Question about breaks?

[docjohn101]

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I know that during the 15 minute tutorial you can take notes on the white board, but what about the other breaks?

What I mean is if I go for a break and come back and still have lets say 5 minutes if its in b/w blocks or even 20 minutes if its after the lunch break, can I sit at my computer and put down more notes on the white board before I start the block?

 

[HelloGoodbye]

bump

 

[mdeast]

I know that during the 15 minute tutorial you can take notes on the white board, but what about the other breaks?

What I mean is if I go for a break and come back and still have lets say 5 minutes if its in b/w blocks or even 20 minutes if its after the lunch break, can I sit at my computer and put down more notes on the white board before I start the block?

To the best of my knowledge, you're technically not supposed to bring or have access to any study material at the testing center (even in the lobby outside the room, etc.) I remember this being the case for the MCAT. Not a 100% sure....So it's possible you're allowed to and could probably get away with it, but also more likely that it's banned at the testing center.

Also, I'm not sure what point that would serve. What would you write down? You can't predict what questions you're going to get and, to be honest, this stuff should all be in your head by this point. In other words, if you're feeling the necessity of having to study in between Step 1 question sets it means you're not ready to take the exam. Even if it saves 5 seconds on the exam, Step 1 isn't really designed to be a time crunch. It's difficult for sure and a barrier to overcome, but I've actually never heard of someone feeling like they did poorly on Step 1 because of a lack of time.

 

[Phloston]

I agree with Mdeast.

Every break should be 1) quick bathroom, 2) quick half-sandwich, 3) quick oolong tea or Red Bull.

 

[mdeast]

I agree with Mdeast.

Every break should be 1) quick bathroom, 2) quick half-sandwich, 3) quick oolong tea or Red Bull.

I think #3 might be a positive regulator of #1

🙂

 

[docjohn101]

Yea thats true, i'm not saying i'm gonna use that period for studying...

But if there happens to be a random formula that just pops into my head during the few minutes in between blocks or right before starting a new block after taking a break, can I write it down before the block starts or is that not allowed?

 

[mdeast]

Yea thats true, i'm not saying i'm gonna use that period for studying...

But if there happens to be a random formula that just pops into my head during the few minutes in between blocks or right before starting a new block after taking a break, can I write it down before the block starts or is that not allowed?

I think taking 2 seconds and repeating the formula in your head is probably enough. But yes, you probably can. I don't think you probably can take the whiteboards out with you when you exit, but you'd be able to write it down on them once you get back to the room and before starting a block.

Easier thing to do (and probably better for your performance) is just make sure you memorize all the equations by the night before the exam and feel comfortably using them/etc.

 

[missmedschool]

I know that during the 15 minute tutorial you can take notes on the white board, but what about the other breaks?

What I mean is if I go for a break and come back and still have lets say 5 minutes if its in b/w blocks or even 20 minutes if its after the lunch break, can I sit at my computer and put down more notes on the white board before I start the block?

You can do whatever you want during your break. You can have access to a phone, FA, etc OUTSIDE OF THE TESTING ROOM. If you wanna come back INTO THE TEST ROOM after your break and spend that time writing down stuff on your board that's your option too. You cannot break in the middle of a block however. Regardless your break time is still going. Either the break time or the test time is going, so there's never an opportunity to "game the system" by somehow pausing without time ticking away. You can add minutes to your break time however by finishing a block early or by skipping the tutorial. I know all this because I did the practice simulation at the prometric center.

 

[Kaputt]

You can do whatever you want during your break. You can have access to a phone, FA, etc OUTSIDE OF THE TESTING ROOM. If you wanna come back INTO THE TEST ROOM after your break and spend that time writing down stuff on your board that's your option too. You cannot break in the middle of a block however. Regardless your break time is still going. Either the break time or the test time is going, so there's never an opportunity to "game the system" by somehow pausing without time ticking away. You can add minutes to your break time however by finishing a block early or by skipping the tutorial. I know all this because I did the practice simulation at the prometric center.

