Either due to scheduling or my insane love of routine, I happened to take the MCAT twice on the same day, a year apart (when I was scheduling my second test I figured it was ok the first time, so why not?) This year I'll be taking it in January, the first test without the writing portion, and the first test with the optional new section. Is that a good thing? To be the guinea pig test?
Anyway, waiting for the test dates to be announced, I got to thinking about the last time I took it and how I probably scarred a poor 16 year old girl for life. You get 10 minute breaks in between your sections where you can go to the bathroom, get a snack, cry in the hallway, etc. 10 minutes may sound like a long time, but it really isn't. What they don't tell you is that you are treated like a prisoner each time you enter AND leave the room- you're fingerprinted and your ID is scrutinized like you're a Hispanic in Maricopa county. Once you finish a section on the computer, the clock starts ticking. When you leave the testing room, you have to use this time to exchange any scratch paper, pencils, headphones, earphones, megaphones, etc, and you have to get fingerprinted.
10 min: Sweet, time to go to the bathroom. :::get in back of line of other people waiting to leave.:::
9 min: Finally, my turn. Hi, can I get a new pencil and booklet when I return to go back in? Oh, you need the old ones? Let me go back...
7.5 min: Pencil, booklet, and ID, here you go. And fingerprint. Why is it taking so long to read? It's a dang fingerprint, not the Magna Carta! Done, off to the bathroom.
7 min: Which has a CLOSED sign on it. Someone is cleaning it right now? And it's a single bathroom? Really?? Hi, I was hoping to use the restroom during our 10 minute break... Oh, you're almost finished? Great. Ok, I'll grab a quick bite to eat.
5 min: Now I have heartburn from eating a Kashi bar and Mountain Dew in 90 seconds. And the damn bathroom is still closed?! Hi there, sorry to be a pest, but I only have 5 minutes left, can I get in there? Just a minute? Ok... I'll wait one minute...
4 min: :::poking head into restroom::: Um, excuse me, I have to get back to the test- can you let me use the bathroom real quick? Really? No? You have to clean the sink first? Well since I have three and half minutes left, I'm just going to pee while you clean the sink over there. :::starts unzipping jeans while employee runs out horrified, nearly knocking over her bucket:::
2 min: :::get back in line to get back in::: Why do all these people wait until the last minute to return?! Why doesn't the digital fingerprinter work right? Who is in charge here?! Heads should roll for this!! ARRRGGGGGH!
20 seconds remaining: Ok, headphones on, pencils, paper, thinking about biology and ochem, biology and ochem, biology and ochem... What?! It started already?! I thought I had 10 more seconds! AGGHHH!!
Thankfully, every other break went much smoother. I had a whole 5 minutes to relax on those breaks.
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