Help! How do I develop speed in PS?

[MsEvolution]

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I took AAMC 7 today... got a 9 in PS... and that's including going over the time limit by 25 minutes!!!

What do I do?? How do I get it to within normal time? I'm thinking of ditching problem-solving practice this last week and concentrating on increasing speed on individual passages... does anybody have some advice??

 

[Medikit]

I had a problem with finishing the test when a lot of number crunching was involved. I'd recommend skipping the intense number crunching problems and saving them for the end.

On the real thing (it probably varies from test to test) most of the questions were conceptual and when there was math it wasn't usually very complicated.


One more thing, use a lot of short cuts when you are working with the numbers. I often round numbers to the nearest 10. Usually the answers differ by factors of 10 or more and thus a simple rounding will allow you to reach an answer that is in the neighborhood. One other short cut is to use factors of a number rather than the number itself during problem solving.

 

[Monkey12]

Whats the deal with that anyways? Verbal and Biological I have plenty of time? Does anyone else feel the same way? I definitely think the number crunching is a huge time waster...And for bio/orgo, you kinda know it or you dont...
anyone have any thoughts?

 

[blz]

I always had like 20 mins at the end of PS. It was freaking verbal that I always had trouble finishing in time.

 

[kidgorgeous]

blz,
how did you improve your timing in verbal? For me, I have like 4-5 min left after doing eight passages. If I have three additional min. I will be set. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Scubadoc]

yep i have the exact same problem...can't finish PS for the life of me. drives me insane. one thing i have tried which has helped cut down on the incredibly large numbers of questions i don't finish...someone else posted this actually...was to do all the discretes first...kind of gets you into physics/gen chem mode. granted, i am still not finishing but i'm completing more questions anyway...maybe this would work for you too?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

20 minutes...wow...??!! i wish i did. i finsih them all but pretty close to the wire

 

[drguy22]

i took 7 today and i ended 40 min early in the bio section....but i only got a 10 🙁 The verbal section was BRUTAL i got ALL the first passage questions wrong and most of the second too!!! but i still managed a 9 there....AHHH!!!! im gonna go nuts!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

join the rest of us!! 😱

edit: about freaken out, not the 40...obviously i didn't see you mention the 40 the first time or i would have reacted differently

 

[Chouster]

Just pray to the verbal Gods that we get an easy passage set on verbal... oh please please please

Oh and for speeding up in PS (you're not gonna like this answer) but I think the only way is if you've exposed yourself to a sh*tload of practice questions/passages will you start to see vague vague similarities in concepts between seemingly totally unrelated topics. Just practice as much as you can from now until next Saturday.

 

[blz]

blz,
how did you improve your timing in verbal? For me, I have like 4-5 min left after doing eight passages. If I have three additional min. I will be set. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks

I trained myself not to reread lines of text. I also didn't mark up the passage at all. That means no underlining or circlign text. I found a lot of my slowness was that I kept rereading sh1t over and over again and underlining/circling crap I never used.

 

[willthatsall]

I trained myself not to reread lines of text. I also didn't mark up the passage at all. That means no underlining or circlign text. I found a lot of my slowness was that I kept rereading sh1t over and over again and underlining/circling crap I never used.

I'm working on that same thing, especially the rereading part.

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

i try to fake read like slip over not touchey stuff as verbal is always the opinonating/theorrizing type questions i skip detail lines like " in the pre 1920s so and so ..." i just circle the persons last name incase i come about a detail or something
but im only a 10 as of 4r so maybe im not allowed to give advice

 

[LUBDUBB]

I took AAMC 7 today... got a 9 in PS... and that's including going over the time limit by 25 minutes!!!

What do I do?? How do I get it to within normal time? I'm thinking of ditching problem-solving practice this last week and concentrating on increasing speed on individual passages... does anybody have some advice??

When I was studying for the MCAT, I had heard of the "don't read the passage" technique for PS. This worked great for aamc 4r-6r BUT on the real deal, it just wouldn't work. Also, IMHO, the PS on AAMC exams are wayyy easier than the real deal, so don't be fooled.

It def depends on what kind of PS section you get...but I think the best advice is to try and solve the problems "conceptually" rather than numerically. PS is a lot about understanding the relationships in the equations between different variables. On the real thing, I don't remember doing a single calculation and I pulled an 11. Personally, I think there are a lot of questions that are designed to lure the test taker into "number crunching" and thereby wasting valuable time.

Another thing you might want to consider is doing the questions in the order you feel comfortable. For example, I went through and did all the independent ones first, the tackled the passages in order, skipping only those that seemed really difficult or required really in-depth analysis of the passage. I've heard of some people doing the area they are strongest in first...like do all the physics passages. I guess you really have to find what works for you.

