Philadelphia: Which location for MCAT??

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yalla22

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Hi everyone,

I'm registering for the august mcat right now and was wondering if anyone could shed some insight into the testing conditions in the philly area.

My options are :
Swarthmore College
Temple
Holy Family University
LaSalle
Villanove
The Holiday Inn (Philadelphia Stadium)


Has anyone taken the mcat at any of these locations and thought especially neg/pos about them?

I'd REALLY like it if wherever I was taking the test had larger desks and less people around (more people = nervousness)

Thanks!!
 
I took it at Temple. There were a lot of people there, and we sat in big lecture halls, a person every other seat. The desk space wasn't all that great, but it was manageable. Parking was pretty easy to find around there too, which was nice. Hope this helps.
 
I took it this past April at Temple. I took it on a Sunday, so there were only 7 other people there. I had been worried about the desk space, but we ended up having plenty (regular desk/chair things, but not half sized desks, more like 3/4 or whole sized) and we were in a large classroom. Everything was quiet and ran efficiently. I can't really comment on how the environment would be on a Saturday test day, but for Sunday it was excellent.

(I heard Swarthmore is in an auditorium with tiny desks, but I'm not sure if that's true.)
 
Villanova University is a really good place to take it. I took it there in April 2004. Our proctors were really relaxed and there was a ton of desk space. The facilities were clean and bright. Overall, it allowed me to focus on the MCAT. Well, it would have if the crazy girl next to me wouldn't have loudly underlined every single sentence in the verbal section.

The first time I took the MCAT, I took it at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA. This was actually a little bit nicer than Villanova - same big desks and friendly people. It might be a pain to get to though if your base is in Philly, but if you're out in the 'burbs, it would be a great place.

Whatever you do stay away from Temple. I've spoken to a lot of people who have taken it there and none of them had one good thing to say about it. The facilities are Temple suck in general. The rooms are crowded and dark and the neighborhood is very noisy. Additionally, you just want to be chill on the morning of the MCAT and I'm not sure taking the train or subway to Temple or driving through Philly and finding a parking spot in a dodgy area is that relaxing. Also, LaSalle, although better than Temple, is not up to par with Ursinus or Villanova.

I had a friend who took it at Swartmore and they were satisfied with that. I'm not familiar with the other sites, but I don't even like sleeping in Holiday Inns let alone taking the MCAT in one.

If you have any more questions about hotels, etc..., just let me know. Good luck! :luck:
 
yalla22 said:
What about HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY??

I heard Holy Family University is a good place to take it. 25 people in the room (I think that is the maximum capacity). But, if you are planning to take it there for August, mcat people said it was full over 3 weeks ago...

i hope this helps.

good luck
 
mishjtnyu said:
I heard Holy Family University is a good place to take it. 25 people in the room (I think that is the maximum capacity). But, if you are planning to take it there for August, mcat people said it was full over 3 weeks ago...

i hope this helps.

good luck

Here's what 50,000 other test takers said:

www.kaptest.com/testsites

Good resource and you don't have to be a student to use it (little known fact)
 
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