AMEPP® - GAMSAT

Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test

The Test
Relevance of the Test
Content of the Test
Structure of the Test
Importance of the Test
Registering for the Test
Date and Time of the Test
Sitting the Test
GAMSAT Results
GAMSAT ACER Information Booklet
Contacting ACER
Preparing for GAMSAT

The Test

The Graduate Australian Medical School Admission Test (GAMSAT) is designed to assist in the selection of students to participate in the graduate-entry programs. It is available to any student who has completed  a bachelors degree or who will in the penultimate or final year of study for a bachelors degree at the time of sitting the test. However, dental health professionals without a degree qualification may also sit the test and apply for admission to the University of Sydney graduate-entry dental program. GAMSAT is developed each year to rigorous professional and technical standards by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER -. an independent national research and development organisation) on behalf of a group of universities (the Consortium of Graduate Medical Schools) to assist in the selection of students to participate in the graduate-entry programs. ACER is responsible for the administration of GAMSAT on behalf of the Consortium of Graduate Medical Schools.

Relevance of the Test

GAMSAT is designed to assess the capacity to undertake high level intellectual; studies in a demanding course and evaluates the nature and extent of a candidate's abilities and skills gained through prior experience and learning. This includes the mastery of use of concepts in basic sciences as well as the acquisition of more general skills in problem solving, critical thinking and writing. Graduates whose first degree is not in the field of science are welcome and encouraged to sit GAMSAT as a science degree is not a prerequisite and academic excellence in the humanities and social sciences is recognised. Applicants are selected for interview and final admission into graduate medicine and dental degree programs based on performance in GAMSAT and/or performance in a bachelors degree (Graduate Point Average- GPA). Click here to view a list of participating university degree programs.

Content of the Test

The purpose of GAMSAT is to assess a candidate's ability to understand and analyse material, to think critically about issues and, in the the case of the Written Communication section, organise and express your thoughts in a logical and effective way. The questions in GAMSAT are drawn from a variety of sources .A candidate will be required to read and think about a passage of writing, to interpret information presented in graphical form, to use mathematical relationships and to apply reasoning skills to tables of data. A major focus of the test is problem solving since problem-based learning techniques are central to the graduate-entry medical and dental programs. The main focus of GAMSAT is on the assessment of problem-solving ability across a wide range of subject areas that include biological and physical sciences as well as the social sciences and humanities.

Note: All the necessary information regarding the content of GAMSAT in 2005 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2005 ACER Information Booklet.

Structure of the Test

Except for the Written Communication Section of GAMSAT questions are in multiple-choice-question (MCQ) format with 4 or 5 answer response alternatives. All candidates will be required to mark their answers by filling in ovals on GAMSAT answer sheets which are optically scanned and scored by machine. All MCQ are of equal value, but may vary in the level of difficulty and no marks are deducted for wrong answers. Any rough work may be done in the margins of the GAMSAT test book. Scrap paper is not allowed. The three grouped test sections that collectively form GAMSAT are presented as three separate booklets and each test section is strictly and separately timed. All candidates will be required to follow the test supervisor's instruction at all times.

GAMSAT consists of three strictly timed sections designed to assess performance in the areas of:

SECTION I: REASONING IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
SECTION II: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
SECTION III: REASONING IN BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

SECTION I: REASONING IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences section consists of multiple choice questions (MCQ) that are designed to test skills in the interpretation and understanding of ideas in social and cultural contexts. Stimulus is taken from a wide variety of texts, including passages of personal, imaginative, expository and argumentative writing. Some of the stimulus material may also be present in visual and tabular form. Questions in this section require varying degrees of complex verbal processing and conceptual thinking, logical and plausible reasoning, and objective and subjective thinking.

SECTION II: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Section II is a written communication section that is designed to test and examine the ability to produce and develop ideas in writing. It involves two half-hour writing tasks. Each task offers a general theme and a number of ideas relating to that theme. The first writing task deals with issues of a socio-cultural nature while the second deals with more personal and social issues.

SECTION III: REASONING IN BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Section III of GAMSAT is designed to test and examine problem solving within a scientific context and the recall and understanding of basic science concepts that are required for success in the medical and dental programs.

Important skills that are assessed in this section include the ability of a candidate to successfully:

analyse given data
discern or identify knowledge in new contexts
translate and convert symbolic knowledge from one form to another
extrapolate and interpolate data given in different forms
propose an explanation or formulate a hypotheses
make estimates of measurements and recognise limits in accuracy.
formulate generalisations in the light of given relationships and data
discover relationships
make comparisons
deduce consequences from models
formulate a line of reasoning.

