Nottingham GEM (A101) Applicants 2015

Original post by Marathi

So many familiar names from the GAMSAT and GEM thread here. I am very jealous of you all but I wish you all best of luck and hopefully I will be studying here in the near future too!

Did anyone score 66+ with a 2:2 in the GAMSAT? I think that meant you had to be top 8% which is pretty hard going.

Yeah, I got 69, which I'm hoping will help me out this year. Notts use your score with your interview - last year, my interview was **** and I got feedback with things like 'You don't really want this, do you?'. Well eff you, Notts, eff you. I've not worked in hospitals for 10 years for ****s and giggles. I've worked in hospitals for ****, vomit and death. I didn't like their interviewers, either. They were a combination of stuck up or dippy.

Reply 143

Marathi

12

Original post by Don'tMessThisUp

Yeah, I got 69, which I'm hoping will help me out this year. Notts use your score with your interview - last year, my interview was **** and I got feedback with things like 'You don't really want this, do you?'. Well eff you, Notts, eff you. I've not worked in hospitals for 10 years for ****s and giggles. I've worked in hospitals for ****, vomit and death. I didn't like their interviewers, either. They were a combination of stuck up or dippy.

Wow great score and you are a 2ii applicant? What resources did you use to study?

That's a shame about your interview, but at least you know what to expect next time. Their current students made it seem like the interview was nicer at Notts than SGUL but they are most likely biased :smile:

Reply 144

Original post by Marathi

Wow great score and you are a 2ii applicant? What resources did you use to study?

That's a shame about your interview, but at least you know what to expect next time. Their current students made it seem like the interview was nicer at Notts than SGUL but they are most likely biased :smile:

Yup!

First time around, The Book (which is rubbish. Absolutely awful). This time around, I used basically all the Ozimed practice papers and spent a *lot* of money on the US equivalent (the MCAT) resources. Same subject matter, so I felt like I was learning a lot.

I also concentrated more on physics this year, so it picked up the little bits that I missed last year - and this year there was a lot of physics and maths (I felt). It was defo more biology than chem this year though, I felt it was more 60/20/20 than 40/40/20. Maybe 50/30/20.

Reply 145

Marathi

12

Original post by Don'tMessThisUp

Yup!

First time around, The Book (which is rubbish. Absolutely awful). This time around, I used basically all the Ozimed practice papers and spent a *lot* of money on the US equivalent (the MCAT) resources. Same subject matter, so I felt like I was learning a lot.

I also concentrated more on physics this year, so it picked up the little bits that I missed last year - and this year there was a lot of physics and maths (I felt). It was defo more biology than chem this year though, I felt it was more 60/20/20 than 40/40/20. Maybe 50/30/20.

Which book was that? Gold Standard?

I am thinking about getting a Physics tutor to help me prep for resit as I felt I lost a load of marks there!

Reply 146

Original post by Marathi

Which book was that? Gold Standard?

I am thinking about getting a Physics tutor to help me prep for resit as I felt I lost a load of marks there!

You don't need a Physics tutor, I promise you - you need Kaplan books and practice tests.

Reply 147

Zorg

18

Forms are due in half an hour! Won't hear anything back for a month though, can't blame them I imagine there are a fair few to get through.

Original post by Marathi

Which book was that? Gold Standard?

I am thinking about getting a Physics tutor to help me prep for resit as I felt I lost a load of marks there!

I got 64 in S3 and guessed every single physics question and maybe 3 others. I triaged the questions first time around Nd just noted down which were Chem or Phys by the question number and attempted all the biology ones. Then went through the booklet again answering all the Chem ones. In the last few minutes I sprinted through physics, saw nothing familiar so guessed C for all of them.
I haven't done physics A level but covered the main content stated in Griffiths.

I'd be inclined to say that as a graduate you know how to learn, just grab a book/youtube/Khan Academy/whatever you learn from and then just practice GAMSAT-esque questions in a GAMSAT exam style format. More than half the battle is exam technique if you ask me. You don't need a tutor and they would only really be able to give you advice about a level exams or the physics content.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 148

PharmaGiles

5

Hi guys, I've applied for Nottingham GEM 2015.
I got a 2:2 in pharmacy and got 67 in GAMSAT (70 in the science bit which I was chuffed with!)
I felt there were a lot of pharmacy related questions which helped... phase diagrams, pKa stuff (which I sort of remembered from uni). If you enjoy reading, stay up to date with current affairs and can express ideas in writing, that's pretty much the first two sections sorted. I got scores I was happy with (63 and 61) without doing that much in preparation... I wrote a few practice essays on quotes given in the sample paper.
As for the science bit, go through A-level text books and be methodical when you sit the exam... don't spend too long reading and re-reading questions that you might have to guess. Turn the page and move on! I made a little mark on the answer paper next to questions I'd left (obviously rubbimg them out at the end after going back to answer or guessing).

