random post mcat observations

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PakFistInYoMouf

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Taking the MCAT this august, I observed many coping mechanisms that i'm normally not aware of during a testing environment, possibly because the degree of behavioral expression was intensified by the stakes of the exam.

There were those whom refused to talk, wearing headphones to discourage conversation and flipping through some cards of notes. Then there was the guy rocking back and forth in his chair, tranced out like he was about to storm Normandy. Another was this girl who would slowly wind a strand of blonde hair around her finger...until the strand was taut, and then pluck it out. I cringed every time she got to the pluck part. It sort of made a light "tuck" sound.

Something that got to me was a fellow who actually had his dad walk him to the door of the exam, and stand with him until the proctors let us in. I tried chatting with the kid to take the edge off, and the dad stepped between me and his son, shielding him, and said to his boy (boy of about 22) , "you're here to take the MCAT, not make friends." like he was a jedi master training his student in the way of the force. That was about as extreme as it got. I wonder if the dad wil follow the kid to interviews...or follows him on his rounds. Can someone whose dad follows him to the mcat handle the responsibility of being a doctor? It was at the very least emasculating to the kid. I dunno, i guess i just regarded the mcats as a rights of passage, and having your parents there kind of negates that whole functional aspect of it.

On the other end of the spectrum, there was a girl on her cell during the lunch break, "yea, so I ran out of time and had to bubble in about 20 verbal reasoning questions, but f it, i'll meet you at the beach in about an hour."

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Show me a kid whose father escorts him to the mcat and I'll show you a kid who doesn't really want to be a doctor.
 
Originally posted by indo
Show me a kid whose father escorts him to the mcat and I'll show you a kid who doesn't really want to be a doctor.

Maybe it was his father-in-law. I can just hear him saying "If you want to marry my daughter, you must become a doctor". That's taking "shotgun weddings" to a whole new level.
 
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haha that's pretty funny.

I personally had a 10 gallon tank of gatorade by my side. dood, need to go the restroom thinking about it.
 
after the lunch break a girl down front popped in a stick of chewing gum and went to town on it. She didn't realize it but she was popping her gum like there was no tomorrow. Since she was down front her noise didn't bother me but I feel sorry for the poor souls next to her. BTW, the proctor mentioned excessive gum chewing to the entire class after the first writing sample but she didn't take the hint. After the second writing prompt the proctor mentioned gum chewing again. I didn't hear her anymore after that. At least it was the writing section and not verbal.
 
I had brought some silly putty with me and stuck it on the side of my desk during the middle of PhySci. Midway through the test I noticed the wad had gotten smaller! I looked down at the end of the section and it had "dribbled" down like gum to the floor. There was this long, yellow line stat stretched from the desk to the carpet. All I could do was laugh.
 
It seems to me that the father is too nervous....He is not one who is going to take the test!!!
 
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