Please also see my earlier posts "Free GAMSAT resources online - and how to use them" and "More free GAMSAT study resources"
For those looking for free GAMSAT information, there's a new tutoring group offering free resources called Fraser's Gamsat Journey.
They offer an online video masterclass, a topics list, a study planner, spreadsheets for tracking your improvement over time, a Section 2 quote generator, a Section 2 style guide, a Section 3 Chemistry checklist, Section 3 Physics Checklist, and two physics formula cheat sheets (one, two), and a Section 3 Biology checklist.
Again, I don't recommend any particular test preparation company. I didn't use any tutoring company and still had excellent scores, although I had studied many of these topics at University level. Many of the medical students I know sat the GAMSAT and got in without paying for tuition. I would suggest the PagingDr forums and Graduate Medicine Informant as the best sites for unbiased information that isn't trying to sell anything.
It's been many years now since I took the GAMSAT, but I still get the occasional email from others who have found this website helpful. I hope it saves you further searching helps direct your GAMSAT studies.
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
More free GAMSAT study resources
I note that a lot of the free resources I linked previously are out of date, so here are some updates:
Des O'Neill appears to have retired from the GAMSAT preparation business as of 2015, according to his website.
ACER, according to their '16 Info Booklet, now provides a Sample Questions e-book with registration for the GAMSAT. They also have a Practice Test and Practice Test 2 available for sale, which are full-length tests, as well as Practice Questions. Sample Questions and Practice Questions include worked answers. ACER is also offering computer-based scoring for the Written Communication section. These can be purchased after registering with ACER here. ACER also offer brief preparation tips.
PrepGenie.com.au offer a 'free' GAMSAT mock test for $1 here.
e-gamsat is offering a free GAMSAT practice test with suggested timings, as well as further hints and tips.
MedPrep International used to have a practice exam which is still available on the Internet Archive here. I think they're now operating as Medired, and have an online practice test available here.
The amazingly helpful PagingDr forum has collated a practice test available here.
Gold Standard Gamsat at Gamsat-Prep.com offer a free practice test after account creation here. Gold Standard GAMSAT also have 100+ videos on Youtube, including worked solutions to questions in the ACER booklets.
Youtube has a variety of channels with GAMSAT and interview tips, like The Medical Method, Second Degree Medicine, PrepGenie, and Gold Standard on Section 2 tips.
gamsat.co.uk, which now appears to be abandoned, had a GAMSAT practice test which is still available via the Internet Archive here.
I hope these free resources are helpful in your study. I recommend using practice tests to identify problems with test timing and identifying knowledge gaps.
Section I Practice Question - Sokal vs Social Text
This practice question is taken from the Australian Law Schools Entrance Test (ASLET), also administered by ACER. Their information PDF for test-takers contains a selection of useful GAMSAT-style questions, one of which I have reproduced here. You will notice the extremely long passages used for these questions; however, you do get to answer a heap of questions from them!
Questions 22 –29
In 1996, a leading academic journal of cultural studies, Social Text , published an article by a physicist named Alan Sokal. The article attacked the sciences for their ‘authoritarianism and elitism’ and argued, amongst other things, that physical concepts (ssuch as gravity) were essentially ‘social constructs ’. Subsequently, Sokal revealed in a rival journal that the article had been a hoax. In the following two passages Sokal and the editors of Social Text justify their actions.
Passage 1: Alan Sokal
Why did I do it? While my method was satirical, my motivation is utterly serious. What concerns me is the proliferation, not just of nonsense and sloppy thinking per se, but of a particular kind of nonsense and sloppy thinking: one that denies the existence of objective realities, or (when challenged) admits their existence but downplays their practical relevance. At its best, a journal like Social Text raises important questions that no scientist should ignore – questions, for example,about how corporate and government funding influence scientific work. Unfortunately, epistemic relativism does little to further the discussion of these matters. Social Text’s acceptance of my article exemplifies the intellectual arrogance of Theory – meaning postmodernist literary theory – carried to its logical extreme.No wonder they didn ’t bother to consult a physicist. If all is discourse and ‘text’, then knowledge of the real world is superfluous; even physics becomes just another branch of Cultural Studies. If, moreover, all is rhetoric and ‘language games ’, then internal logical consistency is superfluous too: a patina of theoretical sophistication serves equally well. Incomprehensibility becomes a virtue; allusions, metaphors and puns substitute for evidence and logic. My own article is, if anything, an extremely modest example of this well-established genre.
