Help! No science background

scotty011 · Rookie Joined: 02 Aug 2009 Posts: 2

Hey guys!

I'm soon to finish a Bachelor of Psychological Science at Monash and want to apply for post grad med. Obviously I need to sit the GAMSAT but problem is I haven't done chem, bio or physics since year 10! I know neuroscience from my psych degree but that's about it. Does anyone know:

a) is it at all possible to learn from scratch enough chem, bio and physics to do well on the GAMSAT? or do you really need to have a solid science background before even attempting to study for the GAMSAT?

b) If it is indeed possible, any suggestions about good ways to learn all that info? Good courses etc?

Thanks guys!

Scotty

Mokusatsu · Veteran Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 43 Location: Perth

Start out by finding a local GAMSAT study group, see how you get along.

water · Rookie Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

Scotty,

a) I don't think you need a solid science background before attempting to study for the gamsat. Even to do well in the test, you don't really need a solid background as long as you can think logically based on the info given.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone without any science background but with a strong logic and the ability to beat/cheat/manipulate the multiple-choice testing can do well in the test without any study.

Having said that, a decent science knowledge is very helpful in enabling a quick understanding of science concepts and scientific logical thinking, both of which you'd need for the gamsat. And that decent science knowledge, I believe, can be achieved from the very beginning without any prior knowledge - as long as you give it maybe no less than 2 months of relatively committed and smart studying. (Note: I've got a science background so my thoughts might be a bit skewed)

b) I found Kaplan's MCAT Premier Program (which has a full science review) quite helpful. Des O'Neil's science revision home study notes were decent. Des' science revision attendance course was very valuable. So were his multiple choice attendance and home study course/notes. MediRed notes were not too bad.

Haven't used other gamsat-dedicated science prep materials so can't say any thing about them.

There are some videos on YouTube that explain a number of science concepts extremely well.

And there's also a video course (DVDs) for MCAT (I think it's called gold standard MCAT by Ferdinand, I think?), and based on a very short viewing of it, I can see some potential in those dvds. I guess it all depends on how much $ you want to spend and how much time you have to actually use them. Gamsat can be a very $-draining exercise.

I believe you'd also need some basic textbooks as references during the studies as all of the prep courses only provide a relatively high level overview of the topics.

Good luck.

lp87 · Rookie Joined: 13 Aug 2009 Posts: 1 Location: Brisbane

Hey Scotty!
I'm in a pretty similar situation to you. I'm in my second year of a BPsycSci at the University of Queensland and will be sitting the GAMSAT in 2010 and 2011.

I also don't have a science background, but I have been doing a bio elective this semester and a friend gave me her chem and organic chem textbooks, so I've just been trying to teach myself with those... and I think I'm going alright with everything so far. My neuroscience courses did make it easier to get into my bio and chem study, but it definately isn't sufficient.

I also purchased a Medired study guide (just Section 3), if you don't mind the steep price it is quite helpful, but only gives you the basics. You'll still have to find other sources to understand the topics in depth. I've also found Youtube suprisingly helpful, lots of people put up there own little courses on there and also Wikipedia just to get a general understanding of concepts (there's normally some good links at the bottom of wiki pages such as tutorials).

Goodluck with your study! It's good to know Im not gonna be the only BPsycSci! Also just out of curiosity what area of medicine were wanting to get into? Psychiatry?

scotty011 · Rookie Joined: 02 Aug 2009 Posts: 2

Hey hey!

ah this forum was a great idea, feel heaps better now I know I'm not the only psych student to try and make the jump!

How do you rate the medi-red course? I haven't looked too much into that side of things yet as I'm leaving it until after sem 2 exams; but it seems hard to choose which company has the better offer?

Yeh i'm going after psychiatry, yourself?

Cheers!

Scotty

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

You can study science from scratch in 6 months. Don't worry.

GAMSAT as an exam does not assess the knowledge base of the person. Anybody, no matter from which background they come from can sit in this exam and excel.

You need to be familiar with only the basic concepts of the subjects. The questions are analytical and reasoning based and don't really require deep science knowledge.

The percentage of questions that are in the Section 3 are -
Biology - 40%
Chem - 40%
Physics - 20%

So, just give your best in the basics in these subjects and you WILL succeed.

Good Luck Cool

heavenlyjohnson · Regular Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14

Hi Scotty, I just sat the Gamsat UK exam which I think is similar. It's true you can learn the science in 6 months if you can devote the time to it but do definitely revise. I've seen some people claim that you can pass the Gamsat with no revision. I don't see how this would be possible.

