As a parent, you want to do everything you possibly can to help your children in life. When our children reach college and university age, though, we often feel like they can fend for themselves. Examination times, though, can be a challenging period for any individual. Your kids might come to you for advice on how they can better prepare for the challenges they will face when taking major further education exams.
Preparing for the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) is no easy feat. But with the right strategies and resources, you can be ready to ace this important test. It is an essential part of moving forward as someone with the desire to work within the medical profession. With that in mind, getting to grips with the test and its challenges is very important.
Here, we’ll cover proven and tested GAMSAT preparation and exam strategies that will help you prepare for your upcoming GAMSAT exam. If you want to help your children get through this exam, we recommend that you try and focus on the following advice. This could be the difference between passing and failing!
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Plan Ahead
Start studying early so that you know exactly how much time you have available to prepare for the exam and how much material needs to be covered. Recommend to your child that they create a study schedule that fits into their daily life and stick to it!
The more planning ahead they can get used to doing, the easier it is to stay on track and succeed. They might need some help building a plan, so be sure to get to know their schedule so you can assist them in doing so.
Know What You Need to Study
There are many tools online that allow a student to take a practice test or review a list of topics from past exams to identify which topics need more attention than others.
This will help them to focus on studying what is most important rather than wasting time on topics that are not as relevant. For many students, this lack of ability to focus on the most relevant study sections can be the biggest issue that stops them from achieving what they intended.
Practice Test Taking
As a parent, you should recommend that they take multiple practice tests to become familiar with the structure of the actual GAMSAT exam and its timing constraints.
For any student, it is useful to familiarise yourself with how long each section takes, as well as any additional instructions associated with each section, such as reading all directions before beginning a section or working quickly but accurately through GAMSAT practice questions.
Utilise Mock Tests
Using mock tests can help increase confidence before taking the actual GAMSAT exam by allowing students to become familiar with various types of questions and their difficulty levels in an environment similar to the real test setting. You can help them to find the time in their study plan for some mock exams – these can be some of the most effective ways to help them build confidence in an actual test environment setting.
Find Your Weaknesses and Strengths
After taking multiple practice tests, it might be wise to recommend that they review their answers for each question carefully to identify areas where they need further improvement, as well as those topics where they excel more easily than others.
This helps ensure that all areas are given equal attention when preparing for the GAMSAT exam day.
You might not understand the course content as well as they do, but you can at least help them to notice where their answers appear to be strongest versus where their knowledge is weakest.
Utilise Practice Questions and Resources Online
There are numerous online resources that offer GAMSAT practice questions and explanations on various topics related to the GAMSAT exam.
Take advantage of these resources to fully prepare yourself for any type of question that may appear on the actual test day!
Get Enough Sleep and Eat Well on Exam Day
As a parent, you want to ensure that they get enough sleep at least one night before taking the exam. Being well-rested will allow the brain to work optimally during testing hours. Of course, they might not live with you, so the best you can do is simply put across the importance of proper rest and preparation.
Also, make sure they eat healthy food before taking the test. Avoiding junk food can help keep energy levels high throughout testing hours. Send over some easy-to-make wholesome recipe ideas, or make them some food they can use to help boost brain power!
Develop Strong Time Management Skills
It is essential for success on any standardized test. Make sure that they manage their time effectively throughout all sections of the GAMSAT exam so that no points are left unanswered due to running out of time during any section!
The more you can do to help your children appreciate time management, the easier they will find it to work under these conditions.
Review Answers Carefully
After completing each section of the GAMSAT exam, you should recommend that they go back through all of the answers carefully to make sure no mistakes were made.
This way, if there was an answer they were unsure about, then there is still a chance that it could be corrected before submitting!
Stay Calm and Confident
The most important thing while taking any standardized test is remaining calm and confident throughout each section. As a parent, you need to help them feel confident in their education and their skills.
It is normal for nerves or anxiety levels to rise during an intense examination, but help them to remember that if you stay calm and confident, then anything can be achieved!
Acing the GAMSAT requires pre-planning, preparation, dedication, and confidence. By utilizing these proven strategies, students should feel more prepared when heading into their upcoming exams.
With proper preparation and practice, anyone can succeed at acing their next GAMSAT exams. Check out GradReady’s free GAMSAT practice questions and help your kids start their GAMSAT preparation today!