ExamKracker VERBAL 101 SCORES

[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

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[frosted_flake]

Has anyone tried doing a test when they are absolutely worn out? After a long day of studying class material, being outside working, etc. I am super tired, but I don't want to waste a test!

 

[JMMTB]

Has anyone tried doing a test when they are absolutely worn out? After a long day of studying class material, being outside working, etc. I am super tired, but I don't want to waste a test!

Yep and I made lots of stupid mistakes. I'd wait until tomorrow if I were you.

 

[sxld_cu]

Has anyone tried doing a test when they are absolutely worn out? After a long day of studying class material, being outside working, etc. I am super tired, but I don't want to waste a test!

Lol yeah, got around my usual range - might be better to just do a section test or practice problems untimed?

 

[frosted_flake]

How thoroughly are you guys going through the EK solutions? I know that AAMC's explanations are the only ones that truly matter, but I feel super dumb after getting a 4 on EK 1 I feel like I need to tear those passages to bits and pieces.

 

[JMMTB]

Their answer explanations are all over the place. I just look to see what the right answer is and go back to the question. If I can't figure out why then I'll try to read their explanation. Don't feel bad with the first test. It takes a while to get a feel for the questions, and to be honest there is a curve with each different companies' verbal. You can be scoring 10-11 on EK and then try TPRH and be getting 7's. That's why it is best to save AAMC verbal for last. Good Luck.

 

[sxld_cu]

I feel like for the most part... EK explanations are okay. But there are definitely some that don't make sense. So what I'm doing is taking a chance to look over all the questions I got wrong, reading their explanations and trying to make sense of it, then going to the EK forum to see if anyone posted questions about it, and then if nothing works, then I kind of just leave it lol

 

[valkener]

EK verbal has a great track record and great reviews if you look around (hint amazon).. There aren't too many good VR materials so definitely use EK for VR.

 

[cherubb3]

Has anyone noticed that their scores actually get WORSE with this book?

Test #3: 11
Test #4: 12
Test #5: 9
Test #6: 9

I am so frustrated! I like to think I can stay in the double digits... I think I might be stressing out over finishing in time...

 

[House D.O.]

Okay guys HALP.

Test #1- 7
Test #2- 7
Test #3- 7
Test #4- 8 (1 away from 9)
Test #5- 7
Test #6- 6
Test #7- 7

I would think i would improve slightly overtime but...i didnt.... My strategy is pretty much Ek's strategy (main idea, write main idea after reading passage, no highlighting mapping, first to last passage) Although I do think i have improved in something over these tests which would be timing. I honestly will be fine with an 8 or 9 ob VB any tips how to get there? I think i have timing down as for some of these tests i did in 56-58 minutes

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Has anyone noticed that their scores actually get WORSE with this book?

Test #3: 11
Test #4: 12
Test #5: 9
Test #6: 9

I am so frustrated! I like to think I can stay in the double digits... I think I might be stressing out over finishing in time...

I had the same trend as you! But lower scores lol. Did it go up again after Test #6? I just did that one yesterday.

Test #1: 6
Test #2: 8
Test #3: 9
Test #4: 9
Test #5: 8
Test #6: 7

Still can't break double digits. But I was wondering why my scores were going down after I improved? I did notice the questions and passages to be a bit trickers so thats what I am hoping is the reason.

 

[texan2414]

Some of the EK is good practice but the rest is atrocious!!!
There's a lot of EK questions that rely on subjectivity and that's really saying something.

 

[texan2414]

EK verbal has a great track record and great reviews if you look around (hint amazon).. There aren't too many good VR materials so definitely use EK for VR.

I definitely disagree with you.
While some of the passage practice might be "good" for its track record, there are definitely many instances where the questions and the answer explanations given are beyond ridiculous. And btw, people can fake reviews on Amazon so I wouldn't call all of those reviews to be very credible. Heck I would consider the 1-rating reviews to be more credible than 5-stars.

 

[frosted_flake]

Some of the EK is good practice but the rest is atrocious!!!
There's a lot of EK questions that rely on subjectivity and that's really saying something.

