My experience on taking the college admission test.

COLLEGE ADMISSION TEST EXPERIENCE

17 November 2014 – P.B. 7229

            Seventeenth of November 2014, Monday, one of our most terrifying days, it was the UPCAT day, one of the things that will decide our future, the thing that will decide the future of more than thousands of UPCAT examinees worldwide.

Six o’clock, I woke up with a blank mind, as in nothing, I can’t remember anything I reviewed for the past few days, I can’t remember everything that was thought to us at school. I didn’t have any appetite to eat. I washed up, got dressed, and went to school.

            Seven o’clock, still blank, exams will be held at another school and we would be leaving at eleven o’clock. We have this belief that we should not study hours before the exam because we will just mess up our already messed up minds. It was nerve-wracking. It feels like the time slowed down making us more nervous with every second that is passing by.

            I looked at the time, five minutes passed since I last did, I felt like dying. Four hours seemed like forever. And finally, after like a hundred times of looking at the watch, it was nine o’clock. I felt like I aged ten years just waiting for the time. Time to eat something heavy because there won’t be any lunch break while taking the exam. One, two, three…… I was counting every passing minute waiting for the time, this time, waiting for the watch to strike eleven.

            Two hours that felt like forever passed, time to go. The school provided three school buses for 80 examinees to ride to the venue. The bus was noisy with people talking about how nervous they are, some trying to remember the things they reviewed, others, those who are like me are just quiet, not talking much, mind still blank, I still can’t remember the things I reviewed. When we arrived, we were asked to stay at a waiting room until twelve thirty. This time, most of the people are making noise trying to ease the nervousness and the rising pressure we are feeling.

            Twelve thirty, almost time for the exams, but first, the instructions, the very, very long instructions, and lots, I mean lots of things to do forty-five minutes before the exams. “Begin.” And that’s it, I lost my sanity, the moment I opened the questionnaire, I was mind-blown!  First up was Language Proficiency, that wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be, well, at least a quarter of it wasn’t. Next was Science, then Math, then Reading, and oh my god by the end of the exams I felt like my head was being banged by something, I had a really bad headache. At first, my mind can still process the questions, but as time passes, nothing was going well anymore, I left a lot of items unanswered, I can’t comprehend a lot of things, and my vision started spinning. Five hours flew by, and we were done. “I died.” Our answer to when ask how was the exam.

            Six thirty, we were back to school where we’ll be picked up by our parents, “How was it? Was it hard?” my parents asked. “No,” I answered, “it wasn’t hard, it was so hard!” I added, emphasizing the word ‘so’. And with that my day ended, I ate dinner, wrote this, and had a goodnight sleep praying for a miracle to happen. That miracle is for me to pass. Results are said to be released by the end of January, I wish everyone, including myself, all the best.