what to bring on the mcat day

[kevin86]

Hey I have some questions about the stuff in that envelope.

So we need to get a picture right? What does the picture have to be? Is it like the drivers license full front one, or would the face need to be slightly skewed to the side to get a better 3d look. I have had to taken pictures of both kinds so I dont know. Also aside from the paper that has instructions, the card that we should attach a picture to, what else is there? An ID right, and what else

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[Law2Doc]

Hey I have some questions about the stuff in that envelope.

So we need to get a picture right? What does the picture have to be? Is it like the drivers license full front one, or would the face need to be slightly skewed to the side to get a better 3d look.

Doesn't really matter, but I recommend getting a bunch of passport photos, because in a addition to this one, you may soon enough need to provide them on a bunch of secondaries. I did full front and wearing a collared shirt and tie (as I used the same photo for apps). But I saw a few candid funny faced shots and they were allowed to sit for the test.

 

[jebus]

It will be a lot cheaper to get that passport pic now and get a few of copies to use for secondaries later. If you're lucky you can get a good passport pic from somewhere, otherwise take it at home against a white wall and print it on photo paper at a computer lab somewhere (or Walgreens, CVS, etc., via their website).
Also, pencils. Mechanical or wood (most mechanical pencil lead you buy is #2 or they'll call it HB, but I used harder lead - 2H - and it's always worked), bring pencils and an eraser. 2 black pens for the writing sample. I'm a fan of Zebra pens (among others), but you can get a cheap 25¢ bic pen and be on your merry way. Also, the pen can be used to jot down someone's phone number.
A light snack for the breaks. Maybe some juice or a bottle of water.
Lunch or money for lunch. I also brought a book and my ipod for the lunch break, found a good place in that school's SUB and pretty much just cleared my head of all pre-med neuroses for a while.
Layers - some of these rooms are either cold or hot, make sure you're comfortable in either event.
Maybe a time piece of some sort. They won't let you break out your iPod or cell phone, so a watch or a table-top timer should be fine. Or scout out the location of the room's clock as soon as you enter if, like me, you don't own a watch.
Also, relax and be confident. Don't worry about other people. It's all about you. And you'll do fine.

 

[kevin86]

thanks for the advice. I never really gotten a passport before. but I do however have a full front pic of me wearing a white shirt at my job. The pic covers my face and stops at my neck area, not much shirt only my shoulder, would it be okay?

 

[supersash]

kevin, your work picture sounds fine to me. if you're a member of AAA (for car stuff) you can get passport pics done really cheap at the AAA near you. i'm a premium member, and i paid $0.36 for 2 passport sized pics. def worth it if you're a member!

but anyways, i have a question about the stuff we bring with us. can you bring your purse or backpack with you, and keep it under your chair? or do we have to stash them somewhere?

 

[musiclink213]

but anyways, i have a question about the stuff we bring with us. can you bring your purse or backpack with you, and keep it under your chair? or do we have to stash them somewhere?

You can bring it, but you'll have to keep it in the front of the room. But you should be able to get to it during breaks and lunch.

I took a bunch of snacks, allegra, pencils, pens, a cheesy novel to read during lunch, my ipod, extra hoody (never know how cold the room will get). chapstick. The best thing I took was a pack of tissues. I have horrible allergies, and air conditioning always makes my nose run. I didn't want to be the annoying person who keeps sniffling.