I agree! I have found that I am best served going against what I think is right, and just going with what I know they want the answer to be (if that makes any sense )

 

[texan2414]

I agree! I have found that I am best served going against what I think is right, and just going with what I know they want the answer to be (if that makes any sense )

I think the fact that you're recognizing the erroneous nature of some of the questions should be commended.
Following AAMC line of reasoning, there's no way you can expect to score 12s/13s on EK exams. My opinion.

 

[justadream]

Don't worry if your scores are horrific or if your scores are super inconsistent. I scored everything from 8 to 13 (in fact, I did two tests back to back and got a 13 and an 8, respectively) with an average of about 9-10.

On AAMC FLs, my scores stabilized to 11-12.

 

[texan2414]

Don't worry if your scores are horrific or if your scores are super inconsistent. I scored everything from 8 to 13 (in fact, I did two tests back to back and got a 13 and an 8, respectively) with an average of about 9-10.

On AAMC FLs, my scores stabilized to 11-12.

Reassures me a lot. Thanks

 

[stitchattack]

I feel some people do better or worse on their AAMC FLs compared to the 101. I feel EK 101 passages are more interesting but some questions are a bit over and the style doesn't entirely reflect AAMC ones. I've been ranging 8-10 on EK 101 with an avg of 9. I did my SA VR and got a solid 8. It's still within my range though.

 

[texan2414]

I feel some people do better or worse on their AAMC FLs compared to the 101. I feel EK 101 passages are more interesting but some questions are a bit over and the style doesn't entirely reflect AAMC ones. I've been ranging 8-10 on EK 101 with an avg of 9. I did my SA VR and got a solid 8. It's still within my range though.

Is SA like one big test? Or is it the same length as another AAMC?
I wanna treat SA like AAMC 12 if its like another practice test.

 

[stitchattack]

Is SA like one big test? Or is it the same length as another AAMC?
I wanna treat SA like AAMC 12 if its like another practice test.

The SA has like 120 questions and 21 passages total. I split it up into 3 days, 1 hr each time. The thing with SA is in the beginning, the questions are easier and it gets harder towards the end so towards the end, you may go over your 1 hr limit when dealing with those harder passages/questions. My suggestion is to complete the SA VR at least 1 month before your test date so you have 1 month to tackle your weaknesses. VR is the one section that doesn't require you to have content knowledge so get it done earlier on to give yourself time to work on what you're weak on.

 

[texan2414]

thanks

 

[Janus_Kinase]

For those wondering about trends. After scoring 7 on test # 6, I scored 10 on test # 7 and first time breaking double digits!!


So now I am thinking test #6 was just more difficult for me

 

[j306c954]

My good friend (currently in medical school) said he was getting 6's on EK VR 101 tests. Took the real thing and got a 10. Obviously everyone is different, but that was his experience.

I have taken the MCAT as well as completed all AAMC FL's and personally, the biggest difference I feel is that some of the EK questions are way more "detail-specific" than what will actually be asked on the MCAT.

 

[stitchattack]

So this is getting quite discouraging. I was doing pretty well up to test 7 with slight improvements here and there..then after that, I got 8 on Tests 8 and 9. Anyone else been experiencing this score plateau? Do the EK tests just get harder as you get closer to the end? Or are the EK tests not a good mix of different subjects so I'm getting subjects I'm not good at towards the end...even though I find the passages to not be so hard to understand and are interesting?

 

[Janus_Kinase]

So this is getting quite discouraging. I was doing pretty well up to test 7 with slight improvements here and there..then after that, I got 8 on Tests 8 and 9. Anyone else been experiencing this score plateau? Do the EK tests just get harder as you get closer to the end? Or are the EK tests not a good mix of different subjects so I'm getting subjects I'm not good at towards the end...even though I find the passages to not be so hard to understand and are interesting?

I had a plateau around tests 3 &4 and then scores fell down but then they increased to my highest score of 11 in 8. I dropped from 11 on 8 to 6 on 9. I didn't think any of the passages in 9 were difficult but the questions are what got me. While doing the test I felt I was not going to do as well as I did in 8 but didn't think it would drop that much! Hopefully it was just a bad day.

