I was curious if there was anyone else using these? I took the first one last night at a busy starbucks (to begin to aclimate myself to the "be prepared for anything" test climate) and I got rocked. I scored a 5!! :scared:. Its okay though because I knew verbal was going to be the hardest. I was curious if anyone else using these tests could post their scores and or advice (I know there was a thread a while back, but that was for the April exam and I'm in need of encouragment and advice from the august takers. Thanks

I was curious if there was anyone else using these? I took the first one last night at a busy starbucks (to begin to aclimate myself to the "be prepared for anything" test climate) and I got rocked. I scored a 5!! :scared:. Its okay though because I knew verbal was going to be the hardest. I was curious if anyone else using these tests could post their scores and or advice (I know there was a thread a while back, but that was for the April exam and I'm in need of encouragment and advice from the august takers. Thanks

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10 !
EK3: 9 (booo..)

I've taken all 3 in a relatively quiet environment (kitchen table, with people coming and going every once in awhile). I'll probably try to take my next one in a noisier spot.

lol my scores are freaken me out!

EK1 -4
EK2- 5
EK3- 5 (and a half?)
:meanie:

lol my scores are freaken me out!

EK1 -4
EK2- 5
EK3- 5 (and a half?)
:meanie:

Let low scores be an additional motivating component to do well on the MCAT. Personally, I got a 4,6,5, and finally a 9 on the 4th EK verbal exam. I can guarantee you that your score will keep improving. I'm still working hard on verbal too. Best of luck to all of you.

Let low scores be an additional motivating component to do well on the MCAT. Personally, I got a 4,6,5, and finally a 9 on the 4th EK verbal exam. I can guarantee you that your score will keep improving. I'm still working hard on verbal too. Best of luck to all of you.

8, 8, 10

hopefully it'll continue to improve...

Yeah, EK verbal is the way to go

I got something like:
8
9
9
9
9
10
12 (52/60, some damn lucky guesses)
9

Overall, I would say I recieved a 1 point improvement.

Most people from the last MCAT cycle were not scoring very highly on these, and the concensus was that you can probably add a point or two to your score to get a better idea of what you'd score on the actual MCAT. I personally was scoring 8s to start with, but was getting consistant 11s near the end. We'll see how accurate it is come Thursday ;)

Do you guys have enough time to finish all passages? i find that I always miss 2 passages and lose 10 marks right off the bat. arrghh!

Do you guys have enough time to finish all passages? i find that I always miss 2 passages and lose 10 marks right off the bat. arrghh!

yeah i'm normally done with 5-10 minutes left, which i really should try to improve. i know that i'm speeding through a few of the questions, without careful enough consideration. are you looking back at the passages too much? are you re-reading paragraphs?



btw, you wouldn't happen to be from winnipeg, eh?

btw, you wouldn't happen to be from winnipeg, eh?

yea, i go back to the passage quite a lot! i can't seem to keep all the details in my head even though EK says not to.

lol yea i go to uofm in winnipeg. are you from there too? ehhhh??

I have done 3 30-minute exams from total study package. I will be purchasing the 101 passages soon. My scores, in sequential order, were 5, 6, 7. I'm hoping to keep this trend going. I was wondering, from anyone that has used EK verbal in the past, how many tests it usually will take before improving significantly?

yea, i go back to the passage quite a lot! i can't seem to keep all the details in my head even though EK says not to.

EK says to take 15 - 20 seconds after you finish the passage to gather a focused main idea. If you do this, you should be able to figure out what answer they are looking for without worrying about details.

Something that has slowly helped me: After you figure out the main idea for the passage, hardly even worry about what the question is asking. Solely try to locate the answer choice that is most pertinent to your main idea. A lot of times details and the way the question is worded are made purposely to confuse the ***t out of you.

yea, i go back to the passage quite a lot! i can't seem to keep all the details in my head even though EK says not to.

lol yea i go to uofm in winnipeg. are you from there too? ehhhh??

yup. uofm indeed. how dare you poke fun at my canadian-ness!

I have done 3 30-minute exams from total study package. I will be purchasing the 101 passages soon. My scores, in sequential order, were 5, 6, 7. I'm hoping to keep this trend going. I was wondering, from anyone that has used EK verbal in the past, how many tests it usually will take before improving significantly?

I've done the physics and some of the Biology in the EK study package. I've been getting scores that are similar to that. It makes me feel that I am learning squat even after reading the lectures multiple times :thumbdown

blank guy.. I was getting real discouraged with the verbal numbers, but if you look at a real MCAT, it is easier than EK. As the person above says, the consensus for EK is to add 1 or 2 points. So if you are scoring the same as me, thats like 7, 8, 9 on the first three tries. I don't know when you are taking it though. My GPA is pretty low. I'm taking it April 2006. I've just been messing around so early bc I probably need a 33 - 34 to consider med school.

Has anyone else been getting real discouraged on all of EK's tests? Not just verbal? Should we give all of the 30-minute tests a 1 or 2 point curve?

blank guy.. I was getting real discouraged with the verbal numbers, but if you look at a real MCAT, it is easier than EK. As the person above says, the consensus for EK is to add 1 or 2 points. So if you are scoring the same as me, thats like 7, 8, 9 on the first three tries. I don't know when you are taking it though. My GPA is pretty low. I'm taking it April 2006. I've just been messing around so early bc I probably need a 33 - 34 to consider med school.

Has anyone else been getting real discouraged on all of EK's tests? Not just verbal? Should we give all of the 30-minute tests a 1 or 2 point curve?

meh, some of the tests are oh so hard while some are quite a bit easier. like, ch.1 of chem and bio i scored a 12, while ch.2 of physics i scored a 6 and ch.1 of ochem i scored a 7. some of those passages, i swear to god, are impossible to do.

Exam Krackers really boosted my score in all areas. I was scoring 5s at first on the EKVerbal 101 tests. By the end of my studying for April, I was making 10s on them.
Just got my April MCAT scores tonight and received an 11 in Verbal....proof that EK is great. I am positive that score would have gone up even more with just another week or two of EK.

Goodluck.

I think my first EK test I got a 6 or 7. Then I consistently got 8's for the rest of them while my Kaplan's I got 10's. The real thing, I got a 10, so don't sweat it too much with EK.

I think my first EK test I got a 6 or 7. Then I consistently got 8's for the rest of them while my Kaplan's I got 10's. The real thing, I got a 10, so don't sweat it too much with EK.


Good there is nothing wrong with me. However I am still struggling with how to learn the material. Some of the questions in the 30 minute exams seem to come from left field. I reread some of the Physics lectures and retook the 30 minute tests and I was getting 10s and 11s on them. Still I am not counting on the fact that EK is harder than the actual MCAT and hence my actual score will be 1 or 2 points higher.

I think EK is a better predictor of Verbal scores then TPR.

I got a 6 on Verbal which was what I got on all my Verbal tests that I did do from EK 101 book (about 5 of them).

My TPR scores were a little bit higher, 8-10. That was the only thing I was slightly dissappointed in, but not really crying over it. Read the Official score forum and you'll understand.

I recommend that you stick with EK 101 for verbal and put forth your effort into improving with their techniques. It will help tremendously.

I think EK is a better predictor of Verbal scores then TPR.

I got a 6 on Verbal which was what I got on all my Verbal tests that I did do from EK 101 book (about 5 of them).

My TPR scores were a little bit higher, 8-10. That was the only thing I was slightly dissappointed in, but not really crying over it. Read the Official score forum and you'll understand.

I recommend that you stick with EK 101 for verbal and put forth your effort into improving with their techniques. It will help tremendously.

I still haven't settled down on the daily study routine. Do you guys suggest going over 2 lectures a day(excluding verbal)? What was your daily study routine?

I still haven't settled down on the daily study routine. Do you guys suggest going over 2 lectures a day(excluding verbal)? What was your daily study routine?


Verbal should be done every night. That is one of the things I didn't do, which I regret. At least 30 minutes a night. The thing for me was that I had classes and school stuff, so there were some periods where I didn't even study for a week at all.

Since it is summer, i suggest you buck down and do verbal every night for at least 30 minutes (3 passages roughly).

For the other stuff, I studied over a period of 2 months and then did about a month and a half's worth of practice, but obviously you have only 10 weeks left, so I suggest studying 30 hr's per week hard core and doing practice problems etc.

What are you using to study?? If I know this, I can better advise you how to approach your study schedule.

I have done 3 30-minute exams from total study package. I will be purchasing the 101 passages soon. My scores, in sequential order, were 5, 6, 7. I'm hoping to keep this trend going. I was wondering, from anyone that has used EK verbal in the past, how many tests it usually will take before improving significantly?

Where is the score conversion for the 30 minute exams

Where is the score conversion for the 30 minute exams
At the end, after the answer key to the last chapter usually.

I agree with some of the above posters. The EK 30 minute exams for physics are very hard, at least in my opinion. But, i think they are good because they teach you how to think, and how to make good guesses on MCAT questions, that you don't know anything about.

Verbal should be done every night. That is one of the things I didn't do, which I regret. At least 30 minutes a night. The thing for me was that I had classes and school stuff, so there were some periods where I didn't even study for a week at all.

Since it is summer, i suggest you buck down and do verbal every night for at least 30 minutes (3 passages roughly).

For the other stuff, I studied over a period of 2 months and then did about a month and a half's worth of practice, but obviously you have only 10 weeks left, so I suggest studying 30 hr's per week hard core and doing practice problems etc.

What are you using to study?? If I know this, I can better advise you how to approach your study schedule.

I will squeeze the verbal section at the beginning of my studying that way it ensures it gets done. I began to read up on the verbal book it seems that it is just more than a verbal section it's actually the mode the MCAT operates, reading comprehension.

I agree with some of the above posters. The EK 30 minute exams for physics are very hard, at least in my opinion. But, i think they are good because they teach you how to think, and how to make good guesses on MCAT questions, that you don't know anything about.


Yeah, and some of the questions ask on stuff that they label as "background" material in italics. Anyways I am going to review the physics book again. Circuits, magnetism, current, optics :scared:

Hi All,

Verbal was by far my most difficult section since I majored in the sciences and couldn't bring myself to think like that MCAT people for some of those wild questions. The EK 101 book was excellent preparation in building up the endurance to take the thing, but I don't know how much it really helped my score. I was getting 8's and 9's for the first few, a fluke 12, and then 10's and 11's. I ended up with a 10 on the actual MCAT this past April so all-in-all, the book was fairly accurate.

Good luck to everyone going through this ordeal. Just stay focused and don't let it overwhelm you!

I had all of the EK stuff incl. the workbooks, and I felt that they were quite good. I would even say excellent.

My one gripe was with the verbal reasoning though. Their approach is definitely the right way of doing it in that they teach you to be a better reader and build up that working memory buffer so that you retain the passage on the first pass. However, speaking as someone with weak reading skill, I felt that I would need way more than 3 months to fundamentally change the way I read to fit with EK methodology. Thus I adopted TPR tactics and it seemed to work for the most part.

Now re: the workbook, I felt that the material was at times much more accessible and readable than the content typically found on Kaplan, TPR, or AMCAS stuff and that was good at first in helping me to practice. Those of you who were able to slog their way to the passage about pimping and prostitution will probably agree when I say that the material is not always formal :)
However, it is also this same content that threw me off. When I went to take 6R, I got creamed on the VR section where I was getting 10s and 11s on EK. The 6R is when I got my first taste of the 7 or 8 question passages that are sprinkled in the VR section and that is something EK doesnt really represent very well. After reading a long passage about some topic youre totally disinterested in and then doing painful questions that cause you to question whether or not you understood the main idea, it's hard to stay focused and do things the EK way.

This is more a criticism of myself for not having started earlier and doing things correctly with the EK way, but for those of you looking at August who are starting just now, the EK way might require more time.

I was curious if there was anyone else using these? I took the first one last night at a busy starbucks (to begin to aclimate myself to the "be prepared for anything" test climate) and I got rocked. I scored a 5!! :scared:. Its okay though because I knew verbal was going to be the hardest. I was curious if anyone else using these tests could post their scores and or advice (I know there was a thread a while back, but that was for the April exam and I'm in need of encouragment and advice from the august takers. Thanks

EK1: 10
EK2: 12

Many of the questions/answers in EK's 101 verbal passages are highly suspect. The entire line of EK prep. materials seems like it could have used at least ONE thorough proofreading by someone besides the original author(s). I wouldn't put too much stock into EK's approximated scores unless you are scoring below 8 consistently. If on the other hand, you're making 14s and 15s on all of the passages, I suggest that you have your head examined.

The biology, physics, and chemistry books, however, are superior to those by Kaplan and TPR based solely on their presentation (i.e. color), despite numerous factual inaccuracies.

EK1: 10
EK2: 12

Many of the questions/answers in EK's 101 verbal passages are highly suspect. The entire line of EK prep. materials seems like it could have used at least ONE thorough proofreading by someone besides the original author(s). I wouldn't put too much stock into EK's approximated scores unless you are scoring below 8 consistently. If on the other hand, you're making 14s and 15s on all of the passages, I suggest that you have your head examined.

The biology, physics, and chemistry books, however, are superior to those by Kaplan and TPR based solely on their presentation (i.e. color), despite numerous factual inaccuracies.


I disagree. If you are getting 14's and 15's, it probably means that you are strong in the verbal.

I've taken this test twice now. From experience, it definitely has shown me that both me and my peers both here at USF and here on SDN, have scored within the ranges of the scores of their practice materials of use. Only 1 out of every 10 will fall out of range from their scores. Most will be somewhere in between.

Many on here used to be like that is the hardest test, blah, blah, blah, blah.... and that they didn't think they could score within the range of their diags. Sure enough, the proof was seen at 10 pm Wednesday nights and the days following, when people posted their scores here. Almost every single person, myself included, fell within the range of practice.

So I have to disagree with what you say.

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10 !
EK3: 9 (booo..)

I've taken all 3 in a relatively quiet environment (kitchen table, with people coming and going every once in awhile). I'll probably try to take my next one in a noisier spot.

EK4: 9 (Did anybody else find the 1st passage on Conflict Resolution in Schools to be the hardest on this test? I lost a good 4 questions on that passage. :thumbdown Otherwise, I would've made a 10)

EK4: 9 (Did anybody else find the 1st passage on Conflict Resolution in Schools to be the hardest on this test? I lost a good 4 questions on that passage. :thumbdown Otherwise, I would've made a 10)

i thought the rembrandt one was especially difficult. only got 4 right on that one... ended up with an 11 on the test though. i'm really beginning to see the kinds of traps that mcat uses, hopefully i can avoid them for next time.

I had all of the EK stuff incl. the workbooks, and I felt that they were quite good. I would even say excellent.

My one gripe was with the verbal reasoning though. Their approach is definitely the right way of doing it in that they teach you to be a better reader and build up that working memory buffer so that you retain the passage on the first pass. However, speaking as someone with weak reading skill, I felt that I would need way more than 3 months to fundamentally change the way I read to fit with EK methodology. Thus I adopted TPR tactics and it seemed to work for the most part.

Now re: the workbook, I felt that the material was at times much more accessible and readable than the content typically found on Kaplan, TPR, or AMCAS stuff and that was good at first in helping me to practice. Those of you who were able to slog their way to the passage about pimping and prostitution will probably agree when I say that the material is not always formal :)
However, it is also this same content that threw me off. When I went to take 6R, I got creamed on the VR section where I was getting 10s and 11s on EK. The 6R is when I got my first taste of the 7 or 8 question passages that are sprinkled in the VR section and that is something EK doesnt really represent very well. After reading a long passage about some topic youre totally disinterested in and then doing painful questions that cause you to question whether or not you understood the main idea, it's hard to stay focused and do things the EK way.

