computer based testing

[nena]

so i took a practice cbt mcat and it was great! i liked it sooo much better than paper and pencil format. i was soo worried that i would hate it because i couldn't circle and write down things. but it was okay, i didn't freak. i actually liked not circling anything! it kept me more focused on what i was reading. also it was so nice to have the passage right next to the question. it made it easier to scroll through it. and of course, it was great for the writing section. no need to to erase a million times over or watch your handwriting. and it was nice not to have to wait for a timer to go off before i could jet outta the room. also, another nice thing, the timer on top of the screen. that was nice. i enjoyed it and hope i can take my april mcat cbt style. i will fly to a test center if i have to! anyone else have any thoughts??

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[supersash]

i feel the same way, even though i haven't tried the CBT format yet. i am sure i would like it better though, like the GRE's.

where do you live? i know there was a list of places the CBT was offered this cycle, and it seems most metro-cities were listed, i know it was offered in manhattan, as i thought about doing it there if they offer it again.

did u get your score immediately? or how much sooner do you get it?

 

[75969]

so i took a practice cbt mcat and it was great! i liked it sooo much better than paper and pencil format. i was soo worried that i would hate it because i couldn't circle and write down things. but it was okay, i didn't freak. i actually liked not circling anything! it kept me more focused on what i was reading. also it was so nice to have the passage right next to the question. it made it easier to scroll through it. and of course, it was great for the writing section. no need to to erase a million times over or watch your handwriting. and it was nice not to have to wait for a timer to go off before i could jet outta the room. also, another nice thing, the timer on top of the screen. that was nice. i enjoyed it and hope i can take my april mcat cbt style. i will fly to a test center if i have to! anyone else have any thoughts??

I took the cbt this morning also.... I am still partial to the paper/pencil format. I found myself not answering all questions on the page before clicking next....then when i got to the end, saw that "oops, i missed two questions" and had to go back. The timer was distracting...it was nice to see exactly how much time you had to finish, but the timer was distracting when it changed position on the screen (when it got into single digit minutes i.e. it should read 01:08...not 1:08) I did like being able to leave the room at my leisure, skip breaks when I wanted to, end the session early, etc...but then you had people leaving/returning constantly. Also, some people skipped every break and were typing away on the writing portion while others were trying to concentrate on verbal. Overall it was a good learning experience though...

 

[75969]

did u get your score immediately? or how much sooner do you get it?

We got a % score immediately....not scale or anything, but that was due to it being a field test.Writing was not scored, yet? Im not sure about the real thing though......

 

[supersash]

how did u guys find out about these CBT practice tests?

 

[75969]

how did u guys find out about these CBT practice tests?

An advisor emailed all the pre-med students...certain schools were chosen for a practice test by the aamc.

 

[Twitch]

On the verbal section, is the bibliography still at the end of the passage?

 

[75969]

On the verbal section, is the bibliography still at the end of the passage?

I dont think so....i may have just not noticed though.

One of the biology questions was straight from a physiology lab i have taken...i mean word for word from the lab manual...

 

[priyanka]

I took the practice CBT today too. But I dont get it how you guys were able to leave in middle of the section? Is there like a pause button or something?

Because our proctor just never told us that we would be able to leave anytime. maybe she forgot to tell us. but I basically took the breaks in the assigned break times. I have no idea what would happen if we went over the break time? Do any of you guys know?

Overall, I found it to be much more convinient than the paper version. one advantage being, the passage is right next to the questions. Another, if you miss answeing any question, it shows up in the review all subtitle. then you can also mark the questions you doubt your answers on and go back withtout havin the trouble to scan thru a number of pages. the periodic table is so handy too, just a click on the mouse...plus i like to draw out stuff on the scratch paper...

 

[Twitch]

I took the practice CBT today too. But I dont get it how you guys were able to leave in middle of the section? Is there like a pause button or something?

Because our proctor just never told us that we would be able to leave anytime. maybe she forgot to tell us. but I basically took the breaks in the assigned break times. I have no idea what would happen if we went over the break time? Do any of you guys know?

