The Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) is a standardized examination that has been developed to assist Universities in the selection of students to participate in graduate-entry programs for health professions.GAMSAT tests the skills and aptitudes that medical educators and medical professionals have identified as key prerequisites for success in medical schools and in the study and practice of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. GAMSAT has been developed and used by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to assist in the selection of students who are seeking entry in the graduate-entry medical programs. GAMSAT is used in all Australian universities and in some UK and Irish medical schools.

 

Who is eligible to take the GAMSAT?

 Any student who has completed a Bachelor degree or who is in the final or penultimate year of study is eligible to sit for the GAMSAT test. GAMSAT is only administered on one day each year, usually in late March. The date that is set is the only opportunity to sit for GAMSAT in that calendar year. GAMSAT applications close approximately 6 weeks before the GAMSAT examination date. Late registrations for GAMSAT will be accepted for a further 10 days from this date on payment of a late fee.

What does GAMSAT assess?
GAMSAT is designed to assess your competence to embark on high level studies in a challenging course. In order to do this GAMSAT evaluates the abilities and skills in basic science and more general skills in problem solving, critical thinking and writing. The skills assessed in GAMSAT are those that health professionals need: problem solving and critical thinking as well as general writing skills. GAMSAT tests your ability to understand and analyse material, to think critically about issues and, to organise and express your thoughts in a logical and effective manner.

 

GAMSAT recognizes that the study and practice of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are based on a variety of disciplines, especially the biological and physical sciences. GAMSAT recognizes that the social sciences and humanities are also vitally linked to the many dimensions of medical practice. There is an acknowledgement that social science research into the social patterning of health and illness is extensive and vitally important in providing an understanding of contemporary health problems that is both robust and more holistic.

 

What structure does GAMSAT take?
The test is divided into three sections that will assess your performance in:

 

GAMSAT Section I Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences

GAMSAT Section II Written Communication

GAMSAT Section III Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences

 

Throughout there is a major focus on the assessment of problem-solving ability.

 

1. GAMSAT questions are based on material drawn from a variety of sources. They usually require candidates to read and think about a passage of writing, to interpret graphical displays of information, to use mathematical relationships and to apply reasoning skills to tables of data.
2. GAMSAT tests your mastery of basic concepts in biology, general and organic chemistry and physics. GAMSAT assesses your ability to write both argumentative and discursive types of essays.
3. Admission to Medicine and Dentistry is based on the three criteria of Bachelor degree, GAMSAT score, and performance at interview, with the additional requirement of a case study for Pharmacy.

What is involved on the GAMSAT test day?

The GAMSAT is a 5½ hour exam comprised of three sections. Two sections are undertaken in the morning followed by one in the afternoon session. Each section is preceded by a short reading time. There is one hour of recess time.

The table below shows the structure of GAMSAT by section and time.

	Number of questions	Time in minutes
Section 1 Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences	75	100
Section 11 Written Communication	2	60
Section III Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences	110	170

 

There is a lunch break of one hour between Section II and Section III. Ten minutes of reading time is given before Section I and III and five minutes for Section II.

 

On the day you must report to your designated GAMSAT test centre. This will normally be at 8:15am local time. The test will start approximately half an hour later, depending on the time necessary for any pre-test procedures. If you report to the centre after all candidates are seated you run the risk of not being admitted. No latecomers will be admitted once the test has started.

How is GAMSAT scored?

How long are my GAMSAT Scores valid?

 GAMSAT scores are valid for two years. You can apply for admission to graduate-entry programs up to two years after the date on which you first or last sit the GAMSAT.

Can I resit GAMSAT?

 There is no restriction on the number of times you may sit GAMSAT. If you have two valid GAMSAT scores you may use whichever you prefer in applying for admission to medical, dental and/or pharmacy. The University Admissions Committees will not have access to your GAMSAT scores from other years. If you are unsure which GAMSAT score to use on your application you should contact your preferred university for advice.

 

It is worth remembering that The Admissions Committees may set thresholds for the Section scores as well as for the Overall Score.

GAMSAT Section I - Reasoning in the Humanities and Social Sciences

There are 75 questions in this section and you have 1 hour and 40 minutes in which to answer them. You will be required to use complex verbal processing skills combined with conceptual thinking, you will need to be able to work your way through verbal problems logically to come to a plausible conclusion, and your will use both objective and subjective thinking.

