Timing ... Going for 9 minutes to 7 minutes ???

[thomasfx10]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey Gang ... My timing is killing me and I want to know how people went from like 9 minutes to around 7 or so.

Did you triage and go for the easier questions, marked the hard, and then went back?

My problem is I lose track of time ... Do you think some type of timer would help?

It has been killing my practice exams and I am 3 weeks out until the real deal.

Thanks for any input...

 

[MDminded]

Hey Gang ... My timing is killing me and I want to know how people went from like 9 minutes to around 7 or so.

Did you triage and go for the easier questions, marked the hard, and then went back?

My problem is I lose track of time ... Do you think some type of timer would help?

It has been killing my practice exams and I am 3 weeks out until the real deal.

Thanks for any input...

My cell phone has a timer and a stopwatch. I use the timer so I can do each passage in <7 minutes. I don't take the time to triage - I just blow through each question. I read each question once quickly and then decide if it's one I need to come back to in the next 3 minutes or if it's one I can answer right now, and then I assess each answer choice.

Use a timer that beeps if you lose track of time. I have a good sense of time, so I know how much time has elapsed. Practice using it one passage at a time, and then do several passages at once (like sets of 2) timed at 14 minutes. There's a backwards counter that someone has posted a few times that you can use to help track elapsed time. Use that and make sure you finish by those time-points.

Someone else has posted that this is just MCAT verbal, so maybe you are looking too deep into answers than you need to, and that's where your time is lost. Try doing one passage, and be honest with yourself - are you taking too long to read the passage? Maybe you need to pick up the pace. Force yourself to read faster. Find a "read faster" book at the library.

 

[thomasfx10]

Thanks MDminded for your post. It is not just verbal I have a problem with, it is all BS, PS, VR.

I will try following your advice. It does seem like a mini-triage ... Look to see if you can answer the question quickly, if not, skip and then come back.

I used to do those for whole passages so I will even go down one further to the questions in the passage.

Do you have a Timer or Countdown App? I have an Iphone, so if you know of a good freeby let me know.

Thanks

 

[kehlsh]

For Bs and PS, I would make sure I know the content down solid before worrying about speed.