IMPORTANT MCAT Timer. Where do I get a timer that doesn't Buzzzz?

[Premed315U]

Hi,
I am trying to find a good timer for MCAT day that doesn't make noise. Where do you guys get silent timers?

Thank you!!! <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" />

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[docuw]

Arent there clocks on the walls? Plus the proctor will tell you how much time is left.

 

[praying4MD]

I couldn't find one that didn't buzz, so I just bought one that did and had an engineering major (friend of mine) take out the wires that made it beep.

Yes, engineers are actually good for something. I have found their one use in life. :wink:

 

[trout]

They wouldn't let us have anything on our desk...some people brought their own clocks/timers and some took their watches off and they made us clear the desk entirely...so it may depend on your testing site!!!!

 

[Premed315U]

There are clocks, but I want to use a timer during the thing so I know exactly how much time is left whenever I want.

Uh oh. I might end up breaking timers trying to make it stop beeping. Has anyone ever found a timer that doesn't beep? Maybe we should invent one

 

[Premed315U]

Did they not allow watches either? Or they just had to be on the wrist?

Those can be set to count down, right? I don't have a fancy digital watch but maybe that's what I should get

 

[trout]

They had to be on your wrist...you could only have 2 pencils (you had to even clear off your pen..) they watched us like hawks...someone tried to eat candy and they had their head taken off...

 

[sorrento]

I don't know about a totally silent timer ... they probably do exist ... but here's an easy alternative: buy a timer from radio shack (or elsewhere), open the back, and disconnect the speaker. It is a really simple procedure. But if you, like me, are electronically disinclined, you can either ask someone at Radio Shack to do it for you - for a small fee, I think - or find some engineering-type friend or aspiring surgeon to rise to the challenge.

 

[Papa Smurf]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by praying4MD:
•I couldn't find one that didn't buzz, so I just bought one that did and had an engineering major (friend of mine) take out the wires that made it beep.

Yes, engineers are actually good for something. I have found their one use in life. :wink: •••••Cause a regular wristwatch was just waaaay too inconvenient right? :wink: C'mon people. Stopwatch or not, you know what you know and no clock is going to change it. Just practice getting your timing down, and you'll be good to go.

 

[altaskier]

Radioshack

 

[jonquille]

I got a watch with a large face to make the numbers easy to see, and had the watch shop open up the watch and break the beeping mechanism. It was a very cool watch (used it for practice MCATs too) because it both counted up and counted down. Being comfortable with time, in my opinion, is one of the most important things you need to do well on the MCAT. I always finished my MCAT sections within the alloted time during full-length "realistic" testing conditions etc, but when it came to the real thing, time killed me. Maybe I was going slower because I was nervous and wanted to make sure I got things right, but I had to fill in blindly lots of the PS section and some of the verbal. (I still did well, which I was nervous about.) So if a watch helps you feel confident with timing/pacing yourself, get one tha you're comfortable with and feel confident about.

 

[VC15]

This might not be the best idea, but it worked for me: I used the countdown timer on my watch, but added 10 hours to it. For example, for the one hour and 25 minute verbal section I set it to 11:25:00 instead of 1:25:00. So when it runs down to 10 hours, you know you're out of time but there's no annoying beep. I can see how this could possibly confuse some people, but I did all my practice tests this way so it wasn't an issue for me.

 

[Diogenes]

If you spend that much time worrying about where to buy a timer that doesn't beep, I think you will be spending too much time LOOKING AT IT during the test. You should not be looking at any timer that much -- you should be looking at the damn test!

Wear a wristwatch, that's all you'll need. And you might not even need that. Some people finish every section early (I did, and so did one of my friends).

