Ep 43: Your GAMSAT Score Is In. Here’s What To Do Now

Dr Tom (00:18)
Congratulations, you’ve got your GAMSAT score and you’ve come a long way. I genuinely hope that you’re happy with what you’ve achieved and the score you’ve gotten. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: it’s not over yet. The next step — the applications and everything that follows — is not just admin. You don’t just fill in a form, press submit, and automatically get an interview because you deserve one.

Bhakti (00:22)
Yes!

Dr Tom (00:46)
Right, as with all things GAMSAT and medical school related, it’s more complicated than that, and it’s strategic as well. So CASPer matters, interviews matter, and if you get this stage wrong, you can have the right scores and still miss out. But if you get it right, you might be more competitive than you think. So welcome back to the Nurses Doing GAMSAT podcast.

This is for health professionals, nurses, science students, and future doctors navigating the GAMSAT, applications, interviews, and the path into medicine. My name is Dr Tom Forfa and I’m the founder of ThankFlip GAMSAT. Today I’m joined by Bhakti, who is our applications, CASPer, and interview lead here at ThankFlip. She’s a second-year medical student at Notre Dame.

Bhakti (01:28)
Yay!

Dr Tom (01:40)
She coaches students across applications, CASPer, and interviews, and she even trains doctors preparing for a CASPer-style assessment for their RACGP college exams. So you’ve got the right person here to guide you through this. Welcome back.

Bhakti (02:01)
Thanks, Tom. I’m so excited to be here today because this is the point where I’ve been speaking to a lot of students, and this is where they kind of relax about the whole process because they think the hard part’s over. You know, “I don’t have to sit the GAMSAT again.” But this is where the strategy matters the most.

I’ve always said that applications can make or break your chances of getting an interview. As I just said, it’s not just your GAMSAT result or your GPA. Applications aren’t just a wish list where you think, “Oh, I really want to go to Melbourne. Fingers crossed.” We really need to think about things like CASPer, interviews, and applications, and how they all tie in together for you to be able to get an offer.

So any resources or programs that we mention today are going to be linked in the show notes. If you’re in a podcast app, just scroll down to find those. And if you want help with your next step, those links will all be there. If this episode helps, make sure to follow or subscribe to Nurses Doing GAMSAT so you don’t miss the next episode.

Dr Tom (03:14)
Amazing, yeah. And I think the interesting point is that some people feel like, “Hey, I’ve got an amazing score, I’m definitely going to get an interview,” while others are like, “Well, I don’t think I’ve got a chance.” Neither of those are ideal attitudes to have. There’s kind of a middle ground here.

The key thing is that there are a few groups of people this episode will really help. So if you have a valid GAMSAT score from this recent exam or from the past four years — because the GAMSAT score lasts for four years — this is going to help you.

You do have to have passed each section of the GAMSAT. If you failed one or more sections, then unfortunately the applications and interviews aren’t going to pan out. You do need to have passed each section.

And if you want help increasing your GAMSAT score, go to the show notes and seek us out — we can help you with that.

The other people this is for are those wondering, “Alright, I’ve got my score, what’s next?” You want a big-picture overview, but also the details around CASPer, preferences, and interviews.

So in this episode, we’re going to walk you through a few things. We’re going to talk about the challenges you’re facing and the two main barriers or situations you’ve got to understand: the complexity of the medical schools — because there are 14 different medical schools and they’re all a bit different — and the GEMSAS versus non-GEMSAS systems. Then we’ll go through the three biggest mistakes we see people making.

So let’s jump into the medical schools and talk about how they’re all a bit different, because that’ll explain why this isn’t just a wish list or admin. You’ll see why you need to be strategic about this process.

If you’re watching on YouTube, I’m going to share my screen, but if you’re listening on Spotify or wherever, we’ll talk you through it as well.

So Bhakti, why don’t you help us go through each of these medical schools?

Bhakti (05:50)
Yeah, so we actually did this a couple of days ago with our bootcampers and it was such a great meeting. Everyone had so many great questions. But the important thing I learnt is that a lot of people don’t actually understand how important the order of your preferences is when you apply.

It’s not just a guessing game where you think, “I think this university will be good,” or “This uni is where I live.” Sorry, I’ve got a bit of a cough. But yeah, it’s important to understand that being eligible according to the university website doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re competitive.

If you look at the top line in the GAMSAT section for all the universities, most of them just say you need 50 overall or 50 in each section. That’s the case for most unis — you just need to pass overall and pass each section.

