Examinations at a university level can be intimidating, but below are some tips that keep tests at the Testing Center from being the scariest thing on BYU campus.
Luke Chandler, a junior from Twin Falls, Idaho, majoring in organizational behavior, said he wished he had known there was a bathroom on the second floor. He also wished he would have known that he could check exam scores and information on the Testing Center website earlier in his college experience.
“Whether it was the dates or when the late fees were,” Chandler said. “I was always afraid that I had written the information the professor gave down wrong, or the professor had given bad information.”
You can bring food in as long as it’s not distracting to other people.
You have to turn your cell phone off, not just silent or vibrate.
The music room is a good place when you want background noise because the center plays classical music.
Have your ID, the name of the class and instructor ready to make the process more efficient. If you take a test on your birthday, your gift from the Testing Center is a complementary pencil. The Testing Center does not provide scratch paper. Bring your own and ask to get it stamped so you may use it.
If you have your notebook or textbook, there’s a blue bag to put your items in right before you walk in to take a test.
You can get the deadline for the test and scores online under MyBYU, School and then Testing Center.
Christine Pulley, a junior from Murrieta, Calif., majoring in elementary education, who works at the testing center, said it is a lot less intimidating than most students actually think.
“If they come in the morning, it is a lot less crowded, and they don’t have to be in a crowded, hot room,” Pulley said. “The earlier they take it, the better.”
Myth debunked: The testing center does not make money from late fees that you pay for your test.
“We charge departments for every test we take, so every late fee that students pay covers the bill for the department,” Pulley said.
Chandler said there’s nothing about the testing center that is frightful.
“If you prepare well for your exam, the testing center will be a glory ground rather than a battle ground,” he said. “It’s really exciting to go to the testing center when you’re prepared. You can hardly wait to see that good score pop up on the screen.”
How To take a test at the testing center
1. Make sure you know what day your test closes
2. Check lines at testing.byu.edu/info/ conditions.php
3. Take student ID, or other government issue ID
4. Take No. 2 pencil
5. Take other materials authorized by your professor
6. Make sure you are Honor Code appropriate, clean shaven and modest
7. Allow for sufficient time, the last test is passed out one hour before closing time
8. Tests are administered upstairs after scanning ID card and you receive your Scantron and exam
9. After finishing test, look on the overhead TV screens for your score which is found beside the last 5 digits of your student ID number