How much sleep did you get the night before the test?

[rosiepie]

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Here's my story: I had to commute on the train to my friend's place because the PCAT was full near my home. She lived right across from a bunch of bars, and being a Friday night, people were really rowdy and loud the whole night. I went to bed at 12 but could not fall asleep until 3:30am when those damn partying people starting leaving. I woke up at 5:30am. I kept thinking about the test and even when I fell asleep, I was dreaming about some chem and bio stuff. As expected, I was exhaused on Sat. and was in desperate need of coffee/red bull. I got to the testing centre at 8am for the 8:30 test, and I found out that their coffee shop didn't open until 10am!!! So I pretty much wrote the PCAT while struggling to keep my eyes open and brain functioning. It was pretty awful. In six weeks we'll see...

So... how many hours did you guys get before the PCAT? What did you do to fall asleep? Thanks. 🙂

 

[xxxhotstuffxxx]

I stayed at a hotel about 10 minutes from the test center. I tried to sleep early. I went to bed at about 10 pm, but I couldn't sleep. I ended up getting about 7 hours of sleep which is good enough for me. I felt rested for the PCAT, but right after the test, I was pretty tired.

 

[Matrix187]

I was in a hotel, and the people above my room were stomping all night. I then used ear plugs, and still only got about 5 hours of sleep. I ended up using a powerful prescription stimulant to help me though .

 

[anyr]

Lucky for me, the pcat was being held at the university I go to! Furthermore, it's only a 15 minute walk away. I did have trouble falling asleep too but I at least got a full 6 hour sleep and woke up at 5:30am wide awake and completely ready to do some mad science'ing 😀

 

[jmoini]

on friday night i probably got about 4 hours worth. i was trying to cram everything in on a final review, then laid down around 1, but then couldn't sleep thinking about the test, so woke up reviewed some more, slept, repeated until 3:30.

if possible, registering way early and getting the test location you want is incredibly important. also, i brought a red bull, banana, and clif bar this time for the break. that way i wasn't thinking about how hungry i was during reading comp/math.

 

[Transformer]

I feel you guys on the night before the test anxiety. I try to put myself to bed at 11pm but I could not sleep at all. I lied in the darkness for a good half an hour and got up. I started studying my flash cards again. An hour later, I found myself dozing off and I was doing the head nodding thing. That was when I regain consciousness and found that my flash cards had dropped on to the floor; an obvious indicator that I'm ready to sleep.

I ate a well balanced breakfast and never felt hungry during the exam. Somehow I always have to use the restroom during the test. PCAT and any other standardized exam stresses me out and that tenses up all my muscles and makes me want to go potty even more. Anyways, sorry for the TMI. As a warning to all, if you do need to use the restroom during the exam, the proctor will only allow one person to go to the restroom at a time.

 

[arsenalfc11]

I went to bed at 10, got up at about 730. Had no problems sleeping; maybe it was because I was doing the no score option, which I later erased because I was so relaxed while taking the pcat 😀

 

[hokierx]

we had a showcase for our basketball team and it was my roommate's 21st birthday....
i still got up at 6 on saturday morning for my lucky charms and coffee🙂

im usually a lot more panicked about this, but it was a mellow morning for me.
also, i live across the street from the testing center (my school)

 

[Sparda29]

A full 10 hours!

 

[fallingsky]

none🙁
i couldn't sleep at all. i kept thinking about the test the whole night.

 

[medicalCPA]

To the OP, earplugs are your friend for such situations.

 

[rosiepie]

Yeah it was unexpected though... I had no idea she lived right across from bars! Anyways, if I didn't do well, at least I know what to expect now and I can always try again. Thanks. 🙂

 

[TpharmD]

went to bed at 1am but could not sleep until 2am; woke up at 7 am

 

[168533]

I went to bed at 12:30-1. I had to wake up at 5:30 though because the test center was at my old university, which was an hour away from where I lived. I got there about an hour before the test started. I wasn't really sleepy though.

