Ultimate GAMSAT Graduate Entry Guide 2026

The GAMSAT - What is it?

The GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test, originally the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test) is a day-long, three-section, computer-based admissions test run by ACER and used by several graduate-entry medicine courses across the UK, Ireland and Australia.

If you’re thinking about applying to GEM (graduate entry medicine), you may want to sit the GAMSAT. Whilst this isn’t required by all universities accepting applications for GEM, it is by ScotGEM, Cardiff, Liverpool and more.

Resultantly, you should consider whether it’s worth sitting for you - Scottish students, for instance, may be more inclined to sit the GAMSAT exam so that they can apply to ScotGEM where tuition is free.

If you are open to studying outside the UK, the GAMSAT is also used by several Irish graduate-entry medicine courses; see our study medicine in Ireland guide for entry routes, fees and deadlines for Irish schools.

This guide will answer all of your medicine GAMSAT questions and give you the GAMSAT information that you need to decide whether or not to sit the test, and how to do it if you would like to. Additionally, check out our GAMSAT study guide!

GAMSAT Registration

Registration for the GAMSAT exam takes place directly with ACER and is done on their official website at gamsat.acer.org. Choose the UK as your test region, then pick the September sitting (the one used for UK and Irish applications) and your nearest test centre.

What Universities use the GAMSAT?

As of the 2026 and 2027 admissions cycles, UK graduate-entry medicine and dentistry courses that accept or require the GAMSAT include ScotGEM (St Andrews/Dundee), Nottingham, St George's (City St George's, University of London), Liverpool, Swansea, Surrey, Plymouth, Worcester, Chester, Exeter, Keele, the University of East Anglia, Sunderland, Ulster and Brunel. Always confirm directly with each medical school, as some accept either the GAMSAT or the UCAT and requirements change year to year:

• Liverpool
• Nottingham
• St George’s London
• Swansea
• Cardiff
• Dundee
• Plymouth (Graduate entry dentistry)

Postgraduate entry into medicine will generally require you to sit at least one admissions test. Different universities require different tests, as is outlined below:

Deciding between the GAMSAT and the UCAT is one of the biggest choices in a graduate application. The UCAT is now four subtests scored out of 2,700 (Abstract Reasoning was removed in 2025), while the GAMSAT is essay-and-science heavy, so your degree background and strengths often decide which suits you. For a fuller picture of routes, funding and entry requirements, read our graduate entry medicine guide, and if you are leaning towards UCAT courses, our UCAT revision hub and the UCAT online question bank will help you prepare.

• Barts: Requires the UCAT
• Birmingham: Requires the UCAT
• Cambridge: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• Cardiff: Requires the UCAT (graduate-entry applicants must usually be on an approved feeder-stream route)
• Chester: Requires the UCAT
• Dundee/St Andrews - ScotGEM: Requires the GAMSAT
• Imperial College London: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• King’s College London: Requires the UCAT
• Liverpool: Requires the GAMSAT
• Newcastle: Requires the UCAT
• Nottingham: Requires the GAMSAT
• Oxford: Requires UCAT (as of 2024, 2025 Entry)
• Sheffield: Requires the UCAT
• Southampton: Requires the UCAT
• St George’s: Requires the GAMSAT
• Swansea: Requires the GAMSAT for UK applicants, and GAMSAT or MCAT for international applicants
• Worcester: Requires the UCAT, GAMSAT or MCAT
• Warwick: Requires the UCAT

GAMSAT Registration

The GAMSAT is administered by ACER twice a year, once in March and once in September. UK and Irish medical schools use the September sitting, so most UK applicants register for September. For 2026, the September standard registration deadline is 1pm BST on 30 June 2026, with a late-registration window after that for an extra fee. The only way to register is via gamsat.acer.org, where you create an account and select your test.

After this, you’ll see a list of tests and be able to select the GAMSAT. You should then choose a location and register as early as possible to make sure that you get a spot that suits you! You don’t want to have to spend a whole day travelling to a test centre far away.

Am I eligible for the GAMSAT?

It’s important to know whether or not you’re actually able to sit the GAMSAT. Here, eligibility for the GAMSAT is explained. You must meet one of the following criteria:

• Have completed an undergraduate honours degree
• Be in the final year of an undergraduate honours degree
• Be in the penultimate year of an undergraduate honours degree
• For Exeter and Plymouth, have “an appropriate level of intellectual maturity and subject knowledge” to sit the test

What is the structure of the GAMSAT?

