IMAT 2015-2016(italian medical admission)

Hello

As a first year in Pavia, I would really encourage you to apply here. Its a beautiful historical town which is focused around the university, a proper student town. It also has a collegial system that mimics the oxbridge collegial system, whereas Milan doesn't have residence for students.

Pavia was the first university to teach medicine in English (the only one with 6th year students)
The teaching standards are high, and it has a good reputation.

But if you want to live in a big, fast paced city, and you prefer a smaller group (around 60 I think, not too sure) then Milan is a better option.

I came straight from A-levels. You need to have done/be in your last year of a-levels/high school when applying. No DBS or vaccinations or anything needed

I'm not sure if I would recommend this, but this is what I personally did.

My thinking was that I'm competing with gap year students and graduates who have all the time in the world to prepare, whilst I'm having to study for my a levels. So I prioritised the IMAT over my A-levels. I kept up to date with my subjects and still studied, but the IMAT came first. Since I didn't apply to UCAS at all as I was fully intending to study abroad, then I figured a good IMAT score would get me into medical school guaranteed, brilliant A-level results wouldn't.

After I wrote the IMAT in April, I fully focused on my A2 exams and studied as much as possible.

Not saying that's what you should do, but try to manage your time the best way you can. Preferably with Bio and Chem prioritized.

Have you applied for Medicine in the UK? Because if you have an offer, then fully focus on getting that AAA

my dear friend i am already in pharma school here in egypt
my question is i dont have full a levels i only have 3 as's
biology -math-accounting
would i be able to join at all

Okay so AAB in my a-levels
41.8 in the IMAT and ranked 115 in the combined rankings (of all students who wrote the exam)

I found this years IMAT harder than the previous past papers, and I think they will keep it at this level. I thought my score would be in the 50s but overall the marks were lower than the previous years.

I started preparing early (Jan) , a few questions everyday to familiarise well with the test. Books I used were:

Cambridge thinking skills
BMAT 400 questions
Alphatest - IMAT. The one with more than 1000 practise questions. The book is in italian, but the questions are in english.
Oxford Advanced biology (my edexcel bio books didn't cover all the syllabus, especially genetics)
I used the Ester break just before the IMAT to prepare intensely. And went into the test with a clear plan of how much time I would dedicate to each section, how many I should leave blank at most, etc. It's really easy to get stuck on a problem that you're convinced you can solve, whilst you could have answered 3 or 4 science questions in that time. So prioritise time management in your preparation.

Hope that helps a little

Hey! Thank you soooo much for the message. It is very usefull!
I just wanted to ask you one more question about the preparation to IMAT exam.
Did you read the whole thinking skills book made by cambridge or just 'the most important parts of it'? Also, did you manage lots of problems during making bmat 400 or alphatest questions (especially aptitude and skills part)?

I'm currently doing biology, chemistry and maths alevel and never done physics before, is there any point of learning physics for the IMAT physics section? Or am I better of skipping the whole physics section?

I would say it depends on how quickly you can learn advanced level physics.
I was in the same boat as you and left it out, since its only 4 questions out of 60. Used the time to prepare for the other topics

I would say it depends on how quickly you can learn advanced level physics.
I was in the same boat as you and left it out, since its only 4 questions out of 60. Used the time to prepare for the other topics

I've started going through questions on the bmat 400q book and im finding them really hard (majority of the questions) and keep having to look at the explanations to the question.

Any tips? Advice?
Is this normal for someone who's just started?
how long did it take you before you started getting the hang of things?

That's a totally normal feeling, I felt the exact same. Just keep at it every day, and learn from all the questions you get wrong.

I really think you should use the thinking skills book to help with the conclusions/arguments/inferences/assumptions question etc

For the problem solving questions, struggle with them until you work it out. They aren't unsolvable, even though some may look it! So don't be in a rush to look at the explanation for those, just grapple with them. And once you solve it, you'll remember how to approach questions like that better. Most of them involve finding 1 or 2 intermediates that aren't immediately obvious.

Do a few questions everyday rather than a massive amount in a short period, you'll retain the techniques better, and it progressively becomes much easier. Plus you don't run out of practise questions.

Science questions are pretty simple, either you know the facts/ how to do the calculation or you don't. Go back to your AS textbooks and study them. AS wasn't too long ago so you may feel you kinda remember a topic since you've done it in AS but seriously go back and study it. Especially true for bio and chem. And make sure you're familiar with the entire syllabus

Don't overthink the questions!! I did a lot of that in the beginning and it doesn't help

I spent like 40% studying 60% practising, and practise increased the closer the test came.

Be consistent. Give it a month and you'll feel so much more confident, and every month after that until the test. Most people taking the test haven't thought about starting to prepare yet, the fact that you've started now puts you at a great advantage.

You'll do great!

Thank you for this piece of advice, its really motivating to know that it is doable and not as daunting as it seems.

Could you please outline which resources you used to study from for the test?
Thank you!