Passage 2: The editors of Social Text
Obviously,we now regret having published Sokal ’s article, and apologize to our readers, and to those in the science studies or cultural studies communities who might feel their work has been disparaged as a result of this affair. From the first, we considered Sokal’s unsolicited article to be a little hokey. It is not every day we receive a dense philosophical tract from a professional physicist. Not knowing the author or his work, we engaged in some speculation about his intentions, and concluded that this article was the earnest attempt of a professional scientist to seek some kind of affirmation from postmodern philosophy for developments in his field. His adventures in Postmodern Land were not really our cup of tea. Sokal ’s article would have been regarded as somewhat outdated if it had come from a humanist or social scientist. As the work of a natural scientist it was unusual, and, we thought, plausibly symptomatic of how someone like Sokal might approach the field of postmodern epistemology, i.e. awkwardly but assertively trying to capture the ‘feel ’ of the professional language of this field, while relying upon an armada of footnotes to ease his sense of vulnerability. In other words, we read it more as an act of good faith of the sort that might be worth encouraging than as a set of arguments with which we agreed. On those grounds, the editors considered it of interest to readers as a ‘document’ of that time-honoured tradition in which modern physicists have discovered harmonic resonances with their own reasoning in the field of philosophy and metaphysics.What is the likely result of Sokal’s behaviour for non-scientific journals? Less well-known authors who submit unsolicited articles to journals like ours may now come under needless suspicion, and the openness of intellectual inquiry that Social Text has played its role in fostering will be curtailed.
22. Sokal’s method may be described as satirical because it involved
a) insincere imitation.
b) humour and innuendo.
c) unfair and deceptive means.
d) unfavourable analysis and criticism.
23. The term ‘epistemic’ refers to our knowledge of things rather than to the nature of the things themselves.
Accordingly, the phrase ‘epistemic relativism’, as used in Passage 1, most likely refers to
the idea that
a) knowledge is objective and eternal.
b) all knowledge is subjective and equally valid.
c) all knowledge is approximate and provisional.
d) knowledge is determined and controlled by political interests.
24. For Sokal, the logical extreme of postmodernist literary theory involves the notion that
a) reality defies language.
b) language distorts reality.
c) language has no meaning.
d) language constitutes reality.
25. The editors attribute their decision to publish Sokal’s article to
a) their intent to embarrass the author.
b) an inexplicable lapse in their judgement.
c) their professional openness and impartiality.
d) their desire to avoid criticism for not publishing it.
26. The editors’ justification of their decision to publish Sokal’s article reveals that they were unduly influenced by
a) the author’s reputation.
b) the presumed motivation of the author.
c) their elitist and guarded approach to their discipline.
d) their own tastes and preferences in scholarly writing.
27. The phrase ‘needless suspicion’ may be judged unintentionally ironic because
a) such a claim is easily made in hindsight.
b) the editors are unlikely to be sincere in making the claim.
c) the editors were, if anything, too suspicious of Sokal’s article.
d) such suspicion would appear to be normally warranted and necessary.
28. The justification offered by the editors for publishing Sokal’s article is best described as
a) assured and persuasive.
b)condescending and contradictory.
c) arrogant but fundamentally sound.
d) unnecessarily humble and apologetic.
29. Which of the following is the most significant conclusion that can plausibly be drawn from the ‘Sokal Affair ’ in the
light of the two passages?
a) It shows that scientists do not fully comprehend postmodern literary theory.
b) It suggests that the editors of Social Text did not really understand Sokal’s article.
c) It shows that the editors of Social Text have little understanding of scientific principles.
d) It raises doubts about the quality of thought characteristic of postmodern literary theory.
Questions 22 –29
In 1996, a leading academic journal of cultural studies, Social Text , published an article by a physicist named Alan Sokal. The article attacked the sciences for their ‘authoritarianism and elitism’ and argued, amongst other things, that physical concepts (ssuch as gravity) were essentially ‘social constructs ’. Subsequently, Sokal revealed in a rival journal that the article had been a hoax. In the following two passages Sokal and the editors of Social Text justify their actions.