This is more a criticism of myself for not having started earlier and doing things correctly with the EK way, but for those of you looking at August who are starting just now, the EK way might require more time.


What is the TPR method?
Exam 1: 6 :thumbdown

I agree with Mbkcd- some of the questions are definitely suspect. A few questions I dont think I'd ever see on the real mcat, and sometimes their reasoning behind selecting a particular answer is way too convoluted (even for the mcat :) ). Also, a few of the passages are way too simple in their prose/vocab compared to even the easy passages I've seen on the kaplan/aamc tests. I think the kaplan passages are closer to the real mcat compared to the EK, but its practice nonetheless, so it cant be too bad. Just dont put too much into your EK scores.

I must be a bit more behind than most people. Just finished 1 and 2, and got 8's on both of them.

My book has some pages in the wrong way: Pages between 28 and 41 are mixed up, with about half of them out of order. 28-36 are after 37-41. It was really confusing because I read a passage, and answered the one question that was on the same page as the passage, and then the next question had a quote with a line reference, and I went back to the passage and couldn't find that line anywhere. Very unnerving. I should request a refund from Barnes and Noble. :mad:

The practice is good, though.

I did 8-9 of the EK verbal exams when I was studying verbal for the April exam. By the last one's I was consistently getting around a 10. When taking the exam I freaked out during the verbal section- it's never happened before and it totally threw me off. After finishing, I knew I had ruined my verbal score- I was expecting a 7 or 8. Got the test back and had received a 10.

Long story short, using the EK verbal prep probably gave a 2 point boost on verbal, which is a life saver since I totally lost my cool during the verbal on testing day. You get used to predicting your EK scores, and on the real test you'll probably feel like you did worse than you actually did, because the EK tests are so much harder.

EK1: 6 :thumbdown
EK2: 6 +pity+

A little bit easier reading the second time though.

#1 - 6/22 - 8
#2 - 6/27 - 10
#3 - 6/29 - 12 <-- This is looking good! :)
#4 - 7/4 - 10
#5 - 7/8 - 9
#6 - 7/15 - 11

I wonder if I'm just getting lucky though...

I'm going to try to do one every 3-7 days if my schedule works out. Best of luck to all of you.

Now I'm really getting scared. I am getting one the worst scores on this board :scared:

Now I'm really getting scared. I am getting one the worst scores on this board :scared:

No worries blankguy, im sure youll improve your scores if you keep practicing. I took the april mcat and got a 7 in verbal and im studying for the august one now. I took the first two EK test in the verbal book and got a 7 and 6, respectively. Im sure my score will rise if i keep at it. The Ek verbal seems a bit harder than the mcat verbal.

EK 1-4
EK 2-4
EK 3-5
EK 4-6
EK 5-8

only 6 more tests left :confused:

keep given'r. at the very least, your scores reflect an upward trend.

EK 1-4
EK 2-4
EK 3-5
EK 4-6
EK 5-8

only 6 more tests left :confused:


Hopefully if you can keep increasing and see a trend of increasing patterns that will help you. Have you taken any AAMC tests??? After you finish the Verbal book and finish your science reviews, take some of the AAMC MCAT tests and work on improving whatever you are getting wrong on there, while looking at the trends. you will see a range develop in your practice scores that will determine the probability of near where your score will be on the test day.

I guess I should be concentrating on seeing whether passages are easier reads in each successive tests than getting the answers right on since some of the choices in the questions are awfully tricky to figure out what the hell they mean.

EK1: 10
EK2: 10

Any hope these will go up or have I already hit my plateu before I've really begun?

EK1: 10
EK2: 10

Any hope these will go up or have I already hit my plateu before I've really begun?

I'd say just keep on practicing, and you'll be fine. Even if your scores don't improve, scoring 10s consistently on EK tests should put you in a great position to score 10+ on AAMC Verbal sections.

I got a 9 on the April exam and now my first 101 Verbal Score was a 6! WTF?!?! :confused:

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10 !
EK3: 9 (booo..)
EK4: 9


EK5: 11!!!!

Absolutely ecstatic, because I tried a new strategy for this one and it definetly worked. I never listened to the people on here who advised to simply "read the passage and answer the damn questions". I always thought there was some magical trick and I'd paraphrase, underline like crazy, circle every name, etc.. This time I just said "f*ck it, just sit down, read the passages, and answer the questions". No underlining, no circling of keywords, no writing in the margins after each paragraph. This is the first time I've gotten an 11 in Verbal after studying for this test for 2 years. Last year, on the actual MCAT I got a 6. For those struggling, try this method. It might help :thumbup:

sensesfail I also stopped using all advice and decided to just read the passage normally for understanding and then answer the questions. all the circling, mapping the passage, underlining crap just throws me off. i've been inconsistent but still doing decent- goal is to get up in 13-14 range.

1- 11
2- 9
3- 12
4- 10
5-12

i hit a 10 from 7s by not rushing myself and just doing the questions and not looking at the watch. . I think i was freaking out by the 9 min a passage rule
Oh but i did only have 6 minutes for the last passage, but i only missed one on it. I dont do the paraphrase thing, i just make a map in my head, just where things are and what not. I circle opinionated words and key words, but thats all the writing i like to do.

I'm gonna try the just answer questions without circling anything or whatnot today.
The hardest thing about EK101 is figuring out what the damn question is asking.

ek1-7
ek2-6
ek3-8 - i missed 5 questions about minor details on the second to last passage about the romans. Some rowdy kids came into the library and it threw off my concentration.

I take the next one tomorrow so hopefully i can see some improvement

EK 1: 9

A nice starting place I think; my strategy pretty much is to just read the first time for the main idea and then go back to the passage as needed to answer all the questions.

EK 1 = 7.

I'm going to start doing 3-4 test a week, and hopefully get this score to improve. I got a freaking 4 on my TPR diag #2 which is freaking me out a little bit, but I have 5 more diags to go.

I'm reading the EK verbal strategies book which has some real good tips, but like other users have said abovek, reading it and just going straight to the questions and answering them wihtout all this stupid techniques sounds like something worth trying. Hopefully I can get this into a double digit score, you think its possible with a month left??

EK 1 = 7.

I'm going to start doing 3-4 test a week, and hopefully get this score to improve. I got a freaking 4 on my TPR diag #2 which is freaking me out a little bit, but I have 5 more diags to go.

I'm reading the EK verbal strategies book which has some real good tips, but like other users have said abovek, reading it and just going straight to the questions and answering them wihtout all this stupid techniques sounds like something worth trying. Hopefully I can get this into a double digit score, you think its possible with a month left??

Honestly, I think it'll be pretty tough. It's certainly an uphill climb but it's possible. Try the "no-bullsh*t" strategy, as I like to call it. Just read the passage straight through, circle or star a few words only, and just answer the questions based on what you just read. Also, don't look at your watch too much. I actually invert my wristwatch so I can't see it while actually doing the passages and obly glance at it every 3 or 4 passages. Looking at my watch after every passage just made me paranoid about time and I'd rush/lose focus. If you have trouble finishing all 9 passages, learning to read faster will take some time. That's probably the toughest area to improve on in a month's time. Just keep on practicing is all I can say.

strange thing is that when i look at my watch, i am always able to finish on time but when i don't look at my watch i end up missing 2 passages. sad thing is that accuracy dies when i look at the watch cuz i get so nervous!

Honestly, I think it'll be pretty tough. It's certainly an uphill climb but it's possible. Try the "no-bullsh*t" strategy, as I like to call it. Just read the passage straight through, circle or star a few words only, and just answer the questions based on what you just read. Also, don't look at your watch too much. I actually invert my wristwatch so I can't see it while actually doing the passages and obly glance at it every 3 or 4 passages. Looking at my watch after every passage just made me paranoid about time and I'd rush/lose focus. If you have trouble finishing all 9 passages, learning to read faster will take some time. That's probably the toughest area to improve on in a month's time. Just keep on practicing is all I can say.


You know what you said above about trying all these techniques to realize they were stupid.........

That's what turkeyman said too. He got an 11 on Verbal by doing what EK people said to do as well.

i just used the Ek method, but i looked back for detail questions b/c i just cant retain all the info. I hit a 10 but with like 7 min left over this time. So its quicker but hasnt improved my score, a 10 is damn good though for me =)

I can't seem to get through the passages about econ and government... any suggestions? I tend to miss the most on these passages... I know my score will jump if I can learn how to grasp the main idea from these passages better.

I can't seem to get through the passages about econ and government... any suggestions? I tend to miss the most on these passages... I know my score will jump if I can learn how to grasp the main idea from these passages better.

Yeah, me too. Especially the economic ones about investments, financing, accounting, etc... I'm not familiar with the terminology at all and these passages tend to be pretty detailed so I end up missing a lot.

ek1-7
ek2-6
ek3-8 - i missed 5 questions about minor details on the second to last passage about the romans. Some rowdy kids came into the library and it threw off my concentration.

I take the next one tomorrow so hopefully i can see some improvement

ek4- 10. yay, im all excited like a little kid. I got so nervous at the end and started freaking out about the time.

TPR = The Princeton Review
Try to get your hands on TPR verbal reasoning book and it will go thru TPR methodology in excruciating detail.

Good luck to you all in VR.

What is the TPR method?
Exam 1: 6 :thumbdown

EK 1 - 8
EK 2 - 9
EK 3 -10

hmm.. I hope this trend continues. I'd be happy with a 16 or 17 on the real thing :laugh:

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10
EK3: 9
EK4: 9
EK5: 11



EK6: 8... So depressed. :(

EK6: 8... So depressed. :(


1: 5
2: 7
3: 9
4:10
5:11


This is too wierd. I've always been sh***y at verbal and all of a sudden my scores increased. Im starting to think that this was how the book was designed. ?The passages and questions in this book are entirely too straight forward. Most of the passages are actually interesting, which is absolutely unlike the real mcat (boring, arduous passages). Don't mean to discourage anyone, but use this book only for acclimation to verbal. Maybe i'm wrong, but I don't think that my verbal reasoning skills have certainly incresed in such a short period of time. Maybe I shouldn't look at the glass as half empty.

Update from earlier:

EK1: 10
EK2: 12
EK3: 13
EK4: 11
EK5: 11

I'm still making some stupid mistakes here and there, and as my confidence increases I'm answering some questions without going back, missing the occasional question by plain laziness.

I still stand by my previous statement though, some of these questions and answers are straight up bogus. At the very least, just ONE proofreading by a qualified, uninvolved party could have cleared up many grammatical errors.

1: 5
2: 7
3: 9
4:10
5:11


This is too wierd. I've always been sh***y at verbal and all of a sudden my scores increased. Im starting to think that this was how the book was designed. ?The passages and questions in this book are entirely too straight forward. Most of the passages are actually interesting, which is absolutely unlike the real mcat (boring, arduous passages). Don't mean to discourage anyone, but use this book only for acclimation to verbal. Maybe i'm wrong, but I don't think that my verbal reasoning skills have certainly incresed in such a short period of time. Maybe I shouldn't look at the glass as half empty.


I think you are giving yourself too little credit. EK scores do correlate with the real scores that people get on the MCAT. Try taking some full lengths and see if it makes a difference. maybe an AAMC test or two.

1: 5
2: 7
3: 9
4:10
5:11


This is too wierd. I've always been sh***y at verbal and all of a sudden my scores increased. Im starting to think that this was how the book was designed. ?The passages and questions in this book are entirely too straight forward. Most of the passages are actually interesting, which is absolutely unlike the real mcat (boring, arduous passages). Don't mean to discourage anyone, but use this book only for acclimation to verbal. Maybe i'm wrong, but I don't think that my verbal reasoning skills have certainly incresed in such a short period of time. Maybe I shouldn't look at the glass as half empty.


I think you are giving yourself too little credit. EK scores do correlate with the real scores that people get on the MCAT. Try taking some full lengths and see if it makes a difference. maybe an AAMC test or two.

aahhh! how the hell is everybody improving that much in just 5 full length eks??? am i like freaken retarded? my scores are like a rollercoaster...at least a very crappy one.

1: 5
2: 7
3: 9
4:10
5:11


This is too wierd. I've always been sh***y at verbal and all of a sudden my scores increased. Im starting to think that this was how the book was designed. ?The passages and questions in this book are entirely too straight forward. Most of the passages are actually interesting, which is absolutely unlike the real mcat (boring, arduous passages). Don't mean to discourage anyone, but use this book only for acclimation to verbal. Maybe i'm wrong, but I don't think that my verbal reasoning skills have certainly incresed in such a short period of time. Maybe I shouldn't look at the glass as half empty.

I hear that. I've always considered myself a complete verbal loser. I recall completely bombing the reading subtest on the ACT, which is supposedly a simple exam. I first started with kaplan practice exams and now I am working on the EK book. My last two exams, 3&4, I scored doubled digits. I just can't believe its a legit score. I think its primarily because I find the material interesting. It seems that AAMC exams are almost 50% humanities passages which bite the big one. I find that wrapping my mind around metaphysical philopsycobabble or remembering anything about the writing style of some obscure poet to be nearly impossible. However, anything science, history, politics or sociology related I seem to have no problem with. I'm just praying that I pull through on the real deal.

I hear that. I've always considered myself a complete verbal loser. I recall completely bombing the reading subtest on the ACT, which is supposedly a simple exam. I first started with kaplan practice exams and now I am working on the EK book. My last two exams, 3&4, I scored doubled digits. I just can't believe its a legit score. I think its primarily because I find the material interesting. It seems that AAMC exams are almost 50% humanities passages which bite the big one. I find that wrapping my mind around metaphysical philopsycobabble or remembering anything about the writing style of some obscure poet to be nearly impossible. However, anything science, history, politics or sociology related I seem to have no problem with. I'm just praying that I pull through on the real deal.

Hmm, maybe that why EK's method works. They teach you the strategy on the interesting passages so you could apply it to the boring ones come test day.

EK 1: 8

I was on target for a 9 until I hit the passage about the psychologist. That one screwed me BIG time. I got six wrong on that one. If I got those six right I would of had a 10!! To the people who are up to EK 3 plus.....are you seeing improvement?

I'm up to EK 101 Test #5 and no improvement yet, just consistency. I have no idea have you folks are shooting up 6 points (!) after a month. That's AMAZING. I'm hoping for one or two points by the end, test #11.

EK Verbal 1: 7
EK Verbal 2: 9
EK Verbal 3:10
EK Verbal 4:10
EK Verbal 5:9
EK Verbal 6:8
EK Verbal 7:9

11, 9, 12, 10, 12, 10, 11
:confused:

at least my timing has improved as i have a couple minutes left over nowadays

11, 9, 12, 10, 12, 10, 11
:confused:

at least my timing has improved as i have a couple minutes left over
nowadays


Those are good scores. If you can maintain in the 10-12 range and get good science scores, you'll be ok.

I know a lot of the 34+ students, from this past April, got in the 8-11 range on their Verbal and 12-14 range on their sciences. So I'd say that if you can maintain that on the real test day you'd be ok, so long as your sciences are strong.

See how you are doing on your practice full lenths.