Dr Tom (06:55)
Yeah, that’s just so they accept your application, right? So you can apply.

Bhakti (06:58)
Yeah, exactly. And that’s obviously similar for universities that consider GAMSAT to be a hurdle, although that’s slightly different and I’ll talk about that in a second.

Most universities say, “Just pass overall.” But if you think about it, most people applying to medicine aren’t applying with a 50 GAMSAT and a 5.5 GPA. They’re going to have really high GPAs and strong GAMSAT scores. So you’re not just trying to meet the minimum criteria — you’re trying to be competitive against everyone else applying.

A minimum GPA and minimum GAMSAT doesn’t mean you realistically have a strong chance. Some schools value GAMSAT heavily, while others value GPA heavily, and you can kind of see that in the med school summary page.

Then other universities require CASPer, like Notre Dame and Wollongong, and they’ll focus more on those sorts of things. So it’s really important that when you’re applying, you’ve got a well-rounded application.

You get to make six preferences, and if you don’t get selected for your first one, you still need to be somewhat competitive for your second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth options if you want to land an interview.

Dr Tom (08:17)
Yeah, let’s take a step back and talk about the difference between the GEMSAS—

Bhakti (08:23)
Yeah, totally.

So GEMSAS universities are most universities. The difference is that when you apply to universities like ANU, Deakin, Griffith, Melbourne, UWA, or Notre Dame, you apply through the GEMSAS portal.

That basically means you’re not applying to Melbourne separately and then Notre Dame separately. Instead, you’re applying through GEMSAS, and they distribute the applications to all the universities. Then through GEMSAS you receive your interview offer and, later on, your final offer as well.

Non-GEMSAS universities are different. Those are places like UQ, UTAS, Monash, and Flinders. For those unis, you apply through their own website or portal separately. So if you apply to Flinders, you haven’t automatically applied to Monash or UTAS as well. You have to apply to each one specifically.

Dr Tom (09:53)
Yeah. And can I just jump in there? Because I think this creates an opportunity.

This is how people end up with two or three interviews, right? They get one from the GEMSAS system, and then maybe one or two from the non-GEMSAS universities. We had a bootcamper recently, Holly, who got offers from three medical schools — UQ, Flinders, and I think Deakin.

So that’s how it happens. But the downside is it creates extra complexity because you’ve got to understand how to maximise your chances at each medical school, which ones you can actually apply for, and which ones are worth applying for.

Bhakti (10:23)
Yeah, and also the dates are sometimes different as well, so you really want to stay organised with when applications close for Flinders, UWA, and the others.

I checked this morning and some of the non-GEMSAS universities already have their information out, so by the time you guys see this it’ll be updated on our website as well. You can access all of that, see the dates, and go from there.

Dr Tom (11:05)
Yeah, they’re all a little bit different, these medical schools. They all believe they’ve got the answer to how to best select students. We always laugh about that because they’re all different. But it definitely makes things more complicated.

Bhakti (11:08)
Yeah, it does. They just can’t make it easy — including med school.

Dr Tom (11:27)
Nah. It used to be that all the schools were under GEMSAS and then UQ pulled out because they were like, “We’re special, we’re going to do this our own way.” Then Flinders went, then Monash, and then UTAS came along as a new med school and decided to do it their own way too. So now we have what we have.

Bhakti (11:36)
Mm.

What are we going to talk about next?

Dr Tom (12:05)
Oh yeah, I was waiting — I thought maybe there was a connection error.

Okay, let’s keep going through the med school summary and talk about how these schools are different.

If you look across the GAMSAT minimum requirements, most are around 50 in each section or 50 overall. Then you get places like Monash where it’s not required, and others like Notre Dame are slightly different. Some use weighted GAMSAT scores, some unweighted. So if it wasn’t complicated enough already, they all calculate things differently. Wollongong just uses GAMSAT as a hurdle as well — you just need the minimum and above that they don’t really care.

Bhakti (13:02)
Yeah.

Dr Tom (13:03)
And then we’ve got GPAs. That’s a whole other thing. What are your thoughts on GPAs there, Bhakti?

Bhakti (13:13)
I find the GPA system is just… again, they just can’t make it easy, right?

There are a couple of things I want applicants to understand about GPA calculations. Universities calculate GPA very differently. Some use weighted GPAs, some use unweighted GPAs, and some use GPA as a hurdle.

