAMSAT. You're either rushing to start now or you've dedicated months of your life to revising, practising and crying. Whatever your desired method of preparation, I'm here to share with you how I'm studying for GAMSAT (and it has a recommended schedule of at least three months prior to the test date, so those just tuning in ... good freakin' luck).
I've decided to sit GAMSAT in March of next year and have already prepared some study notes regarding the subjects that will be covered as I knew that doing so throughout semester 2 would be virtually impossible. Anyway, I will be sharing what I'm doing to prepare, some tips and general information in hopes of at least inspiring you to gain an idea of how to go about with beginning to study because this, I understand, is incredibly stressful in itself.
KNOW THY SELF, KNOW THY ENEMY
Firstly, let's take a look at the three sections that will be assessed in the GAMSAT in its exact order. According to the ACER website, here, there's a total of three sections:
SECTION I: Reasoning in Humanities (75 Qs in 100 mins)
SECTION II: Written Communication (2 Qs in 60 mins)
SECTION III: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences (110 Qs in 170 mins)
Each section will also have its allocated reading time (10, 5 and 10 minutes, respectively) so make sure you get your reading on as it will significantly help with your ability to skim read without missing crucial bits of information. Note: reading time in the GAMSAT is not active, meaning, you are prohibited from taking down notes, highlighting or even making so much as a dent on your page. You know how during reading time people use their nail to etch out a correct answer? Yeah, you can't even do that. It's a waste of time anyway.
Let's now dive into full detail as to what you're to expect come the GAMSAT, meaning, we're going to not only acquaint ourselves with each of the sections, we're going to become best friends with them. Great. I know, it sounds kind of daunting because nobody wants to befriend organic chem *shivers*, well, not university grade organic chem anyway.
Section I deals with a number of stimuli (letters, excerpts from books, cartoons, dramas, articles etc.) that you must be able to interpret and apply to its accompanying series of multiple-choice questions.
"KNOWLEDGE IS POWER"
Reading enriches the soul. Even if you're not taking the GAMSAT, it's still good to get into a routine of reading because, well, to me and hopefully to everyone else, reading is an incredibly powerful tool. It doesn't have to be a book as it can be in the form of online news articles, journal articles, newspapers, whatever, so long as you're reading something. I read 50-100 pages a night (well, when I have time to) before I go to bed and I also read at least three news articles a day from reputable sources (will be listed below). This will be particularly handy as this section deals with integrating your knowledge of the world around you and the world that's presented in the text before you. Whether it be in the form of prose, poetry or cartoon, it's best you expose yourself to all and practice analytical skills.
Suggested books:
➪ 1984 by George Orwell — a must-read for everyone.
➪ The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood — again, a must-read.
➪ Lord of the Flies by William Golding — would be good to use in essays tackling the subject of corruption.
➪ Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century by Jonathan Glover — given the title you can see how useful this book is in that it'll help to broaden your scope of knowledge, make you think and act as a sort of guide in Section II.
➪ Anything by Austen or the Bronte sisters will also help you get used to the sort of language you might come across in much older texts.
Suggested news websites:
➪ The Atlantic — a personal favourite of mine as their commentary, though mostly political, is of high quality. If you dig deep enough, you'll find articles like this or this, though not entirely relevant to the GAMSAT, it's just good for the soul if you just allow yourself to wander and get lost in the intricacies of our world. Besides, who knows what will appear in the GAMSAT?➪ The Economist — talks about current events in a succinct and easy-to-understand manner; for free, you can read three articles a week.
➪ The New Yorker — an essential read considering that most of the cartoons that appear in SI come from this magazine. Start here and get into the habit of checking the daily cartoon.
➪ ABC — for your fix of the Australian side of things.
➪ Futurism — I love perusing this site as building my general knowledge of an ever-changing world satisfies the curiosity regarding the future of innovative technology.
"BUILD A SOUND VOCABULARY"
Stumbled upon a word you don't know? Look it up (a simple Google search will do) and write it down. Having a sound vocabulary will greatly help in Section I and you can build upon such knowledge by not only reading books, news articles or whatever (as suggested above), but you can also add to your bank of words by utilising websites such as vocabulary.com.
