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ISAT Preparation General Discussion

BoarVessel

Member
Valued Member
Alright I didn't realise there are rules restricting that lol. So overall, would you recommend doing preparation there?

Yes. The most important aspect they can help in is getting used to the questions (involving refreshing your memory on how to solve certain math problems and reading paragraphs quickly). You also might find a couple of tricks on how to solve some questions quickly. However, don't expect a huge difference in your knowledge or ability but I strongly believe that even that small edge can help you in getting into med school, especially if time and money isn't an issue.
 
Yes. The most important aspect they can help in is getting used to the questions (involving refreshing your memory on how to solve certain math problems and reading paragraphs quickly). You also might find a couple of tricks on how to solve some questions quickly. However, don't expect a huge difference in your knowledge or ability but I strongly believe that even that small edge can help you in getting into med school, especially if time and money isn't an issue.
Thanks for your insights man really appreciate that! Is there any other way to communicate if you don't mind?
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Alright I didn't realise there are rules restricting that lol. So overall, would you recommend doing preparation there?

I can confirm that BoarVessel is correct re. the banning of prep company discussion, and it's not just naming the company, it's a flat out ban on all discussion, so unfortunately this question can't be openly answered here.
 

BoarVessel

Member
Valued Member
hi! I know this is unrelated but I've seen a post regarding about ISAT.

(DELETED) The best resources are the OFFICIAL ones on the ACER ISAT website, both the free and paid questions.
Please note that it might seem that the free questions are a bit too easy and that paid questions a bit too difficult. I and a lot of others felt that the actual exam had a difficulty level somewhere in between those.

And I know that you will probably finish those in a day or two and be looking for more prep but honestly as you probably know, there isn’t much out there, especially compared to the UCAT. But if you are really committed, the DM and QR sections of the UCAT can be somewhat helpful as they share similarities to the ISAT questions. GAMSAT questions are also similar (BUT are more difficult and time consuming) as GAMSAT is also made by ACER, the ones making the ISAT.
 
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Asynn

Member
Hey! I don’t think it matters if I can tell you the prep company or not as I actually wouldn’t recommend them either way. The best resources are the OFFICIAL ones on the ACER ISAT website, both the free and paid questions.
Please note that it might seem that the free questions are a bit too easy and that paid questions a bit too difficult. I and a lot of others felt that the actual exam had a difficulty level somewhere in between those.

And I know that you will probably finish those in a day or two and be looking for more prep but honestly as you probably know, there isn’t much out there, especially compared to the UCAT. But if you are really committed, the DM and QR sections of the UCAT can be somewhat helpful as they share similarities to the ISAT questions. GAMSAT questions are also similar (BUT are more difficult and time consuming) as GAMSAT is also made by ACER, the ones making the ISAT.
I see I see. It's because I've already done it once and I got 173 for my ISAT. However, my academic results are not that good (barely meeting the admission requirements by a mere decimal). So, I've already done the free and paid questions from ACER themselves, and I do not know what I can do next. (DELETED). I am aiming for 175 and above for ISAT but god damn it's hard to study for it without help. I am also planning to take the UCAT test this year.
 
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BoarVessel

Member
Valued Member
see I see. It's because I've already done it once and I got 173 for my ISAT. However, my academic results are not that good (barely meeting the admission requirements by a mere decimal). So, I've already done the free and paid questions from ACER themselves, and I do not know what I can do next. DELETED I am aiming for 175 and above for ISAT but god damn it's hard to study for it without help. I am also planning to take the UCAT test this year.
I would say that you should start practising the UCAT while also trying your best at GAMSAT non-science sections, which again is the closest thing you’ll find, although harder. (DELETED) And also you should aim more in the range of 180-185 for Monash to be on the safe side.
 
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Hello
Just want to give an update that I got my ISAT results a couple of days ago and I got a score of 188 (which is 98th percentile). I would 100% agree with BoarVessel that the official questions and section 1 of the GAMSAT are the best resources out there if you want to prepare for the ISAT. (thanks for all the tips Boar!!)
Doing practice questions is extremely important as I personally invested ~200 hours in doing questions similar to the ISAT.
Just keep a calm mind on test day and time management is key! Skip all the more difficult questions to the end as you don't want to finish the exam with 20+ questions unanswered.
Good luck!!
 
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xanqxd

Lurker
Does anyone know when to take isat? I’m starting year 11 next week and I’m planning to apply for med in 2023. I know that isat is valid for 2 years and that you can retake after a year. So should I take it this year and so I can retake next year if the result is bad?
 

BoarVessel

Member
Valued Member
Does anyone know when to take isat? I’m starting year 11 next week and I’m planning to apply for med in 2023. I know that isat is valid for 2 years and that you can retake after a year. So should I take it this year and so I can retake next year if the result is bad?