EK1:Took this in pieces, untimed a while ago
EK2:9
EK3:8
EK4:10
EK5:9
EK6:9

Eh, I wish I could get myself into double-digit land more.

How did you guys score on the EK 30 minute challenges (the ones in the MCAT verbal reasoning book - not EK 101 book). Do you know what I'm talking about? the ones with 3 passages only and 7 questions per passage. I've done all 3 and scored 8, 9, 8. :(
Did anyone else find these exceptionally tough - more so than full length section tests b/c of the short time allotment?

I went through EK verbal exams 1-7 and I am now switching to kaplan verbal exams(11 of them) then I plan to complete the last 4 EK verbal exams. I'm doing the exams 3 passages at a time as 27min exams and every now and then I do a full length. I'm doing this because I want to do some verbal EVERY DAY and same some of the EK material for the end.

Kaplan's questions and answer choices are a bit different than EK. There is one particular type of double qualifier kaplan question that does not appear on EK.

The solutions for EK are very detailed and actually include strategies so be sure to read all of the answers choices in the solutions. Kaplan just gives the answers in a matter-of-fact way.

Of course I will be doing AAMC 3R-8 verbal as well

How did you guys score on the EK 30 minute challenges (the ones in the MCAT verbal reasoning book - not EK 101 book). Do you know what I'm talking about? the ones with 3 passages only and 7 questions per passage. I've done all 3 and scored 8, 9, 8. :(
Did anyone else find these exceptionally tough - more so than full length section tests b/c of the short time allotment?

Yeah those passages blew. I remember scoring pretty low (7s & 8s?) on those 30min exams. Either I improved or the EK passages are easier, i'm now scoring double digits on 101 exams.

those proved to be rather difficult for me especially the last one. I think I scored 7-9 on those.



How did you guys score on the EK 30 minute challenges (the ones in the MCAT verbal reasoning book - not EK 101 book). Do you know what I'm talking about? the ones with 3 passages only and 7 questions per passage. I've done all 3 and scored 8, 9, 8. :(
Did anyone else find these exceptionally tough - more so than full length section tests b/c of the short time allotment?

EK 1 4
EK 2 6
EK 3 9 :thumbup:

I am soooooo surprise.... although I am not sure if the passages are getting easier just to boost our confidence or what??? whatever it might be I am :D , but I still have to work on my time because I still run out of time. I guess in at least one whole passage (I just circle all B's) I guess I am just a slow reader

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10
EK3: 9
EK4: 9
EK5: 11
EK6: 8



EK7: 10.

Satisfied, except that one less mistake and I would've got a 9 (45/60). I really hope I can pull off a 10 in Verbal in a month's time. It'd be especially sweet, considering I got a 6 last year. :thumbdown

Ek1:5
Ek2:4
Ek3:6
Ek4:7
Ek5:7
Ek6:8
Ek7:8
Ek8:8
.......Slowly but surely, did I ever mention that I hate verbal reasoning..I mean, I LOVE verbal reasoning! :p

EK3: 10.

First EK test I took...was about 10 minutes over time.

took ek6 yesterday and got a 9. boo urns. there were so many god damned inference questions, much more than what i ever see in aamc tests.

took ek 7 and got an 11. i'm pleased with it, but i can't help but think that the test was especially easy. the inference questions were easy. the detail questions were easily found. heck, there weren't even any art passages. anybody else find it easy?

Has anyone noticed that the higher numbered tests seem to be harder, or is it just me? I've gone from getting around 11.5 on average to 10.5 average over the course from EK1 to EK9 so far.

EK1: 8
EK2: 9
EK3: 10
EK4: 10
EK5: 10
EK6: 10
EK7: 10

... if I don't get a 10 on the real thing i'm going to be so peeved.

EK 1-6
EK 2-7
EK 3-10

Apr 05 MCAT VR-9

So I am shooting for 10-11?!??PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Has anyone noticed that the higher numbered tests seem to be harder, or is it just me? I've gone from getting around 11.5 on average to 10.5 average over the course from EK1 to EK9 so far.


Those are nice numbers. If you're averaging ~11 on these exams, you'll have no problem with this section on the real thing. The passage topics do seem to be getting more boring after each exam. I recall the first test talking about legalizing pot and downloading music.

Those are nice numbers. If you're averaging ~11 on these exams, you'll have no problem with this section on the real thing. The passage topics do seem to be getting more boring after each exam. I recall the first test talking about legalizing pot and downloading music.


Wait 'till you get to the test passage with the prostitute and her pimp.

I can't wait for that.


most annoying passage for me was the "white russian play" and her propriety. I think I got all of the questions correct or only one wrong but those passages rattle me kind of like the infamous confucious passage. One of the answer choices in that passage was "she is putting on a front". lol!

oddly enough I came across a kaplan passage that asks for the context of "propriety" in one of its passages.


Wait 'till you get to the test passage with the prostitute and her pimp.

yeah that white russian one definitely gave me troubles. in fact, i had to quickly reread that passage cause the first read through left me wondering what the heck the author had been saying. he couldn't get his damn point across effectively, and just seemed to be going in circles or something. ended up doing well on that passage though. i'm thinking that from now on, i'll just reread any really complicated literature or art passages, cause i can go through the questions so much quicker that way, rather than struggling.

I can't wait for that.

most annoying passage for me was the "white russian play" and her propriety. I think I got all of the questions correct or only one wrong but those passages rattle me kind of like the infamous confucious passage. One of the answer choices in that passage was "she is putting on a front". lol!

oddly enough I came across a kaplan passage that asks for the context of "propriety" in one of its passages.

LOL, never saw someone so enthusiastic about a verbal passage. The White Russian Play passage killed me...I saved that one for last and so, glad I did.

As for the kaplan passage you mentioned, on the April 2005 MCAT, there was a passage about the different circumstances where you can apply the term "breaking and entering"...not a complicated read but tricky questions though.

most annoying passage for me was the "white russian play" and her propriety.



I hate the ones about cabinet-making and wood joinery. Like, who the hell even writes about that sh*t?! I feel as if I'm reading a freakin' instruction manual on how to build a desk. They're usually not that bad, mostly detail-ortiented questions, but still.

I hate the ones about cabinet-making and wood joinery. Like, who the hell even writes about that sh*t?! I feel as if I'm reading a freakin' instruction manual on how to build a desk. They're usually not that bad, mostly detail-ortiented questions, but still.

lol there're definitely some passages in there that make me think "why am i reading this again?"

EK Verbal 1: 7
EK Verbal 2: 9
EK Verbal 3:10
EK Verbal 4:10
EK Verbal 5:9
EK Verbal 6:8
EK Verbal 7:9
EK Verbal 8:9

I have about 13 kaplan full length verbals and I broke them down to 3 passage 27 minute tests and I've been doing them practically every day for 2 weeks now and saving EK exams as full lengths. Can't believe I am still scoring mid 40's.

I dont understand their explanation? the answer it says is there is no relationship thats why its based on kettlewell's supposition? but Kettlewell's supposition (assumption) was that there is a relationship?

The question asks for the answer which supports what the author means in implying "even after a millennium, it can still compel admiration and feeling in a less-than-devout-society."

To me this means, basically, that ancient religous music is very emotional, which means that its good and is still liked today. And there are examples of this music heard in churches and such.

The answer says: Though a majority of Americans profess a belief ina supreme being, a minority actually attend any type of religous services.

To me, this is the exact opposite and weakens what the author is saying? Because if the majority of americans profess belief, than they should attend religous service to hear this amazing music.

The argument used in the explanations is, is that it supports the authors implication of a less than devout society? (thats all) i find that stupid.

anyone else agree or am i looking at this totally incorrectly?

I was looking over the thread and noticed a couple of people mention they hate the financial economic passages, i recommend you read "The economist." Its pretty interesting, it'll give you some background over those passages, and the readings from the article are similar to mcat passags. The magazine is regarded as a helpful tool for people taking the mcats, and if you know your strugglin with econ passages background info is definitely a plus (I think at least).

people say that background info can get you in trouble in verbal because you should only answer the questions from the passage, but personally if I dont know anyting about the passage (ie - art) I hate the passage and I do really bad.

One thing i've noticed about myself (and this is a downer so read on with caution) is that 1 or 2 passages are generally what screw me over. I've noticed this on other threads also, 1 passage or 2 passages where you get 4 wrong (generally out of 8 or 9). Those are the passages that take people down from an 11 to an 8 or 9; and obviously if you got half of those right you would have gotten a 10. I just took 6r and I got a 12 in verbal. I'M SUPER EXCITED, cause i've never scored that high, i generally don't leave the 9-10 range. Basically the purpose of this, is that I think mcat verbal is ALL LUCK, if you get that 1 or 2 passages that kill you, cause you hate the topic you cant understand it etc etc... than you get an 8 or 9 instead of a 10 or 11. But if you get lucky like I did on 6r (and hope to get lucky on the real mcat) you get an 10 11, and in my case I GOT SUPER lucky and got a 12 (by 1 question).

Take home message: MCAT verbal, luck can fluctuate your score plus or minus up to 3 or 4 points, dont take anything for granted. if you are scoring 11's, DOOM could strike =(.

"even after a millennium, it can still compel admiration and feeling in a less-than-devout-society."

The answer says: Though a majority of Americans profess a belief ina supreme being, a minority actually attend any type of religous services.

The argument used in the explanations is, is that it supports the authors implication of a less than devout society? (thats all) i find that stupid.

anyone else agree or am i looking at this totally incorrectly?


For me, that was the only logical answer choice left. The giveaway for that answer was "less-than-devout-society"...it means that that they are not fully devout or fully dedicated in other words. So while they may say that they are religious they don't actually follow through fully by attending religious services....try to eliminate the answers that are wrong and see why this one is right.... Hope that helps.

EK 1-6
EK 2-7
EK 3-10

Apr 05 MCAT VR-9


EK 4-9

Are all these EK Verbal Test coming out of the book entitled 101 Verbal Passages by EK?

Any chance there is a digital file of it out there?

Yes these are from the 101 passages in Verbal by EK. I have not seen a digital file of it yet.

Are all these EK Verbal Test coming out of the book entitled 101 Verbal Passages by EK?

Any chance there is a digital file of it out there?

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10

Steady progress...yea. This was my worst mark last year, so I'm glad to improve finally. Hope the same thing happens for PS!

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10

Steady progress...yea. This was my worst mark last year, so I'm glad to improve finally. Hope the same thing happens for PS!


Are you taking a test prep course?? What are you using to study for the MCAT??? Generally either the Kaplan subject and topical tests, combined, or the the Princeton Review Science workbook and in class compendium will be sufficient to help raise your score in the science areas. I recommend you doing some of them.

Are you taking a test prep course?? What are you using to study for the MCAT??? Generally either the Kaplan subject and topical tests, combined, or the the Princeton Review Science workbook and in class compendium will be sufficient to help raise your score in the science areas. I recommend you doing some of them.


I decided not to take a prep class this year because I took TPR last year and found that I study better by myself. Instead I bought 13 tests (including AAMC) and all the EK material but to be honest I only found it useful for verbal. BS is fairly consistent and I usually finish this 1/2 hour early. It's only PS that I have difficulty with since I have to read the passages more carefully.

I obtained some of the Kaplan topical and subject tests so I'll try those and see how it goes. I got a 7 last year for PS and I'm hoping for a 10...I seem to be getting closer to the 10 borderline (range 8-9), but it totally epends on the material on the test I think...

Were the Kaplan topical and subject tests helpful?

I just bought the EK Verbal book, so I'll be joining y'all.

A few questions if you don't mind - Do you find it helpful? How have you been scoring on AAMC tests in comparison to EK? Do you find EK's questions to be structured differently? Do you like their method? How many practice tests are there?

Thanks :)

1. Yes, the 101 book is good.
2. About the same, maybe little higher (+1 on aamc's vs. EK)
3. EK's questions seem longer and trickier, but are good practice.
4. Yes, their "method" is the most simple and natural, I think.
5. 11 total in the EK 101 book (11 tests x9 passages each plus 2 "warm-ups"= 101)

I decided not to take a prep class this year because I took TPR last year and found that I study better by myself. Instead I bought 13 tests (including AAMC) and all the EK material but to be honest I only found it useful for verbal. BS is fairly consistent and I usually finish this 1/2 hour early. It's only PS that I have difficulty with since I have to read the passages more carefully.

I obtained some of the Kaplan topical and subject tests so I'll try those and see how it goes. I got a 7 last year for PS and I'm hoping for a 10...I seem to be getting closer to the 10 borderline (range 8-9), but it totally epends on the material on the test I think...

Were the Kaplan topical and subject tests helpful?


Ok that gives me a better picture. I sorta did the same thing. I saw improvement in my science scores after doing the scienceworkbook and reviewing over it and after doing the in class compendium passages. I'd recommend you do both of those things or Kaplan subject tests/topicals. EIther of those resources will do wonders in terms of helping in the science sections. For me, the TPR ICC and science workbook were really really good in giving realistic expectations of the type of passages and questions that one could expect on the test. In fact, I'd go so far to say they were more realistic then the actual 4900 series of practice tests were. But that is just my personal experience.

Ok I got a question... anyone think Ek3 was extra easy? I got an 11 a question from a 12, and on EK2 I got a 9, one question from an 8.

I've noticed that most people seem to do better on EK3 than others... also something else that I feel is really important for the EK's is that i've noticed everyone seem sto do better on the later tests in comparison to the earlier tests (an improvement... or so you think.)

anyone ever think the later tests are just easier.... and thats why EVERYONE IS DOING BETTER ON THEM?.... When EVERYONE does sees improvement that doesn't you personally are doing better it just means the material is easier and a higher score is going to be seen with the same ability....

Ok I got a question... anyone think Ek3 was extra easy? I got an 11 a question from a 12, and on EK2 I got a 9, one question from an 8.

I've noticed that most people seem to do better on EK3 than others... also something else that I feel is really important for the EK's is that i've noticed everyone seem sto do better on the later tests in comparison to the earlier tests (an improvement... or so you think.)

anyone ever think the later tests are just easier.... and thats why EVERYONE IS DOING BETTER ON THEM?.... When EVERYONE does sees improvement that doesn't you personally are doing better it just means the material is easier and a higher score is going to be seen with the same ability....

EK 3 was relatively easy, (had buffer time). After taking EK 4, it seems much more obvious.

EK1:5
EK2:6
EK3:7
EK4:8...that was today...and going up :D

For the mini MCATS I added all the passages into tests of 9 passages and did surprisingly well, considering they are suppose to be harder 9 and 10.

For the AAMC 3R, taken a looooong time ago, 7.

English is not my native/first language, so I have a little excuse :o

All I'm aiming for is an 8, do you guys think this is possible on the real deal?

Thanks :)

So far my scores out of the EK101 Verbal book are:

EK1: 8
EK2: 10
EK3: 9
EK4: 9
EK5: 11
EK6: 8
EK7: 10


Some more results to add to the list...

EK8: 9
EK9: 9

Hoping to hit double digits for the last two tests.

Just took my first EK test and got an 8, though I've been getting around 10 with my last two TPR tests and AAMC.

Do you guys feel the passages are similar to AAMCs? For me, they felt very different and I didn't feel the need to go back as much, though I got a lot more wrong! Ack, I don't know. I'm going to spend some time today figuring out where I went wrong.

I like how many practice tests there are - we only get four with TPR.

All I want to do is become a "verbal god".... :)

Are all these EK Verbal Test coming out of the book entitled 101 Verbal Passages by EK?

