This Saturday, while most college students dream of the previous night's frivolities, thousands of premeds will fill testing centers around the nation to take the MCAT--the entrance exam for medical school.

Many of the students preparing to take the exam this week are relying on both their preparation and the last-minute advice of friends to help them get through the grueling sevenhour exam.

Jimmy J. Kang '98, who took the MCAT this past summer and has roommates who are taking it on Saturday, says he has tried to pass on what he has learned from his experience. Kang says one of the tidbits he passed on to his roommates was to get a good night's sleep the night before the exam.

"[Kang] told me stuff like not to get to the test center too early because then I'd have to wait outside," says Jay B. Shah '98, who says he originally planned to arrive early so that he could get settle in.

However, Shah says he still intends to go to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday to make sure he gets enough sleep.

Besides reverting to bedtime schedules they followed before college life, many students also say they will use Friday to engage in low-key activities such as hanging out with friends or playing video games.

"On Friday, I'm not going to do any studying whatsoever," says Kenneth F. LeCointe '98, who says he has spent the past month and a half preparing for the MCAT. "By Friday, there's no point in studying."

Instead, LeCointe says he plans to take one practice test today and one Thursday. Then he will close his books and hope for the best.

Are Prep Courses Worth It?

Before he began studying for the MCAT, LeCointe, like many others, considered taking a prep course. He decided against it when he saw the expensive price tag that accompanies the courses.

"I can't afford [a prep course]," LeCointe says. "I need the money for the [medical school] interviewing process."

The most common prep courses for the MCAT, such as Kaplan and Princeton Review, cost almost $1000, forcing many students to seriously question whether they will get their money's worth before signing up.

For Leah T. Okimoto '98, the answer was clear. "I don't think I would have gotten my $1000-worth [from a prep course] because I wouldn't have travelled to the test center to study," she says.

Okimoto says she feels more comfortable studying in her room on her own schedule than following a schedule imposed by a prep course. She says she has no regrets about deciding not to take a course.

"I feel as ready as I would have been had I taken a prep course," Okimoto says.