 

[Jessica]

Hey, I liked having a timer to keep me on pace during the exam.. if you want one and it will make you feel at ease, I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

I could not find a timer that didn't beep, so I bought one that did beep and took care of it myself. I just went to Target or Wal-Mart, and in the kitchen section they have a ton of little electronic cooking timers, get one of those for $5-10. On the back there should be a couple of screws, take em out. There are only like four little wires inside of the thing, and one of them should go into the back of a little speaker, pull the end of the wire out of the speaker, and tada! you now have a silent timer! Who needs an engineer?!?!? :wink:

 

[praying4MD]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Papa Smurf:
•]Cause a regular wristwatch was just waaaay too inconvenient right? :wink: C'mon people. Stopwatch or not, you know what you know and no clock is going to change it. Just practice getting your timing down, and you'll be good to go.•••••Actually, if you saw my testing site, you'd know why I did this. It was a VERY packed site and you were not guaranteed a clock in your room. My room did not have a clock. And if you must know, my wristwatch is always set 10 minutes ahead so I can get to where I need to be 10 minutes ahead without worrying. I am so used to that setup that using wristwatch would've been a huge mistake. Also, we were not given nice big desks to fit everything on. My answer sheet was on one desk, me booklet on the other, and I had to have an adjoining one for my pencils, etc. Total pain in the neck. All in all, the timer sometimes saved my life because I was so busy fiddling around with all the materials, I could've easily lost track of time.

Moral of the story: Be prepared for ANYTHING on test day. We had a marching band practicing behind us!!

To the original poster, if it makes you feel comfortable, then GET IT! This test is about you and your stamina. Do whatever makes the day comfortable for you. Who cares what other people think? You're probably never going to see these people again. You're test scores are with you forever. Good luck.

 

[MacGyver]

I agree with jessica. You dont need an engineer to do this for you. I'm an engineer and did not use any of my knowledge to do this simple modification.

The speaker is easily distinguishable from the other watch components. Just cut the wire(s) and thats it youre done. Takes less than 5 minutes to do.

Praying4MD,

come on now you use us engineers A LOT more than you realize. Who do you think designed your TV, DVD player, VCR, radio, cd player, computer, car, air-conditioner, heater, refrigerator, oven, internet? Engineers touch your life every day, probably even moreso than a doctor at least indirectly anyways.

 

[praying4MD]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by MacGyver:
•Praying4MD,

come on now you use us engineers A LOT more than you realize. Who do you think designed your TV, DVD player, VCR, radio, cd player, computer, car, air-conditioner, heater, refrigerator, oven, internet? Engineers touch your life every day, probably even moreso than a doctor at least indirectly anyways.•••••It was a joke. My father is an engineer, and a brilliant one at that. Engineers are some of the smartest people I have ever met & can often blow premeds out of the water with their intellect and their ability to take abstract concepts & apply them to real life situations. You are right; they touch our lives in every way possible, from minute details to world events, and all that without us even realizing it, many times MUCH more than physicians and in much more important ways.

I should've known there is no place for humor on SDN. Sorry, won't happen again.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

I bought a cheapie sports-type watch from Target, and it has a timer on it that starts from zero. When you start it, it makes a little beeping noise. I luckily had VERY lenient proctors (I took it at Tufts btw) and I just asked beforehand if I could start my timer 1 second before she said "begin." Hehe, I also coughed right when I pressed my little button to block the noise. But opening the booklets made so much noise, you wouldn't have been able to hear the beep anyway. I practiced my coughing technique during FLs. <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> It is MUCH better to see the time starting from zero then worrying about telling time and adding/subtracting, etc to see how much time is left.

I don't recommend buying a beeping watch though. But buying one and disconnecting the beep is a good idea

And where's Scooby? I think he used a stopwatch too.

 

[WISC-ite]

Buy any timer and remove the speaker/sound device in the back. It is really simple and if you are studying for the MCAT you should be competent enough to figure it out.

Remove the screws and look for the circle thing that looks like it could be a timer. Then place tape over the leads, or remove the whole circle thing which looks to resemble the speaker.

If you have a 3 volt battery and the the current is 2 amps, what is the resistance?

A. I don't care
B. viva la resistance
C. Stupid AAMC
D. After this I exam I am never studying Physics ever again.