8AM MCAT? Opinions

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I think it just largely depends on if you're a morning person or not, and if you're used to being awake around that time.

I'm not a big morning person, so I've been trying to get up at 8 this week and then go for 7 in a few weeks.
 
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I'm definitely not a morning person, and hated my 8am physics classes freshman year. But I took the 8am MCAT just to get it out of the way. The last thing I wanted to do was wait around all morning stressing out for my 2pm exam. With the 8am test, there's no time to stress, you just wake up, eat some food, and go. And there's plenty of adrenaline to keep you awake during the test. And of course you finish by the afternoon which leaves you enough time to decompress and think over the test before hitting the bars with your friends.
 
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8 AM all the way! Mostly because I didn't have to spend the entire morning agonizing over it. Was at the test centre by 7 AM, checked in/started by 7:30 and done around 12:30-ish.

The rest of the afternoon can then be spent bitching/moaning/rejoicing about the exam on SDN. 😉
 
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I had to take the 8am because it was the only time available in my area. I'm not a morning person at all and one of my biggest concerns going into the MCAT was if I was going to be tired. Starting the week before the MCAT, I took diphenhydramine to get myself to sleep around 10pm and would set my alarm to wake myself up around 6 or 7am. I practiced taking a 200mg caffeine pill when I took the AAMC tests and that worked very well. When the actual MCAT rolled around, I was wide awake thanks to the caffeine and had slept a pretty decent length of time the night before. Definitely try adjusting your sleep prior to actually taking it.
 
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I've taken the MCAT twice - once at 8am, and once at 1pm. I honestly preferred the 8am time, as although I'm far from a morning person, I felt I burned out much more quickly on the afternoon test because I was stressing out all morning. Just reprogram your sleep schedule as NYR56 did and you should be fine.
 
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I had the option between taking it at 8 or 1 and I chose 8 for pretty much the same reasons noted above. I didn't want to waiting around all morning dreading it plus I get my most tired right about 1 o' clock. I loved the 8 o' clock time.
 
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It doesn't really matter. I do well if I've been awake all day. Others like to wake up and get going right away. There's less traffic before 7am and after 9am. Either way, if these factors are enough to disturb your scores perceptibly, you probably need more preparation in the first place.
 
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Depends on the person. I took the 1/29 MCAT which was at 8am and personally, my mind is fastest in the morning after I've been awake for about an hour than at 1pm when I've just eaten lunch and just want to fall into a food coma. So just decide if you're a morning person or not.

Only issue with the 8am MCAT is that if you're nervous the night before and can't sleep, then you might not be as sharp as you're used to.
 
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yeah i agree with some of the posters above. ive taken the 8AM test twice (and the 12pm test once... yeah i know i hate the mcat), and the 8AM times were FAR better, bc i didn't have to hang out, waiting for the test to start. you know you're gonna be nervous/anxious, so better to get it out of the way than prolong the agony lol.

so 8AM is def the way to go
 
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Definitely NOT a morning person. I had actually gotten in the habit of sleeping 4 AM - 12 PM over winter break, so it was ridiculous waking up at 6 AM to take the test.

But a little diphenhydramine, as suggested above, did the trick and allowed me to go to sleep my 10 PM.

Also, don't drink two 5-hour energy blacks back to back during the middle of the test. I started shaking like a leaf.
 
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took the 8am on 1/29. i was done before 12. it rocked. went and had lunch at a nice restaurant and went home and had a great night 🙂
 
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Hi guys,
My testing center is about 10 minutes away (at most).

However, would it be advisable to wake up at say 6AM to be awake already enough...or is it okay to wake up at 7 and start going there.

Also, NYR56, did you take the caffeine pill the actual day of the exam? I always heard from people to avoid coffee or any type of sugar the day of the test.

Ideally, if I get at the testing center at 7:30 AM, I will probably start after 8AM, correct?

Thanks in advance
 
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rls303 said:
Hi guys,
My testing center is about 10 minutes away (at most).

However, would it be advisable to wake up at say 6AM to be awake already enough...or is it okay to wake up at 7 and start going there.

Also, NYR56, did you take the caffeine pill the actual day of the exam? I always heard from people to avoid coffee or any type of sugar the day of the test.

Ideally, if I get at the testing center at 7:30 AM, I will probably start after 8AM, correct?

Thanks in advance
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No one knows you, better than you know yourself. You should be able to understand what your body can handle and what it can not handle. You should also know what is the most comfortable for you. Caffeine and sugar can work for some people and it may not work for others, its pretty much different for everyone.


For me, I didn't take any caffeine or sugar on my 8 am test. I had intense focus during the whole test but then again the entire week leading up to the test, I was strangely very focused. I could study for 12 hours straight... while 4 weeks before then I was procrastinating every 30 mins. I can never sleep enough for the 8am test. I went to bed at 9pm and rolled around until 1am before I fell asleep and then I woke up at 5 am to get ready for the test.
 
