PLM MCAT, how disappointing.

Little things can make it or break it. This line was exceptionally true with my experience with the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila's Medical College Admisson Test (PLM-MCAT) which was moved for three times before it finally pushed through this morning.  

I didn't prepare for this exam as much as I prepared for NMAT. I've been reading online fora and most of them say that it's much harder compared to NMAT. Although I didn't really put much sweat into it since I already paid the reservation fee in UST. 

I was an hour early for the exam and as soon as I neared the place, I passed by guys who were from a school-based fraternity (Brotherhood of Medical Scholars/Beta Mu Sigma)who were exceptionally friendly to the point that they give out pens and pencils for us to use in the exams. They also gave tips about the exam and some info about PLM College of Medicine while we were waiting for the gates to open. Nice folks over there.

We were allowed to go inside the building at 7:30am. I went to the room I was assigned to, GV-301. As I entered, I couldn't help but notice the curtain-less window and the sunlight who gave it's carcinogenic blessings to the examinees. Two ceiling fans provided little comfort.  The paint coating of the chalkboard and the chairs were already wearing off and could use some paintwork. Unnecessary scribbles aka vandalisms were present on the two sides of the room. The place seemed run down for a university. I immediately felt the pleas of the students who take their classes there. Such scholastically gifted scholars deserve to have better classrooms.

The proctor entered the room a few minutes after the scheduled start time. She tried to explain read the directions in heavily accented English. I have no qualms over people who don't speak the language very well since I'm not very fluent too. Pero mas madali sana kung tinagalog na lang nya kami para nagkaintindihan. 

There was a big shift for this year's MCAT. From the sciences-based exam similar to NMAT, it became like a general info/comprehension exam. Nothing about chemistry, physics, biology, and the like. I was a very simple exam and stock knowledge on history and literature would come in handy.

The proctor seemed like she didn't know what she was doing. First instance happened when she handed out the exam papers and answer sheet. She didn't instruct us on what items to fill out (There were some items that need not be filled out so some guidance is needed). She just gave us the papers and we were on our own.   Second, she had confusing directions which had the room in chaos at the start of the test. At first, she told us that we could answer by just ticking the big circles but after a few minutes, she told us that we need to shade them completely. Third, she didn't set proper expectations about the time. There were no warnings like "You only have 5 mins left." You all know the examiner script.  She didn't even say something like "By this time you should be at this part..." That lead me to overlook that I should be working on the third part while I was still complacent trying to check my answers in the second part on numerical ability. 

So there. I left a lot of lines blank and didn't finish the easy exam. I understand that I am highly responsible for the results and the proctor has nothing to do with me missing out on those items but it would've helped if she was more effective. The exam was relatively easy but the examination experience was very disappointing. I've been getting feedback on twitter from people I don't even know regarding the same issue with their proctors.

Exam results will be out by May as per of the frat people outside the building said. (Ugh, examiner didn't tell us this) Most probably I won't be able to get in, considering the score I will get for the MCAT.  The only thing that keep my hopes up are my NMAT, GWA, and the interview which I think I did good at.