MCAT Timing Issue

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

AOT11

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Messages
117
Reaction score
0
After reviewing my last few AAMCs, I realized I knew how to do about 95% of the questions (for biological sciences and physical sciences). However, I always end up short on time and have to guess on about 5 questions. I'm not sure why I have this issue because for TBR, I would always finish their passages in 6-7 minutes.

My question is - for those of you that don't have a timing issue, what's your strategy? Do you skim the passages rather than reading them? Do you do the discretes last?

Members don't see this ad.
 
After reviewing my last few AAMCs, I realized I knew how to do about 95% of the questions (for biological sciences and physical sciences). However, I always end up short on time and have to guess on about 5 questions. I'm not sure why I have this issue because for TBR, I would always finish their passages in 6-7 minutes.

My question is - for those of you that don't have a timing issue, what's your strategy? Do you skim the passages rather than reading them? Do you do the discretes last?

I read the passages but I may not fully understand everything they are saying. Then i answer q's... referring back if I need to. I just do the questions in whatever order they are given. I would say try and finish the test way before the time is over and then review if you have time left (I had ~10 min left for physics & 15 for bio on AAMC, but on the actual, it was ~3 mins for both. Just for reference, on TBR I finished the ch. tests in ~ 52 min (1min/q)).
I suspect you're spending too much time reading and looking at specifics. Just go through passage, answer q's while looking at passage for reference.
Good luck :xf:
 
I find that I skimmed most passages. This resulted in me having 25 extra minutes on the PS and a whopping 40 minutes for the BS when I took the real thing. VR is just another kind of beast and I regrettably didn't take the time to really figure it out. Like above, I skimmed it just enough that I was familiar with the topic, what kinds of limitations of detail I have and how the passage is laid out so I can quickly refer back.

If I realized I would get hung up on a question or passage (that is, I had no idea how to approach it or I knew it was going to be a pain in the butt), I allotted myself only a certain amount of time to agonize over it, or I would basically skim through it to gain a sense for the questions so I could be processing it in the back of my mind. If you don't get it on a first go, move on to greener pastures. Otherwise, all you're going to do is waste time and stress yourself out even more banging your head against a wall, so to speak. But this one is pretty luck-based, as you might end up in a similar situation on the very next passage.

Finally, much of timing comes down to luck - are you familiar or comfortable with the topic? Is the passage presented or written in a way that plays to your strengths or weaknesses? Are you focused? And so forth. As annoying as it is, a good chunk of your test performance can come down to intangibles, and that's absolutely terrifying sometimes. Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect in this case, but it does make you feel more comfortable with everything.
 
Top