My super secrete trick for the MCAT

[Entirecropslost]

Ok this is probably no big deal to you guys, but I thought I'd share something that was a HUGE help for me, that I've never seen anyone else do. I took the MCAT in Aug and did well, and I am very time oriented, and timing is HUGE on the MCAT, it can make or break you and can play a factor when you undertake the stressful real thing. My tip is I used a digital watch and everytime I came to a new passage I would hit the 'lap' button that most watches have. That way it would keep a running time, and tell you how long you had been on that particular passage. Which for me is infintly valuable b/c that way you can keep pace on every single passage and know when your taking too long. One problem though is you have to find one that doesn't beep at all b/c that's not allowed, Hope this helps

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[RAD11]

Thanks....good tip but wasn't it more distracting hitting the "lap" button?

 

[Entirecropslost]

yea i was about to say for some ppl it would just be annoying, but personally I just like to be 100% on top of how long i'm taking, and it only takes half a second to press the button and you don't have to take your eyes off the page.

 

[AWhitehair]

Did you have a second watch to keep track of how much time you had left too? Or did you just use the wall clock for that?

 

[RAD11]

What I've been doing is not paying attention to the time so much. I used to freak myself out and get really disappointed that I was not finishing. But the less I paid attention to the time, the more I DO finish on time...go figure. I always used to panic, focused more on the timing, and lose my concentration. But now I just glance at my watch at least once in the middle....and give myself a little pep talk. I think I'm starting to get that feeling if I'm almost out of time.

 

[AWhitehair]

What I've been doing is not paying attention to the time so much. I used to freak myself out and get really disappointed that I was not finishing. But the less I paid attention to the time, the more I DO finish on time...go figure. I always used to panic, focused more on the timing, and lose my concentration. But now I just glance at my watch at least once in the middle....and give myself a little pep talk. I think I'm starting to get that feeling if I'm almost out of time.

That's great Rad, I hope I get this since of intuition soon. hehe

 

[Entirecropslost]

Did you have a second watch to keep track of how much time you had left too? Or did you just use the wall clock for that?

yea that's the great thing the watch keeps track of both the accumulating time and the time on that passage. So when your on passage 5 and halfway through it, it will say 3 minutes (how long you've been on that passage), but it also says like 55 minutes (how long you've been taking the test).

 

[StrikeFreedom]

I just hope your watch doesnt beep when you press lap. I havent found a watch that doesnt beep at all, then again I buy cheap watches.

The first beep when you start the timer is normally cool, but a beep every few minutes.. not cool

 

[BXP]

Careful with this though. A lot of strict exam sites will confiscate your DIGITAL watch for the duration of the test because they are afraid you might have a calculator function on it (even if it obviously doesn't...)

But lenient places will let you go with lots of stuff I'm sure. But you never know who is gonna be proctoring, so I wouldn't rely on this tactic. Sorry

 

[Entirecropslost]

You ARE allowed to have a digital watch. I called AMCAS they "prefer' non-digital, but u can have a digital. And I said up there that u have to find one that doesn't beep, mine didn't, and usually u can tinker w/ them to get rid of it.

 

[BXP]

You ARE allowed to have a digital watch. I called AMCAS they "prefer' non-digital, but u can have a digital. And I said up there that u have to find one that doesn't beep, mine didn't, and usually u can tinker w/ them to get rid of it.

I don't care what AMCAS says, site administrators are neurotic people who DON'T work for AMCAS, they work for the school that you are taking the exam at. And most of them are more strict than they need to be. Are you going to argue with them the day of the test to go call up AMCAS? So once again, DON'T rely on a digital watch.

 

[Entirecropslost]

I might bring a backup watch, but if they argue with u why don't you just show them the piece of ppr AAMC sent u with your admissions ticket. It explicitly says digital watches are OK. Tons of ppl had them at my test site

 

[Beau Geste]

What on earth could you possible secrete for the MCAT?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

[bluenumber6]

Ok this is probably no big deal to you guys, but I thought I'd share something that was a HUGE help for me, that I've never seen anyone else do. I took the MCAT in Aug and did well, and I am very time oriented, and timing is HUGE on the MCAT, it can make or break you and can play a factor when you undertake the stressful real thing. My tip is I used a digital watch and everytime I came to a new passage I would hit the 'lap' button that most watches have. That way it would keep a running time, and tell you how long you had been on that particular passage. Which for me is infintly valuable b/c that way you can keep pace on every single passage and know when your taking too long. One problem though is you have to find one that doesn't beep at all b/c that's not allowed, Hope this helps

Well ive taken several myself so far and im pretty use to my timing. i can now instinctively know if im taking too long on a passage or not

 

[jmed6182]

ok...i just got the silent timer and this thing rocks...used it today for the first time and had the best timing ive ever had...only like 25$ too

 

[ahumdinger]

yeah, guys, DON'T bring a beeping watch to test day, it WILL be confiscated. If you use digital, you have to disable the beep function. For those analog users, just reset your watch to noon at the beginning of each section to help you keep track of time.