Ep 23: Where to Begin Your GAMSAT Study

Tom Forfa (00:00)
Hello and welcome back to Nurses Doing GAMSAT, the podcast by ThankFlip. I’m Dr Tom, founder and CEO of ThankFlip GAMSAT. I’m joined by the co-founder, Mare—our amazing, multi-talented everything. I can’t even pick one thing she does—mindset, accountability, strategy sessions, kicking butts…

Mare Forfa (00:16)
What do I do? I don’t really know.

Tom Forfa (00:29)
…Taking names, all sorts of things.

Mare Forfa (00:31)
Hi, I’m Mare.
Have you seen those memes—or maybe TikToks—where one person does everything and the other’s just like, “Hi, it’s me”? One is the extreme organiser and the other’s just there for the ride. I’m not saying who’s who here, okay? Not pointing any fingers.

Tom Forfa (00:48)
Yeah.
Thank you.
For those who don’t know, Mare and I are also married. So yes, our relationship is a little different from your usual podcast duo.
We’re here to talk about how to prepare for the GAMSAT: where to begin, how to start your preparation. And for context, we’re currently in the thick of our house renovations.

Mare Forfa (00:59)
Yes, you should probably mention that.

Tom Forfa (01:23)
If you’re watching the video version, we’re in temporary accommodation. The backgrounds look different. We’re hoping to have our toilet, bathroom, and kitchen installed in the next week or so.

Mare Forfa (01:41)
Currently, the toilet is literally just a pipe in the wall. Obviously we’re not using it—but it’s not looking good. How it’s all going to get done, I don’t know. But the shell, the shell’s there.

Tom Forfa (01:45)
Yeah, there’s no toilet.
No kitchen either—just an empty room.
We’re getting a brand new one put in. End of this week. Okay, maybe next week. Important stuff.

Mare Forfa (02:03)
No, Monday. Install day. That’s an important day. Monday is like—
The angels come out of the ground, the birds are singing, the sun is shining.

Tom Forfa (02:14)
That’s it.
Trying to get the trades moving while also helping people get ready for the September GAMSAT. It’s that time of year to prepare and get set up.
A couple of cool things happening in our ecosystem—we just… I don’t know if you saw, but Mare actually recorded a podcast episode about how to study for the GAMSAT if you have ADHD.

A lot of people—especially nurses—tell us they struggle with that. So Mare reached out to an expert and interviewed her.
If you’re struggling to focus, procrastinate a lot, forget everything you’ve read—this is worth checking out. That’s Episode 22.

Mare Forfa (03:12)
And Xena is amazing. You’ll love her. She’s from a place called Navigating Adult ADHD.
Huge shout out to them—Xena broke it down into really simple steps to follow. It was a pleasure to interview her.
Also, she’s a cat lover like me. So we talked about cats… just slightly.
But I’ve also been super busy with Thank Flip because so many students are asking the same massive question:
“Where do I start?”

I recently spoke to this beautiful student—lives close to me, in Woodford actually. I won’t say her name. She said, “I’ve been seriously considering doing the GAMSAT for eight months. I looked at the exam back in January, but I still don’t know where to start.”

And I thought—we have to talk about this. We broke it down step by step, and that inspired today’s episode. Because yes—there really is a proper way to get started.

Tom Forfa (04:22)
Yeah.
Let’s start with what NOT to do—because there are a lot of misconceptions. You’re probably thinking, “I have some idea of what to do.” We want to clarify what NOT to do first, then we’ll walk you through the right steps.
Let’s start with the most common mistakes people make when beginning their GAMSAT prep.
Mare, do you want to take the first one?

Mare Forfa (04:55)
Sure.
First mistake: Don’t start with content revision.
People always come to me saying they’re going to grab Year 12 science textbooks, or head to Khan Academy. And look—I love Khan Academy, but it doesn’t teach you GAMSAT science. It teaches you general science.