A weighted GPA basically means that each year of your degree is weighted differently. Usually your third year is weighted the most, your second year is weighted less, and your first year is weighted the least.

What that means is that if you performed really well in third year, it can boost your GPA significantly. But if your marks dropped in third year, that can pull it down. The reason universities do this is because third year tends to be harder, and they want to see that you can continue to perform as things get more challenging.

Universities like Notre Dame definitely use weighted GPA, and I think Melbourne does as well. UQ has recently changed something in their GPA calculations too, where they now use the most recent key degree only.

Dr Tom (15:31)
Yeah, and then it gets even more complicated when you’ve got a master’s or a PhD. Some schools will automatically give you a 7 GPA if you’ve completed a PhD, while others give bonus points depending on the type of master’s you’ve done.

The point is, there are a lot of details here. If you want to see what we’re looking at, we compare them all side by side and there’ll be a link in the show notes.

Then there’s the issue of what scores are actually competitive. We refer to these as cutoff scores. Universities generally don’t release these publicly, so we’re estimating based on information from students and elsewhere.

And remember, these were last year’s cutoffs, not this year’s. We don’t know what this year’s will be until applications are processed. So you’re making decisions in an environment of uncertainty.

Bhakti (17:58)
This is where it gets really tricky. I still get flashbacks to trying to order my own preferences and thinking, “This uni looks really good… wait, maybe I’m not likely to get an offer there.”

The first thing to consider is location. If you’re not willing to move to Wollongong or Canberra, then don’t apply there. It really sucks to get a med school offer and then realise you don’t actually want to move.

The second thing is that every uni ranks applicants differently. Some value GPA more, some value GAMSAT more, some use personal statements, CASPer, or bonus points.

For example, Macquarie gives bonus points to students who’ve done their Bachelor of Clinical Science there. UTAS tends to prefer UTAS students. So you really need to research these universities and ask yourself, “Am I actually competitive here?”

A lot of people apply to Wollongong because they hear GAMSAT and GPA are just hurdles, but then they only qualify for one or two of the bonus criteria. If 50% of your ranking comes from those bonus criteria, then you’re probably unlikely to get an offer there.

Dr Tom (20:32)
Because with Wollongong specifically, they basically said, “You just need the minimum GAMSAT and GPA — after that we care more about these bonus points.”

One of the bonus points is putting Wollongong as your first preference. But everyone who seriously wants Wollongong is going to do that, so it almost cancels itself out. You need the other bonus factors too.

Then you’ve got CASPer. So Bhakti, do you want to run us through CASPer and how that plays into things?

Bhakti (21:37)
Totally.

If you’re planning on applying to Wollongong or any of the Notre Dame universities and you haven’t registered for CASPer yet, you need to do that now because there’s only one more sitting left unless you’re an international student.

When you register for CASPer, you also choose which universities your score gets sent to. So if you only choose Notre Dame Sydney initially, you can’t later decide to send it to Fremantle and Wollongong as well. So make sure you select all the universities you’re considering.

CASPer is basically a mini interview. It’s one of my favourite things ever — which sounds really nerdy, but I genuinely love CASPer.

Dr Tom (22:43)
I remember you saying it’s like interviews… but fun.

Bhakti (22:46)
It is interviews, but fun.

Basically, CASPer tests your empathy, communication skills, ethical reasoning, and judgment. You’re given situational scenarios — often ethical dilemmas — and you’re asked how you’d respond.

For example, your friend steals another friend’s bike because they’re struggling financially. Do you report them? Do you confront them? They’re trying to understand your reasoning process.

Dr Tom (23:48)
Yeah. You okay there, Bhakti?

Bhakti (23:52)
Yeah.

Dr Tom (23:54)
Good, good.

And CASPer is really important because at places like Notre Dame it’s worth 30% of your ranking for interviews — that’s as much as your GAMSAT or GPA. Later on, interviews become even more important again.

Bhakti (24:29)
Yeah.

Dr Tom (24:30)
Let’s briefly touch on bonus points as well, because most schools have some sort of bonus system.

Bhakti (24:37)
Yeah, so bonus points can definitely give you an edge, but they aren’t usually the make-or-break factor.

For example, Notre Dame Fremantle gives bonus points for things like higher degree research, rurality, or living in WA for 10 years. But if you have a poor GPA and poor GAMSAT, those bonuses won’t magically get you an interview.

