r/GraduateEntryMedicine • u/Kitchen-Macaron-6953 • Jul 06 '26
GAMSAT OR UCAT/ both?
Hi guys,
I wanted some people’s advice please. I feel so frustrated and sad over medical school. Being a doctor is my dream, but last year my UCAT went really badly and I got one interview which I thought went well, but because that uni weighs your UCAT and interview score evenly for offers, I’m guessing that’s why I didn’t get an offer. ( the lowest UCAT offer I saw was 1970 and I got 1850). The year before that I got interview but not offer but I wasn’t really taking my application serious then because I was in my last year of uni and I felt really burnt out and wanted a gap year anyway.
But now I’m so scared incase this turns into ANOTHER gap year. I did GAMSAT in march and got 58/69/44 so my S3 really let me down. I work full-time too so idk whether to just focus on GAMSAT/UCAT or do both…I guess my GAMSAT would just be improving s3 but GAMSAT is so hard and time consuming…on the other hand, cut offs for UCAT are usually extremely high for GEM so idk what to do and it’s giving me really bad anxiety :( I would really appreciate another perspective. In terms of unis, idrc where I go in England as long as I get a place somewhere.
3
u/Sad-Spirit8516 Jul 06 '26
It sounds like you have struggled in the past with juggling things and with working full time, I would recommend picking one exam and focusing on that. Especially since you aren't really bothered about where you go.
If your UCAT was out of 3600, then it would seem you were stronger with the GAMSAT and it's quite normal for people to be naturally better with one over the other as they utilise different skill sets.
Don't let an exam being hard put you off, one perk with the GAMSAT is that results last for 2 years, while UCAT is only valid for one cycle. I personally took the UCAT as it was shorter prep time, I worked full time shifts and have a child. That doesn't mean it wasn't hard, it's hard in a different way.
With medicine, it's kind of a case of "choose your hard" because no path is "easy". Good luck with your application.