The GAMSAT blog
Evidence-based prep, sitting strategy, and the science of getting in.
Clear, honest writing on the GAMSAT and graduate-entry medicine — built by the team behind the coaching platform. No hacks, no fabricated cut-offs.
How to Review a GAMSAT Question You Got Wrong
Most practice time goes on answering and almost none on the misses. A four-cause review for GAMSAT Sections 1 and 3, a log that fits on one screen.
Changing Career to Medicine Through the GAMSAT
ACER's eligibility is about your degree, not your age. What a first career gives you on the GAMSAT, what it does not, and why the timeline runs in years.
UCAS Deadline Week for GAMSAT Applicants
UCAS closes at 18:00 UK time on 15 October; ACER needs your UCAS ID by 31 October. What to finish, check and send in deadline week, in order.
Read Your Own GAMSAT Essay Like an Examiner
ACER publishes two criteria and no rubric, so you cannot score your own essay. You can interrogate it — a repeatable self-review for Section 2.
How to Read a Cartoon in GAMSAT Section I
Section I sets cartoons, ads and photographs as well as prose. A repeatable way to read a visual stimulus, and the wrong answers a picture invites.
Preparing for the GAMSAT Around Shift Work
Most GAMSAT plans assume you own your evenings. If you work rotating shifts or nights, here is a study week built out of units you can actually finish.
The GAMSAT for Nurses and Allied Health
Clinical experience helps with the GAMSAT less than you expect, and in a different place. What a health background gives you, and what it does not.
How GAMSAT Section 2 Is Marked: What ACER Publishes
ACER publishes two broad criteria for Written Communication, five questions the examiners consider, and no rubric. What is official, what is invented, and how to use the difference.
GAMSAT for Ireland: How CAO Graduate Entry Works
In Ireland the GAMSAT is the sole instrument that selects graduate-entry medicine students. The four schools, the CAO order of events, and five years of cut-offs CAO publishes itself.
March or September? The GAMSAT re-sit decision
A short runway or a long one — the gap is only half the decision. Who each sitting favours, what score validity changes, and how to choose with data.
What to do after the GAMSAT (and what can wait)
The exam is behind you; results are weeks away. What the gap is for — the research worth doing, the deadlines that won't wait, and the case for rest.
A free GAMSAT Section III data pack: three units, with the reasoning shown
Three original Section III units - an enzyme curve, a titration and a free-body diagram - with six questions and the full reasoning for every option.
GAMSAT exam week: the final checklist
Sections I & III run 11-13 September. What to keep practising, what to stop, the logistics to settle early — and the night-before and morning-of plan.
MMI scoring: what Australian medical schools actually publish
Interview season runs September-October. Here is what each graduate-entry school publishes about how much the interview counts - the weights, the schools where it decides almost everything, and the station-level detail none of them publish.
A free GAMSAT Section I poetry pack: three units, with the reasoning shown
Three original poems written in-house, six questions, and the full reasoning for every option - plus the four-question method that makes verse tractable at Section I's ~96 seconds a question.
GAMSAT Section III mental maths: the arithmetic worth drilling
No calculator, 75 questions in 150 minutes, and a section that counts double. The estimation habits and number facts that stop arithmetic from eating the time your reasoning needs.
One GAMSAT, two sittings: what test day actually involves
The essays were sat remotely in August; the reasoning papers are one in-person day on 11-13 September. How two sittings become one score - and what to settle now.
GAMSAT Section III timing: the 2-minute question and when to walk away
75 questions, 150 minutes, no calculator - and Section III counts double in your overall. The pacing discipline that protects your score: banking time on the fast questions and walking away from the slow ones.
The night before the GAMSAT essay test: a checklist
Written Communication runs 22-23 August 2026, remotely under online proctoring. Everything to have confirmed, set up and written down the night before - and the three things NOT to do.
The last two weeks before the GAMSAT essay test: a revision plan
Written Communication lands 22-23 August. A day-by-day plan for the final fortnight: essays every second day, one fix per pair, a method you've timed to the minute, and a deliberate taper - not a panic sprint.
Quote-theme planning: the 5-minute GAMSAT essay plan, from a real set
GAMSAT Section II hands you a SET of related statements, not one quote. A five-minute planning method that finds the tension inside the set and turns it into a thesis — worked through on a real practice set.
GAMSAT Task A vs Task B: each fails differently
Same clock, same two criteria, different register. What each task rewards, the specific way each one fails, and how to train both without doubling your prep.
GAMSAT Section II in 65 Minutes: Minute by Minute
Two essays, 65 minutes, no extensions. Where each minute goes — reading the quote set, choosing an idea, planning, writing, and leaving time to fix it.