The GAMSAT consists of three sections that, cumulatively, take almost five hours. They are outlined below:

• Section 1: Reasoning in Humanities - 47 multiple-choice questions designed to test your reasoning in humanities subjects. You will have 6 minutes of reading time and 64 minutes to answer the questions.
• Section 2: Written Communication - 2 essays that will assess your capacity to communicate effectively with the written word. You have 5 minutes of reading time and 60 minutes to write the essays.
• Section 3: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences - 75 multiple questions, approximately 40% of which require approximately A-level Biology knowledge, 40% of which require approximately A-level Chemistry knowledge and 20% of which require approximately A-level Physics knowledge. You will have 8 minutes of reading time and 142 minutes to answer the questions.

There is no GAMSAT maths section, but some maths skills are required in section 3.

If you also have a dental application in mind, note that Plymouth uses the GAMSAT for graduate-entry dentistry too; our graduate entry dentistry guide explains how that route works.

Contact our GAMSAT tutors if you require any help with understanding the questions and boosting your score through our GAMSAT tutoring packages that we offer.

GAMSAT Sections - The Ultimate Guide

How To Revise for the GAMSAT

GAMSAT Section 1: Revision, Tips & Tricks

Section 1: Reasoning in Humanities - 47 multiple-choice questions designed to test your reasoning in humanities subjects. You will have 6 minutes of reading time and 64 minutes to answer the questions.

You will have around 1 minute and 20 seconds per question, which most candidates find to be enough for them to answer every question - though it’s tough!

These questions will feature you being given a passage, comic panel, scientific abstract or some other form of media. You will then be asked questions about what you’ve read. All of the questions are multiple-choice.

Some of our top GAMSAT section 1 tips for preparation include:

• Teaching yourself to read faster: It’s important to be able to get through the passages quickly, and reading plenty is the best way to do this. After reading a passage, we recommend that you then aim to summarise it to ensure that you’ve fully understood it and taken in all of the information. Why not kill two birds with one stone and also read material that widens your understanding of medicine?
• Study literary techniques: Simply Googling “literary devices” will provide you with a litany of websites detailing various literary devices. Familiarising yourself with these will help you to answer Section 1 questions as efficiently as possible.
• Read Shakespeare: One of the trickiest parts of Section 1 is that Shakespearian passages often come up. As these are written so differently from contemporary English, many candidates find them extremely difficult. We recommend dedicating some time to learning how to read and interpret Shakespeare.
• Practice the UCAT Verbal Reasoning section: This section bears similarities to the UCAT’s VR section and practising that is also great preparation for this part of the GAMSAT. You can find resources on the Pearson Vue website and other online resources. Make sure, however, that you don’t just practice these! There are key differences as well, so it’s important to practice actual GAMSAT questions and the UCAT should complement rather than replace that.

Most candidates in this section will score 57-61, so anything above this is excellent! Speak to our GAMSAT tutors to help boost your GAMSAT section 1 score.

GAMSAT Section 2: Revision, Tips & Tricks

GAMSAT Section 2: Written Communication - 2 essays that will assess your capacity to communicate effectively with the written word. You have 5 minutes of reading time and 60 minutes to write the essays.

Essay topics in this section can take numerous forms. You will have a Section A essay and a Section B essay to write, each on a different theme. Each section will give you not only the essay’s theme but also a set of 5 quotes from which you can draw for your discussion.

Past themes for GAMSAT Task A include:

• Freedom
• War
• Punishment
• Science
• Technology
• Crime
• Poverty
• Wealth

And for GAMSAT Task B they include:

• Friendship
• Love
• Beauty
• Youth
• Ageing
• Suffering
• Originality
• Conformity
• Humour

As you can see, Task A tends to focus on more tangible concepts relevant to the modern-day. Task B is more conceptual, referring to universal and abstract ideas.

GAMSAT Section 2 Tips & Preparation include:

• Build up a bank of ideas: For this section, it is important to do broad “reading”. That can include books and newspaper articles so that you have an understanding of current affairs upon which you can draw, or watching films and TV to build up your understanding of fiction, storytelling and rhetorical devices. You should build up a variety of topics about which you are knowledgeable and opinionated, that you can then draw on in your essay.
• Important topics: Specifically, we recommend that you learn about politics, psychology and philosophy as these are very often relevant ideas. Humanitarian issues, in particular, can be great to draw on in essays. TED Talks are particularly good for learning about these topics as not only are they easily comprehensible and digestible, but they are also designed to be inspirational and engaging. Pay attention to the rhetorical devices that they use!
• Get feedback: It’s really important to get feedback on your essays, as other people will spot things that you won’t. Ask your family, friends or tutors who may be willing to give feedback. Listen to what they say and try to apply this to future essays.
• Don’t worry about sticking to time initially: Whilst it will of course be important to practice timed essays, your first few should take as long as you need. It’s important to learn how to plan and write them properly first, building up those critical basic skills. You can focus on timings later!
• Read GAMSAT Essay Examples to help you work out what you need to write and how one might construct a good essay for the GAMSAT.