Any chance there is a digital file of it out there?

there's no (legal) digital file out there, as far as i know.

but i bet you could make a lot of money if you got your hands on one :p (mods, i'm just kidding!!)

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10

New:
EK 8: 10

Anyone else doing worse on the AAMC than on EK? Just wondering...maybe i'm tired after PS, that's the only explanation i could come up with...

Anyone else doing worse on the AAMC than on EK? Just wondering...maybe i'm tired after PS, that's the only explanation i could come up with...


Its been said before and I totally agree that this is just as much if not more a test of endurance than knowledge. Keeping this in mind, I try to do the EK tests after I do a PS section from either Kaplan or TPR.

I thought I might as well post my scores too.

EK1- 8 (39/60)
Ek2- 8 (40/60)
EK3- 8 (40/60)
EK4- 9 (44/60)
EK5- 9 (44/60)

Still havent broken the 10 mark :( . But at least I haven't went down.

AAMC 3R- 10 (however, I finished about 5 min too late)

What exactly is the EK verbal strategy? Is it just to look for the main idea? How long do y'all spend reading a single passage? I've been using the TPR strategy and the annotating sort of helps me but it also slows me down quite a lot. I ordered the EK101 book off half.com a MONTH ago and it still hasn't arrived yet. Yikes.

EK Verbal 1: 7
EK Verbal 2: 9
EK Verbal 3:10
EK Verbal 4:10
EK Verbal 5:9
EK Verbal 6:8
EK Verbal 7:9
EK Verbal 8:9

I have about 13 kaplan full length verbals and I broke them down to 3 passage 27 minute tests and I've been doing them practically every day for 2 weeks now and saving EK exams as full lengths. Can't believe I am still scoring mid 40's.

EK Verbal 9:10
2 passages seemed a bit difficult with the usual 2-3 questions I had a hard time understanding.questions seemed more difficult than usual but maybe that is from my break from verbal practice(1 week).

Had to move this weekend so did not do anything MCAT related for 4 days. I'm going to try to do verbal daily (at least 3 passages).I'll let you guys know how i do on the verbal for AAMC 4,6,and 7 which I have not taken.

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10

New:
EK 8: 10

Anyone else doing worse on the AAMC than on EK? Just wondering...maybe i'm tired after PS, that's the only explanation i could come up with...


I completely agree with you. My EK verbal's have been 8-10, but my AAMC verbal on 3r was a 6 and on 7r was a 7. Overall, EK is far too easy, as the questions on AAMC exams are much much much much more difficult and vague. Don't mean to be discouraging, but this is the trend that I am noticing. Do EK for practice and confidence, but AAMC for simulation and accuracy.

I completely agree with you. My EK verbal's have been 8-10, but my AAMC verbal on 3r was a 6 and on 7r was a 7. Overall, EK is far too easy, as the questions on AAMC exams are much much much much more difficult and vague. Don't mean to be discouraging, but this is the trend that I am noticing. Do EK for practice and confidence, but AAMC for simulation and accuracy.


I have to agree and disagree with you at the same time. While I think the passages in EK 101 are much easier and much more interesting to read (at least for the first few tests), the questions are a lot trickier and harder overall. When I took AAMC 5R I definitely thought that the reading was harder but the questions were that much easier. Plus my score stayed exactly in the middle of my practice scores from EK.

I also don't think EK are easier. I was getting 8's no problem on Verbal in AAMC tests, and on 3R even got a 10. I was getting 6's and 7's on EK 101 tests.

I think the discrepancy was because the questions were harder and I kept having to use the restroom when I was taking those EK tests so I couldn't focus, which screwed me over.

I think EK tests are much better then any TPR verbal material, and that AAMC material and EK material might be slightly different but the outcome is most likely the same.

EK 1: 9
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 11
EK 4: 11
EK 5: 10

Just gimme an 11 on the real thing....

EK 1: 9
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 11
EK 4: 11
EK 5: 10

Just gimme an 11 on the real thing....

:D

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10

I'm feeling much better about this. I plan to do one everyday I'm not taking a practice test and hope for the best...

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10

I'm feeling much better about this. I plan to do one everyday I'm not taking a practice test and hope for the best...

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 12

YAY :D My first 12 ever, in any section.

I'll stop posting since no one else is really contributing lately, but I'm happy for all of the EK practice and reading other peoples' thoughts on verbal earlier in the thread seemed to help.

Wow--that's quite the dramatic jump. Perfect timing, too, with the test in less than two weeks. Congrats!

I completely agree with you. My EK verbal's have been 8-10, but my AAMC verbal on 3r was a 6 and on 7r was a 7. Overall, EK is far too easy, as the questions on AAMC exams are much much much much more difficult and vague. Don't mean to be discouraging, but this is the trend that I am noticing. Do EK for practice and confidence, but AAMC for simulation and accuracy.


I'm one of the other people who agree that EK is a bit easier than AAMC. I'm not sure if it is because the passages are easier to read or what but all I know is that my scores on AAMC are always 2 points below my EK scores. Also not sure if it could be because I'm tired after PS but I always have trouble finishing the AAMC whereas the EK I always finish on time or a little behind.


Any thoughts on what do do about this dilemma?

I'm one of the other people who agree that EK is a bit easier than AAMC. I'm not sure if it is because the passages are easier to read or what but all I know is that my scores on AAMC are always 2 points below my EK scores. Also not sure if it could be because I'm tired after PS but I always have trouble finishing the AAMC whereas the EK I always finish on time or a little behind.


Any thoughts on what do do about this dilemma?

I've been thinking about that because I've been practicing with AAMC and TPR before EK and I notice that I've been finishing with EK about 10 minutes left, sometimes more. I think the passages are easier to read and not as twisty, but the questions are sometimes more subtle.

As I'm practicing with EK, I think I'm going to try to continue to finish early (maybe even give myself less time) so I'll be quick enough with AAMC.

I completely agree with you. My EK verbal's have been 8-10, but my AAMC verbal on 3r was a 6 and on 7r was a 7. Overall, EK is far too easy, as the questions on AAMC exams are much much much much more difficult and vague. Don't mean to be discouraging, but this is the trend that I am noticing. Do EK for practice and confidence, but AAMC for simulation and accuracy.

Agreed. I found 5R's Verbal to be really vague. Felt like I was guessing on a lot of them.

On a sidenote, I'm finding the Kaplan Verbal section tests incredibly hard to read, but with less tricky questions. Pretty much exact opposite to EK.

I've done about 7 full length kaplans verbals and 9 full length EK verbal exams and I have to completely agree with you on this.

all scores seem to correlate with the 2 AAMC exams I've taken. I plan to take 3 more full lengths AAMC exams (vebal included) in the next 2 weeks so i'll be posting soon.

good luck everyone!

Agreed. I found 5R's Verbal to be really vague. Felt like I was guessing on a lot of them.

On a sidenote, I'm finding the Kaplan Verbal section tests incredibly hard to read, but with less tricky questions. Pretty much exact opposite to EK.

EK Verbal 1: 6
EK Verbal 2: 7
EK Verbal 3: 10
EK Verbal 4: 9
EK Verbal 5: 9
EK Verbal 6: 7
EK Verbal 7: 6


What is going on? I am slowly getting worse. I went through all my questions on EK7 very carefully and I also narrow down the wrong ones to 2 final choices. I always pick the wrong one.

Sometimes I will miss all the questions on a single passage. On EK 7 that happened to three whole passages!!! I miss intrepreted the main idea I think and it screwed me since EK is main point based.

I have taken other AAMC, Kaplan exams and received 9-10s. On Apr05 I received a 9. Am I getting worse at VR? I use the EK101 book but haven't read the Verbal/Math Book. I try and spend 4-5 minutes a passage, 40 sec a question(not going back unless necessary, so not much). I try and focus on main idea, I underline/circle sometimes a lot but try to only sparingly. I don't know EK method on question stems so sometimes the reasoning behind an answer is goofy to me.

Argh so Frustrating...

My scores have generally been going up like this...

EK 1 - 5
EK 2 - 5
EK 3 - 6
EK 4 - 7
EK 5 - 6
EK 6 - 7
EK 7 - 8
EK 8 - 9
EK 9 - 9

But there are those killer passages where I get like 4/8... That damn samurai passage killed me!!!! Anyone else running into the same problem?

EK Verbal 1: 6
EK Verbal 2: 7
EK Verbal 3: 10
EK Verbal 4: 9
EK Verbal 5: 9
EK Verbal 6: 7
EK Verbal 7: 6


What is going on? I am slowly getting worse. I went through all my questions on EK7 very carefully and I also narrow down the wrong ones to 2 final choices. I always pick the wrong one.

Sometimes I will miss all the questions on a single passage. On EK 7 that happened to three whole passages!!! I miss intrepreted the main idea I think and it screwed me since EK is main point based.

I have taken other AAMC, Kaplan exams and received 9-10s. On Apr05 I received a 9. Am I getting worse at VR? I use the EK101 book but haven't read the Verbal/Math Book. I try and spend 4-5 minutes a passage, 40 sec a question(not going back unless necessary, so not much). I try and focus on main idea, I underline/circle sometimes a lot but try to only sparingly. I don't know EK method on question stems so sometimes the reasoning behind an answer is goofy to me.

Don't Worry GPAC Fan.

I've been slowly and steadly increasing with my EK scores- 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9 (raw scores of 44 on the first two nines, one away from a ten!! :(

My EK 6 score went down to a 42/60.

Today I took EK 7, and for the second time I went down. I got a 39/60, an 8. I thought it was pretty hard. The first 3 passages I got zero wrong but I missed 5 on two different passages, including the one about the lethality of weapons. Honestly I thought some of those questions/answers were bull****. You can argue against a few of them. EK 7 seemed to to have two of the most tricky passages I've read to date.

Oh yea, and I got 10s on AAMC 3R and 8.

I was wondering what do you guys do when you encounter one of those passages where no matter how many times you read it, you don't understand it and have no clue what the author was even trying to say. I don't even know the author's main point when that happens, so there are lots of misses for that passage.

I was wondering what do you guys do when you encounter one of those passages where no matter how many times you read it, you don't understand it and have no clue what the author was even trying to say. I don't even know the author's main point when that happens, so there are lots of misses for that passage.

Best way to go is to not spend too much time on those questions because chances are that if you didn't understand it then you probably won't get a lot of the questions right. You should still do the questions but as soon as you find yourself stuck on a question don't think too too hard: eliminate what you can, guess, and just move on. Chances are that if you struggled with it then so did the majority of the people taking the test...but not everyone had the guts to just move on and finish the easier passages.

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 12
EK 4: 10

Okay so I've gotten a 10 on AAMC 7, an 11 on AAMC 4R and then I practiced with EK getting the scores above.

I just took 3R Verbal and got a 7!!! WTF? Any idea what's going on?

so um, like i am practically literate. ive gotten 6s-9s on EK1-9 and then I miss an 11 on EK10 by 2 questions. are the last 2 tests easy to boost your self esteem or am i actually improving? cause immediately after my 10 on EK10 i got a 6 on AAMC 4R. makes you wonder.

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 12
EK 4: 10

Okay so I've gotten a 10 on AAMC 7, an 11 on AAMC 4R and then I practiced with EK getting the scores above.

I just took 3R Verbal and got a 7!!! WTF? Any idea what's going on?

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 12
EK 4: 10

Okay so I've gotten a 10 on AAMC 7, an 11 on AAMC 4R and then I practiced with EK getting the scores above.

I just took 3R Verbal and got a 7!!! WTF? Any idea what's going on?

you're not the only one who's scores are going haywire... i've been scoring ~11-12 pretty consistently, but the past couple of days i've been down in the 8-10 range :( nooooo gooooodddddd....

addiddasss!!!! i want my mojo back!!! :p

ek1: 8

just started doing ek passages today, hopefully ill be able to finish the last 10 before next saturday.

got a question for august retakers, i did all the aamc tests before taking the april exam and i am just wondering if its a good idea to redo them, especially the verbal sections. yesterday, i took aamc 3R and got a 9 on verbal, compared to a 5 the first time i took it. not sure if i have really improved or it's b/c this is my second time taking it. i mean, i didnt remember any of the questions or answers but some of the passages were vaguely familiar. so not sure, what to make of it.

i'd appreciate any feedback, thanks guys.

ek1: 8

just started doing ek passages today, hopefully ill be able to finish the last 10 before next saturday.

got a question for august retakers, i did all the aamc tests before taking the april exam and i am just wondering if its a good idea to redo them, especially the verbal sections. yesterday, i took aamc 3R and got a 9 on verbal, compared to a 5 the first time i took it. not sure if i have really improved or it's b/c this is my second time taking it. i mean, i didnt remember any of the questions or answers but some of the passages were vaguely familiar. so not sure, what to make of it.

i'd appreciate any feedback, thanks guys.

i've been redoing them, and have found that the passages were vaguely familiar also. i think it's a good idea but don't rely on aamc stuff exclusively -- mixing it up is key at this point.

EK Verbal 1: 7
EK Verbal 2: 9
EK Verbal 3:10
EK Verbal 4:10
EK Verbal 5:9
EK Verbal 6:8
EK Verbal 7:9
EK Verbal 8:9
EK Verbal 9:10
AAMC 4R:10

I 'm happy with scroing 48 raw on AAMC 4R. that puts me on the high end of the score of 10. I think the EK and kaplan verbal exams are good indicators and the kaplan should be used just for the practice of reading more difficult academic level essays and the EK for question format.

i took the AAMC 4R after a 10 minute break from AAMC 5R bio section. I know PS is before verbal. i'll do them in the proper order for AAMC 6R and 7 which are my last 2 AAMC exams.

good luck everyone. keep practicing.

I took the first EK verbal exam and got a 10. I only agree with about 33% of the logic they provide for their supposedly correct answers. I can only hope that the MCAT is actually much more logic based than nonsense. My favorite is when on one answer they get so nitpicky on one question regarding the phrasing of the question or the answers choices, but then are totally oblivious to aspects in other answers that they don't even mention which, at least in my mind, make other answers "more correct".

EK Verbal 10:8
AAMC 6R:10
AAMC 7: 10
August 2005 MCAT: not yet taken

I'm not going to take EK #11. EK #10 score was not something nice to see. luckily i took AAMC 6R a day later and scored a 10. I do plan on reading a couple kaplan passages just to stay in tune with reading difficult passages

EK Verbal 1: 7
EK Verbal 2: 9
EK Verbal 3:10
EK Verbal 4:10
EK Verbal 5:9
EK Verbal 6:8
EK Verbal 7:9
EK Verbal 8:9
EK Verbal 9:10
AAMC 4R:10

I 'm happy with scroing 48 raw on AAMC 4R. that puts me on the high end of the score of 10. I think the EK and kaplan verbal exams are good indicators and the kaplan should be used just for the practice of reading more difficult academic level essays and the EK for question format.

i took the AAMC 4R after a 10 minute break from AAMC 5R bio section. I know PS is before verbal. i'll do them in the proper order for AAMC 6R and 7 which are my last 2 AAMC exams.

good luck everyone. keep practicing.

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10
EK 8: 10

New:
EK 9: 10
EK 10: 12

For AAMC 5R, 6R, 7R, 8R...managed to score straight 11s. I'd recommend EK and Kaplan verbal tests to anyone still struggling to improve scores. Kaplan helps with getting to understand difficult material and EK helps with the tricky questions....

