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Online GAMSAT - Your Questions Answered

Those of you sitting the March GAMSAT will no doubt be aware that ACER have moved this exam online in late May.

Obviously this is a big shift and we know you all have many questions which we thought we would address here.

1) How will the exam be invigilated and how will ACER address cheating?

A good question. There are however many online proctoring services which use a combination of real invigilators and facial recognition software to follow your activity during such an exam. You will most likely be asked to use a webcam to show the invigilator your surroundings, which will then be monitored throughout the exam period. Such a service is outlined here https://www.proctoru.com/ so you can get an idea of what this might entail.

2) What about Section 2?

It seems almost certain that essays will be required to be typed online (and yes no spell check or cut/paste facilities). Although this may seem a major disadvantage to some, remember that those with a quicker typing speed may actually be slightly less accurate in their communication, which is what is being tested after all. Not an ideal solution but at least some solution.

3) What if my internet connection goes down during the exam?

ACER have stated that you will obviously require a stable internet connection. However online proctoring services do allow for such events and have the ability to pause your exam and resume at the same point later.

4) Can I use the bathroom during the exam?

The likelihood is that there may be set rest periods during the exam. Exactly how this will be arranged is difficult to predict, however such online proctoring is again able to cope with such issues.

5) How should my preparation change for the online exam?

Our next message will provide more detail on exactly how your preparation might be adjusted. In general keep going with theory and papers as you have been. If you are a GradMed student of course we have over 30 papers on the online portal and you should continue to make use of these during this period.

6) Is this the future of GAMSAT?

It is of course very difficult to say, however our view is that this is more of a one off solution to a very difficult situation. There are certain skills which are much better tested via an in-situ examination and so we hope that by September things will be back to normal.

We will reach out further shortly, but if you have any questions the GradMed office is of course open as normal on

020 7584 5818 or info@gradmed.co.uk

Keep safe in these unusual times and best wishes

The GradMed Team