So as you can see I go up and down. I dont think that is a good thing lol. At least you are consistent between tests 8 & 9

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Don't worry if your scores are horrific or if your scores are super inconsistent. I scored everything from 8 to 13 (in fact, I did two tests back to back and got a 13 and an 8, respectively) with an average of about 9-10.

On AAMC FLs, my scores stabilized to 11-12.

Could you tell me the tests where you dropped from 13-8? I also had a 5 point drop from back to back tests so I am wondering if maybe they were the same ones lol. Did you figure the main reason for your drop? Or was just random?
Thanks!

 

[justadream]

Could you tell me the tests where you dropped from 13-8? I also had a 5 point drop from back to back tests so I am wondering if maybe they were the same ones lol. Did you figure the main reason for your drop? Or was just random?
Thanks!

Lol I threw away my paper that kept track of it (too disgusted lol) but I think it was around tests 6-8. I never really improved.

I'm not really sure why I dropped so much. After using EK, I did TPRH and AAMC FLs. My score was either 11 or 12 every single time except once (in which I got a 13). I think EK is just too random (and might I add, a poor resource for VR prep).

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Lol I threw away my paper that kept track of it (too disgusted lol) but I think it was around tests 6-8. I never really improved.

I'm not really sure why I dropped so much. After using EK, I did TPRH and AAMC FLs. My score was either 11 or 12 every single time except once (in which I got a 13). I think EK is just too random (and might I add, a poor resource for VR prep).

Ooo haha okay. Yeah I have done all the practice passages for TPRH but haven't done any of the tests. I am going to do those after I am done with EK and then hopefully some verbal SA and then on to FLs.

Thanks for the input!

 

[stitchattack]

In the beginning, I felt EK wasn't bad but now towards the end, their questions require referencing back to the passage more than usual. I feel you cannot just answer them based on understanding the passage, you have to refer back to make sure. The highest I got was 11 on Test 4..everything else has been between 8-10 with 8 being the most common.

For those of you who did your SA VR, did you find your SA score to be consistent with your prep scores? I got a 8 on my SA and it seems it's pretty consistent with the EK scores which is why it was getting a bit depressing since it feels like I have not improved at all since I took my SA. I guess I'm just worried that I'm doing something wrong for my score to not improve and actually going back to 8's which is on the lower end of my range..not to mention, I'm also mentally preparing that I could possibly do 1-2 pts lower (or higher) on the real deal so having a solid 8 on practice isn't so promising.

 

[cherubb3]

After doing a few AAMCs and comparing my experience to EK, I've decided that while EK is a good way to practice, it's definitely not a perfect representation. Some of the answer explanations are just ridiculous, and while I will always have a handful of AAMC questions that I disagree with as well, killing myself over EK isn't going to be an efficient use of time. Is it a good tool to get your mind in the right mode for verbal? Yes. I also think it's a good way to develop a "method" that works for you within the time limit. However, as a whole, I think the AAMC questions are simply more reasonable, although EK's way of making you think more in-depth would probably help you overall.

stitchattack, how did you apply a score of 8 to your self-assessment? I thought you were only given a percentage?

 

[Janus_Kinase]

After doing a few AAMCs and comparing my experience to EK, I've decided that while EK is a good way to practice, it's definitely not a perfect representation. Some of the answer explanations are just ridiculous, and while I will always have a handful of AAMC questions that I disagree with as well, killing myself over EK isn't going to be an efficient use of time. Is it a good tool to get your mind in the right mode for verbal? Yes. I also think it's a good way to develop a "method" that works for you within the time limit. However, as a whole, I think the AAMC questions are simply more reasonable as a whole, although EK's way of making you think more in-depth would probably help you overall.

stitchattack, how did you apply a score of 8 to your self-assessment? I thought you were only given a percentage?

