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July PCAT testing environment?
Started by Davss
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No periodic table, I felt like the testing environment was very comfortable, my computer was perfect, keyboard good as new. No scratch paper, I was given a yellow plastic notebook with a sharpie. Hope this helps 🙂
It is chill in there, just start the chem sub test, i already feel i can't sit there anymore
... I guess cold + nervous affect your kidney 
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It was chilly, when I took the 15 min break, the machine had a hard time reading my palm because poor circulation that I had to rub them hard a few times. Guess all of my blood was in my brain at that moment
Definitely bring a light jacket or something to stay comfort
Definitely bring a light jacket or something to stay comfort
I felt like the office was cold also.
The stations were close together, and the typing was a bit distracting.
Another huge distraction that I had was the guy that was 2 spaces down from me. He was whispering his questions out loud, and to make matters worse he did not seem to be having much luck in any of the questions. Every question that he did not know the answer for would be followed by a huge sigh, and a frustrated shuffle in his office chair. This caused me to get the proctors attention and ask for a pair of earplugs. The earplugs that were offered were pretty high quality and I could not hear a thing after that.
I would suggest to get the earplugs for sure, it is a huge benefit.
The stations were close together, and the typing was a bit distracting.
Another huge distraction that I had was the guy that was 2 spaces down from me. He was whispering his questions out loud, and to make matters worse he did not seem to be having much luck in any of the questions. Every question that he did not know the answer for would be followed by a huge sigh, and a frustrated shuffle in his office chair. This caused me to get the proctors attention and ask for a pair of earplugs. The earplugs that were offered were pretty high quality and I could not hear a thing after that.
I would suggest to get the earplugs for sure, it is a huge benefit.
I took it in NYC, but it's probably the same everywhere. The stations were like cubicles, with a "wall" separating you from the person next to you. There were also these sound-isolating headsets at each station that worked pretty well; I couldn't hear other people's typing.
There was little space between the stations. The girl next to me kept asking questions and the proctor kept saying that she answer questions after the test starts. Very distracting.
The computer screens were dimly lit and the keyboards were oddly spaced. Oh, and the chairs were uncomfortable.
D
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Pearson has a youtube video called "what to expect on Test day" that shows the testing environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg3JVqTr28U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg3JVqTr28U
I took the PCAT in Winston-Salem NC, the facility there was decent except the AC was loud, the people were really nice and fast to respond. There were other people taking different exams so all you hear are keyboards (they were OK). I would watch out for the mouse, I had to press the mouse button hard to select answers. If you use the provided earplugs I would recommend doing a practice test with them because feeling something in my ears was a distraction. Try taking practice exams at the local school computer lab.
I got a keyboard that had a broken space bar on it.
Very bad start to the pcat... had to ask the guy to get me a new one and it took him over 5 min of my allowed 30min for the initial essay.
I hope this doesn't even happen to anyone... stressed me out from the beginning.
Very bad start to the pcat... had to ask the guy to get me a new one and it took him over 5 min of my allowed 30min for the initial essay.
I hope this doesn't even happen to anyone... stressed me out from the beginning.
They provide ear plugs, if you're not used to wearing them then I would take a practice test using them. They provide a dry erase type note pad (maybe 5 pages in it) and marker pen, you can't erase but if you need a new note pad or marker pen they will provide one.
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I thought it was cold too, and I am usually a hot-natured person. However, I brought a rain jacket since it was raining, and my test center wouldn't let me bring it in since it would "make too much noise." Just be conscious of that. There were vending machines near the restrooms, and they gave us heads up that we could get something out of there if we wanted to, so I got a drink and sat down and relaxed for a few minutes of my break.
You can't bring anything in except the key to your locker and your photo ID. I had to turn out all my pockets and everything.
You can't bring anything in except the key to your locker and your photo ID. I had to turn out all my pockets and everything.