Ummm, no, you cannot have access to study materials during the exam, even if you're on a break.

As far as writing notes down before a block starts, the proctors would likely be suspicious.

 

[missmedschool]

Ummm, no, you cannot have access to study materials during the exam, even if you're on a break.

As far as writing notes down before a block starts, the proctors would likely be suspicious.

😵

Um yeah, please check the FA "Checklist" at the beginning of the book ... Explicitly mentions you can "review notes/study materials during breaks on exam day"

They can't control what you do on your break. You can leave for food and come back if you want to.

... As I've done the practice test at the prometric center, I already know this to be true.

 

[The kitchen sink]

Ummm, no, you cannot have access to study materials during the exam, even if you're on a break.

As far as writing notes down before a block starts, the proctors would likely be suspicious.

But but DIT guy said... 😕

 

[johndoe3344]

Question.

So if I skip the tutorial, does that mean I have an extra 15 minutes of break time in addition to my 45 minutes? For a total of 1 hour?

Question #2:

If I magically did all 46 questions of the first block in 1 minute, does that mean I now have 1 hour 59 minutes of break time? That I could use at any time I want? Like for example I could take a really really long lunch break and take a nap for 1 hr 59 minutes?

I'm just trying to work out this break distribution in my head.

 

[missmedschool]

Question.

So if I skip the tutorial, does that mean I have an extra 15 minutes of break time in addition to my 45 minutes? For a total of 1 hour?

Question #2:

If I magically did all 46 questions of the first block in 1 minute, does that mean I now have 1 hour 59 minutes of break time? That I could use at any time I want? Like for example I could take a really really long lunch break and take a nap for 1 hr 59 minutes?

I'm just trying to work out this break distribution in my head.

1. Yes
2. Yes

 

[djquickfingers]

You can do whatever you want during your break. You can have access to a phone, FA, etc OUTSIDE OF THE TESTING ROOM. If you wanna come back INTO THE TEST ROOM after your break and spend that time writing down stuff on your board that's your option too. You cannot break in the middle of a block however. Regardless your break time is still going. Either the break time or the test time is going, so there's never an opportunity to "game the system" by somehow pausing without time ticking away. You can add minutes to your break time however by finishing a block early or by skipping the tutorial. I know all this because I did the practice simulation at the prometric center.

This is accurate for my test experience. Now I believe how strict the exam center is about writing stuff down after breaks is up to the test center. But yes, you can study between breaks if you choose. I got out my iPhone and chatted with a few people to kill time. Now my test center was ran by some lazy 20somethings so it may be different elsewhere. I didnt study between breaks as to not confuse myself but I did see some dude molesting his FA during one long break.

 

[Kaputt]

😵

Um yeah, please check the FA "Checklist" at the beginning of the book ... Explicitly mentions you can "review notes/study materials during breaks on exam day"

They can't control what you do on your break. You can leave for food and come back if you want to.

... As I've done the practice test at the prometric center, I already know this to be true.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention on exam day, but I thought the proctors said we couldn't have access to anything like that or phones. Maybe they were making it up.

Either way, why would you want to access study materials 😕

 

[jatt12]

You can do whatever in your break time, you can use your cell phone, read FA ( though i wouldn't recommend), annotate what you remember from test in your FA lol, drink, eat, cry.

 

[sanityonleave]

You can do whatever in your break time, you can use your cell phone, read FA ( though i wouldn't recommend), annotate what you remember from test in your FA lol, drink, eat, cry.

Yep. I tend to be a fast test taker so I had a lot of spare time during my exam -- I walked around the office complex the testing center was in, paid a visit to the cafeteria and talked to my mom on the phone for a while.

If you have extra time, I highly recommend getting outside and walking around a bit during your test. Very therapeutic and I think it helps calm you down a bit. Also if you have a parent/friend/SO who helps make you feel better, give them a quick phone call.

 

[HelloGoodbye]

How is your break time accounted for on the test? Is there a time that says you have "x" ammount of time when you leave for a break?