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I'm not a morning person so there's my disclaimer.

I took the 8am MCAT my first time around and absolutely hated it. The night before I was tossing and turning because I was stressed out about not getting enough sleep. The next morning I woke up and felt rushed, even though I was never running late or anything. I got to the testing center and was certainly awake, but I'm sure I wasn't thinking at 100%. I ended up not doing so well.
Second time around, i took it in the afternoon and it was a much better experience. I slept in a couple hours, woke up and had plenty of time to scratch my ass and eat my breakfast. After watching some cartoons I drove to the testing center where I was sincerely refreshed, awake, and ready to take the exam on. While going over the exam, I never felt like I had read the content so clearly in my life (I took all my practice tests between 8 and 10 am) and I ended up scoring 5 points higher than my first time around. I was out of the testing center by 5:30-6:00ish, so I went home and had just enough time to eat dinner before celebrating.

Afternoon starts imo are the way to go, at least for us non-morning types.
 
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I am not a morning person at all, I avoid all classes that start before 10:00. But I have to get up for work at 6:15 everyday, so an 8:00 AM MCAT shouldn't be a problem.
 
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I liked the 8 AM session because then I could get the exam out of the way and not have to stress over it the entire morning.

EDIT: They let us start at around 7:30-7:45 at my test center.
 
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rls303 said:
Hi guys,
However, would it be advisable to wake up at say 6AM to be awake already enough...or is it okay to wake up at 7 and start going there.

Also, NYR56, did you take the caffeine pill the actual day of the exam? I always heard from people to avoid coffee or any type of sugar the day of the test.
Click to expand...

I took the caffeine pill as soon as I woke up, probably about 1.5 hours before the exam. I never drink coffee and gave up soda years ago, so I certainly wouldn't say caffeine is something I normally use. I have used the pills before though (staying up late, driving for a while, etc) and never noticed any ill effects, so I knew I would be fine. I strongly suggest you do whatever you plan on doing for the real thing, during a practice exam. Try out a caffeine pill and see if you like it. I don't know if it was necessary, but as a night owl, I hate mornings and was wide awake the entire time.

Even more so than the caffeine pill, I STRONGLY recommend taking 2 benedryl (diphenhydramine) the night before. The last thing in the world you want is to be tossing and turning all night, stressed out. These will take the edge off and allow you to fall asleep but are mild enough that there should be no effects when you wake up. I used these to fall asleep early for a few nights before the exam to get my body clock set, as well as for the night before. Once again, try it out yourself before the actual exam to see if it works for you. Personally, I wouldn't change a thing I did when I took the MCAT.

As for the time you wakeup, make sure you have plenty of time to eat something, shower, and get there. You don't need to add any stress for being late due to an unforeseen event (stomach ache (happened to me), car accident (almost - someone tried running me off the road on the way to my exam) so make sure it won't happen. Regardless of when you do decide to wake up, try to ensure you get a full 8 hours of sleep for the few nights before the exam. Trust me, the added benefit of being sharp is much better than the extra time to study. That said, I had about a half an hour extra the morning of my exam once I arrived, so I used it to look over a cheat sheet I made with a few things that I thought I might forget. If that sort of thing stresses you out, don't do it, but I think it's useful.
 
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I'm scheduled for a 1 pm test. The nearest testing center is 1.5 hours away from where I live, so I'm planning on having my mom drive me in the morning. I can drive myself, of course, but driving is stressful and I'd rather not have that. I'll eat some cereal in the morning and probably won't eat lunch and instead just rely on snacks during the breaks. I honestly don't work well on a full stomach. Does this all seem like a good plan?
 
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If you're not a morning person, then I advice to wake up early for a couple weeks before it just to make sure you get used to the morning feel.
 
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hanzz said:
I'm scheduled for a 1 pm test. The nearest testing center is 1.5 hours away from where I live, so I'm planning on having my mom drive me in the morning. I can drive myself, of course, but driving is stressful and I'd rather not have that. I'll eat some cereal in the morning and probably won't eat lunch and instead just rely on snacks during the breaks. I honestly don't work well on a full stomach. Does this all seem like a good plan?
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That sucks it's so far away, but that's not a bad plan, although I'd eat a bigger breakfast. I agree about testing on a full stomach though, just make sure your snacks are good. I ate a banana during each of the 3 breaks, supposedly they are good brain food.
 
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folktale said:
If you're not a morning person, then I advice to wake up early for a couple weeks before it just to make sure you get used to the morning feel.
Click to expand...

Good advice.

When I took my FLs, I treated it like the real thing minus getting up super early. I woke up, showered, had breakfast, then headed to my "testing center" (the library) and knocked the thing out. I thought it was useful psychologically since I was used to that being the first and only thing I did with my Saturday mornings.
 
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its not a big deal. if you are going into medicine, you realize you need to be at the hospital by 6 am right?

8 am is nothing. might as well adjust your sleeping patterns for the reality check of what we call LIFE
 
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