Passage 1: Alan Sokal
Why did I do it? While my method was satirical, my motivation is utterly serious. What concerns me is the proliferation, not just of nonsense and sloppy thinking per se, but of a particular kind of nonsense and sloppy thinking: one that denies the existence of objective realities, or (when challenged) admits their existence but downplays their practical relevance. At its best, a journal like Social Text raises important questions that no scientist should ignore – questions, for example,about how corporate and government funding influence scientific work. Unfortunately, epistemic relativism does little to further the discussion of these matters. Social Text’s acceptance of my article exemplifies the intellectual arrogance of Theory – meaning postmodernist literary theory – carried to its logical extreme.No wonder they didn ’t bother to consult a physicist. If all is discourse and ‘text’, then knowledge of the real world is superfluous; even physics becomes just another branch of Cultural Studies. If, moreover, all is rhetoric and ‘language games ’, then internal logical consistency is superfluous too: a patina of theoretical sophistication serves equally well. Incomprehensibility becomes a virtue; allusions, metaphors and puns substitute for evidence and logic. My own article is, if anything, an extremely modest example of this well-established genre.
Passage 2: The editors of Social Text
Obviously,we now regret having published Sokal ’s article, and apologize to our readers, and to those in the science studies or cultural studies communities who might feel their work has been disparaged as a result of this affair. From the first, we considered Sokal’s unsolicited article to be a little hokey. It is not every day we receive a dense philosophical tract from a professional physicist. Not knowing the author or his work, we engaged in some speculation about his intentions, and concluded that this article was the earnest attempt of a professional scientist to seek some kind of affirmation from postmodern philosophy for developments in his field. His adventures in Postmodern Land were not really our cup of tea. Sokal ’s article would have been regarded as somewhat outdated if it had come from a humanist or social scientist. As the work of a natural scientist it was unusual, and, we thought, plausibly symptomatic of how someone like Sokal might approach the field of postmodern epistemology, i.e. awkwardly but assertively trying to capture the ‘feel ’ of the professional language of this field, while relying upon an armada of footnotes to ease his sense of vulnerability. In other words, we read it more as an act of good faith of the sort that might be worth encouraging than as a set of arguments with which we agreed. On those grounds, the editors considered it of interest to readers as a ‘document’ of that time-honoured tradition in which modern physicists have discovered harmonic resonances with their own reasoning in the field of philosophy and metaphysics.What is the likely result of Sokal’s behaviour for non-scientific journals? Less well-known authors who submit unsolicited articles to journals like ours may now come under needless suspicion, and the openness of intellectual inquiry that Social Text has played its role in fostering will be curtailed.
22. Sokal’s method may be described as satirical because it involved
a) insincere imitation.
b) humour and innuendo.
c) unfair and deceptive means.
d) unfavourable analysis and criticism.
23. The term ‘epistemic’ refers to our knowledge of things rather than to the nature of the things themselves.
Accordingly, the phrase ‘epistemic relativism’, as used in Passage 1, most likely refers to
the idea that
a) knowledge is objective and eternal.
b) all knowledge is subjective and equally valid.
c) all knowledge is approximate and provisional.
d) knowledge is determined and controlled by political interests.
24. For Sokal, the logical extreme of postmodernist literary theory involves the notion that
a) reality defies language.
b) language distorts reality.
c) language has no meaning.
d) language constitutes reality.
25. The editors attribute their decision to publish Sokal’s article to
a) their intent to embarrass the author.
b) an inexplicable lapse in their judgement.
c) their professional openness and impartiality.
d) their desire to avoid criticism for not publishing it.
26. The editors’ justification of their decision to publish Sokal’s article reveals that they were unduly influenced by
a) the author’s reputation.
b) the presumed motivation of the author.
c) their elitist and guarded approach to their discipline.
d) their own tastes and preferences in scholarly writing.
27. The phrase ‘needless suspicion’ may be judged unintentionally ironic because
a) such a claim is easily made in hindsight.
b) the editors are unlikely to be sincere in making the claim.
c) the editors were, if anything, too suspicious of Sokal’s article.
d) such suspicion would appear to be normally warranted and necessary.
28. The justification offered by the editors for publishing Sokal’s article is best described as
a) assured and persuasive.
b)condescending and contradictory.
c) arrogant but fundamentally sound.
d) unnecessarily humble and apologetic.