 

[illegallysmooth]

How is your break time accounted for on the test? Is there a time that says you have "x" ammount of time when you leave for a break?

It gives you a running countdown of your total break time. The individual breaks are as long as you want them to be.

 

[HelloGoodbye]

Just want to double check....if you end a block early...that is added to your break time???

 

[rocketbooster]

I thought you automatically get 1 hour break, NOT including the tutorial? So if you can add 15 min by skipping the tutorial, you can get 1 hour 15 min break time? However, I always heard an hour, so maybe people were automatically adding in the 15 min tutorial already?

 

[sanityonleave]

Just want to double check....if you end a block early...that is added to your break time???

Yep. I ended the exam with almost 2 hours of accrued break time even though I had used a fair amount of it. Any extra time per block is added to your break time.

I thought you automatically get 1 hour break, NOT including the tutorial? So if you can add 15 min by skipping the tutorial, you can get 1 hour 15 min break time? However, I always heard an hour, so maybe people were automatically adding in the 15 min tutorial already?

You have 45 minutes of break time + 15 minutes for the tutorial, so it's 1 hour if you skip the tutorial.

 

[HelloGoodbye]

It gives you a running countdown of your total break time. The individual breaks are as long as you want them to be.

So one more question...do you hit the "pause" button to start the break clock or does it automatically appear when you end a block?

Thanks guys and sorry for so many questions!

 

[illegallysmooth]

So one more question...do you hit the "pause" button to start the break clock or does it automatically appear when you end a block?

Thanks guys and sorry for so many questions!

No prob. I thought there was more structure to it, and I was surprised that I could basically do whatever break scheme I wanted. When you end a block you have to choose whether you want to take a break or enter the next block within 30 seconds (i think). If you don't choose, it goes right into a break.

 

[Aclamity]

You can bring test materials to the test center and access during break (I did a double-take when the guy told me this at my practice exam, so I'm 100% sure they allow it... at least at my center)

While we're on the topic, how often do you guys take breaks?? I tried doing 2 blocks straight (thought I could do it since i was feeling good after the first block), but ended up burning out after about 15 questions on block 2. I really wanted to conserve my breaks for the end of the day, but now I'm thinking i'll need 5-10 min between blocks and just space it out evenly. I don't know if this is normal or if I have some endurance issue I need to work on. What about you guys?

 

[osumc2014]

You can bring test materials to the test center and access during break (I did a double-take when the guy told me this at my practice exam, so I'm 100% sure they allow it... at least at my center)

While we're on the topic, how often do you guys take breaks?? I tried doing 2 blocks straight (thought I could do it since i was feeling good after the first block), but ended up burning out after about 15 questions on block 2. I really wanted to conserve my breaks for the end of the day, but now I'm thinking i'll need 5-10 min between blocks and just space it out evenly. I don't know if this is normal or if I have some endurance issue I need to work on. What about you guys?

Haven't taken mine yet, but I found that if you practice on Qbank say doing 4 blocks at one sitting for about a week, your endurance will increase tremondously, personally on the real thing, I would want to finish the first few blocks without a break and then take a break for some food/run around and then take more frequent breaks as the test wears on. but everyone's different in how they would approach it. But I think you should at least get enough endurance for 2 blocks in a row by test time.

 

[illegallysmooth]

You can bring test materials to the test center and access during break (I did a double-take when the guy told me this at my practice exam, so I'm 100% sure they allow it... at least at my center)

While we're on the topic, how often do you guys take breaks?? I tried doing 2 blocks straight (thought I could do it since i was feeling good after the first block), but ended up burning out after about 15 questions on block 2. I really wanted to conserve my breaks for the end of the day, but now I'm thinking i'll need 5-10 min between blocks and just space it out evenly. I don't know if this is normal or if I have some endurance issue I need to work on. What about you guys?

I was planning on doing a small break after every block, but honestly the whole sign in/out procedure got annoying and I ended up doing 2 blocks straight several times.