Literally all you have to do is create an account, search for GAMSAT/MCAT word lists and start practising! I try and go over one quiz a day which is more than enough. Another useful website is readtheory.org where you can strengthen your comprehension skills. I recommend maybe one paragraph a day or, if you're like me, every other day ... to a week.
"PRACTICE"
Or don't and you'll be disappointed in yourself and your results. I found that purchasing AceGAMSAT's Study Package, which you can buy here, has significantly helped with getting a start on my preparation process. The package contains eight "study bibles", including a practice test complete with detailed answers. There's also The Gold Standard GAMSAT guides but I honestly think that they're way too overpriced. However, I do use their free test features. As with all sections, PRACTICE. IS. KEY.
To my fellow peers who studied Literature in high school, this is not, I repeat, not the section for you to become complacent in. Many often overlook this section, thinking that "ohh, I can just make this up on the spot" and my answer to that is well, no, no you can't.
In this section, you'll be asked to write in response to two quotes from a total pool of ten. There's a Task A (where you pick one of five) and a Task B (where you also pick one of five), where a quote will be presented for your interpretation. From my understanding, Task A tackles more of the socio-cultural issues and Task B deals with more personal and social issues. This is also where your wider reading (as suggested above) comes into play.
"TYPING IS REDUNDANT"
Honestly, how on Earth will you be able to practice your writing skills if you're just going to type it? I mean, it's called written communication for a reason. Get into the habit of actually picking up a pen or pencil and just write because no way in heck will you be able to bring a laptop, much less a phone, into the examination centre. Make small changes such as switching from your laptop to a pen and paper when you're taking down lecture notes, use sites such as this as prompts to help with your practice, too.
An example quote:
I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.
— Abraham Lincoln.
From this, you can immediately gather that there's something to do with progress, with change, with endless possibilities regarding the future. There's an essence of time, of pace and history. You needn't know the exact context as to why Lincoln said this (hell, I don't know either), seeing as the main aim of this section is to show that you are articulate and well-read in the current affairs, amongst many other things. This is also the time to be bold. You can attest to the given statement, or you can show complete opposition. So long as your essay flows, uses the correct grammar and punctuation and contains a clear set of ideas (whether for or against, it doesn't matter), you're good to go.
VERBOSITY IS NOT OKAY.
I cannot stress this enough. Yes, I tend to be guilty of this at times but the GAMSAT is no place for you to show off fancy words you learned from reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville that one time, many years ago. In saying so, however, you're not going to gain much attention if your vocabulary is rather mundane and just ... ordinary, either. Use words within their appropriate context. Don't be one of those people who uses the word "cantankerous" to describe their annoying, snot-nosed two-year-old who won't stop chewing the carpet. JUST CALL THEM THE ANNOYING, SNOT-NOSED TWO-YEAR-OLD WHO WON'T STOP CHEWING THE CARPET. If it isn't so obvious to you, yes, this is indeed a pet-peeve of mine.
I cannot stress this enough. Yes, I tend to be guilty of this at times but the GAMSAT is no place for you to show off fancy words you learned from reading Moby Dick by Herman Melville that one time, many years ago. In saying so, however, you're not going to gain much attention if your vocabulary is rather mundane and just ... ordinary, either. Use words within their appropriate context. Don't be one of those people who uses the word "cantankerous" to describe their annoying, snot-nosed two-year-old who won't stop chewing the carpet. JUST CALL THEM THE ANNOYING, SNOT-NOSED TWO-YEAR-OLD WHO WON'T STOP CHEWING THE CARPET. If it isn't so obvious to you, yes, this is indeed a pet-peeve of mine.
"BE ON YOUR TOES"
Scour the front page of the news, watch TED Talk videos, research topics that you've never thought to research before (i.e. corruption in Bolivia to Haitian Voodoo), hell, casually eavesdrop on people's conversations the next time you're on the bus. I don't care so long as you're constantly and consistently gathering information from all walks of the Earth.
"AGAIN, PRACTICE"
Do you see a running theme here? Because I certainly do. You can research all you like and read all you want, but that won't help unless you actually put it into practice. Visit the random quote generator that I suggested above, write out what the given quote may entail and create a well-thought out essay. PLAN. Planning is crucial so use at least five minutes of your time to set out an agenda for your essay, making sure to always write a conclusion. Going back to edit your work is important, too, granted you have the time.