What they can do is push you slightly ahead if you’re already competitive and sitting around the borderline compared to other applicants.

Places like UWA can completely transform your application if you’ve done a PhD and get awarded a 7 GPA. So it really depends on the university and your personal background.

Dr Tom (26:18)
Yeah, and this is why we say it’s strategic. You might have the scores and still miss out because you didn’t understand these extra factors, while someone else with slightly lower scores gets ahead because they did.

So that’s the first thing that makes this process challenging. The second is the GEMSAS system itself.

You apply to most universities through one portal, but you only get one interview offer through GEMSAS. So your order of preferences matters a lot.

The system is designed to maximise first preferences. So if a university fills all its interview spots with first-preference applicants, then anyone who put that university second won’t even get considered there.

That’s why we say this isn’t just a wish list. If you put Melbourne first when realistically your scores are more competitive for Wollongong, you might miss out entirely.

The interesting thing is that after interviews, if one university decides not to offer you a place, you can go back into the pool and potentially get picked up by another university further down your preferences. That’s why sometimes people end up getting into universities with scores that seem lower than expected.

So let’s talk about the three biggest mistakes we see.

The first mistake is assuming your GAMSAT score alone determines your chances. Some people think, “I’ve got a mid-70s score, I’m guaranteed an offer,” while others think, “My score isn’t high enough, so I shouldn’t bother.” Both can be wrong.

Your competitiveness depends on GPA, weighted versus unweighted scores, bonus points, rurality, CASPer, interviews, postgraduate qualifications, where you live, and more.

The second mistake is treating applications like a wish list rather than a strategy. You need to systematically go through your strengths and weaknesses and think carefully about how to structure your preferences.

And the third mistake is ignoring CASPer and interviews until later. Bhakti, this is definitely your area.

Bhakti (33:32)
Yeah, I’ve worked with students who’ve made this mistake before. They leave CASPer until the last minute because they’re so focused on GPA and GAMSAT.

But CASPer and interviews aren’t “later problems”. They’re part of the pathway itself.

For some schools, CASPer is a huge part of whether you even land an interview. At Notre Dame it’s worth a third of your application ranking. At Wollongong it’s worth half.

Then once you get to interviews, interview performance becomes one of the biggest parts of your final ranking.

I’ll use myself as an example. I didn’t even consider Notre Dame initially because I thought I wanted to go somewhere else. But then I realised CASPer was probably something I’d actually be really good at because of my background and work experience. I sat CASPer, got a fourth quartile score, and suddenly Notre Dame Fremantle became one of my strongest options.

So if you ignore CASPer or interviews, you’re potentially removing pathways where you could actually be highly competitive.

Dr Tom (36:20)
Yeah, and interviews are really interesting because for a lot of schools they’re worth 50% of the final decision. Once you get to interviews, it’s basically: perform well and get in, or don’t perform well and miss out.

Bhakti (36:36)
Exactly. And so many people think that once they get an interview they’ve basically got an offer. No. You’re competing against really strong applicants.

Dr Tom (36:59)
So let’s talk about what CASPer and interviews are actually testing.

Bhakti (37:13)
The reason I love CASPer and interviews is because universities are shifting towards recognising that medicine isn’t just about being smart. Obviously GPA and GAMSAT still matter, but they also care about whether you can show empathy, self-awareness, communication skills, ethical reasoning, and professionalism.

That’s what CASPer and interviews are testing. They’re testing judgment, communication, ethics, and your ability to think like a future doctor.

A lot of strong academic candidates fail here not because they’re bad people, but because they don’t actually understand what the assessors are looking for.

Dr Tom (38:53)
Yeah, and part of the challenge is doing that under pressure.

In CASPer, you’ve got very limited time to respond. Sometimes you’re talking directly to the camera, sometimes typing. The scenarios can be really professionally awkward or ethically complex.

There’s not always a “right answer”. It’s more about how you work through the situation professionally and empathetically.

Bhakti (39:27)
Mm.

Dr Tom (39:50)
And it’s not about whether you’re a good or bad person. It’s about whether you’ll thrive in healthcare environments.

That’s why even the RACGP now uses CASPer-style assessments for doctors entering GP training.

Bhakti (40:16)
Yeah.

Dr Tom (40:16)
And Bhakti’s training doctors for those now, which is funny because you’ve got consultant-level doctors being coached by a second-year med student.