 

Most of the stimulus material will be presented in the form of written passages of personal, imaginative, expository and argumentative writing. In addition, some units may present ideas and information in visual and tabular forms.

 

The material in this section of the GAMSAT will test your skills in the interpretation and understanding of ideas in social and cultural contexts. Materials will deal with a range of academic and current or contemporary public issues, and there will be an emphasis on socio-cultural, personal and interpersonal topics.

 

Questions in this section are in a multiple choice format with four alternative answers given from which you are to choose the most appropriate.

 

You will find this section of the GAMSAT has three different styles of questions. They will concentrate on three key areas: understanding, plausible reasoning and critical thinking.

 

1. Questions that emphasise understanding ask you to recognize meaning, what is meant in a passage. Here you have to understand both explicit and implicit meanings. You will need to read the text very carefully and take your meaning using the words, phrases and global interpretations that are in the text.
2. Questions that emphasise plausible reasoning will require you to go beyond what is written by interrelating, interpreting, elaborating, inferring, and extending ideas and concepts in the text, and then drawing conclusions.
3. Questions that emphasise critical thinking require that you make discriminations and judgements involving plausible reasoning. You will be required to use your critical thinking ability to make a judgement from seemingly very similar answers. Here you need to read very critically and carefully to justify your choice and disprove the other choices.

 

GAMSAT Section II - Written Communication

This section of the GAMSAT involves your writing two essays based on a series of quotes. You have 1 hour in which to complete both essays. It is a test of your ability to produce and develop ideas in writing.

 

1. Each writing task offers a number of ideas relating to a common theme. The first writing task deals with socio-cultural issues while the second deals with more personal and social issues.
2. In the essays you will be assessed using two criteria. Essentially you will be assessed on the quality of what is said, and the quality of the structure developed.
3. You will be assessed on the quality of the thinking about the topic and the control of the language demonstrated in the way you have developed your essay. The three independent assessors will be looking for the way in which the ideas are integrated into a thoughtful response to the stimulus given. How you are able to express your ideas, and the level of control of the language that you are able to demonstrate are vitally important. You will not be assessed on the ‘correctness' of the ideas or attitudes you are expressing.

 

ACER provide the following set of criteria for assessment of written communication.

Criteria for the Assessment of Written Communication

 Raters consider the following issues:

Thought and content (the quality of what is said)

1. What is made of and developed from the task
2. The kinds of thought and feeling offered in response to the task.

Organisation and Expression (the quality of the structure developed and the language used)

1. The shape and form of the piece
2. The effectiveness and fluency of the language

GAMSAT Section III - Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences

 In this section you will be tested on your reasoning and problem solving skills within a scientific context. In addition you will be examined on your recall and understanding of basic science concepts.

 

Your skills will be tests using stimulus materials in a variety of forms such as text, mathematical, graphs, table and diagrams. The three discipline areas of chemistry, biology and physics are examined in the following proportions: chemistry 40%, biology 40% and physics 20%. The questions from each of the three discipline areas are integrated throughout the section and questions are in multiple choice format with four alternative answers.

The skills assessed include the following:

1. the ability to identify knowledge in new contexts
2. analysis and interpretation of data
3. ability to discover relationships
4. translating knowledge from one form to another
5. formulating and applying hypotheses
6. making generalizations
7. deducing consequences from models,
8. following and evaluating a line of reasoning
9. evaluating evidence
10. categorizing and selecting information relevant to problems
11. generating and applying strategies to solve problems
12. making comparisons
13. extrapolating
14. interpolating
15. estimating and recognize limits in accuracy.

What prior knowledge should I have for GAMSAT?

 The GAMSAT test assumes that you will have a basic understanding of biology, chemistry (organic and physical) and physics. The level of subject knowledge is generally that which corresponds to the first year of university studies in biology and chemistry, and Year 12 physics. While the GAMSAT focuses on problem solving there is also a need to have mastered general concepts in the three core disciplines and to have an adequate knowledge to provide a basis for answering the questions.The post GAMSAT interviewshoudl also be taken into account as the greater majority of GAMSAT sitters are rejected at this stage of medical entrance selection.

How can I enroll for GAMSAT?

 Go to the GAMSAT Office at ACER on the web: www.gamsat.acer.edu.au, or phone 03 9277 5710 5529. You can email them on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or write to them at Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria 3124.