I must note that essay writing isn't the only way to prepare for this section. Like me, you can create a blog and type out your thoughts (though you won't get the handwritten practice you need for GAMSAT) or purchase a diary and write whatever's on your mind. As long as you're exercising your brain in this manner, it'll be of great help come the GAMSAT.
Also, use the ACER prep materials to practice each and every one of the sections.
Just
Practice.
Finally, the dreaded Section III. This section will either be your saviour or the bane of your existence. Thankfully, there's a lunch break between Section II and Section III, allowing you to clear your head for one hour before heading back into a stuffy room (I assume it'll be stuffy considering the cloud of anxiety floating above everyone) to crank out whatever's left of your brain power in the final leg of your GAMSAT journey.
This section includes a mixture of subjects, where 40% of it will be dedicated to biology, 20% to organic chemistry, 20% to general chemistry (basically 40% to chemistry) and 20% to physics. It helps to know that this section is weighted twice as much as the others so it's imperative that you brush up on your knowledge and to those who aren't as well versed in the sciences, I recommend that you start your study well in advance as a lot of what's included take a while to grasp and more importantly, understand.
It's difficult trying to go about this section on your own, so I highly suggest that you purchase any GAMSAT prep guide, particularly the one from AceGAMSAT. It's helpful in that it provides the basics of what you need to know in a well organised and easy-to-understand manner that's accompanied by a plethora of video links (mostly from Khan Academy, which, by the way, is a lifesaver).
To be frank, however, if you're a non-science student, trying to read into the sciences for the first time will prove difficult, I think. Throughout the entire time I was reading about organic chem concepts, I just thought to myself: "thank goodness you're a woman of science". I'm not saying that it's hard to grasp or anything—the GAMSAT doesn't care whether you're capable of revising the Standard Model of Particle Physics or not—in fact, its purpose is to see whether you're able to turn information and data that you read or have studied into knowledge that you can apply. It isn't enough to have rote learned facts because being able to take it one step further, that is, being able to accurately see how things fit together, will be the foundation for success.
For example:
Action Potentials
- It isn't enough to say that it's a "change in electrical potential across the membrane of a neuron".
- This is a bit trickier but it would mean that you are aware that action potentials require a triggering event that causes the cell to depolarise (i.e. sodium channels open, making the neuron less polar) to reach a threshold before repolarising (potassium channels open) to bring the cell back to the resting membrane potential.
- Additionally, action potentials are an "all-or-nothing" event.
- Note that this is the desired level of knowledge within the GAMSAT, however, knowing beyond this will indeed be advantageous.
- This is the hardest to grasp, but it's something to do with the fact that neurons are surrounded by a semipermeable membrane that is electrically polarised and that any change to the resting membrane potential (neurons have a RMP of around -70 mV, that is, there's more positively charged particles on the outside than there are on the inside) will initiate an action potential, granted that it is able to reach a certain threshold (typically of about -50 mV).
Now that we've got that covered, let's move on to some of the topics that you will be expected to know in this section (I'm just going to cover the basics because there is a lot of subcategories):
"THE BIOLOGY OF THINGS"
➪ Macromolecules — carbs, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids.
➪ Cells — structure, anatomy of a cell, etc.
➪ Cell Membrane — types of transport (active/passive, osmosis), phospholipid bilayer.
➪ Metabolism — Kreb's Cycle, Electron Transport Chain, ATP.
➪ Mitosis and Meiosis.
➪ Genetics — Punnett Squares, Mendel's Laws.
➪ Nervous System — divisions, the neuron, APs, anatomy and function of the eye and ear.
➪ Endocrine System — know your hormones and where they're produced.
➪ Reproductive System — both male and female.
➪ Digestive System — ingestion -> digestion -> absorption -> compaction -> defecation.
➪ Urinary System — anatomy and function, specifically the components of the nephron.
➪ Cardiovascular System.
➪ Respiratory System.
➪ Immune System.
➪ Lymphatic System.
➪ Muscle, Bone, Joints etc.
➪ Homeostasis — negative and positive feedback.
"THE CHEMISTRY OF THINGS"
ORGANIC CHEM:
➪ Be able to name and identify the isomers of the following:
- Alkanes
- Alkenes
- Alkynes (not to the greatest of detail so just know how to name them)
- Aldehydes and Ketones
- Alcohols and Phenols
- Aromatic Rings
- Carboxylic Acids
- Amines
- Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins
➪ Radical Reactions.