29. Which of the following is the most significant conclusion that can plausibly be drawn from the ‘Sokal Affair ’ in the
light of the two passages?
a) It shows that scientists do not fully comprehend postmodern literary theory.
b) It suggests that the editors of Social Text did not really understand Sokal’s article.
c) It shows that the editors of Social Text have little understanding of scientific principles.
d) It raises doubts about the quality of thought characteristic of postmodern literary theory.
Free GAMSAT resources online - and how to use them
UPDATE 2015: Check out my new post 'More free GAMSAT study resources' which updates and expands on this list!
When studying for the GAMSAT you may be tempted by the expensive courses on offer. As I studied entirely on my own, I'm not really qualified to offer an opinion on these courses.
Consider these free alternatives:
Some companies which promote GAMSAT material will allow you to access limited amounts of that material for free.
Medprep International offers free practice questions and a short sample course.
Des O'Neill offers a free mailout with practice questions and an essay topic that I found useful in addition to the ACER practice questions.
Gradmed, based in the UK, have an hour and a half's worth of questions on their website as well.
Forums such as Paging Dr or gamsatforum.com have heaps on information on all subjects GAMSAT related and are often up to date - an excellent place to meet up with others studying for the GAMSAT at the same time.
Some attempts at collating GAMSAT material online have been attempted, such as on Wikibooks and a comprehensive MCAT textbook at MCAT Pearls (warning, Google lists this site as a malware distributor. So access it from a uni computer.).
Ask around at school for someone who's sat the GAMSAT previously - they may have suggestions or GAMSAT material they're happy to pass on.
Practice test booklets are also available at low cost from ACER - much cheaper than a full course.
Potentially less useful alternatives include the spammier course providers, mostly operating online.
From their free newsletter service I find Tomasz Forfa's service of PassGamsat.com to be unhelpful. As you can tell from their website, the emails reek of slick copywriting but seem short on content. You may find the emails helpful as a motivational tool or reminder and he does offer a free ebook. See his Ehow article for an example of the same slick copywriting.
Gamsat Guru also appear to have an email list. I'm testing it out at the moment.
I'd suggest that you use a list of GAMSAT topics to narrow down your study, then use the free material eg at MCAT Pearls to study. Test yourself with the free material first to make sure you're on the right track, but also do some practice tests with the ACER material as this comes closest to replicating the style of the GAMSAT test.
I'd advise against using non-GAMSAT style questions. They're helpful for testing your knowledge, but a huge part of doing well on the GAMSAT is not your knowledge but rather being able to pick a best selection from a multiple choice question. Stick to GAMSAT style questions and you'll get some valuable practice at this skill.
Consider these free alternatives:
Some companies which promote GAMSAT material will allow you to access limited amounts of that material for free.
Medprep International offers free practice questions and a short sample course.
Des O'Neill offers a free mailout with practice questions and an essay topic that I found useful in addition to the ACER practice questions.
Gradmed, based in the UK, have an hour and a half's worth of questions on their website as well.
Forums such as Paging Dr or gamsatforum.com have heaps on information on all subjects GAMSAT related and are often up to date - an excellent place to meet up with others studying for the GAMSAT at the same time.
Some attempts at collating GAMSAT material online have been attempted, such as on Wikibooks and a comprehensive MCAT textbook at MCAT Pearls (warning, Google lists this site as a malware distributor. So access it from a uni computer.).
Ask around at school for someone who's sat the GAMSAT previously - they may have suggestions or GAMSAT material they're happy to pass on.
Practice test booklets are also available at low cost from ACER - much cheaper than a full course.
Potentially less useful alternatives include the spammier course providers, mostly operating online.
From their free newsletter service I find Tomasz Forfa's service of PassGamsat.com to be unhelpful. As you can tell from their website, the emails reek of slick copywriting but seem short on content. You may find the emails helpful as a motivational tool or reminder and he does offer a free ebook. See his Ehow article for an example of the same slick copywriting.
Gamsat Guru also appear to have an email list. I'm testing it out at the moment.
I'd suggest that you use a list of GAMSAT topics to narrow down your study, then use the free material eg at MCAT Pearls to study. Test yourself with the free material first to make sure you're on the right track, but also do some practice tests with the ACER material as this comes closest to replicating the style of the GAMSAT test.
I'd advise against using non-GAMSAT style questions. They're helpful for testing your knowledge, but a huge part of doing well on the GAMSAT is not your knowledge but rather being able to pick a best selection from a multiple choice question. Stick to GAMSAT style questions and you'll get some valuable practice at this skill.
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