The dates for the multiple cycles are here. And yes definitely you should give the ISAT twice if time permits. HOWEVER, there are 2 things you need to confirm first.

First, ask ACER that if one performs worse on the second sitting, can one still use the old score? (Edit: It turns out Unis will have access to all your previous tests and its up to them to determine which one to use. Thanks apexautotroph for this info!)

If the above is true, the second is to ask the universities you intend to apply to is how long your second sitting scores are valid? for example if you give the ISAT in April 2021 and apply for med in March 2022 (for 2023 entry) but your actual interviews are in July 2022 and the offer arrives in September 2022, is your ISAT that was supposed to be “valid” till April 2022 still “valid”? Probably yes but I would still confirm as this will allow you to better time your next sitting (after April 2022) as applying earlier in the admission cycles is much preferred.
 
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Does anyone know when to take isat? I’m starting year 11 next week and I’m planning to apply for med in 2023. I know that isat is valid for 2 years and that you can retake after a year. So should I take it this year and so I can retake next year if the result is bad?
You can definitely do that and the universities that you are applying to will have access to ALL of your results. So it's up to the universities whether they decide to use your best result or the latest one.
 
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DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Hey,
Just wanted to know what are the best resources for ISAT and where can I get them?
Cheers

There’s no paid prep/resource discussion permitted on MSO so anyone intending to reply should please stick to official resources or completely free access resources.
 

b3527

Member
Hi guys, I recently received my ISAT score, with an OR of 182 (91st percentile). Do you guys think this is good for direct-entry into Monash, or should I plan to redo it next year?
 

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LeSpicyGinger

Flinders MD II
Hi guys, I recently received my ISAT score, with an OR of 182 (91st percentile). Do you guys think this is good for direct-entry into Monash, or should I plan to redo it next year?
Hey, I prepared for ISAT from a prep company from Singapore over the internet as I was in India. However, there wasn't anything I learnt really from them and most of their prep material was derived from GAMSAT. The DM and QR section of the UCAT is a bit similar (a BIT) to the exam and other than that I did nothing but I still got a score in the 87th percentile which was enough for a first round offer from UTAS (ATAR of 99) and an interview from Monash (its in August).

Edit:Removed mention of prep company

If you read the first page of this thread, you would have seen that BoarVessel got an interview offer from Monash with 87th percentile. Based off last years results, you have a good chance.
 

yuun

Member
Hello
Just want to give an update that I got my ISAT results a couple of days ago and I got a score of 188 (which is 98th percentile). I would 100% agree with BoarVessel that the official questions and section 1 of the GAMSAT are the best resources out there if you want to prepare for the ISAT. (thanks for all the tips Boar!!)
Doing practice questions is extremely important as I personally invested ~200 hours in doing questions similar to the ISAT.
Just keep a calm mind on test day and time management is key! Skip all the more difficult questions to the end as you don't want to finish the exam with 20+ questions unanswered.
Good luck!!

Hey, I just want to ask where did you get the resources for GAMSAT section 1 as I'm thinking to do the same way as you did for ISAT studying.

Hey guys, I have realised that all the replies were from 2021. Is there anyone who got an offer this year and would like to share their ISAT scores?

I'm aiming for UNSW and Monash Medicine, what would be the ISAT score that I should be aiming for?
 

speeptime

Member
Hey, I just want to ask where did you get the resources for GAMSAT section 1 as I'm thinking to do the same way as you did for ISAT studying.

Hey guys, I have realised that all the replies were from 2021. Is there anyone who got an offer this year and would like to share their ISAT scores?

I'm aiming for UNSW and Monash Medicine, what would be the ISAT score that I should be aiming for?
I applied for only UNSW and Monash, and received offers for both. My ISAT score was 184 and 94th percentile (CR: 188 99th, QR: 179 70th — that’s crazy). I know people with 172 who received Monash offers as well. Please peruse:
My preparation was rather limited. I did both mock papers that ACER gave but not much else. I found the mock papers were less difficult than the actual ISAT but the ISAT itself wasn’t too hard.

Critical Reasoning (language, inference, drawing conclusions) wasn’t hard for me. The BMAT is similar in terms of question type, just that it had shorter passages instead.

Quantitative Reasoning was more challenging for me when it came to the questions with calculations and manipulating equations (I’m not great at maths), but the logic questions weren’t difficult.

I actually found the whole ISAT rather fun. You won’t find practice materials that can prepare you for the content of the test, so what you should be doing is training your thinking speed and mental stamina. I’m used to doing 3 hour papers and so took it as business as usual.
 

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