You've got to know your science, particularly things like organic chemistry and some basic electronics. The biology questions tend to be quite intuitive though it's good to know things like the structure and function of the heart and lungs and homeostatic feedback. It's not too hard once you get into it.

You can do it and good luck next year!

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

I totally agree with heavenlyjohnson.
Science revision is very very necessary. Main thrust has to be on the basics. No need to read books or sites (if learning online material) which look really huge and intimidating. Go for the ones where you can understand the stuff.

I want to add to the biology part. I have seen (in the acer books) there are quite a lot of questions that require analytical reasoning and simple calculations. If you concentrate on knowing the basic of the subject you can attack any question.

Go for it. All the best Very Happy

heavenlyjohnson · Regular Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

heavenlyjohnson · Regular Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 14

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

Tom · Veteran Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 57 Location: Adelaide

Hey guys, this thread is certainly a good one! I haven't posted on here in a while.

I completed a Bachelor of Journalism last year. I sat the GAMSAT in 2008 with not one bit of preperation and I got 54, with section scores of 55, 66 and 46, so clearly I struggled massively in the science section. Since then I have done two first-year physiology courses which re-hashed my year 12 Biology knowledge and went in to a lot more detail of anatomy and obviously physiology, but I still feel that my Bio is lacking quite a lot (I only just passed Human Phys 2 with about 54-55% because I was too slack).

I have got the Des O'Neill's books for science from a friend, and I have started working my way through those, starting with the Biology, which I am familiar with. I feel that when I finish reviewing the 'General Biology' section (probably [hopefully!] by the end of this week) and move on to the Chemistry Fundamentals that it is going to be a bit out of my depth...

I disliked Chem at school and avoided it a lot. I finished school in 2003, and haven't studied any chem since 2001. Chem is the one that is feeling a bit daunting for me. It is about 18 weeks until the GAMSAT. I know that I can do this (get up to a reasonable level of Chem knowledge) but I am a little bit overwhelmed by the prospect. I am basically trying to commit from now until March. I know I should have started the serious committment back in July but I didn't.

I think the idea of an absolute minimum of 15 hours per week is essential for the next 18 weeks. That would bring me up to close to 300 hours, except that I will not be able to study between Christmas and Jan 1, and between Jan 10 and Jan 31, so that is a problem!

Ah well, I've had my vent for the day. Time to get stuck in to a couple of hours of Biology!

Just by the by, this last week I have found it really helpful to have some of my favourite motivational quotes sitting on top of my desk, so I see them frequently when I am studying (or losing focus and looking around). I have never done this before but it is really helping with GAMSAT study, which I have found is something that requires that extra bit of motivation because it is very individual and a long, largely solitary process.

eternal.abyss · Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:16 am Post subject:

Tom, I have to say that your post really hit the spot (for me anyway). Now I need to vent as well!

Earlier this year I had planned to get all of the gamsat subjects studied during the summer holidays, which is June, July and August in the US. I had been confident and was pretty excited about the prospect of sitting the test and doing well lol:-)... but the holidays came and went and I didn't end up doing anything productive. Then I bought Des o'neill's prep material a few months ago, but they're still sitting somewhere in my room. Weekends come and go so quickly with school work and other things hanging over your head... What made me choke was reading that we have only 18 weeks left:(. That's shocking and disheartening to know, especially because I haven't started doing anything. I'm glad to hear you're almost through with a section, that's awesome, I wish I were you! But I will try out your quotes idea, hopefully that helps =)

ah okay, that's it for now.

prepgenie · Grizzled Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 113

Hi All!
Haven't really posted here in a while... but the discussion was interesting so i thought why not get back..
Well GAMSAT is a few weeks away now... so time for some serious action guys! At this point of time you must have already done a full length GAMSAT style paper and analyzed your strengths and weaknesses.. If you haven't yet done that, its high time you do it now.. Thats really the first step for a well-planned study-plan. Once you know which areas are your weaknesses, you need to put a very focused approach and designate each topic by study hours. But making a plan is the easier part of the game, sticking to it calls for determination, determination that will be rewarded by success! Yes, be focused and don't lose your determination to succeed! That is what will see you through! GAMSAT is a huge test and even sitting through those five and a half hours requires practiced patience! so no matter what study material you choose, from whichever service provider be sure to practice with lots of sample papers so that you don't run out of patience on the day of exam.
Lots of gyan that... so bye for today... will get soon with more!
So till then .. keep studying and keep rocking!

Cheers!
Prepgenie