Most candidates in this section will score 59-65, so anything above this is excellent!

GAMSAT Section 3: Revision, Tips & Tricks

Section 3: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences - 75 multiple questions, approximately 40% of which require approximately A-level Biology knowledge, 40% of which require approximately A-level Chemistry knowledge and 20% of which require approximately A-level Physics knowledge. You will have 8 minutes of reading time and 142 minutes to answer the questions.

Section 3 is the most important section of the GAMSAT, weighing twice as heavily as the others. GAMSAT Section 3 time is a little more generous than the other sections, so the focus here is on knowledge more than time management. It’s also a marathon, not a sprint - taking two and a half hours to complete! Therefore, the best GAMSAT section 3 strategy is to start with the questions that you’re most comfortable with - be they Chemistry, Physics or Biology, and then branch off into the others.

You’ll have a half-hour break before this section of the exam, so be sure to bring some water and high-energy snacks.

Though ACER claims that first-year university knowledge of Biology and Chemistry is required, most people agree that A-level knowledge is more than sufficient.

Our top tips for studying for this section include:

• Use A-level revision resources: It can be really hard to find good, affordable GAMSAT resources. However, A-level resources are much more accessible and generally excellent - especially for building up your foundations. In particular, the BBC Bitesize website breaks down each topic with a handy revision guide before testing your knowledge with a quiz.
• Use Scottish Advanced Higher resources for Chemistry and Biology: If you want to take your knowledge further in Chemistry and Biology, then check out Scottish Advanced Higher curriculums. These expand on some key topics and are generally considered comparable to many first-year university curricula in the topics. BBC Bitesize is another great resource here, as are Bright Red Publishing textbooks and Hodder Gibson textbooks.
• Practice your mental maths: As with any science subject, GAMSAT sciences demand good mental maths skills. Be sure to practice these consistently - there are plenty of apps that you can download on your phone which will help you with this when you’re on the bus or in a waiting room!

Most candidates score 57-60 in this section, so anything above this is excellent!

Remember to have a look at our GAMSAT tutoring packages if you need support with these sections.

How much does the GAMSAT cost?

The GAMSAT costs £296 to sit in the UK in 2026.

Additionally, changes or late registration made after the standard deadline incur an extra £71 in the UK, so it pays to register early.

GAMSAT - Revision, Tips & Tricks For Preparation

GAMSAT Revision & Preparation

The GAMSAT is a long and difficult exam, taking almost 5 hours to complete in total. As such, it’s crucial that you begin to prepare for it with plenty of time in advance.

This preparation looks like not only practising questions and learning the content but also building up your understanding of a variety of topics to improve your scores in the first two sections.

The GAMSAT consists of three sections that, cumulatively, take almost five hours. They are outlined below:

• Section 1: Reasoning in Humanities - 47 multiple-choice questions designed to test your reasoning in humanities subjects. You will have 6 minutes of reading time and 64 minutes to answer the questions.
• Section 2: Written Communication - 2 essays that will assess your capacity to communicate effectively with the written word. You have 5 minutes of reading time and 60 minutes to write the essays.
• Section 3: Reasoning in Biological and Physical Sciences - 75 multiple questions, approximately 40% of which require approximately A-level Biology knowledge, 40% of which require approximately A-level Chemistry knowledge and 20% of which require approximately A-level Physics knowledge. You will have 8 minutes of reading time and 142 minutes to answer the questions.

GAMSAT Scoring 2025

The GAMSAT is scored from 1 to 100, though these are not percentage marks. A low score is below 52, and a high score is above 65. Generally, candidates scoring in the 80th percentile or above have a great chance of being called for interviews - last year, this required a score of 64.

Each section receives an individual score, and your average is then calculated with a double-weighting of section 3. It is therefore as important as the first two sections combined!

The overall score is achieved as follows. (Please note Nottingham also calculates scores without doubling section 3.)

Overall GAMSAT Score = (1 x Section I + 1 x Section II + 2 x Section III) / 4

How long are GAMSAT scores valid for?

