Steve Tippins Ph.D. walks through what to expect on comp exam day: a long, sequestered session without technology access. Dress comfortably, bring multiple backup pens and calculators, and assume strict limits on what you can bring into the room.
What do I expect on the day of my comprehensive exam? Well, if it's the dissertation proposal, I'm going to turn it in and maybe we'll discuss it. If it's the approach where you had questions ahead of time, you're going to turn them in. But if it's the day where you're going to write questions yourself, or a day or 2 or 3, first, expect to be sequestered somewhere, most likely without any technology. Second, expect it's going to be a long day, so be comfortable. They may limit you on what you can bring in. Be prepared. If they say you can bring a pen, I would bring like 4 or something. You don't want to have the stress of something running out of ink. If they say you can bring a calculator for whatever reason, bring 2, okay? You just don't want to then have an hour of running around a hall with all the stress of trying to find somebody and saying, this doesn't work, or I got it. You know, be prepared ahead of time.
