ExamKracker VERBAL 101 SCORES

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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!! . 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

Originally Posted by Futuredoctr

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!! . 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?)

Originally Posted by sweetstuff25

lol my scores are freaken me out!

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

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.

Originally Posted by illusionld

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!

Originally Posted by sweetstuff25

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?

Originally Posted by perfectmoment

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?

Originally Posted by sweetstuff25

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.

Originally Posted by sweetstuff25

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!

Originally Posted by DrBuro

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

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?

Originally Posted by DrBuro

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.

Originally Posted by waterlily

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.

Originally Posted by gujuDoc

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?

Originally Posted by blankguy

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.

Originally Posted by DrBuro

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

Originally Posted by doctorjoy

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.

Originally Posted by gujuDoc

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.

Originally Posted by dave613

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

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.

Originally Posted by Futuredoctr

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!! . 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.

Originally Posted by Mbkcd

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.

Originally Posted by SensesFail

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. Otherwise, I would've made a 10)

Originally Posted by SensesFail

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. 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.

Originally Posted by Sust

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

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.

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
EK2: 6

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

Originally Posted by blankguy

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

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

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

Originally Posted by sweetstuff25

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

only 6 more tests left

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?

Originally Posted by lastbastion

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?!?!

Originally Posted by SensesFail

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

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