For those who just took the CBT, did you experience any computer issues?

Boost your MCAT score by 12 points or more.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
RAD11

RAD11

Full Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2004
Messages
3,300
Reaction score
1
Members don't see this ad.
......i.e. computer freezing, not being able to highlight, periodic table not popping up, unable to scroll up/down, unable to go back to questions skipped, or anything else that I may have left out?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
No problems at all and I was a little worried about that. Small quiet room with 15 people. It was awesome - I was out before 3:00. The only complaint was that there had to be someone next to me taking another test other than the MCAT because I was the first one to start and the first one to get to the writing section and the person next to me was typing a lot and early - it was definitely distracting but I tried to get past it. I focused on how she was probably nervous and taking a tough test and certainly disturbing me with her typing was the last thing she was probably worrying about.

The biggest time savings is the writing sample. As soon as you finish the first one, you roll into the second and then you're done. Also, you're completely on your own. You obviously can't extend breaks but you can shorten them. I took 20 min for lunch and went back and pressed on. I was drinking a brewski floating in the pool at 3:30 - (But I was reflecting on how I tanked the verbal - ugh!)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yup, I didn't have any problem too, although the computer I was using was obviously rather old and took around 3-4 seconds to move between pages. It should bother me, but I guess taking a little break between passages doesn't hurt.

It was really smooth, except morning check-in was a pain. I waited an hour to be checked-in. I was the last one to check-in, the first guy was already out on his first break. I found that I like taking breaks on my own and pacing my own day. There were no toilet queues and there were no one around discussing how they did in the previous section to drive me nuts.

I also took a shorter lunch break. I couldn't eat anyway so I went to a nearby coffee joint to get a capp, downed it, and went back in to tackle Writing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Each page took a second or two to load, but to me it seemed like an eternity

I don't know if it happened to anyone else, but everything you click on the "review marked" at the end, it only lets you review three or four before returning you to the main page? I guess it may be a good thing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheHunter said:
I don't know if it happened to anyone else, but everything you click on the "review marked" at the end, it only lets you review three or four before returning you to the main page? I guess it may be a good thing.
Click to expand...

Which main page are you referring to? The review page?

The "review marked" lets you review all the questions you have marked - since the questions for a particular passage is all in one page, you get to see the other questions for the passage other than the one(s) you have marked too. If you click "next" at the bottom of the screen, it will take you to your next marked question. When you have reached the last one of your marked questions, it will bring you back to the "review" screen.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
choklad said:
Which main page are you referring to? The review page?

The "review marked" lets you review all the questions you have marked - since the questions for a particular passage is all in one page, you get to see the other questions for the passage other than the one(s) you have marked too. If you click "next" at the bottom of the screen, it will take you to your next marked question. When you have reached the last one of your marked questions, it will bring you back to the "review" screen.
Click to expand...
The first time you click the review page for a given section, it takes a good 5-7 seconds to load.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well, it's good to know that you guys didn't experience any major issues.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Were all the computer monitors CRT?

CRT monitors make me fall asleep (low refresh rates are like hypnosis).... 🙁

You'd think with the money we are paying for the privilege of taking the MCAT, they would upgrade the computer systems. A Core Duo Dell with 19" LCD is only like 400 bucks now.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
naus said:
Were all the computer monitors CRT?

CRT monitors make me fall asleep (low refresh rates are like hypnosis).... 🙁

You'd think with the money we are paying for the privilege of taking the MCAT, they would upgrade the computer systems. A Core Duo Dell with 19" LCD is only like 400 bucks now.
Click to expand...

Hah! Mine didn't even have modern keyboards. The ancient ones at my test center had a very loud CLACK. Naturally, someone taking some stupid real estate test or something typed the entire time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Knickerbocker said:
Hah! Mine didn't even have modern keyboards. The ancient ones at my test center had a very loud CLACK. Naturally, someone taking some stupid real estate test or something typed the entire time.
Click to expand...
Are you serious? so not everyone in the testing room is doing the MCAT? Maybe I should study for the MCAT in my school's computer lab and get used to typing noises in the background.

I should also probably dig out my old CRT monitor in the dorm storage and try not to fall asleep staring at it. 😴

I can't believe they are still using computers like the IBM/PS2 that we used in 2nd grade.

Computerized tests should be on Tablet PCs!! 😎
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
naus said:
Are you serious? so not everyone in the testing room is doing the MCAT? Maybe I should study for the MCAT in my school's computer lab and get used to typing noises in the background.
Click to expand...

Half of the people in the room were taking something else. Most of the rest of them were quiet, other than the squeaky chair guy. Oh yeah, the person with the test that required them to type 50,000 words also had a beeping timer that he fiddled with a lot.

And since you missed my initial rant, I'll vent again 😉

The people running the place talked and laughed from time to time, and, in the last 30-60 minutes of the BS section, they vacuumed, bagged trash, shut down computers, and straightened up the (worthless) headphones around us.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Knickerbocker said:
The people running the place talked and laughed from time to time, and, in the last 30-60 minutes of the BS section, they vacuumed, bagged trash, shut down computers, and straightened up the (worthless) headphones around us.
Click to expand...
I feel for you. I hate how nameless dinguses (like proctors and janitors) could play such a large role to our futures. The MCAT should hire med students for proctors, people who have been through MCAT hell and can respond better (more appropriately) to situations without going through faux power trips.

What kind of headphones did you have? just like regular music headphones? those things do jackcrap (probably give you a migraine)! I thought they would give out "noise-reducing headphones"?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
naus said:
What kind of headphones did you have? just like regular music headphones? those things do jackcrap (probably give you a migraine)! I thought they would give out "noise-reducing headphones"?
Click to expand...

They were supposed to be noise reducing, but they didn't do much, so I stopped using them after the verbal section. I expected them to be like ones people use at firing ranges, but they were actually audio headphones that were plugged into to the computer.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
naus said:
I feel for you. I hate how nameless dinguses (like proctors and janitors) could play such a large role to our futures.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, the people actually vacuuming and bagging trash were the girls who proctored the test. And when I say girls, they seemed young, like barely out of high school. I would have rather seen more mature faces for proctors 🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Knickerbocker said:
They were supposed to be noise reducing, but they didn't do much, so I stopped using them after the verbal section. I expected them to be like ones people use at firing ranges, but they were actually audio headphones that were plugged into to the computer.
Click to expand...

I found mine to be quite effective. It's not 100% soundproof, but it muffles the sound considerably. (Just like those spongey earplugs.) Mine looked something like the ones used at firing ranges - no cable dangling about. There was another headphone attached to the computer, though. I think they are meant to be used in tests with listening components.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
Exam 1/24, shooting for 520+, postpone or just take it?
Replies
19
Views
6K
ClashRoyaleKing
ClashRoyaleKing
D
  • Locked
I just took FL3 and got my world rocked.
Replies
17
Views
6K
deleted1135735
D
ClashRoyaleKing
Download just the P/S from Miles Down?
Replies
2
Views
5K
jhmmd
jhmmd
D
  • Question Question
july 12th mcat , is it late for the TMDSAS cycle?
Replies
2
Views
941
wysdoc
wysdoc
R
MCAT retake drop from 505 to 502. Did I kill my application?
Replies
1
Views
901
ecobio
ecobio
Top