What to do if the Person Next to You is Horribly Annoying?

[tco]

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Is it poor form to report someone that is distracting you during the exam to the proctors? If not, what can be done about it? I typically try to only worry about myself, but throughout the day studying, I often find myself saying, "God they're annoying the hell out of me!!!" So I wonder what will happen on the big day if this happens?

I guess more importantly, has it happened to any of you during your exam?

 

[han14tra]

Right now, try to accept that there will be someone who annoys you during the exam. It's going to happen. You're stressed, and even the most minor thing will annoy you. There's nothing you can do about it. So, just ignore them.

Someone always annoys me during every exam. Things people have done:

1) Crossing their legs and vigorously shaking their foot in my peripheral vision while I'm taking the exam.
2) Shaking their legs so that the whole table is shaking like mad.
3) The person behind me eating an apple during the exam.
4) Pee breaks 15 min after the exam starts and they walk right past me to go out the door usually with some annoying flip flops on so I hear them a mile away.
5) Runny noses where they sniff every .003 sec.

Accept what you cannot change.

 

[SeekerOfTheTree]

Right now, try to accept that there will be someone who annoys you during the exam. It's going to happen. You're stressed, and even the most minor thing will annoy you. There's nothing you can do about it. So, just ignore them.

Someone always annoys me during every exam. Things people have done:

1) Crossing their legs and vigorously shaking their foot in my peripheral vision while I'm taking the exam.
2) Shaking their legs so that the whole table is shaking like mad.
3) The person behind me eating an apple during the exam.
4) Pee breaks 15 min after the exam starts and they walk right past me to go out the door usually with some annoying flip flops on so I hear them a mile away.
5) Runny noses where they sniff every .003 sec.

Accept what you cannot change.

Can we have ear plugs?

 

[han14tra]

I've been told you can have earplugs. If they have a cord attached, you may want to cut it (or you could bring a pair of earplugs in their original packaging so that they know you didn't alter them).

 

[han14tra]

Does anyone know how much elbow room is between you and the next person? Is there any divider between each computer?

 

[tco]

Does anyone know how much elbow room is between you and the next person? Is there any divider between each computer?

I would guess that it depends on the testing center. SOME standardized exam...What a joke. Just another flaming hoop we have to jump through for the NBME to make millions every year.

The Prometric that I took my MCAT at (and the same one that I will take Step 1 at) had small cubicle like seats. There were probably 15 computers in one room and a decent amount of space between participants. I don't even remember if someone was sitting next to me when I took it. But you have to think, I'm in Morgantown...Not exactly somewhere like LA or NYC.

I'm also banking on the fact that most people will have taken Step 1 by the time I do. I'm doing a post-sophomore fellowship in pathology, so I'm taking it after everyone else. I do not know, however, whether or not the MCAT will be delivered on the same date at the same time. The typing when they get to the writing section would drive me freaking insane.

 

[SirGecko]

You can have ear plugs if you bring them. (soft foam ones are the kind specified by the testing centers) They also provide you with noise isolating headphones. Bring earplugs though because you never know what sort of annoying noise will be in the middle of the exam. Earplugs + headphones = quiet. (construction started outside my exam in the middle of my third block, so happy I had remembered to bring earplugs) Every testing center I have ever seen has had dividers between the computers.

Oh an people don't just take the MCAT or the STEP at these testing centers. There are a lot of different exams that people could be taking. There were people taking cosmetology exams at my testing center, weird right? I know that at my testing center there were also a couple people taking exams with a lot of typing. I couldn't hear them but other people were complaining about it.

 

[Vulcan]

is it poor form to report someone that is distracting you during the exam to the proctors? If not, what can be done about it? I typically try to only worry about myself, but throughout the day studying, i often find myself saying, "god they're annoying the hell out of me!!!" so i wonder what will happen on the big day if this happens?

I guess more importantly, has it happened to any of you during your exam?

falcon pawnch!

 

[beachblonde]

Somebody's heart sounds were playing SO loudly today, I really wish I could have told the proctor. The individual clearly was having problems figuring out the question so they kept playing them over and over....gah!

But I was in the middle of a block (my last) so no dice.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I would guess that it depends on the testing center. SOME standardized exam...What a joke. Just another flaming hoop we have to jump through for the NBME to make millions every year.

The Prometric that I took my MCAT at (and the same one that I will take Step 1 at) had small cubicle like seats. There were probably 15 computers in one room and a decent amount of space between participants. I don't even remember if someone was sitting next to me when I took it. But you have to think, I'm in Morgantown...Not exactly somewhere like LA or NYC.

