PLM MCAT Day

With my eyes red and itchy extremities [mosquito bites, I guess], I went first to Mini Stop and bought two ham and cheese karimans; one for my breakfast, the other for a break [I hope we’ll have one]. It was already 6:30 and people are crowding the right side avenue of the university. Taxi’s and calesas came rushing from a nearby entrance to Intramuros. Aspiring medical students and hopefuls from different schools assemble in groups [maybe in an aim to find schoolmates. Some frat and sorority members added up with the crowd disseminating pamphlets and brochures of their societies [ain’t too excited to have us huh?!] No worries ‘cause I got nothing against them; in fact, I am thankful for the candies [oh so sweet] and the pencil. After signing in a logbook, I rushed to my room to find a comfortable place and some peeps also. I was surprised to see my co-UP interviewee, Josiah but we set off; he’s in the other room. I was assigned in the auditorium/lecture hall where seats fold themselves; the usual cinema type of seats. Some students have already occupied the frontmost seats so I decided to take the third row seat near the aisle. I saw my classmates Alvin and Aizelle with their 4^th yr friends.

The exam sheets came and I felt like there’s nothing to worry about actually [not because I am confident but the night-before experience caused me too much anxiety and stress, sighs]. A strict proctor and a conventional what-should-I-do-ma’am assistant guided us throughout the exam proper.

Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila), as far as I know, is the only medical school to administer yet another exam called MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). It will further screen the applicants from astonishing number aside from the GWA and NMAT score. Got no idea about the contents of the exam; all I knew was it will be like the NMAT. We were asked to complete the whole set of tests in 3 hours with 20-25 minutes for a 50 item subtest and 45 minutes for a 100-item subtest. Knocked-off by limited time and literally difficult and mind-contorting questions, I smiled and prayed in silence [Oh my, where should I get the answers?! D’ **ck!] There were the Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Ability, Physical Sciences (Chem, Physics, Geo), Life Sciences (I like!), and Behavioral Sciences. The thing is, the items have situational questions and answers, though in choices, are in long statements also. Most of the time, I really found myself stunned by the very concept-specific questions and rely on either my store knowledge or what my instinct suggested. Psychology almost broke me; one couldn’t base an answer from an introductory course indeed. I guess I won’t say in detail any other thing about the exam. As a Bio student, life and physical sciences were manageable. An EQ test was also given after the timed special area tests. All in all, it was still yet another great experience and am hoping to have myself qualified for the interview a few weeks from now.

Next to UP, am with great hopes aiming to get into PLM [may it be part of God’s plan... PRAY PRAY PRAY!] Aside from the high passing rates in medical board exams, it offers quality education in really low-cost fees [relative to other medical schools in Manila]. However, am not that certain on their teaching method [trad or the PBL type].