How do you manage your time in each section of the MCAt?

[justhanging]

Any strategies that you may want to share? Do you just go by feel or do you have certain check points like I wanna be in question 20 by 40:00. Maybe you know that you can only spend a certain amount of time for each passage. Share your time management strategies for each section. As for me am having difficulties with time management partly because I don't like the 'count down' clock and the fact that each section doesn't start with question one (i know its really annoying). I like to be very structured when it comes to this and am having trouble.

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[startoverat40]

in PS and BS i do all the discretes first, and I aim for doing them (13 questions) in 10 minutes. that leaves 60 minutes for the passages, at about 8 minutes each.

in VR i just try to read as fast as I can while getting the jist of the passage (about 4 to 5 minutes), and finish the questions for about 8 minutes total per passage. If i hit a passage that's very difficult to read, i will skip it and come back to it at the end.

 

[Cosmic]

Any strategies that you may want to share? Do you just go by feel or do you have certain check points like I wanna be in question 20 by 40:00. Maybe you know that you can only spend a certain amount of time for each passage. Share your time management strategies for each section. As for me am having difficulties with time management partly because I don't like the 'count down' clock and the fact that each section doesn't start with question one (i know its really annoying). I like to be very structured when it comes to this and am having trouble.

Here's your break-down:

Physical Sciences: 52 Questions - 70 minutes
Verbal Reasoning: 40 Questions - 60 minutes
Biological Sciences: 52 Questions - 70 minutes
Writing Sample: 2 thirty-minute essays

For the sciences, the general rule of thumb is: 2 minutes per passage, 1 minute per question. With 7 Passages and 52 Questions, this gives you exactly 66 minutes and a 4 minute buffer period if extra time is needed.

For verbal reasoning, the general rule is to spend 2 1/2 minutes reading the passage and 1 minute per question. With 7 Passages and 40 Questions, this gives you exactly 57 minutes 30 seconds and an additional 2 minutes 30 seconds if extra time is needed.

 

[PeterPesto]

I mapped out the time constraints on my scratch paper before each section. When I finished a passage, I would cross it off to ensure I finished on time.

It is absolutely imperative that you finish each section in your practice tests with time to spare, because the MCAT passages tend to be slightly longer and more dense than AAMC tests.

For instance:

Discretes: 70-57 min
Passage I: 57 - 49 min
Passage II: 49-41 min
Passage III: 41-32 min
Passage IV: 32-24 min
Passage V: 24-16 min
Passage VI: 16-8 min
Passage VII: 8-0 min

After I completed each passage, I crossed it off to make sure I was keeping pace. Make sure you are finishing on time: there is no excuse for not finishing.

 

[justhanging]

I mapped out the time constraints on my scratch paper before each section. When I finished a passage, I would cross it off to ensure I finished on time.

It is absolutely imperative that you finish each section in your practice tests with time to spare, because the MCAT passages tend to be slightly longer and more dense than AAMC tests.

For instance:

Discretes: 70-57 min
Passage I: 57 - 49 min
Passage II: 49-41 min
Passage III: 41-32 min
Passage IV: 32-24 min
Passage V: 24-16 min
Passage VI: 16-8 min
Passage VII: 8-0 min

After I completed each passage, I crossed it off to make sure I was keeping pace. Make sure you are finishing on time: there is no excuse for not finishing.

But some passages are longer and have more questions than others so you just can't give them the same amount of time.

 

[NickNaylor]

Some of these schemes to get through the test seem a little silly. I just went through the test in order? 😕

Do what works best for you. Try out different strategies when you do your FLs.

 

[Etorphine]

But some passages are longer and have more questions than others so you just can't give them the same amount of time.

to an extent. I think this is only partially true for the sciences (more significant in VR), and having a rigid time line outweighs a subjectively choosing how much time each passage should get. What happens when you end up spending 11 minutes on a tough passage, and now only have 5 minutes for another? Each strategy has its benefits.

PS. I read this journal article about how people get progressively worse at telling the passage of time past a few seconds. IE you can very accurately tell .50 seconds from 1 second, 2 second from 4 seconds, but most people are pretty bad when it gets into the minute timescale. Sure, 5 minutes is very easily differentiated from 10, but what about 8 from 10? Those two unaccounted minutes could end up costing you. A rigid time line beats this.

 

[Rabolisk]

For the sciences, especially BS, you should know the material well enough that you are finishing with 10~25 min left. There is usually one passage or a few questions that you can use this time to go over. Unless you're a particularly slow test-taker, you should be doing this well if you hope to score well.

 

[Alejandro]

imo, i thought looking at the clock was the worse thing you could possibly do for the mcat. if you've practice long enough with all of the aamc tests, and everything else, you'll have a rhythmn established by then-how to pace yourself. otherwise, i'd say you weren't studying that well.

i noticed earlier in my practice runs, i'd be lookinga tthe clock, but it just made me distracted, thinking about how fast or slow i'm going. that just waste time, and lost concentration. just think about making a rhythm, so you don't have to look at the clock so much, or think about it.

believe in yourself. use the force. (ok, jk on the latter lol)

 

[ducdx89]

in PS and BS i do all the discretes first, and I aim for doing them (13 questions) in 10 minutes. that leaves 60 minutes for the passages, at about 8 minutes each.

in VR i just try to read as fast as I can while getting the jist of the passage (about 4 to 5 minutes), and finish the questions for about 8 minutes total per passage. If i hit a passage that's very difficult to read, i will skip it and come back to it at the end.

yes..thanks you very much..🙂