Are silent timers allowed during the MCAT?

[el.harpo]

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I'm almost 100% sure that I read somewhere that timers are allowed as long as they don't make any sound, but I've also read on this forum that when they read the rules etc, they ask people if their watches have timers or calculators built in. I can get my hands on a silent timer but before I buy it I want to make sure that it IS allowed so that during practice tests I'm not getting used to a luxury that I won't have on test day. Could someone who has better knowledge on this topic please clear this up? Thanks!

 

[Turkeyman]

That was changed, they aren't allowed 😀

 

[el.harpo]

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll try to build a rhythm during practice tests.

 

[RayhanS1282]

Sorry, no more timers (silence or otherwise). But the proctors at my test center was pretty relaxed and I swear that every time they called the end of a section you could hear muffled timers going off.

 

[Noway]

you can still have a watch though right?

 

[cher25]

I don't know when and if it was formally changed, but at my test center in April 05', silent timers were indeed allowed.

 

[gotgame83]

After reading this thread i brought out my old echo drive watch and im charging it up under the light lol. I will have one watch on each wrist during the test, knowing my luck my watch would die at 9:15am august 20th lol.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

When I first took the MCAT many, many moons ago I brought with me 2 watches.

The first watch was the time of day. This was always in my pocket.

The second watch was the test time. I set the watch so that the test would end at 12. Every few questions I checked to see how much time I had and either sped up or slowed down. On each section I had about 3 minutes to quickly review any question I felt I needed a second look at.

 

[jjjj2]

I don't know when and if it was formally changed, but at my test center in April 05', silent timers were indeed allowed.

I'm pretty sure that no timers, except those that are watches, are allowed. If they were were allowed, it's probably because you had a lenient proctor.

Someone a while back posted how his watch was confiscated by the proctor because it was lying on the desk rather than worn around the wrist, so I would rather be safe and go with a watch (worn on the wrist).

 

[el.harpo]

When I first took the MCAT many, many moons ago I brought with me 2 watches.

The first watch was the time of day. This was always in my pocket.

The second watch was the test time. I set the watch so that the test would end at 12. Every few questions I checked to see how much time I had and either sped up or slowed down. On each section I had about 3 minutes to quickly review any question I felt I needed a second look at.

Hehe, what an ingenious idea. If all else does not work, I will do this 😀.

 

[bubbachuck]

so basically it seems, the best advice would be to bring two wristwatches and a silent timer (aren't they all silent except when you push stop and go??) and hope your proctor is lenient.

 

[gotgame83]

When I first took the MCAT many, many moons ago I brought with me 2 watches.

The first watch was the time of day. This was always in my pocket.

The second watch was the test time. I set the watch so that the test would end at 12. Every few questions I checked to see how much time I had and either sped up or slowed down. On each section I had about 3 minutes to quickly review any question I felt I needed a second look at.

Good Idea! But Im going to do it slightly different. I will have my watch set at 12. But i will pull out the lil turn thing on the side like you do when u set it so that it wont start. Then when the test starts i will just push it back in.(silent) For the 100min sections I know i have until 1:40 on my watch. When when the section is done, quickly reset it to 12 and prepare to do it again.

 

[registered user]

Yo! In April I used a watch with a timer, no problem. It beeped when it started and when I turned it off when time was up. Nobody, proctors included cared. Don't sweat the little stuff, you'll all ace it

 

[Arsenic]

Yo! In April I used a watch with a timer, no problem. It beeped when it started and when I turned it off when time was up. Nobody, proctors included cared. Don't sweat the little stuff, you'll all ace it

depends on the proctors though

 

[registered user]

depends on the proctors though

For sure. But, at least four or five others in my room were doing the same thing. And I covered my watch up pretty good when I started and stopped it so it barely made any noise (much less than the annoying guy next to me during BS who was constantly shuffling his test booklet). I made sure it would not beep at all during the sections, just before and after.
Oh yeah, get there before 8am, not at 8:20 like I did . I was so nervous thinking I had missed it that when I finally started PS I had to chill for the first 30 seconds and just breath. Anyway, good luck!

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Technically, you're not supposed to have timers. Of course, your proctors may not care.

A safer alternative would be to silence a wristwatch with a timer. It's not hard to do: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=178474
All it takes is a small screwdriver and either a pair of scissors or electrical tape.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Technically, you're not supposed to have timers. Of course, your proctors may not care.

A safer alternative would be to silence a wristwatch with a timer. It's not hard to do: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=178474
All it takes is a small screwdriver and either a pair of scissors or electrical tape.

Duct tape and WD-40 😀

 

[el.harpo]

I think it would be an unfair advantage to let someone use it when it specifically says the only thing you are allowed to bring is an analog watch.

I think they lean towards an analogue watch over timers because they are worried about new technology (like miniature cameras) making the lives of "probes" easier to smuggle out the test questions and the passages.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

It depends a lot on the center and proctor. Some will be anal and some won't care at all. Best you can do is take one and see if they let you keep it, but don't depend on it.

 

[sintheta]

What about a cell phone to keep on the floor/your lap to check the time?

 

[DoctaJay]

Yeah, I only have a analog watch at this point, so I think I'm going to do what one of the previous posters is going to do. I'll just put the hour and minute hand at 12 at the beginning of each section. 100 minutes later I'll reset it. I actually think analog watches are better for the MCAT because you actually get to
visualize how much time you have left (spatially) instead of looking at numbers. I don't know, it could just be me.