Has anyone taken the prometric test drive practice test thing? It costs 30 dollars and im not sure if its worth it or not. What exactly do you get out of it? It is literally just like taking the actual DAT?
Prometric Test Drive
- Thread starter dp93
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I never took it, and I actually never heard of it.
I wouldn't. It isn't anything complicated and you get 15 minutes beforehand anyways to play with the computer (like the tutorial, or whatever)
I wouldn't. It isn't anything complicated and you get 15 minutes beforehand anyways to play with the computer (like the tutorial, or whatever)
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The only thing you need to be prepared for @ prometric is their potentially unfriendly staff. Two of the proctors were friendly but the third one had this pissed off attitude at everyone the whole test. If you are easily intimidated or nervous, it could affect your state of mind.
Also it was very loud throughout the test, study at a coffee shop or something and be able to shut off outside noise.
The tutorial you can find online at prometric's website is sufficient. However, I would really look into review of the test centers near you since some centers have awful computers (laggy calculators).
Also, their monitor is very small (17"?) and made me really strain my eyes and back.
Timing on the exam starts as soon as you hit the tutorial for each section. Don't waste your time and go straight to the questions.
There is a caveat, when you have 15 minutes and 5 minutes remaining, you will get a time remaining warning message. You have to click out of it but it really got annoying for me because it took about 30 seconds to exit out of it every time it popped up.
Also, as soon as your PAT section ends, you want to get up and go to your proctor ASAP and check out. Checking out and back in will take a LARGE amount of time. I only had time to use the restroom.
I don't really want to sound entitled, but prometric really is a greedy company. I don't get why they are skimping out so hard on their equipment and process when people are paying $400 to take exams.
Also it was very loud throughout the test, study at a coffee shop or something and be able to shut off outside noise.
The tutorial you can find online at prometric's website is sufficient. However, I would really look into review of the test centers near you since some centers have awful computers (laggy calculators).
Also, their monitor is very small (17"?) and made me really strain my eyes and back.
Timing on the exam starts as soon as you hit the tutorial for each section. Don't waste your time and go straight to the questions.
There is a caveat, when you have 15 minutes and 5 minutes remaining, you will get a time remaining warning message. You have to click out of it but it really got annoying for me because it took about 30 seconds to exit out of it every time it popped up.
Also, as soon as your PAT section ends, you want to get up and go to your proctor ASAP and check out. Checking out and back in will take a LARGE amount of time. I only had time to use the restroom.
I don't really want to sound entitled, but prometric really is a greedy company. I don't get why they are skimping out so hard on their equipment and process when people are paying $400 to take exams.
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Other words to describe prometric besides greedy include rude, ignorant, and incompetent. I took the MCAT and both times I had to wait 90 minutes after I got to the testing center. The first time I arrived 30 minutes early like they suggest and the second time I arrived 15 minutes before. It made no difference, they are slow and couldn't possible care less about you as a test taker.
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I've never heard of a Prometric test drive either. I've heard of the $37 practice DAT on the ADA website, which was helpful - but not of a Prometric test drive. I think it depends on the center you go to. I went to one near Toledo, Ohio, and all the staff seemed friendly. I talked with them for 10 minutes before the test and they all seemed pretty chipper. After the test I was going crazy because I was so excited by the test scores. They were watching me on the camera and laughing at me, so I went outside and started laughing with them lol.
The computer worked fine for me, no lag or anything. The only thing was the typing of people at the computers around me. That was kind of annoying, and even the earmuffs + ear plugs didn't completely mute it. Just had to focus on the test and tune it out. Going early is sometimes a better option, because more people funneled in as the day went on, and it got noisier as time progressed. My test was scheduled for 8:00 a.m.
The computer worked fine for me, no lag or anything. The only thing was the typing of people at the computers around me. That was kind of annoying, and even the earmuffs + ear plugs didn't completely mute it. Just had to focus on the test and tune it out. Going early is sometimes a better option, because more people funneled in as the day went on, and it got noisier as time progressed. My test was scheduled for 8:00 a.m.