From someone practicing EK, glad to read to this lol. Did you ever do verbal from BR or TPRH? If so could you compare those to AAMC

Also I believe what he did was convert his percentage in SA to a score of 8 based off actual verbal scales

 

[stitchattack]

After doing a few AAMCs and comparing my experience to EK, I've decided that while EK is a good way to practice, it's definitely not a perfect representation. Some of the answer explanations are just ridiculous, and while I will always have a handful of AAMC questions that I disagree with as well, killing myself over EK isn't going to be an efficient use of time. Is it a good tool to get your mind in the right mode for verbal? Yes. I also think it's a good way to develop a "method" that works for you within the time limit. However, as a whole, I think the AAMC questions are simply more reasonable, although EK's way of making you think more in-depth would probably help you overall.

stitchattack, how did you apply a score of 8 to your self-assessment? I thought you were only given a percentage?

I compared my percentage to the AAMC 11 VR which landed me right at a solid 8. Not surprised though because my practice range has been 8-10..I hit a 11 once on EK and was happy but it was a fluke.

 

[stitchattack]

Finished EK Test 11..that was brutal. I want to burn the book and let my dog bury the ashes. The score was not consistent with anything I've been getting up to this point, including the AAMC SA and TPR tests. I ended up with a 6 when my avg so far has been 8.9. I'm taking a break from EK for the next few days and focus on TPR and AAMC stuff. Anyone else feel this sad defeat when doing EK?

 

[makingthejump]

I don't see the point in using EK (or any other prep company) passages and reasoning for verbal prep. There's no way they utilize the same rational on their answer choices that aamc does. I actually bought other test prep verbal books and am selling them b/c after skimming them and trying a few passages, I realized it is a very inefficient way to study verbal b/c their answer choice rational cannot possibly be the same as aamc's.

 

[Janus_Kinase]

I don't see the point in using EK (or any other prep company) passages and reasoning for verbal prep. There's no way they utilize the same rational on their answer choices that aamc does. I actually bought other test prep verbal books and am selling them b/c after skimming them and trying a few passages, I realized it is a very inefficient way to study verbal b/c their answer choice rational cannot possibly be the same as aamc's.

The point is to practice. Doing all those timed tests allow you to develop your own method of attacking verbal passages. That is the biggest benefit in my opinion. If you are 100% confident on methodology, timing, etc, then just practice aamc material.

 

[stitchattack]

I don't see the point in using EK (or any other prep company) passages and reasoning for verbal prep. There's no way they utilize the same rational on their answer choices that aamc does. I actually bought other test prep verbal books and am selling them b/c after skimming them and trying a few passages, I realized it is a very inefficient way to study verbal b/c their answer choice rational cannot possibly be the same as aamc's.

Since there aren't that many practice tests from AAMC, you're kinda stuck with EK, TPR, TBR, and Kaplan. IMO EK trains you to read the passages faster but sometimes their questions are ridiculous. Tests 1-10 were ok, few crappy questions here and there but still doable. I think for the rest of the tests, they just make it super hard..does not feel like the questions are on the same level as AAMC questions. Like what @Janus_Kinase said, if you're confident in VR, you can stick with AAMC but my VR started off really low so I needed the extra practice. I prefer TPR >> EK > TBR if you're looking for resources.

 

[stitchattack]

I just finished Test 12 and I'm not sure how accurately the EK tests reflect on my actual VR. They seem to be all over with the last Test 11 and 12 being 6 and 7, giving me an average of 8.50. I've hit 11 and 10s before and from Test 1-10, my scores were around 8-11 range then starting Test 11 is when it just dropped down by a lot. Anyone else having the same issue?

I did my SA VR few weeks ago too and got a 67% which translates to around 8ish. It's just getting frustrating when my test is coming up in 3 weeks and I'm dropping back down to 6's and 7's?

 

[Janus_Kinase]

10- 9
11- 7
12- 8
13- 8
14- 10

I dropped too. It really depends on the passages/questions. Scores itself are random --I would rely on average for predictions. But the way I think of it is that if you hit an 11 on EK101 than you can definitely hit an 11 on the real thing!!! Keep practicing those passages man! I will be doing the verbal SA tomorrow. We'll see how it goes..

 

[stitchattack]

10- 9
11- 7
12- 8
13- 8
14- 10

I dropped too. It really depends on the passages/questions. Scores itself are random --I would rely on average for predictions. But the way I think of it is that if you hit an 11 on EK101 than you can definitely hit an 11 on the real thing!!! Keep practicing those passages man! I will be doing the verbal SA tomorrow. We'll see how it goes..