Bhakti (40:16)
Yeah.

I’m basically teaching consultant doctors how to communicate empathy.

But one thing I really want healthcare professionals to understand is that just because you’re a nurse or physio doesn’t automatically mean you’ll perform well in CASPer.

CASPer isn’t testing your medical management skills. If you get a medical scenario, they don’t want to hear a clinical management plan. They’re testing your empathy, communication, and reasoning.

That’s why they use lots of non-medical scenarios too.

Dr Tom (42:18)
One scenario I’ve seen involved an office worker discovering that their boss was photocopying suspicious documents. Then a colleague walks in and asks what’s going on.

Do you spread rumours? Do you make a TikTok about it? How do you professionally work through that situation?

And that’s the challenge. It’s not something you can just wing.

Bhakti (43:47)
Yeah.

Dr Tom (44:06)
So to recap: you’re in a really important stage right now. Well done on getting this far.

There’s also not much time. GEMSAS applications close on the 29th of May, CASPer is shortly after that, and then interviews follow not long after.

So now is the time to make strategic decisions.

If you want help with your preferences, understanding your competitiveness, CASPer prep, or interview prep, let’s quickly talk through some of the programs we offer.

The Applications Bootcamp is designed to help you strategically submit your strongest possible application. We help students decode admissions guides, identify strengths and weaknesses, structure preferences strategically, and maximise interview chances.

We also review applications in live group sessions and help students systematically work through their options.

Then we’ve got the CASPer Edge program, which Bhakti leads.

Bhakti (47:40)
I am very passionate about it.

The main thing I want people to understand is that CASPer is not something you should just wing. The challenge isn’t whether you’re a good person — most likely you are — it’s whether you can demonstrate judgment, empathy, and maturity under pressure.

That’s a skill you need to practise.

Dr Tom (48:18)
Yeah, it’s about getting your thoughts out of your head and into a clear structure that you can articulate under time pressure.

Bhakti (48:21)
Yeah.

And you only get about a minute to respond to some scenarios. That’s not long at all, especially if you’re someone who tends to waffle. So learning structures and practising is really important.

Dr Tom (49:00)
Exactly. And that’s why we practise with students live and provide feedback.

Then we’ve got the Interview Bootcamp, where we cover the major types of interview questions: direct questions, ethical scenarios, and the random wildcard questions.

Direct questions are things like: “Why do you want to study medicine?”, “How will you support yourself financially?”, or “Tell us about a time you dealt with conflict.”

Then there are ethical scenarios, which are often medically themed. For example: a liver becomes available and you have to decide between two patients with very different circumstances. How do you approach that ethically?

And then there are the wildcard questions — images, puzzles, abstract communication tasks, and all sorts of strange things.

I actually failed my first interview at Sydney despite having the scores. Then the following year I improved and eventually became an interviewer myself. So I know firsthand how important preparation is.

Bhakti (52:18)
Yeah.

When people first try interview questions, it’s usually bad — and that’s okay.

I always say to students: if you were performing a piano piece in front of everyone you knew, and it could change your whole life, you wouldn’t just walk in and wing it. You’d practise over and over again.

But so many people treat med interviews like something they can just show up to unprepared.

Practising is how you stop yourself from falling apart on the day.

Dr Tom (53:38)
Yeah, and a single mock interview won’t magically solve everything. It’s about understanding what they’re looking for, building structures, practising repeatedly, and getting feedback from people who understand the process.

That’s why our Interview Bootcamp combines online lessons, live practice sessions, and mock interviews at the end to refine everything.

Bhakti (55:10)
Yeah, it’s awesome.

Dr Tom (55:21)
And because all of this happens at once — applications, CASPer, interviews — we’ve bundled the programs together as well.

There’ll be links and a discount code in the show notes if you want to find out more.

I hope this episode’s been helpful. Hopefully you can now see why this process is strategic and how applications, CASPer, and interviews all fit together.

Thank you, Bhakti, for guiding us through all of this.

Bhakti (55:58)
Thank you so much. Good luck to everyone. Everyone listening to this has worked really hard so far, and I just don’t want you guys to waste your score.

Take everything we’ve spoken about today, apply it to your own situation, reach out if you need help, and hopefully I’ll see you in some of our CASPer or interview classes soon.

Dr Tom (56:20)
Amazing. Thank you, Bhakti, and thanks everyone for listening. We’ll see you next time.

Bhakti (56:25)
Bye.