➪ Spectroscopy.
GENERAL CHEM:
➪ Gases.
➪ Kinetics and Equilibrium — Le Chatelier's Principle, Collision Theory.
➪ Thermodynamics — Laws of, Enthalpy, Entropy.
➪ Acids and Bases — titrations, buffers, equilibrium constants.
➪ Electrochemistry.
"THE PHYSICS OF THINGS"
➪ Motion.- Translational
- Circular Motion and Centripetal Force
➪ Energy and Work.
➪ Wave Characteristics — transverse and longitudinal mechanical waves, resonance, superposition, harmonics.
➪ Sound.
➪ Electrostatics — Coulomb's Law.
➪ Electromagnetism.
➪ Electric Circuits — parallel and series, Ohm's Law, power, capacitance.
➪ Light and Optics — mirrors, refraction, Snell's Law.
➪ Atomic and Nuclear Structure — fission and fusion, radioactivity, isotopes.
"PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE"
Seriously, how else will you succeed?
Allow me to reiterate, locate and purchase the ACER preparation materials, search the internet for any free practice tests, and/or purchase practice material from any GAMSAT study guide of your choosing. I think it's safe to say that you first start with getting to understand the content of each section and everything in which they entail, and do most, if not all, of the practice stuff (specifically timed practice tests) in the months leading up to the GAMSAT.
DO NOT FEAR FAILURE BUT RATHER FEAR NOT TRYING
Some additional (and final!) details I must address are as noted:
Exercise and Eat Well
I'm not the fittest person on the planet (sort of ironic considering I want to become a doctor), but for the past couple of weeks or so, I've begun to take my health seriously. Not only do I feel more energetic after a 20 minute run on the treadmill, I feel more revitalised and sort of ready to tackle whatever's coming in my way.
Studies have shown that those (predominately in animal studies) who exercise have a larger hippocampus, and thus, greater memory function. And by exercise I mean aerobic exercise so anything that gets the heart really going like boxing, running or dancing.
I don't need to get into the details as to why eating well is beneficial, as I'd wager that your parents already have that covered. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't eat the odd cake slice every now and then. As per Gigi Hadid (yes, I am actually going to quote her), "eat clean to stay fit: have a burger to stay sane".
Brains are Sexy, Too
It isn't just your body that can be sexy, your brain can be, too. Using brain training apps such as Elevate or Peak (I use both) are the perfect way to stimulate your brain; whether it be during games which trigger "tip-of-the-tongue" moments to games which make you memorise a map full of explosives then go from Point A to Point B after the explosives disappear, it's equally as important to keep your brain in top shape.
I also recommend downloading crossword apps if you don't have regular access to newspapers. This one by Redstone Games can be incredibly challenging at times, to the point where I literally swear (not under my breath, either) in frustration but hey, anything to keep the brain thinking.
Take Regular Breaks and Remember to Sleep
Watch an episode of Game of Thrones ... or two. Read a book, go for a walk, play a video game. Whatever it is you do to wind down, do it. Do it or else you'll have a mental breakdown. I'm not joking. I, myself, can vouch for this because during the WACE exam period in Year 12, I didn't take enough time to focus on my mental health so I just broke down crying in the arms of my dad. I then learned from this, albeit overdoing it, so I decided to binge watch Scandal and this is something you don't do, okay? I repeat, do not binge watch anything on the night before your chemistry exam, god forbid the GAMSAT.
〰
Okay, so a lot of the information within this post stems from many hours of research; research that has been implemented in practice (to a certain extent seeing as I've yet to do much practice, which is funny because I emphasis its importance) but has yet to be tested in the real world setting of the GAMSAT itself. Basically, I'm writing a blog post about how I'm preparing for GAMSAT so to remind myself that this is what I want and that I cannot ever become complacent. I'm reminding myself to do all of this because hard work truly pays off and this blog should be a tangible reminder of that. I also hope that this post has helped you to jumpstart your pre-med school journey.
So in the words of the incredible Jake Bailey, "be gallant, be great, be gracious", and most of all, be bold and be brave.
Gallantly, greatly, graciously, boldly and bravely,
No comments