ANyone taken an exam at McCormick Center before? I notice CFA will be setting up a room to store our personal belongings but I’m sure there will be a long queue trying to drop/pick up your stuff there. Was thinking of packing lunch & notes but I’m not sure if its worth doing it because of the queues on the day. Wonder whats everybody elses plans are on that day?
It is in the auto show room this June so I assume it will be in the same room this time too. There is a Connies Pizza, Starbucks (floor above), and McDonalds directly outside of the testing room. I did not bring anything with me because I was nervous about the proctors. The morning session gets done at noon. If you are done before 11:30 you can leave to go eat, but after 11:30 no one gets out until all tests are collected which was like 12:30 in June. With it being only Level 1 this time I am sure it will go much quicker. Also, the room is on the West side of lsd. Security didn’t know what the CFA test was so it took me 30 minutes to realize I was in the wrong part of the building. If you get lost, just follow people carrying BAII+ calculators.
I dont think its in the auto show room this time. Its in HALL F This building is not the one clsoe to the HOtel or the metra station.
How do you get there via CTA?
I didn’t even realize it was on Indiana Av. I guess you can disregard my previous post since its in the west building. There are still food options: http://www.mccormickplace.com/facilities/food.html
Hall F is the one right across the street from the hotel (the December 2007 exam was there). You can get in hall F from the Hotel, using the cross street passages. If you can pack a sandwich, a bottle of water, and/or some coffee in a thermos, or whatever you would think buying in the break, is much better - last year there was only 1 Starbucks coffee stand, with 2 employees, taking only cash, imagine the line… Don’t recall seeing any food stands there in the winter. It was really cold inside, and a snow storm outside. I would suggest rather taking a cab than the CTA.
How were the queues at the counters/room where you leave/collect your personal belongings? If i leave my lunch & notes there, I will still have to queue to get them during the break right? Do you know if we are allowed to wear our jackets into the exam hall?
All personal belongings were sort of “dumped” in a room, all over the place on the floor, around the walls, there is no check-in-or-out of it. As far as I remember, heavy coats were not allowed in, you could not have your coat on the back of your chair. Easy in/out access to the personal belongings, just have to remember where you left it. Don’t leave wallet or even phone (you can give the phone to a proctor in your section, there will be a general announcement for it).
Bring a sweatshirt. It was cold has hell in there last december. It is very crowded between sessions, I wouldn’t bother wasting the time standing in line to get food/starbucks or whatever. I stayed at the hotel last time, so I was able to run back to my room between sessions, but there still wasn’t much time for that either. I packed 3 cliff bars and that provided me with enough energy to get through the exam.
I live in in the city (Wicker Park) but thinking of driving just so I have a place to keep food and go hide in between sessions. Any good or bad experiences with driving/parking to McCormick? jplizka - there are a number of buses that run in the general area, but it would depend where you are coming from. Just hit the CTA website.
Meh, i’ll just drive. I just thought CTA might be easier. Guess not. Thanks for the help!
The room last December was right around a corner from the parking garage. I noticed a lot of people just went back to their cars. I would strongly advise against eating there…It is a huge waste of time and there is a lot of junk food there. Take that time to relax and focus instead of running around trying to get a slice.
fyi…the hyatt at mccormick is running a 20% off special on their rooms–so if you’re looking for a place to stay, their prices are now reasonable.