Anyone know how long we have to wait to find out interview dates? If they asked us to fill the online forms out about previous work experience are we guaranteed an interview?

Reply 149

Zorg

18

Original post by PharmaGiles

Anyone know how long we have to wait to find out interview dates? If they asked us to fill the online forms out about previous work experience are we guaranteed an interview?

End of Jan/Feb time. You're not guaranteed an interview.

On a side note, why bother marking on the answer sheet if you'd left a question unanswered? Surely that would be obvious by the lack of answer being chosen...?

Reply 150

PharmaGiles

5

Original post by Zorg

End of Jan/Feb time. You're not guaranteed an interview.

On a side note, why bother marking on the answer sheet if you'd left a question unanswered? Surely that would be obvious by the lack of answer being chosen...?

Hahaha very good point. I would sometimes just put a little star next to it, sometimes write a letter or two as my possible answers if I wasn't sure... I guess it's a personal choice but I always faintly marked any unanswered question as I'd be scared to miss it out if I left it totally blank. Pressure situation after all... It's something I started doing in uni. Maybe it's just me!

Thanks for answering... Guess I'll have to wait and see. Pretty much all my experience is pharmacy based so not a great deal of variety.

Reply 151

MiloMilo

OP

2

Original post by PharmaGiles

Hahaha very good point. I would sometimes just put a little star next to it, sometimes write a letter or two as my possible answers if I wasn't sure... I guess it's a personal choice but I always faintly marked any unanswered question as I'd be scared to miss it out if I left it totally blank. Pressure situation after all... It's something I started doing in uni. Maybe it's just me!

Thanks for answering... Guess I'll have to wait and see. Pretty much all my experience is pharmacy based so not a great deal of variety.

Same. Pre-reg and 3rd year summer placements for me. Plus St. John this year and all my 5 placements were full. :frown:

Reply 152

PharmaGiles

5

Original post by MiloMilo

Same. Pre-reg and 3rd year summer placements for me. Plus St. John this year and all my 5 placements were full. :frown:

That doesn't sound too bad, St. John's experience would be well received I'd have thought...
Literally all five were pharmacy for me. Locuming, pre-reg, two week hospital cross sector placement and then two examples of previous dispensing/counter jobs from years ago... I'm clutching at straws a bit!

Reply 153

Hi all - currently a 1st year GEM student at nottingham - I used to gold standard for the gamsat and thought it was great! I had tried the GAMSAT a couple of times before getting the required mark - although persistence is important, so is technique and practice questions, both of which the book gave me

I am looking to sell these resources - if anyone is interested, please PM me

thanks!

Reply 154

Original post by gamsat_resources

- I used to gold standard for the gamsat and thought it was great! I had tried the GAMSAT a couple of times before getting the required mark

If you used the Gold Standard book and had to try a couple of times, then the book by definition, is ****! It's £100 for some not-very-clear bullet points with some random pictures of cats, I have no clue why.

Reply 155

I had tried the gamsat a couple times before getting the book and the third time, either the book, I managed to get the required marks

For me it was useful, I guess it is personally

I'm glad since now I'm on the GEM course

I am telling people they should or shouldn't buy it but it they are interested then they can talk to me

Reply 156

Zorg

18

Original post by gamsat_resources

I had tried the gamsat a couple times before getting the book and the third time, either the book, I managed to get the required marks

For me it was useful, I guess it is personally

I'm glad since now I'm on the GEM course

I am telling people they should or shouldn't buy it but it they are interested then they can talk to me

So you're saying you have a vested interest in people liking this book enough to buy it...?

Reply 157

Original post by Zorg

So you're saying you have a vested interest in people liking this book enough to buy it...?

I was supposed to say that I am NOT telling people they should or shouldn't buy it
Just because I found it helpful doesn't mean everybody will

Reply 158

Original post by gamsat_resources

I was supposed to say that I am NOT telling people they should or shouldn't buy it
Just because I found it helpful doesn't mean everybody will

I just find it a bit suspicious coming from someone called 'Gamsat Resourses'. :wink:

Reply 159