Overall, I found it to be much more convinient than the paper version. one advantage being, the passage is right next to the questions. Another, if you miss answeing any question, it shows up in the review all subtitle. then you can also mark the questions you doubt your answers on and go back withtout havin the trouble to scan thru a number of pages. the periodic table is so handy too, just a click on the mouse...plus i like to draw out stuff on the scratch paper...

Can you select an answer AND mark the question. Does your answer choice stick if you don't get around to review the marked ones?

 

[nena]

well you can't leave during the section, but at the breaks you could. thats what i meant. also if you didn't return, some little box came up, i saw it on someone elses computer. it made this funny noise when it came up which caused me to look up. as for reviewing the marked ones, you could go back to any question you wanted. it wasn't only those you marked. the periodic table was definitely nice. it beats going back to the front of the book. theres just something about using the computer that just works for me. i guess its cause im so used to using the computer all the time, it seems easier to read things off it rather than on paper. plus i could play with the little wheel thing on the mouse while i read the passage...

 

[priyanka]

Can you select an answer AND mark the question. Does your answer choice stick if you don't get around to review the marked ones?

Yes , you can
nope your answer choice doesnt stick, you can make changes. until you click "end section" you can do anything

 

[Twitch]

I dont think so....i may have just not noticed though.

One of the biology questions was straight from a physiology lab i have taken...i mean word for word from the lab manual...

Could someone confirm the lack of bibliography at the end of verbal passages.

It seems odd that a piece of text would be on the paper test but missing on cbt.

 

[anut04ka]

Does anyone know if there will be more practice like this later on?
If you register to take CBT, will there be some practice available?

I was planning to take the practice test today at my school, but I'm sick, and can't make it there. I feel that CBT will probably be better for me, I type really fast plus I love computers. Yet, at the same time I'm scared that after practicing paper based testing (I'm enrolled in Kaplan course) I'll get used to the format too much and the fact that I'll be taking CBT for the first during the actual MCAT will actually lower my score.

What do you think?

 

[gluon999]

I took the CBT in NYC in April and have no complaints about it. I was getting second thoughts about taking it a few days before test day, but all that turned out be unnecessary. If I had to take it again, I would go with CBT. It was very quite and comfortable in the room and they even gave us ear muffs to totally block out the rest of the room.

Although one of their laptops at the Manhattan site containing our data was stolen months after test day. They ended up giving us a free subscription to a credit report check.

anut04ka, I also took the Kaplan course and did 11 practice tests on paper. But I also used Kaplan's online course materials and their qbank which was pretty helpful. My CBT score actually matched my highest score on those 11 practice tests (AAMC 5). The way I look at it, if you are used to working on the computer for long hours, you should have no problem with the CBT.

 

[tomias]

I took the CBT in NYC in April and have no complaints about it. I was getting second thoughts about taking it a few days before test day, but all that turned out be unnecessary. If I had to take it again, I would go with CBT. It was very quite and comfortable in the room and they even gave us ear muffs to totally block out the rest of the room.

Although one of their laptops at the Manhattan site containing our data was stolen months after test day. They ended up giving us a free subscription to a credit report check.

anut04ka, I also took the Kaplan course and did 11 practice tests on paper. But I also used Kaplan's online course materials and their qbank which was pretty helpful. My CBT score actually matched my highest score on those 11 practice tests (AAMC 5). The way I look at it, if you are used to working on the computer for long hours, you should have no problem with the CBT.

Since you did both the kaplan tests and the qbank I wanted to ask you whether or not the questions from the paper tests are recycled in the qbank, meaning do they reuse them? Since I used up all of the paper exams I was thinking of purchasing the qbank but would avoid it if the questions are the same.
thanks

 

[PPatel]

Since you did both the kaplan tests and the qbank I wanted to ask you whether or not the questions from the paper tests are recycled in the qbank, meaning do they reuse them? Since I used up all of the paper exams I was thinking of purchasing the qbank but would avoid it if the questions are the same.
thanks

All of Kaplan's questions are unique, meaning they never repeat.

 

[gluon999]

Since you did both the kaplan tests and the qbank I wanted to ask you whether or not the questions from the paper tests are recycled in the qbank, meaning do they reuse them? Since I used up all of the paper exams I was thinking of purchasing the qbank but would avoid it if the questions are the same.
thanks

Yeah, they were different for the most part.