GAMSAT + UCAS 2027: Apply Before Your Score Exists
UCAS closes 15 October 2026 for 2027 entry, but September GAMSAT results land mid-November. The exact UK order of events, and how to plan around it.
9 weeks to the September GAMSAT — a realistic week-by-week plan
Registered for September 2026 and starting now? A realistic week-by-week plan from mid-July to the Written Communication test (22–23 August) and Sections I & III (11–13 September) — with honest daily time budgets.
How Is the GAMSAT Scored? The Formula
GAMSAT scores aren't percentages. How raw marks become scaled section scores, why Section III counts double, and what a good number looks like.
GAMSAT + GPA: How Admissions Weigh Them
How graduate-entry programs combine your GAMSAT and your GPA — weightings, thresholds and what each one can and can't rescue. Published figures only.
Sitting the GAMSAT without a science background: a realistic guide
You can do well on the GAMSAT without a science degree. Here's what Section III actually requires, the foundations to build, and how to compete on reasoning.
How to improve your GAMSAT score on a retake
Re-sitting the GAMSAT? Here's how to diagnose why your score plateaued and what actually moves each section — instead of just doing more of the same.
GAMSAT timing: how to finish each section in time
Running out of time is the most common, most fixable GAMSAT problem. Here's the pace each section demands and how to hold it under pressure.
What to study for GAMSAT Section III chemistry
Chemistry is the densest part of Section III for many candidates. Here are the high-yield topics worth your time — and the rule that keeps you out of the rabbit holes.
GAMSAT physics: the topics actually worth knowing
You don't need a physics degree for Section III — but a focused core pays off. Here are the physics topics worth knowing and the maths that goes with them.
GAMSAT Resits: No Cap — But Is It Worth It?
No limit on sittings, and a result lasts four years in Australia. The harder question: when a resit actually moves your score, and when it doesn't.
A 3-month GAMSAT study schedule (week by week)
Three months is enough to prepare well for the GAMSAT if you use it deliberately. Here's a week-by-week shape you can adapt to your starting point.
GAMSAT vs MCAT: what's the difference?
GAMSAT and MCAT are different admissions tests for different places. Here's how they compare — and how to know which one you actually need.
GAMSAT biology: what to study for Section III
Biology rewards understanding systems, not memorising facts. Here's the high-yield Section III biology core and how it's actually tested.
GAMSAT essay examples: what a strong Section II response looks like
Looking for GAMSAT essay examples? Here's what separates a high-scoring Section II essay from an average one — and how to use examples without copying them.
How your GPA is used for graduate-entry medicine
Your GPA matters as much as your GAMSAT for medical admissions — but how it's weighted varies by university. Here's how it actually works.
How to prepare for a medical school interview (MMI)
Clear the GAMSAT and GPA hurdle and the interview decides it. Here's how the MMI works and how to prepare for it.
The GAMSAT for international students: what you need to know
Can international students sit the GAMSAT? Yes — here's where it's used, how it fits into applying for medicine, and what to plan for.
Where to find free GAMSAT practice questions (2026)
Where to get free GAMSAT practice questions — official ACER materials, free platform tiers and your own error log — and how to use them so they actually raise your score.
How to write a high-scoring GAMSAT Section II essay
A clear method for GAMSAT Section II — what the two writing tasks assess, the structure that works under time, and what separates a top essay from an average one.
How to plan a GAMSAT essay in 5 minutes
A fast, repeatable planning method for GAMSAT Section II — find an angle, structure it, and start writing with a thesis.
5 common GAMSAT mistakes (and how to avoid them)
The avoidable errors that quietly cost GAMSAT candidates marks — and the simple habits that fix them.
Is the GAMSAT hard? What to actually expect
An honest look at what makes the GAMSAT challenging — and why it's a test you can prepare for systematically.
GAMSAT or UCAT? Which One You Actually Sit
A clear comparison of the GAMSAT and UCAT — what each tests, who sits which, and how preparation differs.
GAMSAT Section I: how to read like the examiners
Why careful reading beats speed-reading in Section I — and a repeatable method for the humanities section.
How Long to Study for the GAMSAT, Realistically
There is no single right answer — it depends where you're starting. Three realistic timelines, what each assumes, and how to tell which one is yours.
How to approach GAMSAT Section III
Section III is reasoning, not recall. Here's how to study the science section so unfamiliar stimuli stop being scary.
What's a Good GAMSAT Score? Band by Band
Over 95% of candidates score 40–80, and competitive offers cluster in the low-to-mid 60s. What each band means and how to set a target for your programs.
A GAMSAT Study Plan You Can Actually Keep
A practical, no-nonsense GAMSAT study plan — what to prioritise, how long it takes, and the mistakes that waste months.