Best of Luck,

~Lubdubb

 

[Scubadoc]

i try to fake read like slip over not touchey stuff as verbal is always the opinonating/theorrizing type questions i skip detail lines like " in the pre 1920s so and so ..." i just circle the persons last name incase i come about a detail or something
but im only a 10 as of 4r so maybe im not allowed to give advice

diesel!!! you changed your avatar! is that you? 🙂

 

[MDtoBe777]

i took 7 today and i ended 40 min early in the bio section....but i only got a 10 🙁 The verbal section was BRUTAL i got ALL the first passage questions wrong and most of the second too!!! but i still managed a 9 there....AHHH!!!! im gonna go nuts!

Me too (well not 40 min, but 20) ! I was so freakin pissed cuz I got a 10 on bio. I got an 11 on 6R. I think I may have rushed. I definitely should have gone back to that passage with the embryo dividing into 2 then into 4..blah blah...

🙁

 

[Csv321]

I took AAMC 7 today... got a 9 in PS... and that's including going over the time limit by 25 minutes!!!

What do I do?? How do I get it to within normal time? I'm thinking of ditching problem-solving practice this last week and concentrating on increasing speed on individual passages... does anybody have some advice??

I did AAMC 5R today and went over the PS section by 20 minutes and managed a 10. That was always my worse section...don't know what it is...

 

[Psycho Doctor]

if 10 is your worst section i wouldn't worry so much...just take your time and don't rush; it's obvious you can finish.

 

[Scubadoc]

if 10 is your worst section i wouldn't worry so much...just take your time and don't rush; it's obvious you can finish.

no doubt 👍

i wish i 10 was the lowest i was getting.... 🙁

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

RE AV:They both were /are

RE 10:Bah VR is my best section ..followed by PS then BS trailing behind

I am having anti sleep anxiety and I don?t know if I can pace myself at 8 am at kplan full length 5 so I should drag myself away...ok 10 more mins!
I have noticed when I am tired I drift between passages listlessly uninterested and waste at least a good 10 mins in VR just rereading random lines?by bio I am too pooped to know what?s what
BAH!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

from the sounds of prevous posts, scubadoc you're doing fine too. 👍

good luck!!

 

[smaroof]

well i never have a problem finished PS, i always finish right on time so i guess this is my advice:

I HIGHLY SUGGEST that if you're having time issues, that you use the ANSWER CHOICES to help you answer the questions. this can save you so much time esp with calculations. for example on one of the aamc tests there is a long calculation that you have to do but if you look at the answer choice first, you will realize that you would only have to figure out the number and NOT the exponent (10 to the __) so basically you have to calculate only half of the problem.

 

[Kazema]

well i never have a problem finished PS, i always finish right on time so i guess this is my advice:

I HIGHLY SUGGEST that if you're having time issues, that you use the ANSWER CHOICES to help you answer the questions. this can save you so much time esp with calculations. for example on one of the aamc tests there is a long calculation that you have to do but if you look at the answer choice first, you will realize that you would only have to figure out the number and NOT the exponent (10 to the __) so basically you have to calculate only half of the problem.

I agree. If you try to do the PS section like you'd approach a physics exam, you probably won't finish. Use everything they give you; info in the passage, the way the question is worded, and the answer choices to pick out the answer. If you can answer something without doing a long calculation, DON'T DO THE CALCULATION JUST TO CHECK YOUR ANSWER! Answer the question, make a mark on your test booklet next to that question, and move on. If you finish before time, then go back and do the calculation. When the answer choices are orders of magnitude apart, that's a clue that there's a short way to do the problem.

You should also skim the PS passages; they aren't like VR or even BS where you need a lot of info from the passage. Most of it is just telling you stuff you already know; just skim looking for key info: stuff you don't know, stuff related to specific experiments, and note the formulas they give you.

 

[Swack]

On the April MCAT the PS section was pretty #$%@ed up. PS is usually my best section and I always finish. I averaged 11-12s on AAMC 5R-7. However on the real thing, I had a really hard time finishing, I skipped 2 1/2 passages! 😱. I talked to some of my friends afterwards who had the same form and they all agreed PS was a monster. I still got a 10, even though I skipped like 15 questions, so it just shows you that the form was scaled.

Don't let any one passage bog you down, and for Christ's sake make sure you do all the free standing questions 😎.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

you got a 40 and you are going nuts??????????????

give me a FREAKING break!!

sorry i don't mean to sound like i don't care but i only got 2 hrs of sleep last night, will probably have to pull and all-nighter tonite and have never gotten a 40 on a firs ttie taking any test.

 

[ASDIC]

I just took AAMC 7 and got a 14 on PS with 20 min to spare. The reason why people run out of time in the PS is that they think too much on simple conceptual questions. Also, look at the answer choices, the power of 10 and units can help a lot to find the right answer. Some questions are strictly passage based, so make sure you thoroughly read the passage.

 

[acetylcoa]

I just took AAMC 7 and got a 14 on PS with 20 min to spare. The reason why people run out of time in the PS is that they think too much on simple conceptual questions. Also, look at the answer choices, the power of 10 and units can help a lot to find the right answer. Some questions are strictly passage based, so make sure you thoroughly read the passage.

i can't even get a 14 with all the time in the world.. 😡