Stimulus material in Section III is presented in a variety of formats that include mathematical, formulaic, pictorial graphical and tabular. Questions are in multiple choice format in the three discipline areas of Chemistry, Biology and Physics in the proportions 40%, 40% and 20% respectively. The questions in the test will require some basic sciences at least to first year university level in biology and chemistry, and Year 12 in physics. Use of a calculator is not specifically required as any calculations require fundamental mathematical skills and computations.

Importance of the Test

Students or candidates who are contemplating studying a graduate medical; or dental degree course at a University for which GAMSAT is required, should consider the test to be an integral and important part of the application, selection and admission process. In fact ACER considers the test to be a 'high-stakes test; that is, the results of the test have the potential to make a major impact on the future career of the test taker'. The universities will set their own cut-off scores from year to year These will be the minimum scores acceptable for consideration in the graduate-entry medical and dental school admission processes.

Note: All the necessary information regarding the importance of GAMSAT in 2007 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2007 ACER Information Booklet.

Registering for the Test

There are two ways to register for GAMSAT: online or using the registration form in the ACER GAMSAT2007 Information Booklet which you need to obtain from ACER by contacting gamsat@acer.edu.au . Note. A registration form is not included with the PDF version of the Information Booklet and you will need to provide your postal address in your emailed request for a Booklet. Using the online registration facility log on at http://www.acer.edu.au/tests/university/gamsat/online_registrations.html. Note a candidate can only register online partially. A candidate will need to post a signed Declaration and passport photo to complete his/her online registration. Each of the two forms of registration must be completed according to the given directions with the appropriate payment so that it reaches ACER by the due date.

Note: All the necessary information regarding online and written form registration for GAMSAT in 2007 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2007 ACER Information Booklet.

Date and Time of the Test

Dates and time of the test vary slightly form year to year.

Note: All the necessary information regarding the date and time of GAMSAT in 2007 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2007 ACER Information Booklet.

Sitting the Test

When completing the Test Registration form you must select the city that is most convenient to you as listed in the ACER - GAMSAT2005 - Information Booklet. ACER will then assign you to a test centre at a time stated on your Admission ticket. .

Note: All the necessary information regarding test centre procedures and regulations for GAMSAT in 2007 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2007 ACER Information Booklet.

GAMSAT Results

A Statement of Results will be mailed to you in late May by ACER. The Statement of Results will contain a score for each of the three sections, together with an Overall or Total GAMSAT Score. The total score is a weighted average of the component scores. Each section score is expressed on a scale of 0 to 100. ACER uses the following formula to calculate a candidates overall GAMSAT score:

Overall score = [(Section i Score) + (Section II Score) + 2(Section III Score)] ÷ 4

ACER scores and re-scales total and section GAMSAT scores to make them directly comparable from year to year. Section I and III are in multiple choice format and scores are based on the number of correctly answered questions. Assessment in Section II of GAMSAT is on two criteria. These criteria address the quality of the thinking about a theme topic and the control of language demonstrated in its development. Assessment will be based on the way in which ideas are developed and integrated into a thoughtful response to the task. The grammar and expression of the writing task will also be assessed especially in the way in which it contributes to the overall effectiveness of the response. Assessment will not be based on the 'correctness' of the ideas or the candidates attitudes to the theme topic. In GAMSAT there is no penalty for incorrect answers. Individual graduate entry medical and dental schools set and establish their own minimum cut-off scores acceptable for consideration by university admissions committees . This is likely to vary from one university to another and from year to year. Candidates should note that universities may also choose to use the GAMSAT test scores in other ways.

Note: All the necessary information regarding the scoring of GAMSAT in 2007 is available on the ACER website or in the GAMSAT2007 ACER Information Booklet.

ACER GAMSAT Information Booklet

The GAMSAT ACER Information can be download from the ACER website. The booklet provides general information about the structure and content of GAMSAT, how to register, registration fees, location of GAMSAT test centres, how to prepare for GAMSAT and other information. If you wish to sit GAMSAT 2007, please contact the GAMSAT office as soon as possible as the deadline for registration is 29th January 2007.

Contacting ACER

Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
GAMS AT Office at ACER

Postal Address:
Private Bag 55
Camberwell
VICTORIA
AUSTRALIA 3124

Location:
19 Prospect Hill Road,
Camberwell
VICTORIA
AUSTRALIA 3124
Phone: (03) 9277 5710/5529, International Phone: +61 3 9277 5710/5529
Facsimile: (03) 9277 5757, International Facsimile: + 61 3 9277 5757
Internet: http://www.acer.edu.au/tests/university/gamsat/intro.html
Internet: http://www.gamsat.acer.edu.au/
Email: gamsat@acer.edu.au