UMAT again or GAMSAT?

plums42 · Rookie Joined: 26 Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Toowoomba

Hey everyone,

I'm in grade 12 and just got my UMAT results. They were, to say the least, disappointing. However, I'll still be doing a course at uni, probably Pharmacy or the like. Now, I'm not sure whether or not I should just re-sit UMAT next year or wait until I've finished my degree, kick around a bit, and then do GAMSAT. Any advice? If it helps at all, I'm doing chemistry, physics, biology and French at school right now.

eternal.abyss · Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 1:21 am Post subject:

hey,
If you decided to take the umat again, wouldn't you have to hang around for Year 13? I had a friend who did that, but things turned out well for her and she got into Pharmacy which was what she had been aiming for. The choice is ultimately yours, but if I were in your situation I'd probably start the uni degree and then take the gamsat later, mainly because the thought of doing Yr 13 and then not passing the umat again would kill me=(. University will also expose you to other fields you may later be interested in. But if you honestly believe you'd be able to do better if given another chance, then go for it. The umat is tricky because success is based partly on luck, but at the same time you don't have to study for it to be able to pass, so...yeah. Good luck with whatever you choose! I'd pick uni though~ Wink

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

Hi,
I would also suggest that it is better to get ahead with your university course and then later appear for the GAMSAT instead of trying the UMAT yet again. And in the meanwhile that you get ahead ahead with your uni course, your science and reasoning skills would certainly improve and hence also your chances of cracking GAMSAT!!

All the Best!

medwannabe · Regular Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 17

So sorry you didn't get what you were hoping for.

As far as I am aware, you can do first year and apply for undergrad med again using the UMAT, so I would suggest you do it again next year and see if you can improve. Then, even if you don't get in, don't lose hope, just be a really good student, get a fantastic GPA and then you can do the GAMSAT and get in graduate.

Three years of your life is no waste- ending up with an extra degree just means you will have extra knowledge Very Happy

Some undergrad med degrees are 7 years, some grad degrees are 4 years, so including a 3 year extra degree is completely the same amount of time!

Just for the record, I wanted to get into med after year 12 and was devastated that I didn't, so much so that I dropped out of uni in second year and incurred some fails. I took a few years off, got some life experience and decided that I really do still want to be a doctor, but for totally different reasons than after school. I have now worked my butt off and will hopefully get in next year (at age 26). I look back on what I was like when I was 18 and if I was interviewing me then, I wouldn't have given me a place either (although at the time, I thought I was perfect for med!)

A few extra years has made all the difference to my life and I know I will be a better doctor for it.

Good luck!