GAMSAT Preparation Textbook Review

During my time studying for the GAMSAT, I was able to get my hands on Kaplan MCAT preparation text books. These books are very popular among students studying for the MCAT and share similar content to the GAMSAT. I will be attempting a general review of GAMSAT preparation textbooks based off my experience with the Kaplan books. I would assume most these books are extremely similar and would only differ in content delivery.

In short, I believe GAMSAT preparation text books are not worth the extreme amount of money that some companies ask you to pay. All the answers in section 3 of the GAMSAT can be implied from the information given in the question, students would have to recall the information in the MCAT. Obviously a student with scientific background would have a distinct advantage, the theory provided in the questions are short and general compared to the actual question which is relatively advanced. Now, if you are willing to spend the money then of course it will be beneficial but there are alternate free resources you can use to get the same amount of theory (coming soon).

This review is not of Kaplan itself but of preparation text books as a whole with information implied from the Kaplan books.

All these text books are separated into their respective sciences, Kaplan has 7: biology, organic chemistry, physics and maths, behavioral sciences, biochemistry, general chemistry and critical analysis and reasoning skills (CARS). You can expect biology, chemistry, physics, and humanities and social sciences for GAMSAT specific text books. The difference between these textbooks and any other year 12/first year uni textbooks are its content. The books should contain the relevant content for the exam but you must understand that these third party tutors are not endorsed by ACER and may not have sufficient or provide too much content.

Kaplan being an extremely popular MCAT study book, containing up to second year science concepts, although the second year content were the basics. This automatically provided too much theory for the GAMSAT which only contain up to first year concepts. The sciences can be easily swapped with any other textbook from the public library, perhaps the questions were MCAT style, I only saw multiple choice questions but these can also be substituted with a cheaper question bank or exam style questions. The behavioral sciences and CARS were by far the most helpful in my opinion. Behavioral sciences contained concepts such as biology of behavior, sensation and perception which can provide theory for section 3 but also motivation, emotion, stress, psychological disorders, social interactions and much more which can provide a lot of ammunition for section 2 essay themes and ideas. The CARS books provided strategies and techniques to tackle section 1 questions including analyzing rhetorics, outlining and understanding passages, formal logic, keywords and more. It also provided question specific techniques for comprehension questions, resigning within and beyond text questions. Perhaps the last two may be too indepth for the GAMSAT since its questions are not trick questions, in section one finding the option with the best fit will suffice.

You must remember that these GAMSAT preparation companies are specifically marketing to sell and make profits. If you must buy something I would recommend you do your research and buy a popular GAMSAT textbook or you may use the Kaplan books as I have. The Kaplan text books will provide more than enough theory to do S1 and 3, too much in fact so if you have a lot of time I could recommend it. The issue date is not a factor in the sciences, just get the cheapest one you can , year 12 science has not changed much in the last 10 years. If you are just looking for section 3 prep, any 1st year university textbook for physics, chemistry and biology will provide the exact same, even more, information than any 3rd party preparation company (don't waster your money if you don't have to).