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MCAT Test Day Tips
We have a number of procedures that are designed to protect the exam
as well as make the test day as efficient as possible, so that you can
spend your time focusing on your exam.
Following these Test Day Tips will help make your MCAT experience as good
as it can be:
Tip
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Description
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Bring proper identification
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There are three important things you need to know about identification:
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The name on your identification (ID) must match exactly the name you entered
in the registration system prior to the registration deadline. Please
refer to our Registration Tips
and the MCAT Essentials for more
information.
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Your ID must include an expiration date, signature, and photograph.
The ID must be current.
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It must be a major form of ID, such as a driver's license or
passport. If you do not have either of these types of identification,
you most likely will be eligible for a state-issued ID card, usually
obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles (even if you do not
drive).
Please refer to the MCAT Essentials (PDF, 24 pages) for more information.
If you believe your ID meets our requirements
but the Test Center Administrator does not accept it, please call
us right away, while you are at the test center at 202-828-0690.
We have a very limited amount of time during which ID issues can
be resolved on test day. |
| Be prepared for the check-in process. |
Arrive on time.
Arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled exam start time. If you
arrive much earlier, don't be alarmed if the test center is not
yet open. If you arrive after your exam start time, neither the
Test Center Administrator nor a MCAT staff member can allow you
to test. The Test Center Administrator will do his or her best to
check in all examinees within the 30 minutes. However, due to the
individual nature of the check-in process, you may not begin testing
precisely at the scheduled start time.
In fact, this is not unusual and many examinees may wait an additional
half hour or more before starting the exam. This also means that
examinees may be working on different parts of the exam or taking
breaks at different times.
Special Note about clothing: The
Test Center Administrators may ask to inspect headcoverings or other
clothing. They may even ask you to remove some items, such as baseball
caps and overcoats. Please see important details in the MCAT
Essentials (PDF, 24 pages). |
| Tell the Test Center Administrator if you need help. |
Administrators are available to assist you in the event that you
have technical problems with your workstation. Please raise your
hand to get their attention if you need it.
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| Respond to the Non-Disclosure Agreement. |
The Non-Disclosure Agreement is a short statement and we provide
you with five minutes to read and respond to it. Five minutes should
be plenty of time but if you take a break at this point, five minutes
most likely will not be long enough. So please take the time to
respond to this screen within the time limit. Otherwise, the system
assumes that you do not want to test and we will not be able to
give you another chance to respond and you will not be able to test
that day or receive a refund.
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| Respond to the Void screen. |
At the end of the exam, you will be presented with an option to
score or void your exam. We cannot reverse your selection once you
have submitted it. Another important note is that, as with the Non-Disclosure
Agreement, you will have five minutes to respond to this question.
However, unlike the Non-Disclosure screen where your answer will
default to "no" should you fail to respond, the Void screen will
default to "yes, score my exam." We cannot change this.
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| Adhere to break policies. |
Accessing study materials or using cell phones
during breaks is absolutely prohibited. |
| If you have a concern, let us know. |
We want to hear from you if you have a concern or complaint about
your test day experience. If you would like an investigation and
response from the AAMC, you must contact us within five days of
your test date, by fax or regular mail. We regret we cannot accept
complaints by email.
You should also ask the Test Center Administrator to file a report.
While we do not respond to these center reports (you must write
to us separately for a response), we do use them in our research
when we receive an examinee complaint.
We do not investigate complaints received after the deadline, most
especially complaints received after scores are released. However,
we still appreciate the feedback to help us improve test administrations
for future examinees.
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