Scores are valid for two years, so results from the September 2025 sitting can be used for 2026 and 2027 entry, and results from September 2026 can be used for 2027 and 2028 entry.

GAMSAT example questions and GAMSAT past papers

GAMSAT Past Papers 2026

As with any exam, it is crucial to practice past papers to learn exactly what the GAMSAT is like. You can find past papers:

• ACER: The ACER website makes available past papers to all candidates. Some of these are included in the registration fee, however, others require you to purchase them separately.
• Other online resources help provide GAMSAT questions for free - just have a quick google!

Are GAMSAT books available?

GAMSAT Books in 2026

You may also be looking for GAMSAT books to help your studying. There are a few books that we recommend:

• Masters Series GAMSAT: These books cover all of the content that you need to know for Section 3. However, they are extremely expensive and cost £290 for a full new set. If this is outside of your budget, then we’d recommend either searching for second-hand textbooks, for instance on eBay and Gumtree, or utilising other resources.
• Heaps of GAMSAT Questions: This book is also very expensive, at £120, but contains 10 full practice tests so can be better value for money than the online tests if you’re planning on doing lots of preparation.
• GAMSAT Preparation by Michael Tan: This series is much more affordable at around £10 per book. They’re excellent particularly if you’re looking for more help with specific sections of the GAMSAT.
• GAMSAT Guidebook Sections 1 & 2: This £40 guide focuses on the first two sections of the GAMSAT, and provides tips for answering different question types along with content to help you with the essays.

Before purchasing any book, it’s important to make sure that it’s right for you! Use Amazon’s “look inside feature” or download a Kindle sample before hunting around for the best price if you decide to purchase the full book.

Additionally, many libraries will have resources that you can use including some of these books. Check not only your University’s library but also your local City Libraries. They may even buy the books if you request them!

Where can I get help with my GAMSAT preparation?

If you’re looking for expert advice and guidance in this Section, then get in touch with our team of experienced GAMSAT tutors! Our doctors and medical students would love to talk to you about your needs and what you’re looking for in terms of GAMSAT tutoring. Additionally, check out our guides to other parts of the graduate entry medicine applications process.

What else do I need to know about the GAMSAT?

Can I reschedule the GAMSAT or change my test centre?

If you decide that you aren’t ready to sit the exam yet, then yes, you can defer it to a later date - for instance, 6 months or a year into the future. There are, however, rules for deferral dates so check ACER’s website for specifics.

You can indeed change your test centre, but only if there is space! Be careful that you don’t rely on trying to switch to an oversubscribed test centre too late.

For how long is my GAMSAT valid?

Your GAMSAT is valid for 2 years, and you can use any test score from within the last two years when applying to medical school.

Can I cancel and refund the GAMSAT?

Yes, you can cancel and refund the GAMSAT. However, you will still be charged an administration fee. Alternatively, you can choose to defer your exam to the next sitting.

If I have a disability, can I apply for special circumstances?

Yes - you can receive reasonable accommodations for disabilities. However, you must apply for these before the late registration deadline for them to be considered. Applications will then be looked at individually, on a case-by-case basis.

You will also be required to submit supporting documentation from a registered healthcare practitioner. If your disability is health-related then this must be less than a year old.

If your disability is a learning disability, this must be less than three years old or, if older, be accompanied by a letter from a psychologist deeming it still valid.

You cannot apply for special circumstances after taking the exam or receiving your results.

How can I prepare for the GAMSAT?

Check out our GAMSAT study guide with GAMSAT materials and practice questions, as well as guidance on the best GAMSAT revision books. Alternatively, take a look at our GAMSAT study packages which feature sessions with our expert medical or dentistry student, doctor, and dentist tutors.

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Related guides and tools

Use these TheUKCATPeople guides and tools to plan the rest of your graduate-entry medicine application:

• Graduate Entry Medicine overview - routes, entry requirements and how GEM differs from standard entry.
• Graduate Entry Medicine: funding, costs and fees - how SFE, NHS bursaries and tuition work for graduate applicants.
• Graduate Entry Dentistry guide - the GAMSAT and other routes into graduate-entry dentistry (e.g. Plymouth).
• Study Medicine in Ireland - Irish graduate-entry courses that also use the GAMSAT, plus fees and deadlines.
• UCAT revision hub and the UCAT online question bank - if you are applying to UCAT graduate courses instead of, or as well as, GAMSAT ones.
• UK medical schools ranking hub - compare graduate-entry and standard-entry courses across the UK.
• Medicine application tutoring - 1-to-1 support for graduate-entry applications, including GAMSAT preparation.