The Student Room Group

Is there still enough to prepare for GAMSAT for GEM 2025?

Having recently finalised the decision to pursue GEM, I would like to apply for the 2025 cycle. I understand this means I will need to sit both the GAMSAT and UCAT in a relatively short time frame ready for submitting my UCAS application.

Is there time to do prep for both, bearing in mind this will only allow me a max of 5 months to prep for GAMSAT and I last studied bio and chemistry properly about 10 years ago?

And does anyone know of any useful resources for preparing in a very short time frame? I understand it’s likely I’ll end up having to take an extra year to apply, but in the mean time I’d still like to maximise my chances for this cycle if I can.

Reply 1

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum. :biggrin:

The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Megathreads
(Please read the first post, before then posting any further questions you have within that thread.)
The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread
Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work

2023 Applicants:
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2023 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2023 Entry
Medicine 2023 entry for resit / retake / gap year applicants
A100 Medicine for International Students 2023 Entry
Medicine Interview discussion 2023 Entry
2023 entry A100 / A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Index of Individual Medical School Applicants' threads 2023 Entry

2024 Applicants :
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2024 Entry
Graduate Entry Medicine 2024 Entry
GAMSAT 2024 / 2025 entry discussions megathread
UCAT 2024 Entry Discussions Megathread

Other application years:
Graduate Entry Medicine 2025 Entry
Official Undergraduate Medicine 2025 Entry

Useful Articles:
GCSE Requirements for Medicine
Everything you need to know about the BMAT
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application

If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Reply 2

thank you

Reply 3

Original post by beabeabug10
Having recently finalised the decision to pursue GEM, I would like to apply for the 2025 cycle. I understand this means I will need to sit both the GAMSAT and UCAT in a relatively short time frame ready for submitting my UCAS application.
Is there time to do prep for both, bearing in mind this will only allow me a max of 5 months to prep for GAMSAT and I last studied bio and chemistry properly about 10 years ago?
And does anyone know of any useful resources for preparing in a very short time frame? I understand it’s likely I’ll end up having to take an extra year to apply, but in the mean time I’d still like to maximise my chances for this cycle if I can.

Hello 👋

So I did the GAMSAT last September and got a 61 overall and kinda half arsed it so take what I am saying with a pinch of salt.

Basically, the conventional wisdom with the GAMSAT is three months of intense studying and I do agree with this although I am coming from a science background. Therefore I do think you will have enough time HOWEVER, the GAMSAT has been split into two resting windows of 1st September and 15th September. The last UCAT test date is the 29th of September. I did the UCAT last year with two weeks of prep and only got a 2730. Therefore, I think the UCAT should Be booked toward the very beginning of the testing window (8th July) giving at least a month of prep if not a week extra. That gives you now until the beginning of June to get your GAMSAT prep started.

As for prep, there’s definitely an element of base knowledge in S3 for the GAMSAT however I would say a majority of the question rely on actually comprehending what the QUESTION is asking. I bought the physics AQA Alevel textbook but you could probably find a pdf somewhere same goes for both biology and chemistry. It is important not to get bogged down by these as this could be your trap as these are designed to be learnt over two years. Some guy has made a GAMSAT topics list pm me and I’ll try get it for you. I would also suggest buying the resources they sell as these will be the best thing to study from. Finally for S3 the Des O Neil’s books saved my butt… you can find a pdf online. I THINK from what I remember that they allow calculators idk about now.

Okay so for S1 and S2 I got 59 and 58 and I did no S2 practice at all soooooo probably not one to give advice but there is a YouTube called Ava Kim who said to watch school of life and honestly that helped.

As for strategising… I would probably say to put more emphasis on the GAMSAT just because the results are valid for two years and it is SUCH an expensive and mentally draining exam that it’s worth going all out. Also although the GAMSAT is a tougher exam you don’t have to do AS well as you do in the UCAT. A 61 which is just about high enough to get an interview is around 65-70th percentile vs a competitive UCAT score is easily in the 90th percentile.

A NOTE ABOUT WARWICK - the Warwick UCAT score is considerably lower so I would probably gun for them as you would also know in advance what your score is. Be warned that you need to have 70 hours of volunteering in two healthcare related roles

Overall, I think it is doable if you are diligent and I admire your self awareness of realising you want to be a doctor and hope it goes well :wink:

P.s. sorry for the rambling
(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

Original post by Azer256
Hello 👋
So I did the GAMSAT last September and got a 61 overall and kinda half arsed it so take what I am saying with a pinch of salt.
Basically, the conventional wisdom with the GAMSAT is three months of intense studying and I do agree with this although I am coming from a science background. Therefore I do think you will have enough time HOWEVER, the GAMSAT has been split into two resting windows of 1st September and 15th September. The last UCAT test date is the 29th of September. I did the UCAT last year with two weeks of prep and only got a 2730. Therefore, I think the UCAT should Be booked toward the very beginning of the testing window (8th July) giving at least a month of prep if not a week extra. That gives you now until the beginning of June to get your GAMSAT prep started.
As for prep, there’s definitely an element of base knowledge in S3 for the GAMSAT however I would say a majority of the question rely on actually comprehending what the QUESTION is asking. I bought the physics AQA Alevel textbook but you could probably find a pdf somewhere same goes for both biology and chemistry. It is important not to get bogged down by these as this could be your trap as these are designed to be learnt over two years. Some guy has made a GAMSAT topics list pm me and I’ll try get it for you. I would also suggest buying the resources they sell as these will be the best thing to study from. Finally for S3 the Des O Neil’s books saved my butt… you can find a pdf online. I THINK from what I remember that they allow calculators idk about now.
Okay so for S1 and S2 I got 59 and 58 and I did no S2 practice at all soooooo probably not one to give advice but there is a YouTube called Ava Kim who said to watch school of life and honestly that helped.
As for strategising… I would probably say to put more emphasis on the GAMSAT just because the results are valid for two years and it is SUCH an expensive and mentally draining exam that it’s worth going all out. Also although the GAMSAT is a tougher exam you don’t have to do AS well as you do in the UCAT. A 61 which is just about high enough to get an interview is around 65-70th percentile vs a competitive UCAT score is easily in the 90th percentile.
A NOTE ABOUT WARWICK - the Warwick UCAT score is considerably lower so I would probably gun for them as you would also know in advance what your score is. Be warned that you need to have 70 hours of volunteering in two healthcare related roles
Overall, I think it is doable if you are diligent and I admire your self awareness of realising you want to be a doctor and hope it goes well :wink:
P.s. sorry for the rambling

Thank you so much for this advice! I really appreciate how thorough you have been, this is incredibly helpful! ☺️

Quick Reply