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10
EK 8: 10

New:
EK 9: 10
EK 10: 12

For AAMC 5R, 6R, 7R, 8R...managed to score straight 11s. I'd recommend EK and Kaplan verbal tests to anyone still struggling to improve scores. Kaplan helps with getting to understand difficult material and EK helps with the tricky questions....

EK 10: 10/11

a good amount of people score within a point of their EK scores....eliminate your highest and lowest score and avg the # you got wrong and use the scale....you will most likely get that score on the real deal...if not you will get within a point....

FINALLY got my copy in the mail today despite having ordered 5 weeks ago....

EK1: 10

Will do a few more by test day, though I personally think it might be too late for me to fix any major problems.

These problems seem WAY harder than the TPR practice tests in the sense that the answer choices all seem really vague and not what I'd personally answer if it were a free-response question.

EK 1: 8
EK 2: 9
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 9
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10
EK 8: 10

New:
EK 9: 10
EK 10: 12

For AAMC 5R, 6R, 7R, 8R...managed to score straight 11s. I'd recommend EK and Kaplan verbal tests to anyone still struggling to improve scores. Kaplan helps with getting to understand difficult material and EK helps with the tricky questions....

How did y'all schedule the EK verbal vs others (like Kaplan/TPR). So do some of EK then do some from others or finish the EK 101 book first then move on to Kaplan?

FINALLY got my copy in the mail today despite having ordered 5 weeks ago....

EK1: 10

Will do a few more by test day, though I personally think it might be too late for me to fix any major problems.

These problems seem WAY harder than the TPR practice tests in the sense that the answer choices all seem really vague and not what I'd personally answer if it were a free-response question.


They try to get you to think about the main idea, which is more like how the MCAT is. If you can get a hang of that, then you'll be good. TPR spends too much time on detail and the real verbal is nowhere nearly as easy as TPR workbooks.

i did an EK passage once a week for about 7 weeks then added kaplan by doing 3 passage mini-verbals timed at 27min.(daily for 2 weeks) then i did about 6 full length kaplans and EK 8-10 every 4 days or so.

EK is great prep but I think you need some source of difficult readings to do be it from kaplan or another source.

AAMC 4R, 6R, and 7 I did all within the last 10 days leading into the August MCAT. I did AAMC 3R and 5R verbal a long time ago.

How did y'all schedule the EK verbal vs others (like Kaplan/TPR). So do some of EK then do some from others or finish the EK 101 book first then move on to Kaplan?

FINALLY got my copy in the mail today despite having ordered 5 weeks ago....

EK1: 10

Will do a few more by test day, though I personally think it might be too late for me to fix any major problems.

These problems seem WAY harder than the TPR practice tests in the sense that the answer choices all seem really vague and not what I'd personally answer if it were a free-response question.

EK2: 11 (barely scraped by-- made some careless errors, which were balanced by my lucky guesses)

Yeah Guju, I think you're right. The questions for EK seem a lot more focused on main idea and the logic of the author, which seems to be closer to what I saw on AAMC7 and AAMC8.

1 - 8
2 - 9
3 - 10
4 - 10
5 - 10
6 - 10
7 - 10
8 - 10
9 - 9
10 - 10

Not quite sure what to make of these scores. All I want is a 10 on VR, hope that's reasonable. My AAMC verbals have been consistent 9's with a fluke 11 and i'm doing consistent 10s on kaplan verbal with an occasional 11. AAMC VR is definately more difficult for me atleast.

Out of curiousity, how are you all doing on time with EK? For the first time this week I've been doing timed test (TPR and EK) and I've found strangely enough that I can finish with about 10 minutes left for both tests. This has never happened on any of my diagnostics. Is anyone else having the same discrepancy or did I magically learn how to read better during the last few days?

I could finish EKs w/about 5 minutes to spare if choosed to so. However, I usually draw out the last few passages longer than needed becuase I have time to burn. Tomorrow I am going to take my last EK and see how fast I can finish it, just to give me more confidence with time.

i did an EK passage once a week for about 7 weeks then added kaplan by doing 3 passage mini-verbals timed at 27min.(daily for 2 weeks) then i did about 6 full length kaplans and EK 8-10 every 4 days or so.

EK is great prep but I think you need some source of difficult readings to do be it from kaplan or another source.

AAMC 4R, 6R, and 7 I did all within the last 10 days leading into the August MCAT. I did AAMC 3R and 5R verbal a long time ago.

When you guys say Kaplan are y'all referring to the section tests (~13 of them) or the VR portion of the FL (~11 of them). Does the section test have a scale?

Based on what you said perhaps the best strategy is to mix and match (esp if you have some time before the actual test):

So the next two-three months:
1a. Do 1 Kaplan VR section test every week for next 6 weeks.
1b. Then do 1 test (out of 11) from EK101 every week for next 6 weeks.

After that alternate the remaining Kaplan VR section test & EK101 till complete. I figure breaking it up like this provides a decent variety later in the game whereas earlier on it helps set consistency (if there is such a thing in VR).

This is in addition to the Kaplan FL & AAMC stuff. What do you guys think? I figure the Kaplan VR section test should take 11 weeks (11 passages) and Kaplan Section would take 13 weeks. That's almost what 5-6 months.

been finishing EK with bout 5-10 min to spare...had to speed up at end to finish the verbal section of Kaplan FL 10 today....it was a bitch...

I was talking about the kaplan section tests that have 13 verbal exams from what I know.

I'm pretty burnt out on verbal now after doing 10 EK passages and about 9 total kaplan verbals. So i can't recommend stretching this out beyond 3 months. once i learned how to read EKfor the main idea I was ready to move onto the denser passages of kaplan. after both i feel ready for AMMC that has dense readings and EK type questions

Take a look at both as you study and create your own program. i don't remember seeing people suggesting kaplan and EK together for verbal but glad I did it.

When you guys say Kaplan are y'all referring to the section tests (~13 of them) or the VR portion of the FL (~11 of them). Does the section test have a scale?

Based on what you said perhaps the best strategy is to mix and match (esp if you have some time before the actual test):

So the next two-three months:
1a. Do 1 Kaplan VR section test every week for next 6 weeks.
1b. Then do 1 test (out of 11) from EK101 every week for next 6 weeks.

After that alternate the remaining Kaplan VR section test & EK101 till complete. I figure breaking it up like this provides a decent variety later in the game whereas earlier on it helps set consistency (if there is such a thing in VR).

This is in addition to the Kaplan FL & AAMC stuff. What do you guys think? I figure the Kaplan VR section test should take 11 weeks (11 passages) and Kaplan Section would take 13 weeks. That's almost what 5-6 months.

i usually finish with 1-2 minutes to spare. i pace myself by checking the time every 3 passages and speed up and slow down accordingly. I try to go into the last passage with 8-10 min but on AAMC 7 i got to the last passage with only 5 min left.

i usually finish with 1-2 minutes to spare. i pace myself by checking the time every 3 passages and speed up and slow down accordingly. I try to go into the last passage with 8-10 min but on AAMC 7 i got to the last passage with only 5 min left.

hey stoley....is it just me or are you havin more trouble with the kaplan section verbal tests? one thing that really helped me was checking time every 4 passages just to make sure im on the right track...i took the advice from an SDNer last week...i used to check after each passage and it just threw me off....

Updated (not that anyone cares):
EK1 - 10
EK2- 11
EK3 - 12
EK4 - 10

Almost fell asleep doing EK4. Eating a big meal right before verbal is an extremely bad idea! Gonna do one last test tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be double digits... that would make me a lot less worried about the real thing. Man, I wish I had gotten this book sooner.

jon0013,
it took about 2 tests to get used to the style of passages and questions but i always seem to finish with no more than 2 minutes left on AAMC, kaplan, EK.

Mister Pie,
stop now so you can have peace of mind knowing you scored 10+ on all of the EK exams you took.
:D

jon0013,

Mister Pie,
stop now so you can have peace of mind knowing you scored 10+ on all of the EK exams you took.
:D

Believe me... I am extremely tempted to. :p Right now it's a debate between getting more practice versus ending on a good note.

go for the good note. If you have to practice just read some passages for speed and contemplate the main idea. don't do any questions.


:thumbup:


Believe me... I am extremely tempted to. :p Right now it's a debate between getting more practice versus ending on a good note.

Hmm, think maybe I'll do that stoleyrscrubz. It's not like I can "learn" from mistakes on verbal anyway (at least, not in the same sense as the science sections). Good luck to ya if you are taking the test tomorrow!

go for the good note. If you have to practice just read some passages for speed and contemplate the main idea. don't do any questions.


:thumbup:

form DL

the passages were very similar to an EK exam. They took up about 1.5 of the page and were interesting. There were the two 10 question essays on the real deal. I was pretty surprised after the FULL 1 page essays that were tough reads on AAMC practice test 7. AAMC practice test 7 also had a lot of fuzzy answers but the real deal had solid answer choices. I still recommend doing kaplan and EK passages if you have the resources.

I can't say everyone had the same experience on the real deal but I feel very lucky right now.

Also I scanned the exam to see if there were any full page passages(none) and any 10 question passages (2). So I did the 10 question passages first. This is something I did not do on practice but wanted to avoid finding a 10 question passage at the end with only 8 minutes to go.

form DL

the passages were very similar to an EK exam. They took up about 1.5 of the page and were interesting. There were the two 10 question essays on the real deal. I was pretty surprised after the FULL 1 page essays that were tough reads on AAMC practice test 7. AAMC practice test 7 also had a lot of fuzzy answers but the real deal had solid answer choices. I still recommend doing kaplan and EK passages if you have the resources...

This is great news. That means practicing with EK/Kaplan would prepare us well. Just curious on the 10 questions - did you happen to read the thread on experimental passages. I'm wondering if it's a better to do them last (assuming one believes experimental passages exist - I'll see if I can dig up the thread which has he's theory that most likely the 10 q ones are experimental).

Who got EK or Kaplan exams that i can buy ?

I don't recommend EK full length exams unless you ran out of all the AAMC exams. I do recommend their 30 minute end of chapter exams included in the complete package and also EK verbal 101. I never got to touch my 1001 bio passages.

i did not read that post. I'm a guy that likes to have peace of mind. I'd rather have a 6 questions passage to answer in the end than a 10 question passage. Going home thinking that a 10 question passage I did not complete may have been experimental would not give me peace of mind. everybody is different.


This is great news. That means practicing with EK/Kaplan would prepare us well. Just curious on the 10 questions - did you happen to read the thread on experimental passages. I'm wondering if it's a better to do them last (assuming one believes experimental passages exist - I'll see if I can dig up the thread which has he's theory that most likely the 10 q ones are experimental).

Who got EK or Kaplan exams that i can buy ?


Me = confused....

Are you asking for the Verbal sectional tests and Verbal 101 book??? Or are you asking for the full lenth exams???

EK full lenths are not recommended cuz with the exception of the Verbal, they are not the best science sections in terms of how they compare to the real deal.

Their 16 mini MCAT book, on the other hand, is supposed to be superb!!!!!

I'd recommend you get that.

If you are looking for a cheaper price to buy EK material, then you may find it at http://www.walmart.com

For other stuff, PM me and I'll tell you what I have. I'll give it to you for free. Kaplan tests, I've heard are quite a bit different but yet have a predictive value. Many people who took Kaplan ended up with scores similar to their Kaplan or AAMC range. So I'd recommend using theirs.

But again, I'm confused as to what you are asking for?? Would you please clarify? Thanks in advance.

Me = confused....

Are you asking for the Verbal sectional tests and Verbal 101 book??? Or are you asking for the full lenth exams???

EK full lenths are not recommended cuz with the exception of the Verbal, they are not the best science sections in terms of how they compare to the real deal.

Their 16 mini MCAT book, on the other hand, is supposed to be superb!!!!!

I'd recommend you get that.

If you are looking for a cheaper price to buy EK material, then you may find it at http://www.walmart.com

For other stuff, PM me and I'll tell you what I have. I'll give it to you for free. Kaplan tests, I've heard are quite a bit different but yet have a predictive value. Many people who took Kaplan ended up with scores similar to their Kaplan or AAMC range. So I'd recommend using theirs.

But again, I'm confused as to what you are asking for?? Would you please clarify? Thanks in advance.

I'm just looking to get more practice exams. I already got the Ek materials, 16 mini-cat, 1001's sciences,and 101 verbal but i'm worried about verbal. I'm at at 5-6 right now and i think i need more verbal practice.

I'm just looking to get more practice exams. I already got the Ek materials, 16 mini-cat, 1001's sciences,and 101 verbal but i'm worried about verbal. I'm at at 5-6 right now and i think i need more verbal practice.


I saw this after I saw your PM to me, so ignore the part where I told you how to get 101 book etc. etc.

I'll send you the other stuff though.

With all this talk about if EK correlated with the actual mcat scores of the August takers...what's the consensus??!!! Is it accurate?? Were the first few tests easier(esteem boosters)?? C'mon guys! don't leave the rest of us hanging! Fill us in!

With all this talk about if EK correlated with the actual mcat scores of the August takers...what's the consensus??!!! Is it accurate?? Were the first few tests easier(esteem boosters)?? C'mon guys! don't leave the rest of us hanging! Fill us in!


Do a search and you'll probably find the answer. But in short, yes most people on here, who used EK Verbal have gotten very accurate predictors of their performance in the Verbal section by their practice tests.

With all this talk about if EK correlated with the actual mcat scores of the August takers...what's the consensus??!!! Is it accurate?? Were the first few tests easier(esteem boosters)?? C'mon guys! don't leave the rest of us hanging! Fill us in!
I didn't find the first two tests to be easier than the rest of the book at all. If you're scoring well, it's a good sign!

Me--Average over all 11 tests: 10 (a couple 9's, a couple 11's, almost always 10)

Actual August 2005 VR: 9

So...pretty accurate, assuming you give yourself exactly the time allotted, and you did not take these tests before.

Even if you have used the tests before, you don't necessarily remember the exact questions and answers, so it is still of good use. I found that retaking tests I had used before still had no impact on inflating my diag scores, because my diag scores were still relevant to my level of understanding and to my test taking abilities, but not a result of memory of using the test before.

bumping this... seems like noone's totally owning EK 101 (most people are getting in the 8 - 10 range)

EK1: 11
EK2: 11
I was quite impressed with how it felt compared to the actual MCAT and to a lesser extent, AAMC tests. It did a pretty solid job of mimicking that annoying grouping of answer choices that you'd find on a real MCAT.
What exactly is the strategy in the EK Verbal manual? I don't have that, and was wondering what the strategy is like compared to the Kaplan and TPR ones. Is it significantly different that it helps? Right now, I do what I've always done for any verbal/reading comprehension test (GRE, SAT II, AP English, etc)... skim the passage, get the general idea, get an idea of the different parts of the passage, then attack the questions and refer back to the passage for specific information. Seems simple to me, but I can't help but feel I can (and I need to) improve on this.
Right now, I'd say I am at the 10-11 level of verbal reasoning, and I can't quite seem to get myself over the hump to 12+. Maybe if I waffled over answer choices a lot less and went with what I initially think is the right answer, I might get more questions right. Has anyone been in this situation before? (getting over the hump)

Does everyone do all the 9 passages when they take a test? Why dont you just take 7 and convert the timing and the score?
How long are we supposed to give ourselves for 9 passages?

85 minutes for 9 passages, the way they did it before the new CBT test began being administered

blah...

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9

really annoying :S

I got 10's and 11's on EK 1-9, didn't do the 10th one.