GAMSAT isn’t about rote learning. It requires you to implement skills.
The biggest mistake is diving too deep into learning organic chemistry or physics, thinking you need to know everything.
You don’t need to know everything.
It’s also not fun or motivating—and it doesn’t help you get more questions right.

Tom Forfa (05:44)
Yeah, and you go on tangents.
You end up studying the wrong things. I made this mistake too—bought books labelled “GAMSAT” but it wasn’t what helped.
You do questions a month later and realise it was all a waste of time.
So yeah—don’t start with content revision.

The second big mistake is endless research.

Mare Forfa (06:28)
Yes! That student I mentioned—she’d been “researching” since January. And it was already June. Just looking and looking but not actually doing.

Tom Forfa (06:33)
Exactly.
You want to find the right way. I get it—you want to be conscientious. But research isn’t study.
You need to take action.
And we’ll show you what to do in just a moment.

Mare Forfa (07:10)
The third mistake is forgetting that GAMSAT includes more than just Section 3.
So many allied health people freak out about Section 3 and focus solely on science—physics, organic chemistry—especially the stuff they don’t enjoy.
But half the exam is Sections 1 and 2.
Don’t do the “eight weeks for Section 3, then eight for Section 1, then eight for Section 2” approach.
It doesn’t work. Section 3 often drags on for 12 weeks, leaving the rest squeezed into the last four weeks.

You need to focus on all three sections at the same time.

Tom Forfa (08:01)
Exactly.
Each section has its own skill set. Section 1 and 2 can’t be crammed. You can’t just write a few essays in the last week and hope for the best.
There’s skill and strategy involved.

Tom Forfa (08:31)
So those are the three common mistakes we see. Just to recap:

1. Starting with content revision—logical, but not effective.
   
   

2. Falling into the trap of endless research.
   
   

3. Underestimating Sections 1 and 2 by over-focusing on Section 3.
   
   

Now, these mistakes happen because the GAMSAT is not like your typical university exam. People assume it is, so they study the same way. But it’s different. Mare, want to talk us through that?

Mare Forfa (09:33)
The big one: It’s not a knowledge-based exam.
I will say this until I’m blue in the face. Most uni exams are: “Here’s the textbook, now study it, and we’ll ask you questions from it.”

But the GAMSAT is like: “Here’s the textbook. Learn it… now throw it in the bin.” Then they ask you something completely different.

So you need to study with skill acquisition techniques.
If this is your first time hearing about skill acquisition, go to Episode 3 of the podcast. I explain it step by step—what it means to build a skill and what to do instead of just doing practice questions or learning content. It’s gold. It’ll save you heaps of time and heartache.

Tom Forfa (11:01)
Yeah. I was just laughing remembering a GAMSAT info session we ran at Sydney Uni, and someone said, “GAMSAT questions are like: If X is greater than Y, what’s the distance from here to Mars?” Or: “If dogs have four legs and fish have no legs, what’s the weight of an atom?”

It’s unexpected. It’s not about memorising info or even just applying knowledge. Science students struggle too—it’s really about skills, like Mare said.

Mare Forfa (11:38)
Exactly. And that’s why there’s no “safe zone” content.
People ask all the time, “What equations do I need to memorise?” And look, you don’t really need to memorise most of them—they’re often given in the exam. But you do need to know how to use them.

So rather than a list of topics, it’s about understanding how to apply what you’re given, even if it’s something new or weird-looking.

Mare Forfa (13:02)
And this is why I always say: Reading widely doesn’t help!
Section 1 isn’t a reading test—it’s a comprehension test.
It’s about building the skills to interpret symbolic poetry, analyse narratives, interpret journal articles or artwork. There are specific skills behind all that.

When people say, “I’m reading widely,” I clutch my pearls. It’s not helpful on its own.

Tom Forfa (13:44)
Totally. Even ACER says to read widely—but they write the exams, not the prep guides.
What matters is what you do while you read—how you think, what skills you practise. That’s what makes the difference.

