Guest kriserella Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hey! I have a question: do we actually have to go to like, Grand&Toy and buy the soft lead pencils? Can we use hp lead instead or are they really specific? Maybe they will supply us with pencils... Yeah, my 'Mcat jitters'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Hi, Although some MCAT test centres will supply you with pencils, most people bring their own. (Don't take the chance and come without one (or five)!) Last year, I used a standard mechanical pencil with H2 lead or something (not HB) and my responses seemed to be transmitted to the MCAT card reader just fine. No worries. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ikaj Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 what are we allowed to have on our desk for the exam? water bottles? how many pencil/pens are we allowed to have on the desk? a digital watch okay? for timing: are they going to tell us the start and end time? i am nervous!!!:\ :eek thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 When I wrote (and that was two years ago!) they allowed us to have the following: Pencils - for the multiple choice sections. You were allowed as many as you wanted (within reason I guess...although nobody tested that out!) NO PENS were allowed on your desk except during the WS section...I vividly remember a guy being told to put his pen away before the VR section and picking an argument with the supervisor..."but I like to underline my passages in pen...." NO calculators, rulers, sliderules, periodic tables, cheat sheets, formula cards, etc NO kleenex boxes - you could take a few out of the box and leave them on your desk, but the box had to go. NO lucky charms, trolls, rabbit's feet, four leaf clovers, pictures of your entire family, teddy bears, etc NO water bottles, mugs, cups, cans of pop, snacks, etc You could chew gum but that was it. NO pencil cases, boxes, etc And I used my 'regular' pencil and my stuff was scored just fine. As an aside, I would suggest that you write down the 'release codes' for any non-AMCAS schools (like OMSAS) that you want to release to. It will save you time at the end of the day when you have to fill all of that junk in and there is maybe two copies of the list for everyone to look it up on! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ikaj Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 thanks aneliz. also, do you know if there any kinds of watches that aren't allowed? I have a timex digital it beeps but I can turn the alarm off. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 As long as it doesn't make ANY noise (not even a single beep) during the exam you will be fine. They are VERY strict about that! The only other ones that were challenged were the 'super high-tech' complicated watches that looked like they may have contained at calculator or some kind of data bank, satellite signalling device, atomic bomb detonation switch, etc. And, you are NOT allowed cell phones or pagers...so don't assume that you are going to use the clock on them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ollie Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Hi, You don't have to worry about the release codes for non-AMCAS schools. Now everything is done online. You can release to as many schools as you want without charge. At my writing, they didn't let people put watches/timers on the desk. It had to be on your wrist. They also called when 45 min and 5 min were left. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Ugh, at my sitting of the MCAT, someone's cell phone actually started ringing during the BS section. It was in the guy's backpack, which was placed at the front of the room. It rang for about 20 seconds, then the guy sheepishly got up, said "sorry", went into his bag and turned it off. What a dumbass. Luckily for me, I was on my second or third read-over of my answers, so it didn't bother me too much. I saw the reaction of some other people though - to say they were pissed would be an enormous understatement. I was actually pretty surprised that the proctors didn't do anything - they just let him keep writing. The moral of the story: unless you want 30 people collectively willing your head to explode, leave the cell phone at home! (And be sure to keep that alarm off on your timer!!) hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Hey there hmsdread, Did this happen to happen in a Toronto-area writing? Reason I ask: same thing happened during my MCAT and the proctors didn't seem to blink. :rolleyes Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Hey Kirsteen, No, it happened in London sitting. Funny that the proctors didn't do anything in your situation either. I was so dumbfounded that a cell phone was actually ringing during the test that I don't know if I would've said anything either, had I been in the proctor's position - just blankly stared, thinking "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 11, 2003 Report Share Posted August 11, 2003 Hi there, Wacky stuff, eh--even in London!? The other interesting incident that happened during the same MCAT writing here in TO was that, during the PS section, the hotel staff (at the Holiday Inn on King) decided to do some furniture moving. Someone had decided that they needed more room, so DURING the PS section, two dudes toted one of those 6-foot long buffet tables in through the back doors and up to the front of the room, ruffling past and jostling numerous test-writers. I felt bad for the folks at the other side of the room who had to tackle this--especially the one girl who entered the test-writing room in the morning and pulled out her airport ground crew-style ear protectors, but wasn't allowed to wear them. :rolleyes Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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