I got a 10 on the actual test, but I felt like I got a 12... Turns out I didn't.

haha felt like a 12...that's awesome...I wonder how that feels like

When i took it last year, it felt like a 2...no seriously...but I got a 9. Maybe if I feel a 15 I'll get a 10 this time around

I just wonder what kind of things one can really change in the approach to verbal reasoning.. they aren't kidding when they say its the hardest score to raise on the MCAT. Fortunately I'm getting consistent 11's, but I would like consistent 13's. Call me greedy, but that's what I need in order to make a retake worthwhile.

haha im here hoping for a 10 or 11 and you're wanting a 13. From my knowledge, anywhere above a 12, you're looking at luck of the draw.

I'm retaking to get my verbal into double digits and Sciences into 13-14-15 range.

EK 1 = 5
EK 2 = 6
EK 3 = 8 (I took 7 extra minutes though!)
EK 4 = 9 ( on time!)

However, I do 7 passages in a row! for the 4rth test...I did the last 2 passages from the 3rd and first 5 from the 4rth...I do them in 66 minutes...I take 6 more minutes because there are approximately 46 questions (instead of 40) when I do the 7 passages...

I will keep you posted on my scores...
why did this thread die so quickly?

Ek1: 8
EK2: 7
Ek3: 10
Ek4: 11

taking the 5th section tomorrow, let's hope the trend continues!! :D

also, i really hope you guys are right and that these sections are accurate predictors. retaking in a couple weeks and just hopin for that double digit score in vr!

Does Examkrackers help boost your MCAT scores? Because reading online some students who have taken the MCAT the second time around without studying the MCAT the first time did better on their MCAT.

haha im here hoping for a 10 or 11 and you're wanting a 13. From my knowledge, anywhere above a 12, you're looking at luck of the draw.

I'm retaking to get my verbal into double digits and Sciences into 13-14-15 range.


Same here.. I want to improve on my 11 (because for some reason, I was killing the Kaplan verbal sections the first time around... I was getting 13's, but as it might appear, Kaplan verbal isn't that great.. and then again, the conditions in which I was studying last time weren't very ideal at all) from the previous administration.

However, sciences are more of a priority as I got 10's in both sections... thankfully science scores are more pliable than verbal. My thinking is that if I can improve my verbal score through better comprehension of the material and catching myself from getting 'tricked' by wording/phrasing of questions and answer choices (so far, that's what I've identified as the main causes for the incorrect choices I've made in VR, and to a lesser extent, the PS sections I've been doing), it'll help me a bit on the other sections as I practice on those too.

Bottom line, I want to improve all around, and not be resigned to getting 11's on EK. Again, yes I sound greedy but hey, I need to make it worthwhile to retake (I haven't signed up for a September administration yet).

Anyway, just took EK VR 3. Having slept 10 hours the night before, I thought there weren't even any passages that I had any trouble understanding. The six questions I got wrong resulted from either 1) misunderstanding the question and what it was asking... don't ask me why, but sometimes I rush through and miss out on it, and 2) extrapolating a little too far and choosing an answer that's not quite relevant to the question, which leads me back to 1). I think it's something that can be addressed through practice, and being a little more careful when reading the questions. I guess verbal reasoning is not just about understanding the passage, it's understanding what the question is asking and what the answer choices have to do with that. In the end, I think its all about the passages you get.. they seem to vary in degree of difficulty for different people.

EK 1: 11
EK 2: 11
EK 3: 12

I also think it has a lot to do with the passages you get...If you are not familiar with the material then you can get really screwed...For example, if you are not good with politics, you are already at a disadvantage because you wont be familiar with a lot of the terminology they use...

anyone feel like these EK passages are just too easy/straightforward reads? like taking my time and reading through i find myself completely understanding the psg, makes the questions that much easier.

for some reason, i feel as if aamc vr psgs are not as easy reads as Ek makes it out to be

I havent really done any aamc passages...But I find that yeah, the reads have been pretty straightforward (i guess with a few exceptions)...

my scores were between 10 and 13. overall, i would say the EK verbal 1001 book was good practice for the AAMC tests because I was consistently scoring 11-13 on the AAMC tests (3-9).

damn, how do you people do it...

DAMN thats what I like to know. Who else here NOT born here....I think we should be affirmative actioned in just like the URMs

yes I'm playing the race card....mwahaha even though asians are OVER-repped, but race card nonetheless

1: 8
2: 8
3: 8
4: 7
5: 7

Ugh I can't believe after all the time i've been spending doing these and kaplan practices i'm actually going down on this as well as kaplan..I don't know how you guys do it

1: 8
2: 8
3: 8
4: 7
5: 7

Ugh I can't believe after all the time i've been spending doing these and kaplan practices i'm actually going down on this as well as kaplan..I don't know how you guys do it

this may sound cheesy, but one of the important things that has helped me is confidence. the more confident you are attacking these passages, the more youll get out as you read and the easier the answers will come.

this may sound cheesy, but one of the important things that has helped me is confidence. the more confident you are attacking these passages, the more youll get out as you read and the easier the answers will come.

definitely true.. I've noticed that too

Yeah EK also says the same exact thing...Be arrogant when you are reading the passages. Always criticize what you are reading and pretend like you are reading something so damn interesting...Your brain will remember more like that. :thumbup:

Try VR #6.. the video game passage(first passage)

I got OWNED. I got 5 QUESTIONS wrong on that first passage. I normally get 2-3 wrong every 2 passages.

So far:

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10

I'll try that sometime soon.. I haven't taken any EK VR sections since my last post in this thread (maybe a week) and since then have gotten 13's on two Kaplan verbal sections from the Comprehensive Review Book. I think one of them would be from FL #1 (the FL that was in the back of the comprehensive review corresponds to FL #1, which I got a total of 37 on; 12P 13V 12B; I got 24 wrong on the PS and 13 wrong on the BS, which leads me back to my questions about Kaplan's curve!) so I figure Kaplan is at least decent practice, if a bit too detail-oriented.

Try VR #6.. the video game passage(first passage)

I hated that too...

#5: 8
#6: 8
#7: 8
No damn improvement...

I think the confidence thing really works too...

1. 7
2. 5
3. 8
4. 8
5. 8
6. 8
7. 10 !! (One question away from an "11")

I was just a lot more confident when i started EK7, i mentally prepared myself and started that section, i guess it worked...

5: 10 (32/40)
6: 11 (33/40)
7: 12 (36/40)

Note, I have been practicing with shortened tests (7P,40Q) and have been using a linear interpolation for the scaled scores.

I think the confidence thing really works too...

1. 7
2. 5
3. 8
4. 8
5. 8
6. 8
7. 10 !! (One question away from an "11")

I was just a lot more confident when i started EK7, i mentally prepared myself and started that section, i guess it worked...

good job...it seems that you and I are in the same boat...What did you do to mentally prepare yourself?

1: 8
2: 8
3: 8
4: 7
5: 7

Ugh I can't believe after all the time i've been spending doing these and kaplan practices i'm actually going down on this as well as kaplan..I don't know how you guys do it

I got a 9 on #6..not my goal but guess I can't really complain

Try VR #6.. the video game passage(first passage)

I got OWNED. I got 5 QUESTIONS wrong on that first passage. I normally get 2-3 wrong every 2 passages.

So far:

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10

omg a passage on video games? :love:

omg a passage on video games? :love:

I thought the same thing...but the questions are a bit tricky...

Updated... just took EK VR 4 this past evening.

EK1: 11
EK2: 11
EK3: 12
EK4: 12

I was just one wrong answer away from a 11 though. I got seven wrong, and they were all from 3 passages: the conflict-resolution one (2) at the beginning, the Rembrandt forgery one (2), and the male-female evolution (3) one at the end. Interesting, especially since I got bookended. So here's a brief self-analysis, for anyone who cares...

1) I thought the conflict-resolution one was just a little dense, and I caught myself glazing over it. A lack of focus probably got me here. Wonder if I can blame that on starting the test right after dinner. A very detail-oriented passage, should have gotten 6/6, no excuses. Going to have to look into whether the PS can affect my VR performance like this, but it wasn't a problem before, especially since VR is my strong suit.

2) The Rembrandt had some interesting trap questions that I missed. Made some not-quite-so-good inferences that ended up getting me a decent answer that wasn't quite right. Have to remember to pick the best answer possible, not just an answer I think is plausible. Its worth noting that I remember at least one of them to be one of those questions with no good answer, requiring you to decide which of the crappy answers is the best one. God, I HATE these, and I identify these as the ones I still get wrong on a consistent basis. This is the type of thing that seems to get me every time I take a VR test.

3) Wow, the male-female evolution one was deceptively hard. The subject matter is very easy to read, but I don't think I properly blocked out the outside influences because I answered two of the questions in a way that I wouldn't have otherwise. Also, the third was one of these questions with no great answers. This passage kicked my ass, and I thought I had nailed this one. This is quite uncharacteristic of me, especially to get 3/6 in one passage.

4) The other ones were relatively simple and I was able to catch the traps and tricks. Even the one where there were like 8-9 questions weren't troublesome. I'm starting to think I need to make an even greater effort to focus 100% the whole way through, especially at the beginning and the end. Now it's time to go back and analyze the thought processes for those questions where there's no one great answer... my only complaint so far about EK is that I almost never agree with the reasoning behind the answers to those particular questions, which invariably go "Using the process of elimination, you should be able to eliminate the other answers and identify this one as the best" which isn't that easy when they all suck. Seems like the author goes out of his way to make some of these convoluted questions. I really need to solve these in a way that I can apply to the actual AAMC verbal passages.

Great job.. I got owned on VR 4.. got a 9 on it :(

Conflict resolution.. 1 wrong..
Abortion... 2 wrong..

going well so far.. almost half done..

Jacket passage: 3 wrong... yikes!
Polish Rider Painting: 3 wrong.. shiet
Sexual orientation: 3 wrong.. omg

I was rushing at this point

Japanese Yamato: 1 wrong..

OWNED on the men/women evolution passage... 4 wrong


How long are you spending on each passage.. I try to do each passage in 8 minutes. Except, I realized.. for the older format, we can spend up to 9 minutes, meaning 18 mins per passage pair. I think I'm rushing too fast and not "going back" to the passage enough.

I thought the homosexuality passage was tough as ****. I actually spent a lot of time on it, because I had to continually refer back to the passage to make sure my answers were correct (There was this one question about the author's conclusion about the two Doctors' theory; I must have spent maybe 2-3 minutes looking back at the passage for this one question because it required sorting through the entire theory and making inferences), and I think the time I spent on it could have been used to consider my choices at the very end (the evolution one) more carefully.

Oh well, that's what more practice is for. :thumbup:

I think I spent roughly 7-8 minutes on all the passages in between the beginning and the end, except for the homosexuality one, which probably ate up a significant 11-12 minutes. For the ones at the beginning and the end, I probably took the full 9 minutes each, maybe 10. I finished with roughly 5 minutes to go.

Basically, either I get it right away after looking at the answer choices, or I don't and I have to spend a bit of time to look at the question stem and the passage to figure it out.. and sometimes I take longer than I should, even though I often get it correct. I need to increase the occurrence of the former ;-)

Wow... VR #6 is by far the hardest Verbal test I've ever taken ... wow last time I got an 8 was in January when I got the book

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10 (Was 1 away from a 11)
6: 8

Uh oh.. I hope my scores don't go downhill from here..
I'm going to actually predict an answer before answering each question.. I tend to fall for traps easily.. answers that "sound right".. I choose them b/c it makes me feel good.. but it's ridiculous. I'm gonna predict first and see how it goes.

I started doing EK after the 5/31 VR fiasco, and here's how it has gone so far:

EK2: 11
EK3:12 (my first 12!)
EK4:11

OK, seriously, how did I get a 7 on the real MCAT VR? I'm starting to think it was burnout...

Shoot. I took VR 5 today, and I got -7. Same as EK4, one away from a 11.

EK1: 11
EK2: 11
EK3: 12
EK4: 12
EK5: 12

Doing a detailed self-analysis, there are four things that stood out to me:

1) In the first passage alone with music theory, I got 3 wrong. I hope this isn't a trend, as in EK4 I got 2 wrong in the first passage alone. It looks like I failed to distinguish between the author and Mr. Rothstein. A lot of the questions in this passage involve the author, so I can see why I got 4/7. But these are rookie mistakes.. this is pissing me off pretty good.

2) The third passage about spanking was tricky. It basically lists two studies where its kind of difficult to know what the author's intentions are without knowing the big picture, and there are a lot of details that get in the way of seeing the big picture. I got 6/7; I got tricked on #20 because I was too lazy/confused to realize what exactly "on the basis of the passage quote" really meant.

3) The fourth passage was kind of confusing. It shouldn't have been that hard but I made poor deductions about the passage argument, I guess. 5/7.

4) Everything else was easy though. Got 6/7 on the Descartes one though. The fact that the majority of my wrong choices come in the first couple of passages is interesting. Could be the passages, because my mistakes seem to come in bunches with regards to passages.

Shoot. I took VR 5 today, and I got -7. Same as EK4, one away from a 11.

EK1: 11
EK2: 11
EK3: 12
EK4: 12
EK5: 12

Doing a detailed self-analysis, there are four things that stood out to me:

1) In the first passage alone with music theory, I got 3 wrong. I hope this isn't a trend, as in EK4 I got 2 wrong in the first passage alone. It looks like I failed to distinguish between the author and Mr. Rothstein. A lot of the questions in this passage involve the author, so I can see why I got 4/7. But these are rookie mistakes.. this is pissing me off pretty good.

2) The third passage about spanking was tricky. It basically lists two studies where its kind of difficult to know what the author's intentions are without knowing the big picture, and there are a lot of details that get in the way of seeing the big picture. I got 6/7; I got tricked on #20 because I was too lazy/confused to realize what exactly "on the basis of the passage quote" really meant.

3) The fourth passage was kind of confusing. It shouldn't have been that hard but I made poor deductions about the passage argument, I guess. 5/7.

4) Everything else was easy though. Got 6/7 on the Descartes one though. The fact that the majority of my wrong choices come in the first couple of passages is interesting. Could be the passages, because my mistakes seem to come in bunches with regards to passages.

my mistakes definitely seem to come in bunches too! I hate it!

Well, I got ambitious and decided to do EK VR 6 to make it the second time I took a VR test today. I got -9 to make it a solid 11. Probably should have waited until tomorrow at the earliest to attempt another full section, but oh well. Practice makes perfect.

Some shorter notes this time around:

1) Video game passage was easy. The only one I got wrong was the one at the end about the realism of the games. I chose the one answer about dying and then being able to restart the game. Oh well.

2) Lots of those annoying problems where if you didn't completely understand the passage, you were more likely to get it wrong than right. So it's definitely a comprehension issue in some passages.

Given that I've done almost half the VR book, I think I'll spend some time this weekend to look over the tests I've done so far, and go through the reasoning behind some of the answers. Won't be too fun, but as you can tell, I really want to get my scores up.

The biggest problem I have with EK 101 is..

they give you 85 minutes for 9 passages

that's almost 9.5 mins per passage.

The CBT MCAT is 60 minutes for 7 passages

thats 8.5 minutes per passage.

Adding it all up, we get an extra 9 minutes on EK 101 that we shouldn't be getting! The reason I haven't been doing that great lately is that I've been reading the passages too fast to stick to 8 mins per passage. However, each EK passage seems to take >8 mins.. but I try to limit myself and make more mistakes. Perhaps, I should stick to EK's timing and give myself 9.5 mins per passage? But this might get me into a bad habit! Ahh don't know what to do.