I'm also banking on the fact that most people will have taken Step 1 by the time I do. I'm doing a post-sophomore fellowship in pathology, so I'm taking it after everyone else. I do not know, however, whether or not the MCAT will be delivered on the same date at the same time. The typing when they get to the writing section would drive me freaking insane.

I took the USMLE in the Curtis Center in Philly. If anything, I thought the Philly testing center was actually quieter and generally nicer than the suburban center I took the COMLEX at. There were dividers, it was reasonably quiet etc. My only beef with it was that going to the bathroom involved finding a key and walking down a hallway to get to this tiny bathroom by a cargo elevator. That definitely ate up time on breaks.

The three total centers I took the MCAT, USMLE and COMLEX at (in OH, PA and NJ respectively) all had dividers and were reasonably quiet. The typing does get annoying though.

 

[tco]

Somebody's heart sounds were playing SO loudly today, I really wish I could have told the proctor. The individual clearly was having problems figuring out the question so they kept playing them over and over....gah!

But I was in the middle of a block (my last) so no dice.

Sooo...The headphones aren't actually headphones? Or the person was playing it through the computer to be a jerk?

 

[beachblonde]

Sooo...The headphones aren't actually headphones? Or the person was playing it through the computer to be a jerk?

My headphones worked just fine, so I pick "jerk."

 

[dozitgetchahi]

My headphones worked just fine, so I pick "jerk."

Wait, somebody was actually playing the sounds through the computer? I wasn't aware you were even allowed/able to do this.

 

[beachblonde]

Wait, somebody was actually playing the sounds through the computer? I wasn't aware you were even allowed/able to do this.

I didn't want to get into trouble, so I didn't look around. All I know is that with the noise-canceling headphones I could still hear the darn sounds. 😡

 

[lackli]

falcon pawnch!

Man...flashback to a bunch of awesome times playing smash bros all day long 🙂

 

[okdocrx]

Right now, try to accept that there will be someone who annoys you during the exam. It's going to happen. You're stressed, and even the most minor thing will annoy you. There's nothing you can do about it. So, just ignore them.

Someone always annoys me during every exam. Things people have done:

1) Crossing their legs and vigorously shaking their foot in my peripheral vision while I'm taking the exam.
2) Shaking their legs so that the whole table is shaking like mad.
3) The person behind me eating an apple during the exam.
4) Pee breaks 15 min after the exam starts and they walk right past me to go out the door usually with some annoying flip flops on so I hear them a mile away.
5) Runny noses where they sniff every .003 sec.

Accept what you cannot change.

Those are some of the common attributes of my nervous test taking skills

 

[combat]

Slap his head lol

 

[tco]

Those are some of the common attributes of my nervous test taking skills

If you sit next to me, I'll end them.

 

[LordATPSynthase]

Those are some of the common attributes of my nervous test taking skills

The leg/foot shaking thing... I do that without thought.

Asking me to stop that is like asking me to breathe slower or faster, it is really annoying. I do it even when I'm not nervous. I really hate to annoy people though so I try my best to keep it hidden and make sure I'm not shaking the desk/table or something like that.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

Did anyone else find it annoying when the proctors would walk around through the room every 30 min and pause behind you as if you were doing something wrong? Nothing to see here, move along...

My USMLE center was quiet, but when I took the COMLEX - blarg. A few people were sighing repeatedly and another guy kept chanting/muttering something under his breath. Even worse, the glass wall next to the check-in station let tons of noise into the testing room, and you could hear conversations, loud laughing, and even music (?) coming from the anteroom at various points during the test. There were a few points where I seriously considered going out there and asking if they could keep it down.

I could also hear very loud bird chirping from outside throughout the morning half of the test.

Needless to say, I was real glad to have those headphones...

 

[Future.miss.doctor]

Right now, try to accept that there will be someone who annoys you during the exam. It's going to happen. You're stressed, and even the most minor thing will annoy you. There's nothing you can do about it. So, just ignore them.

Someone always annoys me during every exam. Things people have done:

1) Crossing their legs and vigorously shaking their foot in my peripheral vision while I'm taking the exam.
2) Shaking their legs so that the whole table is shaking like mad.
3) The person behind me eating an apple during the exam.
4) Pee breaks 15 min after the exam starts and they walk right past me to go out the door usually with some annoying flip flops on so I hear them a mile away.
5) Runny noses where they sniff every .003 sec.

Accept what you cannot change.

Story of my life every freakin exam!!!

 

[Ryuzaki]

Honestly, I've always been far to scared to even worry about what anyone else is doing, for me being in that room is hard enough.