Mare Forfa (14:25)
Yes!
And when people say, “Reading widely worked for me,” I think—they’ve probably got unconscious competence.
Let me explain this real quick. There are stages of learning something, and I use the example of learning to drive a manual car…

[Driving analogy explanation from 14:31 to ~19:00 condensed below for clarity—but full cleaned version available upon request.]

Unconscious incompetence: You don’t even know what you don’t know.
Conscious incompetence: You realise you don’t know how to drive.
Conscious competence: You’re doing it, but you’re thinking hard about every step.
Unconscious competence: You can drive while holding a Macca’s coffee, talking, and changing gears without thinking.

And when someone has unconscious competence—they might be able to read widely and do well, but they can’t explain why it works for them.
That’s why you can’t shortcut skill development. You’ve got to go through the learning process—no Neuralink chip for this… yet!

Tom Forfa (20:09)
Exactly.
And this also explains why GAMSAT is just as much about endurance and mindset as it is about content.
Because life doesn’t stop—you’ve still got shifts, bosses, kids, dishes. And you’re trying to learn all these new skills on top of that.

At uni, there’s a bit more leeway—sick notes, extensions. But the GAMSAT? Ruthless. No excuses.
That’s why we care so much about helping with mindset too—it matters.

Mare Forfa (22:12)
All right, now the good stuff:
How to actually start your GAMSAT prep the right way.

Step one: Do a diagnostic test.
Yes—it’s uncomfortable. You probably won’t do great. But we don’t care about your percentage. What matters is why you got things right or wrong.

It’s like breaking your leg—you don’t go straight into surgery. You get an X-ray. A diagnostic is your X-ray. It shows where you’re strong and where you need to build skill. And everything is fixable, once you can name the skill.

Tom, tell them where to get the diagnostic.

Tom Forfa (24:12)
Yes!
If you want a free diagnostic for Sections 1 and 3, head to the show notes or go to thankflipgamsat.com/episode23.

Mare Forfa (24:33)
Just sit down and do it. It might not be the greatest 90 minutes of your life—but it might be what helps you achieve your dream.
So if you’re reading widely or revising content: stop. Do the diagnostic instead. That’s your first step.

Tom Forfa (25:07)
Step two: Look at your results.
Review what you got wrong, and more importantly—why. Then, start building a study plan around that. The diagnostic will give you the list of topics and skills to focus on.

Be specific—don’t just say “I need to do physics.”
It’s about building skills, not just revising topics.

Mare Forfa (26:54)
And for all my timetable lovers out there—I love a timetable too. I live by my calendar.
But it’s not about “two hours of study”. It’s about what you do in those two hours. What skill are you building?

The GAMSAT doesn’t test your hours—it tests your skills.
So your study should be outcome-driven.

Tom Forfa (28:53)
Yeah—two minutes of GAMSAT study, 58 minutes scrolling Instagram…

Mare Forfa (28:58)
Exactly.
So many people ask, “How many hours a week should I study?” And my answer is: I don’t know.
It depends—how good are you at learning the skills?
Let’s say you’ve got 15 hours available per week. Awesome. It’s not about whether that’s “enough.” It’s about what you do in those 15 hours.
You’ve got to test and measure—are you making progress?

Because I spoke to someone recently—she’d sat the GAMSAT four times. Each time, she studied her arse off for Section 3 and went from 49 to 51 to 52 to 53.
One mark at a time.
That’s brutal. I told her, “You’re doing the wrong stuff.”
It’s worse than doing nothing, honestly.

Tom Forfa (30:09)
Yeah, that’s heartbreaking.
But it also means she’s done the hard part—putting in the time. Now we just need to unlock the right method. It’s like she’s got this store of marks waiting to come out.

Mare Forfa (30:20)
Yes!
She was about to go do more physics. I was like, “You don’t need more physics. You need skill acquisition.”
So to sum it up—do the diagnostic, make a plan, add it to your calendar, and then:
Do the work.

