I haven't taken the real exam yet, but I think it goes by section.
1)You have an hour and 30 minutes for 100 questions composed of the "Natural Sciences" (Bio/Orgo/Gen Chem).
- What I usually do is fly through the bio/organic and give myself the most time possible on gen chem, which may require complex calculations on a few problems. The only biology problems that tend to slow me down are the ones on genetics.
2) When that section is over you have an hour to do the PAT section which has a total of 90 questions.
- My weak point is the pattern folding, so I always try to breeze through the keyholes, T/F/E problems, etc so I give myself the most time there. And yes, try your best to take only 5 minutes on the angle problems. I think of it as a good thing since I tend to "psych" myself out of the right answer. Go with your gut feeling and if you really want to come back and check it later mark it.
3) After a 15 minute break you're on the RC section.
- It's 3 passages with a total of 50 questions and you have an hour to do it all. I haven't had a time issue practicing yet, my strategy is read the topic sentence of each paragraph (maybe 2-3 sentences of the first/last paragraph) and jot down 2-5 words on what the paragraph is about. Use that as a reference if the question requires you to find something specific like treatment or symptoms.
4) Last is the QR section, you have 45 minutes for 40 problems..
- I don't think I've been able to solve all 40 problems in the time allowed yet (I have been using topscore). If I know a long calculation is required or I just have no clue what to do; I just guess an answer, mark, and move on. Complete the quick/easy ones then go back and deal with the rest if time allows.