 

[lsexie]

got a hotel room cuz it was in pennsylvania and i stay in maryland,, went to bed like 2am, den some drunk chics come knocking on the door next to mine at about 3am,,, disturbed my lovely nap,, n i had to get up by 5am to review my stuffs again

 

[217933]

OMG. Yeah so I went to bed at midnight and was so wired off the diet mountain dew I had like three hours earlier I didn't end up going to bed until three. I was tired in the morning but as soon as the test began the adrenaline just pumped me awake!

 

[Jammerdez1]

6 hours. But 6 hours for me is the equivalent of 8 hours for most people. I've become so accustomed to odd sleep patterns, that I haven't slept more han 6 hours in a single night in over 2.5 years. So 6 hours is pretty much the best I could've asked for. I felt good for the test too. Now if only I had known the stuff that was on it, it would've made things go a lot smoother.

 

[zazio]

this is the second time i've taken it, and both times i simply could NOT fall asleep the night before! I thought the second time around would have been less nerve-racking, but I still only got around 5-6 hours... and not even a GOOD 5-6 hours. I never felt like I fully fell asleep 🙁

 

[dinoant]

No sleep, really worried, did well.

 

[WhiteSnows]

I slept fo 2 days before the test, just to reserve my memory.

 

[Vdot]

My girlfriend slept over with me the night before the test and my bed is tiny and i was too anxious so i didnt sleep at ALL. I was dying on the day of the test.

 

[crazybob]

i don't even remember what i did on the nights before my tests.

but i do remember sleeping before midnight.

 

[joetrisman]

I slept like a baby the night before the test with around 8 hrs rest. The real problem was sleeping last night knowing that my scores should be coming in today. I think I may tackle the mailman...

 

[Monalyce]

I slept fo 2 days before the test, just to reserve my memory.

I made a cup of chamomile tea, and curled up with some Friends reruns. After I took two benadryl, of course. A good 8 hours sleep for me!

 

[mug3n]

I slept pretty well from what I remember, 7 hours. I took it last year and aimed for applying to the next program cycle so I didn't really put too much expectation or pressure on, ended up pleasantly surprised 6 weeks later.

 

[nonzerosum]

Are we allowed to bring ear plugs into the PCAT exam?

I've heard from a friend that if you have the misfortune of sitting near someone with a cold, it can be very distracting with all the coughing and sneezing.

 

[joetrisman]

Are we allowed to bring ear plugs into the PCAT exam?

I've heard from a friend that if you have the misfortune of sitting near someone with a cold, it can be very distracting with all the coughing and sneezing.

Or how about the overweight instructor that slurps her coke down as you're testing 🙄

 

[bugg]

.

 

[diastole]

Are we allowed to bring ear plugs into the PCAT exam?

I've heard from a friend that if you have the misfortune of sitting near someone with a cold, it can be very distracting with all the coughing and sneezing.

Summer exams are better for that. I took it in January and during the exam my nose started running and I had no tissues. Sniff, sniff, sniff. I felt bad for the people around me.

 

[siltears]

My girlfriend slept over with me the night before the test and my bed is tiny and i was too anxious so i didnt sleep at ALL. I was dying on the day of the test.

Why would you invite your girlfriend over the night before your exam?

 

[crazybob]

Why would you invite your girlfriend over the night before your exam?

it's better than being lonely. sometimes you sleep a little better that way. but in this guy's case, not so well.

 

[Namishin]

No sleep at all; it wasn't so bad at first but I was tiring near the end.

 

[justjack]

i always have trouble sleeping the night before, so i met up a few friends for drinks. beer usually makes me sleep well 🙂.

needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant test taking experience.

 

[Maestro Sucio]

I got about an hour of sleep the night before the PCAT. Had a headache during the whole exam.

 

[charfdorn]

Remember that you won't be getting tons of sleep during pharmacy school, either. Maybe your ability to perform under stressful conditions is one of the things the PCAT tests. I worked until 12 or 12:30 the night before my test (in retrospect I should have requested the day off after learning which test session I got - I asked for the day of the test off because I would need it if I go the afternoon, but I would have been able to work that night just fine - hindsight 20/20) and got up at just after 6 because I didn't want there to be any chance of being late. I'm also pretty accustomed to acting on too little sleep, though, so this didn't seem to have too great an impact on my test score.