caffeine on the day of exam? good or bad idea?

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anyone with previous experience?
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I was all over the caffeine. I drank a Venti drip coffee from Starbucks prior to the exam and just made sure I used the bathroom right before my exam started and immediately after each break. I also drank gatorade to reduce the urge to urinate. I think it helped, but I couldn't have taken the exam without my caffeine fix.

I will add that I am a caffeine junkie and I consume at least that much caffeine on a daily basis, usually more.
 
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i mean, it completley depends on how fast your body processes caffeine. i was originally planning on not drinking caffeine, but my dad slipped me a cup before the test and i chugged it without thinking (sneaky sneaky). It didn't bother me while taking the test, and I just leaked after the 1st section. Unless you gotta go REAL bad, it wont distract you too much - you'll be too pumped up while taking the test.
 
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The best advice I've heard on the matter is: You should try to make this another ordinary practice day. If you do it normally then yes if not then definitely don't. If you haven't done PTs yet then try out both at least twice and see how you do.

Hope this helped,

-LIS
 
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White Flood Nice!

Superpump250 is better...

To be honest I take NO products everyday, so I will most likely drink coffee + NO before my exam and bring a energy drink or two with me.

I only study highly caffeinated.
 
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I took some, but the fact that this is the ACTUAL MCAT will have your sympathetic nervous system in full gear, so you really don't need it.
 
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Normally I would say absolutely no caffeine in this sort of high-pressure situation, but the night before the test I slept maybe 3 hours at the most, and it was extremely poor quality sleep at that.

I freaked out the morning of the test and bought a bunch of Mountain Dew, chugged one before the test started and another during breaks. I think it really helped me get through the PS and VR sections, but I crashed during the BS section and barely finished in time. Overall, do whatever is comfortable for you, but don't be afraid of caffeine because it can work for you in a pinch. 👍
 
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matth87 said:
White Flood Nice!

Superpump250 is better...

To be honest I take NO products everyday, so I will most likely drink coffee + NO before my exam and bring a energy drink or two with me.

I only study highly caffeinated.
Click to expand...

I took NO-Xplode the morning of the exam, and did well! However, now I cry when I see trees and can hear other people's thoughts.

I could hear my heart inside of my earphones! Hooray for adrenal stimulation!:meanie:

Seriously, though. Only take NO products if you are desensitized to it. Otherwise leave it to the professionals.
 
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matth87 said:
White Flood Nice!

Superpump250 is better...

To be honest I take NO products everyday, so I will most likely drink coffee + NO before my exam and bring a energy drink or two with me.

I only study highly caffeinated.
Click to expand...


Doesn't caffeine and NO counteract? I called some of these companies on their bull**** since they say the malate version doesn't cause the diuresis that regular caffeine causes and they had no answers. These products only work (for the most part) cause they have caffeine - not cause of the NO. the caffeine makes you feel like you're on something. Having veins pop is such a "look" thing but apparently it does sell well. I just find it funny how these companies take one real science fact and build a product line out of it.

But i never thought about helping you to study....why take this over a caffeine pill? or a coffee?

PS (at my gym its known as Super dump, not super pump)
 
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If you drink coffee occasionally (or regularly) make sure to drink your cup before the test. I generally drink a lot of soda, but I took a caffeine tablet before the test just to be on the safe side. It helped me stay up a little bit.
 
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ChemEngSoonMD said:
Superpump250 is a great idea for the MCAT.... if you want explosive diarrhea in your pants.



NO-xplode is an overcharged BSN product for newbs who like to do frat curls on the squat rack.
Click to expand...

Touche'. Unfortunately, Superpump250 is not really the product name, but a chronicle of the number of homoerotic experiences the user has had. It's Mantastic!
 
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This was a big question for me as well before my test. If you go on pubmed or other places you'll actually find that caffeine is really a win win for this type of task. The urination thing isn't an issue if you're acclimated to using caffeine since you have a break every 70 minutes max. It doesn't just help wake you up a bit if you didn't get enough sleep. I'll let you read up on it yourself but my anonymous suggestion is yes use lots of it but do so for a couple weeks in advance at a little under the consumption rate you'll have during the test or do practice exams using the same amount. I'm not a big coffee drinker and only drink soda, which usually has nowhere near the levels of coffee so I tried out Vivarin (generic is fine 🙂 ) it worked great.

Something to be aware of though is that your body will metabolize caffeine pretty quickly, I think the pills suggest it being okay to take one every 3 hours or so. I took one just before going in and one after break two so I didn't "crash" during BS. It went well and since I had been using it for awhile I wasn't jittery or anything.
 
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You want to take enough caffeine so that you are focused. Don't take too much that you are jittery. I take around 250 mg for workouts at the gym, so probably I will would take 125mg. Again, your results may vary.
 