The two 10s I got (which were almost 11s) happened when I took the full Verbal test. The other scores were when I split it up...

The biggest problem I have with EK 101 is..

they give you 85 minutes for 9 passages

that's almost 9.5 mins per passage.

The CBT MCAT is 60 minutes for 7 passages

thats 8.5 minutes per passage.

Adding it all up, we get an extra 9 minutes on EK 101 that we shouldn't be getting! The reason I haven't been doing that great lately is that I've been reading the passages too fast to stick to 8 mins per passage. However, each EK passage seems to take >8 mins.. but I try to limit myself and make more mistakes. Perhaps, I should stick to EK's timing and give myself 9.5 mins per passage? But this might get me into a bad habit! Ahh don't know what to do.

The two 10s I got (which were almost 11s) happened when I took the full Verbal test. The other scores were when I split it up...

I would advise that you take the tests under the shorter time (8.5 min/passage). More and more people are saying that the CBT VR passages seem much longer than the practice ones. It would be much more useful if you can get yourself accustomed to finishing passages more quickly, trust me on this one. I was finishing the Kaplan and AAMC VR practice tests 10-15 minutes early, and I barely finished the real MCAT VR section on time. If you can train yourself to be fast and accurate, you're golden.

The biggest problem I have with EK 101 is..

they give you 85 minutes for 9 passages

that's almost 9.5 mins per passage.

The CBT MCAT is 60 minutes for 7 passages

thats 8.5 minutes per passage.

Adding it all up, we get an extra 9 minutes on EK 101 that we shouldn't be getting! The reason I haven't been doing that great lately is that I've been reading the passages too fast to stick to 8 mins per passage. However, each EK passage seems to take >8 mins.. but I try to limit myself and make more mistakes. Perhaps, I should stick to EK's timing and give myself 9.5 mins per passage? But this might get me into a bad habit! Ahh don't know what to do.

The two 10s I got (which were almost 11s) happened when I took the full Verbal test. The other scores were when I split it up...

Yeah but there are more questions per passage.

I only look at the timer once and that's after the fifth passage. If there's at least 40 minutes left, I'm golden.

Do you guys practice with 6 passages at a time (or whatever gets you to 40 first) and just extrapolate your EK score? Or do you just do the entire tests?

The biggest problem I have with EK 101 is..

they give you 85 minutes for 9 passages

that's almost 9.5 mins per passage.

The CBT MCAT is 60 minutes for 7 passages

thats 8.5 minutes per passage.

Adding it all up, we get an extra 9 minutes on EK 101 that we shouldn't be getting! The reason I haven't been doing that great lately is that I've been reading the passages too fast to stick to 8 mins per passage. However, each EK passage seems to take >8 mins.. but I try to limit myself and make more mistakes. Perhaps, I should stick to EK's timing and give myself 9.5 mins per passage? But this might get me into a bad habit! Ahh don't know what to do.

The two 10s I got (which were almost 11s) happened when I took the full Verbal test. The other scores were when I split it up...

I want to say, don't go by a strict 8 minutes a passage. Go with the time it takes to do all passages at 8 minutes a passage. Each passage will vary in difficulty for you. Sometimes I'm done with a passage in 6-7 minutes. It gives you a little time to spend on the passages that might make it tougher for you.

Finally if you're always worried about time, its going to affect your verbal performance. Don't worry about how fast you read, its more about how fast you answer questions. That means you shouldn't spend too much time on a single question. Guess and move on.

I only look at the timer once and that's after the fifth passage. If there's at least 40 minutes left, I'm golden.

Do you guys practice with 6 passages at a time (or whatever gets you to 40 first) and just extrapolate your EK score? Or do you just do the entire tests?

I do the entire test, but I limit myself to a total time of 72 minutes for 9 passages. I still finish with 2-5 min. to spare, and it keeps me in the CBT VR timeframe.

I do 7 passages at a time....they usually amount to 46 questions! so I take about 66 minutes...

Interesting. I'll have to make changes accordingly. It's not a huge stretch to do that because I usually finish with 6-10 minutes to go.

Today I experimented on myself to see if trying to finish a test too quickly would have detrimental effects. I took EK 101 #5 and finished in just over 65 minutes, and I still got an 11 :D.

Sidenote: Mad props to the people who suggested using the LSAT reading comp for practice... quite helpful!

Ever since i got my first "10" ive been very consistent...

1. 7
2. 5
3. 8
4. 8
5. 8
6. 8
7. 10
8. 10
9. 10
10. 10
11. 11 Hell Yea!!

I started out pretty low and had no confidence. I was getting 6-7 on aamcs and a few lucky 9s, then i decided to retake one of the aamc to boost my confidence. Scored a "10" and then started doing EK again. Scores remained consistent 10s and i finally got an 11 on the last one. Its all about confidence...

Awesome job man!

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10 (Was 1 away from a 11)
6: 8
7: 11
8: 8
9: 10

updated! I got a 11 on #7.. my first 11 ever yay lol
I guess this is kind of a good sign.... except... Kaplan's VR is kicking my @$$

i've gotten mostly 10's, a few 11's and one 9

i'm pretty happy with that and will be more than satisfied if i get a 10 on the real thing

Kaplan QBank verbal is kicking my ass but the FL VR isnt so bad (getting about a 10 using AAMC curve)

I normally feel "in control" when I take EK passages..

does anyone else feel that they have no control when they're taking Kaplan VR lol

I've always thought Kaplan was the easiest VR compared to AAMC and EK. I always get 13's, no less than 12, as opposed to 11's on EK. It's more detail oriented and asks you to make less inferences, IMO.

I realized I was doing better when I "predicted" the answer before looking at the choices..

I realized I was doing better when I "predicted" the answer before looking at the choices..


That's because you understand/comprehend the passage better.

I've been doing 2-3 passages per day.. EK 8. I'm getting raped.. 12 wrong so far in 5 passages.. I haven't done this badly in a loooong time.

On EK #7, I only got 11 wrong total!

I really believe the EK tests go: hard, easy, hard, easy

You REALLY, REALLY, have to understand the passage as well as you can the first time through.. I don't know about you guys.. but in every passage, there are about 2 questions where I have NO idea what the answer is. I just eliminate answers and pick one. A lot of times, in retrospect, these answer choices don't really have to do with the passage all that much. I feel most comfortable picking it though b/c it sounds complicated or correct. Otherwise I'll run out of time.

It sucks.. but ultimately its just a test of reading comprehension and how much raw "detail" you can remember in one reading ... not how well you can eliminate answers. Most people have "normal" elimination skill.. eliminate extremes etc.. and you're down to 2. The only way to pick the best out of the 2 is to have understood the passage well while picking up the necessary details.

That being said, you never see anyone going from a 8 - 12. You see people going from 8s (with no prep) to 10s .. and you see people starting off at 11s (with no prep) and moving to 13s. lol.. sorry about the pessimistic post.. VR is just pissing me off.

My favorite answer explanation: If the other answer wasn't there, this would have been the correct answer. Damn you, salty the cracker.

Hey guys, are you doing 9 passages at once or 7 and then approximate the appropriate amount of time?

To Spartanbluejay - I accidentally timed myself wrong today and gave myself 78 minutes instead of 85 minutes to do nine passages on test 6 and got owned. I missed 8 questions just on the last two passages to get a 9 *sigh* I don't know how you can do it in 72 minutes =/

What are you guys doing? I'm not sure if I should continue to practice with the reduced amount of time to better prep in case AAMC throws a curveball, but it would be inaccurate predictor of my performance and might drop my self-esteem if I'm not scoring high enough. Oh the dilemma.

On another note, I'm starting to love VR again. I've been pretty consistent recently and I hope the trend will continue. To those of you whose marks are taking a dip, I'm suggesting that you guys take about 2 days (or more, as needed) off verbal and then come back to it. I felt that it helped me tremendously and gave me the concentration I needed.

Took EK 7 today, got -6, for a 12.

Also took a reading comprehension section from the first LSAC LSAT book (the one with the first three tests). I got 27/27. It seems more ambiguous at first and difficult but its actually quite easy and straightforward. I didn't feel like the other choices could have been the answer too, it was just a matter of understanding what's going on.

Also took a reading comprehension section from the first LSAC LSAT book (the one with the first three tests). I got 27/27. It seems more ambiguous at first and difficult but its actually quite easy and straightforward. I didn't feel like the other choices could have been the answer too, it was just a matter of understanding what's going on.

My verbal sucks big time.. I'm working on it every other day with good results on one test and then really bad on another. Basically I've got an unstable verbal score that jumps around a lot. I was just about to work on some LSAT verbal cuz someone mentioned it on here.. after reading what you said about it, would you suggest that I not waste my time?

Took EK 7 today, got -6, for a 12.

Also took a reading comprehension section from the first LSAC LSAT book (the one with the first three tests). I got 27/27. It seems more ambiguous at first and difficult but its actually quite easy and straightforward. I didn't feel like the other choices could have been the answer too, it was just a matter of understanding what's going on.

Yup, go on the Kaplan website.. they have a free LSAT to take.. I tried their Verbal and got a 27/27 also. 5 answer choices, but its much more straight forward.

My verbal sucks big time.. I'm working on it every other day with good results on one test and then really bad on another. Basically I've got an unstable verbal score that jumps around a lot. I was just about to work on some LSAT verbal cuz someone mentioned it on here.. after reading what you said about it, would you suggest that I not waste my time?

I would use the LSAT as practice, but it should not be something you rely on to develop your verbal strategy as it is slightly different in terms of question mechanics. There is an extra answer choice, and answer choices tend to be longer/wordy so if you don't completely comprehend the passage before doing the questions, you're going to waste more time just by reading through the answer choices. In that respect you can improve your ability to comprehend different types of passages right off the bat, which should translate very well to the actual VR. Those are just my thoughts anyway, you should try a section from an actual test released by the LSAC and see what you think.

I have been using old real LSAT exams for practice. Not so much to develop strategy, because, as RoadRunner has mentioned, there are some differences. However, I do find that using the LSAT passages has helped me in figuring out the organization of arguments, and has also helped me with timing. It is also helpful if, like me, you struggle with the humanities passages. Overall, between the LSAT practice and EK 101, I feel much more confident about VR this time.

Hey guys, are you doing 9 passages at once or 7 and then approximate the appropriate amount of time?

To Spartanbluejay - I accidentally timed myself wrong today and gave myself 78 minutes instead of 85 minutes to do nine passages on test 6 and got owned. I missed 8 questions just on the last two passages to get a 9 *sigh* I don't know how you can do it in 72 minutes =/

What are you guys doing? I'm not sure if I should continue to practice with the reduced amount of time to better prep in case AAMC throws a curveball, but it would be inaccurate predictor of my performance and might drop my self-esteem if I'm not scoring high enough. Oh the dilemma.

On another note, I'm starting to love VR again. I've been pretty consistent recently and I hope the trend will continue. To those of you whose marks are taking a dip, I'm suggesting that you guys take about 2 days (or more, as needed) off verbal and then come back to it. I felt that it helped me tremendously and gave me the concentration I needed.

It's taken a good amount of practice to get under 72 minutes. I took EK5 a couple days ago in 66 min and got an 11, which is where I was scoring when I was taking more time. I found that the mistakes I was making are not due to a timing issue and if I push myself to read faster, I do still get the point of the passage. It sounds like from your recent experience that you rushed at the end because you were running out of time. Panic can be your worst enemy. I shoot for finishing each passage/questions under or just around 8 minutes. If I can finish the tough ones at 8 or a little over, and the easier ones in less, I'm good on time.

When I took practice tests for my first MCAT go-round, I took them in the normal time frame and didn't take to many tests b/c I was consistently in the 10-11 range, so I thought I'd be fine. I got owned on the real thing. Sometimes I think that the occasional low practice score can be a good thing b/c it'll push you to work a little harder.

Just a note I would like to add since Verbal is usually my highest (12-13) now.

When I get one of those detailed passages and I know I am going to have to come back to answer some of the questions. I speed through the passage in 2-3 minutes (get the main point) and come back.

EK verbal test (2) passage (6), the one with the director and all the different types of shots, optics, ect. is a good example of what I am referencing. (not exactly sure about its location)

I started in and realized it was going to be so detailed I would not remember all the different crap so I skipped over it and went straight to the questions.

Only missed one and got it in around 7 minutes what I would consider a harder, time wasting passage.

I think that is what many say about the critical thinking aspect of the test.

Trying to avoid the time sinks and maximizing the easy ones.

Hope this helps someone. Thought I would share some of my strategy to see if it can help others.

I also think that EK is harder than AAMC after taking more practice tests. I also can read the AAMC almost twice as fast.

Just a note I would like to add since Verbal is usually my highest (12-13) now.

When I get one of those detailed passages and I know I am going to have to come back to answer some of the questions. I speed through the passage in 2-3 minutes (get the main point) and come back.

EK verbal test (2) passage (6), the one with the director and all the different types of shots, optics, ect. is a good example of what I am referencing. (not exactly sure about its location)

I started in and realized it was going to be so detailed I would not remember all the different crap so I skipped over it and went straight to the questions.

Only missed one and got it in around 7 minutes what I would consider a harder, time wasting passage.

I think that is what many say about the critical thinking aspect of the test.

Trying to avoid the time sinks and maximizing the easy ones.

Hope this helps someone. Thought I would share some of my strategy to see if it can help others.

I also think that EK is harder than AAMC after taking more practice tests. I also can read the AAMC almost twice as fast.

I agree with avoiding time sinks; but with regards to reducing the time spent on individual passages, I would add the stipulation that going through it TOO fast might not be good. I've been doing that and finishing tests early (on the EK's, I finish 10 minutes early, and on the first AAMC CBT3 test I just took, I finished with 20 minutes to go. On those, I get 85-90% correct).

Sometimes I feel like there's a balance. Spend less time answering the easy questions so I get some more time to answer the hard ones, right? Then, when I look at my breakdown, its quite obvious that I spend too much time on the hard questions because 4 of the 8 questions I got wrong were because I changed the answer choice. So I think I want to take a little more time going through the section, and above all, just forget about past passages and don't go back to them if I chose a reasonable answer. I'll have to trust in my reading ability... which is probably the most important approach to verbal.

I agree. The one time I got a 90% right on VR, I had 5 mins remaining.. and just relaxed and got something to eat. I'm trying it on some passages right now and I am doing better. I think EK hates me though lol.. I'm getting tired of the homosexuality passages (where you're forced to use background knowledge) with extreme answers,

I'll have to trust in my reading ability... which is probably the most important approach to verbal.

best advice! guys, confidence is the key!!! you know you can read. give yourself A LOT of credit for that. believe in your reading ability!

Get your mind set in the right mode before attempting a verbal exam. If you tend to get nervous, then try thinking about the way you felt when you did really well in a class..that feeling of accomplishment and all that hard work that you put in to get that A. Or anything else you did really well in. Just get that feeling of accomplishment and that you're just as smart as anyone.

Read with unbelievable interest, like you're captivated by it. Don't care about the scores, all that you should be thinking about in the back of your mind is 'i wanna read this because "i" want to read it' not 'i wanna read this because i have to get a good score on verbal' or 'i've got to read this right so that i can pick the right answers to the questions.' Think about it, when you read something you wanted to read, did you care whether or not you could answer questions about it? no. you read cuz you wanted to of your own volition and thus you remembered (one of the benefits of reading with interest).

see if this works for you.. seriously, this exam soo mental.

