A year an a half and verbal still sucks

[WaxEarplugsFTW]

I just took the next step diagnostic and my verbal is 123 or 25 percentile.
For the past 1.5 years of studying mcat, I have essentially neglected all sections except verbal.
I have practiced verbal over and over, tried to uncover my mistakes, and it all comes down to this and tried exam kracker's method and kaplan method in addition to doing the priceton hyperlearning book and EK 101.

I think the other sections I can improve on, but verbal....is just I don't know what to think about it.
I followed and did everything as I was supposed to in the prep books.
What more can I do?

I find even the GRE verbal passages difficult and the GRE is supposed to be easy!
I began my mcat verbal studying with a score of 4. Now I just took the next step test and the scales score of 123 (25%) to old mcat percent is....a ****ing 4.5
HOW could I study a year and ****ing half and NOT IMPROVE AT ALL! I did what everything I was supposed! What is this BS witchcraft?!

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[pageantry]

Well, jeez, you write well. Clearly you've got SOME skills. Sorry it's sucking so hard.

What did or do you think you're doing wrong? Since you've already analyzed your results, that is. Might be easier to offer suggestions if you can rule things out. I'm no expert, but I got a perfect score on the GRE verbal and consistent 13-14s on VR in practice (actual MCAT hasn't come back yet, aghhhh) so it would be interesting to me to parse what we do differently.

For instance, I was getting 10s on the PS section until I realized I'd been refusing to do any math the whole time. Not a math fan. What can I say. Makes me feel insecure and I don't like feeling insecure so I just wasn't doing the work. My next test after realizing that bonked up to a 12.

There are things like that in VR. They're more subtle, maybe. I don't want to condescend to you tho, not knowing what you've already considered.

 

[Shjanzey]

I used to get pissed when I missed Verbal answers. My score never improved and I was always so mad at the test makers who chose those stupid passages and wrote their stupid reasoning for why their answer was the best. It wasn't until I became humble and read the reasoning for not only the correct answer, but also for EVERY wrong answer before I began to improve. Many times I didn't even agree with their reasoning, but I decided that since this is a test I should just learn to think like them instead of being self-righteous about why I was probably right.

I am not saying this is your problem, but it was my problem and if you struggle with the same thing then maybe my experience can help you. Stubbornness was my greatest enemy for VR.

 

[texan2414]

It might be a little odd for me to suggest this but try going back to SAT critical reading/ ACT comprehension passages. Try to build your foundation for comprehension, inference, etc. questions from these materials and then slowly transition to MCAT VR.

Also btw, GRE verbal is notoriously more difficult than MCAT. GRE requires you to fish out the wrong answer rather than the correct one so imo it requires more critical thinking than MCAT.

You should also consult the AAMC Official Guide to MCAT as it has many pointers for what to look for in distractors and how to best use POE. There are some statements in VR that are never ever going to be correct, some hinge upon vagueness, some are downright erroneous. With practice, right tools, and the right mindset, you can get better.

Also, consistency is what helped me improve the most on VR (went from 6 --> 9). Set aside time for VR daily!!!!!! And don't neglect other topics. Pay equal attention to all parts of the MCAT.

Best,

 

[pageantry]

Also this might be obvious (I didn't read any of the companies' verbal strategies, so I apologize if this is redundant to you), but a major problem with passage mapping as a strategy is ppl often just skim the first and last paragraphs, filling in only if necessary.

VERY OFTEN the main point or feel of the passage will be in the second paragraph and totally contradict what you gleaned from your strategic reading. They're definitely looking for that tendency and weeding it out.

Honestly, I think one of the best things a reasonable competent (not slow paced, ESL) reader can do is learn about active listening principles and apply them while reading the passages.

 

[NextStepTutor_3]

I'd love to help if you have any more details! What strategy do you currently use? (I know you mentioned several different methods, but they vary so widely that it's impossible not to lean toward one over another.) How did you approach the diagnostic passages - did you take notes, highlight, etc? Do you tend to run out of time?

I know verbal can be horribly frustrating, but I agree with @Shjanzey above. The best way to work through verbal is to look at every wrong answer as well as the correct one. Go back to some of the material you covered a long time ago and make a spreadsheet, including both your answer and the correct one. How do they differ? Is the correct answer usually more broad? Less extreme? Do you tend to choose answers that are outside the scope of the passage (this is the most common problem I see; people fall into the trap of choosing the most logical answer, even when it isn't indicated in the passage at all)?

 

[Labrat07]

OP,
Are you ESL?? I'm also ESL. My verbal was 5 and got up to 8 last month. Now I'm changing my approach and improving (I think). IMO, if you're getting 4.5 with that much practice, there's a fundamental flaw. Change your approach immediately.
Change your location of study, your hours, your mentality, your methods...Ask for advices/mentors on here in pm over long term. There are a lot of wonderful people that will help you.

For example:
I did my best couple months ago but couldn't get over 8 in verbal. I knew there's something wrong in my fundamental. I truly didn't understand why I couldn't get past that wall. Sometime, you just need help. I asked people for help. Hire a tutor. I'm starting to get it in a deeper level.

My point is : be honest with yourself. Sometime, you just don't get something easy and that's ok. Don't get frustrated , sit down and figure out what's wrong. Don't do the same stuffs that didn't work before over, over and over again.

 

[the_fella]

Have you looked at any of the questions from the new CARS section? Idk if they're any different, but some practice questions from the new exam might help you.

 

[Gauss44]

Honestly, if I were in your position, I would seek help from someone who can watch me do verbal and make suggestions based on their observation. Tutors can be good for this, but only if you find the right tutor who knows their stuff AND works well with you. If you join a study group, maybe you can find a peer to help with this, but only trust someone who can do well in verbal themselves. Learning verbal, IMO, is more like learning a "skill" than just memorizing knowledge. In that way, it is different than the other sections. Learning to actively read quickly and reason a certain way is more like learning to ride a bike or juggle than just memorizing facts.