Since MCAT is a timed test, one of the most common issues that students have with the MCAT is time management. By the time they realize that there’s only five minutes left, panic kicks in and they start to answer the questions without thinking clearly. All of these could be avoided if you have good time management strategies. It would a shame to run out of time towards the end only to find out that some of the questions could be correctly answered in just a few seconds. Here are some pacing tips to keep you calm and walk through MCAT strategically!

• Time per question
  Most questions are passage-based; science sections have 10 passages and 9 for CARS. In the science sections, you will have ~ 1 minutes 35 seconds per question; for CARS, you will have ~1 minutes 40 seconds per question. Keep in mind that you need to allot the time for reading the passage as well. The following is the suggested amount of time you should spent for each passage including time reading the passage
  Sciences: 4 questions passage: 6.5 minutes
  5 questions passage: 8 minutes
  6 questions passage: 9.5 minutes
  CARS: 5 questions passage: 8.5 minutes
  6 questions passage: 10 minutes
  7 questions passage: 11.5 minutes

• Keep an eye on the timer
  Before you start the passage, note down how much time you will spend on the passage; you may write on the notepad provided the time you need to finish so you can keep your eyes on the timer as you work through the questions. When you are running out of time, make notes and mark the questions so you can come back to on them later you if you have time left.

• No guessing penalty
  There is no guessing penalty so do not leave any question blank!!! This might come in handy when you are running out of time, especially for CARS. To finish all 9 passages for CARS, you have ~10 minutes/passage. Some sources say people might have to randomly guess on at least one passage just to complete the entire CARS section. Even with a random guess, you still have a 25% chance of getting the questions right.
  
• Above mentioned strategies will only work if you PRACTICE, especially the ones that resemble the real MCAT. Remember the 3 Ps: Plan you study, Put that into action, and Practice!!!
  Jane