Tom Forfa (31:02)
And people are still thinking, “But how many hours?” Fair enough.
In our Bootcamp, we say: start with a minimum of 15 hours per week.

And if you’re thinking, “I don’t have time,” check out our free resource: The Extra Study Day Advantage—it’ll be in the show notes. It helps you carve out 8–10 extra hours a week.
It’s not just about squeezing in hours—it’s about sustainable study. Avoiding burnout.

Mare Forfa (32:46)
Can I humble brag?
One student said she had no time. Full-time job, packed schedule.
We found her 21 extra hours in her week. Twenty-one!
That’s my personal best.

Tom Forfa (33:27)
Amazing.
Another example—Danny, an ED nurse doing shift work. He went from 8 hours a week to over 20, without burning out. He used the extra study day method too.

And that brings us to the Bootcamp. Mare, want to tell them a bit?

Mare Forfa (34:17)
Yeah—it’s the place to be.

Tom Forfa (34:20)
So, the Bootcamp is our full GAMSAT prep program. It’s online.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve sat the GAMSAT before or it’s your first time. We help you go from where you are now to a clear plan, full support, skill-building, and actual results.

We begin with a diagnostic (yes, that one!). Then we help you build a personalised plan based on your schedule and strengths.
You get access to our education library—videos, PDFs, and live online classes.

Mare Forfa (35:55)
And those live classes—let me tell you, we don’t have to run them. Everything is already in the library.
But people work harder when I’m there!
They’re implementation classes, not lectures. For example, if the tutors say intros for essays are weak, we run a live class where we write four intros together, give feedback, and improve on the spot.

Tom Forfa (37:08)
Yeah, no judgement—just support, feedback, and help.

Mare Forfa (37:18)
Exactly.
You leave that class writing better intros. You actually get it done.
And the community is amazing—one group went through interviews together, and when they all got into med, one girl said she was more excited they were going together than for herself!

That’s the kind of doctors they’ll be—kind, empathetic, and supportive.

Tom Forfa (38:11)
Yep, and we record all the live classes. So if you’re on shift, no stress.
Catch-up classes are available.

Mare Forfa (38:35)
Let’s be real—you will have a shift. No one attends everything live.

Tom Forfa (38:42)
That’s why we also have weekly accountability. Someone checks in with you, helps you troubleshoot, answers questions, and keeps you on track.

This program is designed for busy nurses, allied health professionals, and science students who want to get into medicine without their lives falling apart.

Mare Forfa (39:20)
Yeah, I love my little science bunnies too.
And let’s be honest—no one has “just GAMSAT” going on. Everyone’s juggling jobs, families, study, you name it.

Tom Forfa (39:47)
Right.
We also support you with applications and interviews. If you’ve applied recently, you’ll know how complicated it is.
If you put the wrong preferences, you could miss out—even with the right scores. We help with that.

And our interview bootcamp—everyone who did it last year and got an interview, got into medicine. Every. Single. One.

Mare Forfa (40:48)
Don’t be modest, Tom.
You used to be a med interviewer. That helps.
Of course, we don’t have the questions—they don’t give us those. But we do give you the system to answer any question.

Tom Forfa (41:09)
Exactly.
We don’t give answers—we teach you how to answer anything. That’s why our students succeed.

Mare Forfa (41:13)
It’s honestly the place to be.

Tom Forfa (41:13)
So, if you’re curious about the Bootcamp, want to know how it works, or if it’s right for you—book a free chat with us via the link in the show notes.

It’s a quick 10–15 minute call. If we can help, we’ll show you how. If not, no worries—we’ll point you in the right direction.

Mare Forfa (42:04)
Thanks for tuning in.
What an episode. I’m excited! Let’s get moving with those diagnostic exams.
If you’re still procrastinating, go download them now.

Tom Forfa (42:10)
You’ve got everything you need.
Go to the link, schedule the diagnostic into your calendar, and good luck! Let us know if you have questions—and we’ll see you in the next one.

Mare Forfa (42:34)
Have a good one! Bye for now.