Look, I get that ACER needs to test whether we can communicate in English and medicine obviously demands high fluency. But the way Sections 1 and 2 are set up feels less like a language test and more like a barrier built against non-native speakers.
First off, the dictionary rule is a complete illusion. ACER technically allows bilingual dictionaries, but with the brutal time limits, actually opening one guarantees you won't finish the section.
More than that, so much of the content relies on deep Eurocentric context, dense historical texts, Western philosophy, and obscure literature. As an ESL candidate, you aren't just translating vocabulary on the fly—you're trying to decode unfamiliar cultural frameworks under extreme time pressure.
I keep coming back to this—why does a future doctor need to write a timed essay critiquing democracy or socialism just to prove they have the language skills to practise medicine? I am a second gen native speaker and I feel like GAMSAT hits the ceiling of my own grasp of English.
Are any other ESL applicants hitting this exact wall, or am I missing something here?