8 AM MCAT?! or 12PM better?

[minutemen11]

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Hey guys
I am having second thoughts about my August 5th test date. Its at 8AM.. i can be an early person if i want to but the 12 PM exam is two weeks later on the 14th-that extra time might help me? I think..

from your experience do you guys like the 8AM test time or 12PM? the test center is only about 10 miles from my house on both dates so travel time is a not an issue. should just man up and take the exam on the date i signed up for? 😕

Also what food did you eat before taking the MCAT that kept you alert but yet not hungry.. Some food like pasta keeps me full for a while but it tends to make me sleepyish, any advice?!

 

[cfx]

I'm about to register and am contemplating the same thing. There really can't be a "better" time, I'm sure it entirely depends on what works best for you. If you're the type to be mentally dead if you wake up early, obviously shoot for the noon test.

I'm going back and forth because I know I won't get a ton of sleep the night before, and will be tired, and 8am is pretty damn early. At the same time, I've done well in 8am classes, and I know if I wait till noon I'll probably go insane dealing with the anxiety all morning. I have a feeling I'll probably end up with the 8.

 

[Conchords18]

I doubt the 9 extra days of studying will make much of a difference. Why not just stick with the 8 am exam and have the rest of the day free to relax. For me, the 12pm exam created unnecessary anxiety in the hours of waiting to start. Plus, I'm sure adrenaline will take care of any tiredness you may feel come test time.

 

[229141]

It's been scientifically proven that all students who choose the 8am exam over the 12 noon exam score a 45*


* Note: w/in 45 of 45

 

[jammy22]

I think if you plan out your study schedule and stick to it you could finish the same amount for the earlier or later test.

I did an 8am, so if you do an 8 am...get on a sleeping schedule a few weeks prior so you are used to going to bed early and waking up early. In terms of food, I had my favorite breakfast to put me in a good mood (sunny-side-up eggs and toast). I also made sure to eat this same breakfast leading up to the test to make sure my body was used to it, particularly before practice exams. Whatever you decide to eat, eat it on practice exam days.

Yes, getting up early for an 8am test stinks, but for me I'd rather do that any day than finishing an MCAT at 5pm. My brain stops working around 3:00.

 

[Freezer]

as far as noon or 8am, I cannot help you there... but my biggest advice is that whenever you do schedule your exam, take it exactly at that time... a lot of us like to show up early to make sure we are there on time... and the people working behind the desk will usually offer to seat you immediately... DO NOT ACCEPT THEIR OFFER!!! I scheduled a 12:30p exam... seated at 11:45am... for the first hour of my exam, I had to deal with 20+ students making their way to their test station, asking questions in the exam room, and being casually disruptive... dont deal with that! if you schedule 12:30p, be seated at exactly 12:30pm...

 

[minutemen11]

I'm going back and forth because I know I won't get a ton of sleep the night before, and will be tired, and 8am is pretty damn early. At the same time, I've done well in 8am classes, and I know if I wait till noon I'll probably go insane dealing with the anxiety all morning. I have a feeling I'll probably end up with the 8.

Haha this is same dilemma i'm having.. I guess I'll just stick to the 8AM. eggs keep you full for that long?? Im going to bring Gatorade and a pb&j sandwich for the breaks. Have any of you tried to use that 5hour enegry drink? I've used it when I did varsity track in hs, but do you think its useful for concentration too, its basically a big shot of caffeine i think "without the crash".

 

[minutemen11]

as far as noon or 8am, I cannot help you there... but my biggest advice is that whenever you do schedule your exam, take it exactly at that time... a lot of us like to show up early to make sure we are there on time... and the people working behind the desk will usually offer to seat you immediately... DO NOT ACCEPT THEIR OFFER!!! I scheduled a 12:30p exam... seated at 11:45am... for the first hour of my exam, I had to deal with 20+ students making their way to their test station, asking questions in the exam room, and being casually disruptive... dont deal with that! if you schedule 12:30p, be seated at exactly 12:30pm...