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TopSecret said:
One cup of coffee is okay. Anything more and your bladder will explode.
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yo attending man, you are RIGHT ON. i actually drank 2 cups of coffee. went to the exam, took a leak before i walked into prometric. signed into prometric. after 15 minutes, i took another HUGE leak. and then i had to go to the bathroom after every break. it was ******ed. i never usually go that much.
 
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With caffeine, you will burn out later in the exam.I highly suggest you just have a good dinner the night before, a nice rest with 9 hours of sleep, and a good breakfast. You can't substitute that with coffee.
 
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Omni said:
With caffeine, you will burn out later in the exam.I highly suggest you just have a good dinner the night before, a nice rest with 9 hours of sleep, and a good breakfast. You can't substitute that with coffee.
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I think you missed the point. Add caffeine on top of the 9 hours of sleep, good dinner yadda yadda. It doesn't just help someone that is sleepy still.
 
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Omni said:
With caffeine, you will burn out later in the exam.I highly suggest you just have a good dinner the night before, a nice rest with 9 hours of sleep, and a good breakfast. You can't substitute that with coffee.
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Bah! Do all that PLUS a cup of coffee. 😉


If the OP typically drinks coffee then he will not be functioning at his/her normal level without it on test day.
 
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Just stick to your ordinary schedule. If you don't normally drink caffeine, than I wouldn't change anything, but if you regularly use the boost, then by all means drink away.
 
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the week before my MCAT i completely abandoned caffeine and went to bed early and woke up 7/8 am everyday so i could wake up by 530/6 day of the exam.
 
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If it worked for you then it worked, but I wouldn't try stopping caffeine cold turkey. If I don't get any caffeine even for one day I get massive headaches, and can't concentrate at all within about 10 hours from waking up. On the day of the test you will (if its 8 AM) have been up around 6 hours by the time you get to the BS section, so make sure to get your fix if you regularly ingest caffeine.
 
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i dont understand why it would be necessary to completely alter your habits for the sake of one test? if you normally have caffeine, then why would you abstain from it? i am amazed how some ppl force themselves to go through all these ridiculous rituals, thinking that it will enable them to score higher. just do whatever you feel like doing. taking the test is enough anxiety as is, no need to change your lifestyle to make it worse.
 
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Do what you always do. If you have coffee in the morning, do it. If you don't, don't. You do not want to have to go to the bathroom the entire time if you are unused to the diuretic effects of caffeine.
 
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PremedIowa said:
Do what you always do. If you have coffee in the morning, do it. If you don't, don't. You do not want to have to go to the bathroom the entire time if you are unused to the diuretic effects of caffeine.
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Even if you normally drink caffeine, you need to form a bathroom strategy. I consume way to much coffee on a daily basis and I had to establish a routine where I would go to the bathroom immediately before starting the exam and immediately after each section was complete.
 
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Listen to the posts directly above. Try to do what you're used to doing. Doing otherwise will throw off your body...and that's the last thing you need. But form a bathroom strategy if you do need lots of caffeine.
 
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PremedIowa said:
Do what you always do. If you have coffee in the morning, do it. If you don't, don't. You do not want to have to go to the bathroom the entire time if you are unused to the diuretic effects of caffeine.
Click to expand...

This.


And doesn't your body adapt to caffeine's diuretic effects???? I drink tons of coffee and required no "bathroom strategy", but maybe that's just me.
 
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Interestingly, caffeine has been shown to be helpful in studying if it's drank slowly. It helps with retention.

Here's my take: take a few Full Lengths having drank some caffeine to make sure your body doesn't freak out. Have a little routine so you don't have any issues on test day.

Because caffeine dehydrates you, drink gatorade (or powerade or whatever). It has a more similar pH to your blood, so you don't have to go to the bathroom as much 🙂
 
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You should just do what you always do. Don't change any environmental variables, because you don't know how they will affect you.

In the few weeks prior to your exam on the days you are doing full length, timed practices, you should be waking up at the exact time you will on test day, eating similiar or exact food to what you will have on test day, start the exam exactly when you will on test day, take bathroom breaks and lunch breaks exactly when you will on test day, and you should do the exam exactly as you will on test day.

If you normally have coffee everyday, then have a coffee.
If you don't normally have coffee, then don't have one on test day either.

The reason any kind of preparation is effective is because it breeds a sense of familiarity in whatever task it is you are practicing. The MCAT is no different. You should try and make your testing day experience almost a "familiar" experience, by doing the things you will do on test day, many times and many weeks beforehand. You don't want suprises. 🙂

You want to change the conditions of your exam day as little as humanly possible when compared to your practice days. That way, when you walk in, it'll be like "another day at the office" so to speak. Check out the last part of my MCAT post (signature) to see what I did in the days before my exam. GL.
 
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