I know there are SOME doctors/would-be doctors out there...so if they see this...

From the perspective of an ADD student, what was the MCAT like? Did you bother with accomodations? (I ask this because the process for setting up accomodations for the MCAT seems to require you to do everything short of stand on your head and recite holy passages in Swedish.)

Thinking about med school a lot these days, and while I've got my own impressions of how the MCAT looks, I was wondering if anyone can speak from experience. :cool:

I've never taken the MCAT's before, but I took the PCAT's. I don't know what the MCAT's are like, but I think it's similar. The PCAT's are made up of chem (mostly o-chem), bio, physics, reading comp/language, and math.

The whole process takes over 4 hours, but goes by really fast. You get a 15 minute break where you can leave the room, and maybe a shorter one too. I can't remember.

I did well and actually enjoyed the test. I felt very calm and relaxed and prepared. That's key. Make sure to get a review book and study everyday. Seriously. Just little bits. And find out how the test is set up. Maybe talk to others who have taken it to get an idea. If you want you could look for MCAT review classes. I think they're fairly common. It helps some people. Some are just as well on their own. But you need to be prepared to be confident. Then you can just go in on testing day and do your best, knowing you did all you could to get ready.

I always finished just about 5 minutes before the end of the time deadline for each section- you can't go back, so you need to be able to pace yourself and gage your progress.

I didn't have any testing accomodations. Yeah, it is really hard to get that set up. I found it very easy to concentrate. It's quite and structured.

Hi Bean,

I'm a second year med student, so I've taken the MCAT (and now I'm facing the boards-yikes!). I did not go through the accomodations circus for either test. For the MCAT this was actually because I didn't know they existed, and at the time I wasn't being treated, which, it was kind of a miracle I got so far without meds.

Anyway, for anyone, the MCAT is a grueling experience. It has changed since I took it since it's now on computers, but it's still a long test. For me the most difficult thing during an exam is proctors who whisper to each other. I want to scream at them to shut up! If you feel similarly inclined you may want to find a place to sit that is far away from the proctors, because they may whisper.

Another thing--I don't know the break/lunch schedule anymore, but we had breaks between sections and an hour lunch. Use that time to calm down from whatever stress you accumulated during the last section (I was ready to run, not walk, away from the testing center after physical sciences) and think random thoughts, which ADD should make quite easy. If you can indulge yourself and let your mind wander during the breaks, you will hopefully be able to focus more during the test.

And for test prep, I hope you are doing something structured, like kaplan or princeton review. Princeton review saved me, as I am so lost without a structured program of study (hence I'm getting an MD not a PhD).

Hope this helps!