Hmm... someone should do the tests in reverse order...
You know? Start with the last test in the book and then do the 2nd to last one, etc.

It would be really immoral but great marketing to make the 1st tests the hardest, so as people do more and more tests in the book and there score is improving... they tell everyone that doing the tests made them improve by 4 points (even though it was simply because the latter tests were 4 points easier)

I don't know, just a thought.

Are you all doing the entire full length tests in a given sitting (all 9 passages)? I'm doing 3 passages at a time, and giving myself 27 minutes/set. I'm guessing this is reasonable since, on average, every three passages totals to approximately 20 questions. I started off averaging 4-6 wrong/set, I am now down to about 3/set. Hopefully this will translate to success on the actual CBT practice tests.

Hmm... someone should do the tests in reverse order...
You know? Start with the last test in the book and then do the 2nd to last one, etc.

It would be really immoral but great marketing to make the 1st tests the hardest, so as people do more and more tests in the book and there score is improving... they tell everyone that doing the tests made them improve by 4 points (even though it was simply because the latter tests were 4 points easier)

I don't know, just a thought.


thats actually a really good idea...I didn't think of that!

I was curious if there was anyone else using these? I took the first one last night at a busy starbucks (to begin to aclimate myself to the "be prepared for anything" test climate) and I got rocked. I scored a 5!! :scared:. Its okay though because I knew verbal was going to be the hardest. I was curious if anyone else using these tests could post their scores and or advice (I know there was a thread a while back, but that was for the April exam and I'm in need of encouragment and advice from the august takers. Thanks

my scores for the tests ranged from a 9 to a 13 and I took all the tests. Avg test score was 10. I found the reasoning for the passage answers to be pretty straighforward except for a few which seemed very abstract.

how are you guys figuring out scores from your ek 101 book...is there a converter in there somewhere that i missed?

Are you all doing the entire full length tests in a given sitting (all 9 passages)? I'm doing 3 passages at a time, and giving myself 27 minutes/set. I'm guessing this is reasonable since, on average, every three passages totals to approximately 20 questions. I started off averaging 4-6 wrong/set, I am now down to about 3/set. Hopefully this will translate to success on the actual CBT practice tests.

I think you are giving yourself too much time.

7 passages * 9 minutes = oh $hit!!!

I say try and get the passages down to an average of 7-8 minutes or faster depending on whether or not you can keep the same score.

I have also developed a backup strategy where I can finish a passage in 5 minutes with almost the same results when I go slower.

Got to be ready for anything!!!

how are you guys figuring out scores from your ek 101 book...is there a converter in there somewhere that i missed?

Near the end on the back of one of the pages...I think before the right answers without the explanations.

I have also developed a backup strategy where I can finish a passage in 5 minutes with almost the same results when I go slower.

Hey J DUB, how do you approach your passage if you have 5 minutes left? If this happens to me, I try to skim the passage (with emphasis on beginning/ending of the paragraphs) in about 2 minutes-ish and then do the questions.

Although I must say the results are very variable from one passage to the next. Do you have a better approach?

EK is horrible. I have been scoring in the 13-14 range on AAMC, but often do 10s on EK, because the answers to questions are often wrong. I'll just keep using AAMC because my EK 101 book is collecting dust (though I should have thrown it out the window...).

I was doing very very very bad in verbal so far. I started with 4 on princeton diags, went max to 6, got 2 3's and today with AAMC diag, 6. I was disappointed at it as I started working hard on verbal after the 6. However, finally, finally on my 4th EXAMCRACKERS test today, after 1 and a half hr of work: my first 9. I could have easily got 2 questions which i didn't read correctly and got a 10. It feels sooo nice. I am going to try another tomorrow. Hopefully it improves. :)

I was doing very very very bad in verbal so far. I started with 4 on princeton diags, went max to 6, got 2 3's and today with AAMC diag, 6. I was disappointed at it as I started working hard on verbal after the 6. However, finally, finally on my 4th EXAMCRACKERS test today, after 1 and a half hr of work: my first 9. I could have easily got 2 questions which i didn't read correctly and got a 10. It feels sooo nice. I am going to try another tomorrow. Hopefully it improves. :)

im in the same exact boat...i hit a 9 but can't seem to get above that...

Hey J DUB, how do you approach your passage if you have 5 minutes left? If this happens to me, I try to skim the passage (with emphasis on beginning/ending of the paragraphs) in about 2 minutes-ish and then do the questions.

Although I must say the results are very variable from one passage to the next. Do you have a better approach?

That basically is my approach but I do get to skim the whole passage not just the beginning and end.

I still get a feel for the passage and usually what I miss is a detailed question. It really depends on the detailed ones how quick I can find the answer in the passage.

I answer the feel ones first and the ones I need to look back on the passage last.

You have to be good at getting in and out of the passage fast. I usually remember where things are in the passage.

I usually miss one or two a passage doing this compared to zero or maybe one. I average a miss a passage or less. (35 out of 40).

:luck:

Hey JDUB.. thanks for the tips so far

any advice for the "art/painting" passages? I can never tell if they're detail or if I should be attempting to understand them as a "whole".. normally there are so many sub-arguments within the passage.

Hey JDUB.. thanks for the tips so far

any advice for the "art/painting" passages? I can never tell if they're detail or if I should be attempting to understand them as a "whole".. normally there are so many sub-arguments within the passage.

usually those subarguments add up to one big argument. Like X style of art is better than Y style of art. Or the author could be presenting different types of genre. Or maybe the argument is art isnt as good today as it is before and presents mini arguments to argue that point.

Hey JDUB.. thanks for the tips so far

any advice for the "art/painting" passages? I can never tell if they're detail or if I should be attempting to understand them as a "whole".. normally there are so many sub-arguments within the passage.


Maybe a little of both.

You have to read the whole passage to get the entire argument, but try not to get bogged down with the detail. Then, answer the questions concerning the arguments and then tackle the detailed ones. Saving time not reading the details and knowing where they are you can come back and pick the details out later. This strategy would be good to attack this kind of passage short on time or not. I believe some of the passages are wordy and less direct to be the time sink passages that get you behind and cost one a good score. There is always one and maybe two. If you can get through these relatively fast and not spend more than the usual amount of time, then you can finish the "easier" passages and get most of them right. The key remains with the harder passages not missing many. When you come to a passage that gives you problems come back to it later and find the best way to attack those passages for yourself the fastest and most accurate way. Find a comfortable pace for yourself and be an active reader. Sometimes, I lose focus and I have such a harder time getting the right choices. Focus on each passage as though your life depended on it and then dump and repeat.
Remember this section requires more focus than the others. You can drain yourself here and regroup for BS during the WS and breaks. PS, I skim passages and start answering questions to save some energy for Verbal. If you can pick the info out quickly, then it saves time too. I guess working in that law office and HR dept really helped me out because I had to read hundreds of pages a day trying to get the details out of the material.

I do notice I do better on passages I like the material.

I'm going to go on a hiatus with EK... I still have 4 more tests to go (8, 9, 10 and 11) and I notice the quality of the questions/explanations are decreasing the farther I go.

Going to be working on LSAT passages until further notice so I can work on comprehension of the passages I tend to dislike reading about.. at this point, I think the only way I'm going to improve my verbal scores is to just increase my interest in the passages and overall comprehension. No funny tricks or shortcuts here. You could say the same for improving your VR score in general.

ek1: 5
ek2: 7
ek3: 6
ek4: 7
ek5: 9
ek6:11
ek7: 11
ek8: 11
all within the last month

I swear, i woke up one morning and it just seemed to click a bit. ek 6-8 were done in coffee shops with noise and music. just practice!!

Very nice. I've been sitting in the 11-12 range throughout the entire book. While I get 12's more consistently, that's the only improvement I've seen. So I can't really say I've improved at all, more like maintained my consistency. Would like to see some real improvement. Ah well.

ek1- 9
ek2- 9
ek3- 10
ek4- 8
ek5- 8
ek6- 9
ek7- 10
ek8- 10
ek9- 10

latest:
ek11- 7 (!?)

somebody tell me this is a fluke...

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10 (Was 1 away from a 11)
6: 8
7: 11
8: 8
9: 10
10: 9

Mann... I just want a 10 on the real thing.

2: 8
3: 11!!!
4: 6??? (I took it 1am at night)
5:9
6:9
7: 10

I really want a 10 on the real verbal, although an 11 would be sweet....

Ek1: 9
Ek2: 9
Ek3: 9
Ek4: 11
Ek5: 10

Gave myself about a week off from VR. Last time I did VR passages was a week ago. So I'll get cracking on the last couple of tests (8-11) and see how I do on those. And hope the AAMC VR sections hold up as good practice the rest of the way.

EK1: 9
EK2: 9
EK3: 10
EK4: 10
EK5: 11
EK6 10

Looking to get to a consistent 11...

AAMC verbal scores:

AAMC 7: 10
AAMC 10: 10

So not much has changed.

EK 8: 11
EK 9: 12

Will note that EK9's homosexuality passage is pretty frustrating and accounted for 3 of the 6 questions I got wrong.

Final scores:

1: 8
2: 8
3: 10
4: 9
5: 10 (Was 1 away from a 11)
6: 8
7: 11
8: 8
9: 10
10: 9
11: 10

I give up lol... after scoring a 14 once and a 12 once on Kaplan's VR, I feel like anything could happen... The day I scored a 14, I got a good night's rest.. In the end, I realized, it boils down to your logic skills.. not necessarily how well you understand the passage. If you can think clearly without doubt and with confidence, you can eliminate answers really well based on logic.

bump

3: 10
4: 11
5: 11
6: in the middle of it... not doing too well
I find that my score drops if I don't practice for a little

EK-1: 8
EK-2: 6

Same deal on the mini MCATs book, I just can't seem to grasp VR. I read the lessons for VR but I can never seem to apply any of the concepts to my passages because (1) I'm not given nearly as much in the question stems as in the example they provide, or (2) you can't "read arrogantly" on many passages when you have no idea/interest in it. Do any of you stick with the EK suggestions and find them helpful? I'm feeling so desperate because I'm taking the MCAT in January and this is the only section that's giving me so much beef.

To be honest... what's helped me is to read the passage fast... but the main idea isn't as important as they make it seem!

If you can read fast and remember where the details are instead of wasting time reading slowly to understand the passage "completely" (which you can't btw... our memories suck)... you'll have ample time on questions. Try it.

Even EK 101's verbal book has maybe 2-3 questions PER passage that are detail-oriented questions that you HAVE to go back to the passage for... relying on the "main idea" has screwed me over before.

hey, so i have the examkracker mcat 101 verbal passages book. i am just wondering how accurately do these problems reflect the actual mcat exam?

Moving to the MCAT Discussion Forum.

I have seen the main idea screw me over before, since it causes you to answer the questions one way, against your conscience sometimes. I've read passages before that did not have clear main ideas and gotten half the questions wrong for choosing what I thought was the right one.

bump

How is everyone doing on the verbal for this upcoming mcat? I can't seem to get pass an 8, and that's not even finishing on time. I tried tonight, reading faster and not going back, my score decreased to a 6! How is everyone else doing?

I've been doing one test a week. so far my scores have been
1: 8
2: 8
3: 8
4: 11

This last test I read through the passages really fast and it seemed to help me a lot for some reason. I'm shooting for a 12 or 13, so we'll see how next weeks test goes :thumbup:

Does anyone know, in order to get a 10, how many questions do we have to get right (OUT OF 40 -- Under the NEW CBT Version with reduced questions) Thanks. :)

Just took the 1/25 - prepared with EK VR 101... Great book, keep up with it and make sure to use 72 minutes and NOT 85 minutes for 60 questions. (I took that advice from SDN, helped me out a great deal!) :idea:

G'luck everyone!

Just took the 1/25 - prepared with EK VR 101... Great book, keep up with it and make sure to use 72 minutes and NOT 85 minutes for 60 questions. (I took that advice from SDN, helped me out a great deal!) :idea:

G'luck everyone!

This is true on a purely time/passage number. however, these passages also average more questions each and should take longer than the current passages.

so far,
EK verbal 101 scores
test 1 - 9
test 2 - 7(late afternoon in loud enviroment)
test 3 - 11 (whooohooo)

Hmm... someone should do the tests in reverse order...
You know? Start with the last test in the book and then do the 2nd to last one, etc.

It would be really immoral but great marketing to make the 1st tests the hardest, so as people do more and more tests in the book and there score is improving... they tell everyone that doing the tests made them improve by 4 points (even though it was simply because the latter tests were 4 points easier)

I don't know, just a thought.


I'm doing them in a sort of random order right now.

Here's what I got (in this order):

#1: 7
#7: 10
#11: 11
#5: 10

Does anyone have the scaled scoring conversion according to the NEW CBT version??

Anyone has their EK 101 book near them? I have no clue how they got question # 11 (THE QUESTION IN THE FIRST TWO "SAMPLE" PASSAGES). Back of the book says, the answer is choice D to question number 11 of the sample passage. That info is no where in the passage about oyester shells?? wtf? Is this outside info sort of which we don't need to know this kind of 'outside' info on real MCAT???? could anybody clarify please? Thanks!!!!!!

I just took #1 and got a 10. I went rather slow and deliberatly through the first half when I looked at the time and realized I only had 30 minutes left for as many questions. I rushed through the rest, going back as little as possible and not taking the time to construct a main idea. I missed 4 from the first half and 10 from the second. I guess I need to work on going faster through the first half without sacrificing my answering technique.

I just took #1 and got a 10. I went rather slow and deliberatly through the first half when I looked at the time and realized I only had 30 minutes left for as many questions. I rushed through the rest, going back as little as possible and not taking the time to construct a main idea. I missed 4 from the first half and 10 from the second. I guess I need to work on going faster through the first half without sacrificing my answering technique.

update (been taking them at one week intervals):

#1: 10
#2: 9 :(
#3: 10
#4: 10

At least I'm getting pretty consistent 10s. Still waiting for that score increase when everything just clicks...

update (been taking them at one week intervals):

#1: 10
#2: 9 :(
#3: 10
#4: 10

At least I'm getting pretty consistent 10s. Still waiting for that score increase when everything just clicks...
You are doing well, You should expect a 10-12 on the real thing.

I was sort of wondering how people were doing the EK test as it's verbal is set up for the old test. Is there a newer book with only 7 passages at a time, or do you just use the old book and do them all?

Fyi: averaged 9-11 on EK101 verbal, 14 on real thing

Fyi: averaged 9-11 on EK101 verbal, 14 on real thing

Wow! Do you think you partly got lucky or was EK just more difficult than the real thing? That's incredible either way. you gave me hope!

I was sort of wondering how people were doing the EK test as it's verbal is set up for the old test. Is there a newer book with only 7 passages at a time, or do you just use the old book and do them all?

I'm doing the full length 85 minute tests. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I figured it would at least make sure I wouldn't get burnt out at all when I take the real 60 minute test.

I was sort of wondering how people were doing the EK test as it's verbal is set up for the old test. Is there a newer book with only 7 passages at a time, or do you just use the old book and do them all?

I just do as close to 40 questions as I can and interpolate my score (score/# questions)*(total # questions). I take 60 minutes but try to do it in a bit less time. I plan to later take the passages I didn't do and just take them in 40 question sets if I have time.