It was late November. After waking up, having a bite to eat, and trying to cram the last few facts about pig diarrhea into my brain before my NAVLE, I headed out to the most important test of my life.
The tests are given at Prometric testing centers, which are rooms with rows of computer cubicles. I made sure I had everything I needed: wallet, keys, a set of notes for last minute cramming, and a set of directions to the testing center, and I was on my way.
I don’t know if it was the stress of the morning, my usual lack of sleep as a senior vet student, or my usual poor sense of direction, but as I made it to three-fourths of the way there, I could not find the next street on my set of directions.
Since I don’t tend to run exceptionally early, I looked at the clock and started to panic a bit. I drove around frantically for at least 10 minutes before calling the test center to get help. The lady answering the phone had no idea where I was and was less than helpful. I was on my own.
I continued to anxiously scour every street sign looking for Holden Way. For reasons I cannot entirely explain, I stopped at a Sylvan Learning Center hoping that it was the test site. It was not, but they did give me directions to the right place.
It was already 10 minutes after the scheduled start time of my exam and I was just getting back into my car with new directions, so I was frantic. I arrived about 15 minutes late and ran in to the test center sweating profusely with my heart racing.
I thought to myself, “This is exactly what not to do right before taking the most important exam of my life.“ Fortunately, I was able to calm down, get it together, and I ended up doing just fine. I certainly learned a lesson about being prepared and leaving extra time when it comes to such a major event.
“This is exactly what not to do right before taking the most important exam of my life.“
If you have questions about where your test center might be, see the information below.
The NAVLE is administered at Prometric Testing Centers.
To find your local Prometric Testing Center, you need to do the following:
- Go to http://www.prometric.com
- Select "NBVME- National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners" from the list of test sponsors
- You can skip steps 1 and 2 by going directly to http://www.prometric.com/NBVME/default.htm
- From there you can Schedule an Exam, Locate a Test Center, Reschedule or Cancel your test, and Confirm your test
- To register officially, select “Schedule an Exam” (you will need your scheduling number).
Once you have your test scheduled, go ahead and do a practice trip to make sure you know how to get there.
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