They let you start early?? wow i can imagine that being a huge distraction.. do you guys get intimidated by the all kids typing furiously during the writing section? I think i'd have a huge mental block when i can hear everyone typing and im unable to think of something to write about. i know we can use those headphones but i've heard it only makes the situation worse because you can hear yourself breathing, this would make me even more anxious haha

 

[0Complications]

I doubt the 9 extra days of studying will make much of a difference. Why not just stick with the 8 am exam and have the rest of the day free to relax. For me, the 12pm exam created unnecessary anxiety in the hours of waiting to start. Plus, I'm sure adrenaline will take care of any tiredness you may feel come test time.

🙄 9 days is a long time. If you're doing an exam every other day, that could 4 more practice exams... It's a lot, but it depends on how you use it.

Also, if I were to take the exam at 12, I would probably be anxiety stricken as well, so I would sleep in until 10:30. That's how I would solve that little problem. 😉

as far as noon or 8am, I cannot help you there... but my biggest advice is that whenever you do schedule your exam, take it exactly at that time... a lot of us like to show up early to make sure we are there on time... and the people working behind the desk will usually offer to seat you immediately... DO NOT ACCEPT THEIR OFFER!!! I scheduled a 12:30p exam... seated at 11:45am... for the first hour of my exam, I had to deal with 20+ students making their way to their test station, asking questions in the exam room, and being casually disruptive... dont deal with that! if you schedule 12:30p, be seated at exactly 12:30pm...

Hmmm, I can hear what you're saying here, but if they offer to seat me early I'm going to take it. I don't want to be in the middle of verbal passage while people are chopping away at their keyboards for the writing sample.

 

[DaisyM]

I took the 12pm test my first time, and the 8am on the retake and did much better the second time. I'm not even a morning person! I think it might depend if you can switch you schedule and how anxious you get.

 

[LaCasta]

I usually feel pretty sharp when I wake up for 8 AM exams (only if I was able to get at least 5 or 6 hours of sleep), but those are usually only 75 min. This one is 5 hours so you have to take that into consideration and I was a little worried about not sleeping the night before due to nerves. I ended up with a 12 PM test and I woke up around 10:00 after getting about 8 hours of sleep. I don't know about anyone else, but if I get too much sleep I don't feel mentally sharp either.

 

[sshashid87]

How stressed do you get before big exams? This was the main factor in me deciding to take the 2 PM exam the second time around...On my first MCAT, I took an 8 AM exam because like you, I can adjust when I start to focus (if I get enough sleep)...but the night before the exam I was just anxious, and didn't get to sleep until about 530 AM...I slept for about an hour, more of a power nap really, and then got up and drove to my center ~45 mins away...I felt good during PS, started to drift away in VR, and it got to the point where I was just picking answers in BS and somehow finished with 20 mins to spare...if that had happened in a practice I would have gone back but I could not concentrate any more and thus ended my test early and left (I got a 28, 9.10.9 so I didn't bomb but prolly coulda done better)

The 2 PM exam helped me, wasn't so nervous the night before, got some formula review in the day of, and just had an easier time focusing overall, sleep helps...this is just me though, honestly 9 days is a decent amoutn of time, you won't make huge strides, but VR practice can def. help you in 9 days with timing, etc...

Also, the early seating thing, I got there 15 mins before, was seated at 815 the first time and I used the noise cancelling headphones(?) They helped me, I could someitmes hear keybaord clacks but come on, if you are realllly focused on the test, those clicks are not going to be a big deal, and if they disrupt your attention that much...i just don't know what to tell you, but to each his own I suppose...regardless, good luck

 

[minutemen11]

Thanks for your help guys.. playing devils advocate i think the real reason im trying to wage between the 8 AM or 12 PM is that i am starting to panic that i wont be able to finish studying FULLY on time (even though I am in a kaplan class that will end a week before the exam)..

do you think taking the exam a week after my kaplan class is over may be too early? I want to have all the content review out of the way by end of june, but im finding that hard to do because the kaplan course has a different study plan.. did you guys go way ahead of your kaplan class?

by the way thanks for all the amazing input!

 

[Muffinpuff]

I think 8am is so much better cause if I would feel like crap when I go in at 12pm and see all the lucky 8am people coming out.

 

[dexs]

Its ALL about you. When do you usually wake up and when are you usually the most alert?

Either way you should spend 5-7 days before the test waking up at the same time (when you want to wake up on test day).

You can get used to waking up at any time as long as you give yourself a week or so. I would just go with whatever is more natural.