Not allowed to bring food and my phone to the DAT test center?

[Springs01]

DAT in 2 days.

I'm bringing 2 IDs, and the confirmation page.

Can I bring my cellphone and some food/drinks?

I'm confused because this is what it said on the DAT guide:

"Cellular telephones are not allowed anywhere in the test center, and may not be used on an unscheduled break. Eating and drinking are not permitted in the secure testing area. Personal belongings are not allowed in the secure testing area."

and on my confirmation page it said:

*Please be advised, that it is prohibited to bring food or beverages into the testing center and in some cases into the building where your test center is located. Please be advised that due to these restrictions, you will need to make other meal accommodations for your test day.


Is this true? I'm bummed out about this. The test center is 1 hour away. That's 2 hours back and forth, plus 5 hours of testing...Will I really have to starve for those 7 hours?🙁

And what about cellphones? Are they not allowed in the building period? This makes no sense.

Can someone please clear things up? I'm confused.

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[gn4]

I think you could leave the food in your car and during your break, go eat in your car

 

[mehc012]

DAT in 2 days.

I'm bringing 2 IDs, and the confirmation page.

Can I bring my cellphone and some food/drinks?

I'm confused because this is what it said on the DAT guide:

"Cellular telephones are not allowed anywhere in the test center, and may not be used on an unscheduled break. Eating and drinking are not permitted in the secure testing area. Personal belongings are not allowed in the secure testing area."

and on my confirmation page it said:

*Please be advised, that it is prohibited to bring food or beverages into the testing center and in some cases into the building where your test center is located. Please be advised that due to these restrictions, you will need to make other meal accommodations for your test day.


Is this true? I'm bummed out about this. The test center is 1 hour away. That's 2 hours back and forth, plus 5 hours of testing...Will I really have to starve for those 7 hours?🙁

And what about cellphones? Are they not allowed in the building period? This makes no sense.

Can someone please clear things up? I'm confused.

The bolded parts are key: in general, you cannot take your food into the room, but most centers will have somewhere for you to leave your stuff during testing. You could come out during breaks and eat it. However, SOME centers may have more stringent regulations (due to how much space they have, the other businesses in the building, bad past experiences...WHATever). So no, it's not an overall rule that there's no food in the building, but it could be a center-specific one. I can't help you with that; try calling the test center to check!

 

[rladbwjdtl]

When I took mine, they had like a lobby area with the lockers. Testing area was separate rooms. I locked away everything (food, turned-off cell phone, purse, etc) in the lobby area. Took the test in the separate test room. During scheduled break, I came out to the lobby and ate my snacks and went back to take the test.

 

[experiment626]

My prometric testing center also had lockers. I left my snacks, drink, and cell phone in there. When in doubt, just ask the guy sitting at the desk.

 

[jetti]

Take your snacks into the testing center, but leave your cell hidden in your car somewhere so there's no chance of getting in trouble with the cell. I kept food in my locker and only snacked during the scheduled 15 minute midway break.

You can also call the testing center ahead of time to ask about/confirm lockers, snacks, phones in lockers, etc. too.

 

[mustardseed]

I left my snacks and cellphone in the provided lockers as well. I don't think they asked to turn the phone off, but it's been about three weeks since my test..Also remember that your 15 minute break includes the re-entry procedure (fingerprinting, signing in etc). Mine took a while.