Distance gamsat courses

marionette · Rookie Joined: 12 Dec 2010 Posts: 4

I'm overseas for the summer. There are so many different options for getting ready for gamsat from a distance. Which ones have been around the longest? Also, which are best for people who have weak science backgrounds?

I already have plently of mcat material but don't think it's that helpful.

Thanks in advance.

elefant · Rookie Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 9 Location: Sydney

marionette
I've been lurking on this forum and pd forum to work out how to proceed re gamsat --

The most established gamsat prep courses are comptext (des) and medprep. comptext began in 1996 and in medprep in 2000.

There are several posts on this forum that compare these two courses. see:

Review of study materials‎ - 30 Oct 2010
medprep vs des‎ - 6 Dec 2009
medprep vs. des oneil‎ - 29 Sep 2005

Both courses appear to have virtues. medprep is said to have better science teaching and personal essay marking. comptext (des) is said to have better trial questions.

There is not much to be found on the newer courses that appear to be popping up daily.

drowningkitten · Rookie Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 5

Hello Marionette. Regarding your worry about being weak in science, Des O'Neill's science course assumes that you know your science and covers only the more advanced material in detail. I have a 2009 copy of his science notes. Best for science students probably. Medprep covers science at a fundamental level first and then addresses the harder material. I'm doing Medprep delux course at the moment. Lectures are very helpful for any physics and chem novice because they explain how concepts and formulas fit together. The study schedule they propose is a bit unrealistic though. I will need more that 2 months to prep for gamsat. Their black text books are intimidating in size but when you open them, they turn out to be user friendly. I will look at their exams when I have a little more confidence in my science. So I can't comment on the Medprep exams yet.

selke01 · Regular Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 20

If you are after a full learning course then you could try des or medprep. I have heard mixed feedback from friends who took Des, his practice questions are good but his study material is only so so and that the course is quite rushed, its also way overpriced (I do not know how they justify a cost over $600 or so.

I used the medprep onlione course myself, it was great for physics and okay for general chem but the organic chemistry section is terrible and so is the biology section.

I actually took the gamsat twice, the first time I used medprep and the second time I just studied myself with help from youtube. I scored a 70 on my second attempt so I say self study is best, although you do need to practice with gamsat style questions: for that try medired, prep genie, or e-gamsat

if you are after a list of topics to study and lots of other tips try e-gamsat

hideandseek · Regular Joined: 19 Dec 2010 Posts: 20

Hi marionette

I did the ozimed and Des courses . I understand what the others are saying about the Des Science Course, but when you are paying big bucks you expect them to jam pack ALOT in and not waste your time. If you go along you can expect to cover a lot of material. And keep in mind guys that it would be very hard to design lectures that are beneficial for both students from non-science and science backgrounds. If you are from a non-science background it will require you to go home and study up on those areas they covered but he introduces them and talks about the crucial aspects. I have a science undergrad and I still got heaps out of it!! There is alot of science to get through and only 2.5 days, I think they do a pretty good job condensing it down and pulling out the main parts - it is intense though, but really it needs to be ... its Gamsat after all!!

I found Des's material best to study from because there were solutions to the questions. Sometimes its difficult when you do a test and cant understand what you are doing wrong with a certain question, so before you buy, best to check if there are solutions with the answers.

Best of luck!! Smile

Raisin · Rookie Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 3

check out prepgenies free samples Very Happy

Antsare · Regular Joined: 11 Jan 2011 Posts: 12

drowningkitten · Rookie Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Posts: 5

I mentioned in december 2010 that I would post a review of medprep's delux pack when I completed it. So here it is --

The online science lectures were just brilliant overall. Org chem needs some supplementation though.
medprep text books are set out in a way that makes learning chem and physics much less daunting than I expected. I will be going through these again.
Practise gamsat exams are harder than the acer materials. The phys and chem questions are very close in style to gamsat questions but bio questions rely on too much prior knowledge. Good overall. Section 1 and 2 questions are spot on.
Essay marking really pushed me to do better with each subsequent essay I emailed for marking.
Overall I recommend the delux pack for people who need real help with science and in writing solid essays.