So, for those that have taken the MCAT, would you change your strategy to reading the passages on the actual MCAT?
I usually skim leaving me extra time but would it be better to just read it over once on the real one?
PS might be a problem then for me to finish.
On the actual MCAT (July 24th, yikes!)...
BS: look at figures/graphs/tables, speed read every word in the passage (more like "thorough skimming"), read each question, found myself rereading some paragraphs in the passage to get the answer
I didn't waste time trying to understand the passage with my first "speed reading" since a lot of questions were testing outside knowledge or had the neccessary info in the question stem. For passage-specific questions, they were often detail-oriented so rereading is neccessary. Finished with a minute to spare.
PS: look at tables, skim through passage noting equations variables and experiment steps, answer questions and refer to passage often... finished with two minutes to spare
VR: read through entire passage (each was 1-2 paragraphs longer than e-mcat's), answer questions (had to refer back to passage a lot), finished on the mark perhaps with seconds to spare.
Whatever you plan to do on the actual MCAT, do the same thing when you practice! Test day can be overwhelming in itself, you don't want to be trying out new strategies at that time.