I kinda feel that the last couple of tests (11-14) are where the harder questions are concentrated. The passages are not hard to read but some answers to the questions are disputable. Good luck on your SA VR. For the most part, it seems my avg EK score and SA VR are about the same.

 

[makingthejump]

I just finished Test 12 and I'm not sure how accurately the EK tests reflect on my actual VR. They seem to be all over with the last Test 11 and 12 being 6 and 7, giving me an average of 8.50. I've hit 11 and 10s before and from Test 1-10, my scores were around 8-11 range then starting Test 11 is when it just dropped down by a lot. Anyone else having the same issue?

I did my SA VR few weeks ago too and got a 67% which translates to around 8ish. It's just getting frustrating when my test is coming up in 3 weeks and I'm dropping back down to 6's and 7's?

What's the conversion scale for % correct on the SA to actual predicted score number?

 

[stitchattack]

Whatever percentage you get for SA, you can multiply that with 52 and compare that to the AAMC 11 scale. I combined the avg for my phys/chem and bio/ochem to get an idea of my PS and BS scores.

 

[makingthejump]

Ah makes sense, thanks!

 

[lazyindy]

might as well contribute:

test 1 - 10
test 2 - 8
test 3 - 9
test 4 - 9
test 5 - 11
test 6 - 11
test 7 - 11
test 8 - 12

 

[TheAnonymous]

Any idea if there is a forum subsection around here where we can discuss some EK passages? I can't really understand how they come up with the correct answers...

 

[lostnconfused]

What I'm getting from this forum is people's scores don't change too much... Yikes.

 

[baxt1412]

1 - high 5 (wtf?)
2 - high 10
3 - low 9

thus far. have also taken a few other Kaplan verbals and have gotten 9s

 

[Sugar Pharmacology]

hey there...all those struggling with EKs approach...its really not what AAMC tests are cracked with. u can try TPR, its better and Jack Westin's strategy is even better...it ll help u learn how and what to read and how to answer appropriately

 

[typoncho]

I've been studying for the january MCAT since late september. I got an 8 on my verbal on the real thing in May (Using the Kaplan strategy, which didn't work for me as it wasn't "keep it simple stupid" enough for me). I'm much more confident with the EK strategy of main idea. So far my scores are:

1 - 29/40 = 9
2 - 31/40 = 10
3 - 29/40 = 9
4 - 35/40 = 12
5 - 30/40 = 10 (This one was weird, i didn't wait 1.5-2 hrs after waking up to take it like the previous 4. Just felt bad the whole time).

Also, I changed my avatar to Darth Bane because I am going to outright own the MCAT next time, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Just a thought.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I've been studying for the january MCAT since late september. I got an 8 on my verbal on the real thing in May (Using the Kaplan strategy, which didn't work for me as it wasn't "keep it simple stupid" enough for me). I'm much more confident with the EK strategy of main idea. So far my scores are:

1 - 29/40 = 9
2 - 31/40 = 10
3 - 29/40 = 9
4 - 35/40 = 12
5 - 30/40 = 10 (This one was weird, i didn't wait 1.5-2 hrs after waking up to take it like the previous 4. Just felt bad the whole time).

Also, I changed my avatar to Darth Bane because I am going to outright own the MCAT next time, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Just a thought.

Awesome job. Would you mind sharing with us what you are doing differently this time? Any tips for us still struggling?

 

[typoncho]

Honestly I think the biggest change was slowing down on the reading. Orsay (they guy who wrote the EK Verbal strategy) says you're not going to be able to markedly improve your reading speed in a way that will help. In fact speeding through the passage makes you need to go back to the passage more. So:

-Read slowly and critically. KNOW the main idea. Try to pick it apart as you read.
-Only go back to the passage while you're answering the questions when you absolutely have to. AKA, when it asks things like "the word monstrosity (line 30) in the context of the passage means..."
-Trust the main idea that you have built in your head for all other questions. I only go back to the passage for info on MAYBE one question per passage.

I hope this helps. Verbal is rough for scientists. I don't want to decipher your opinion breh, gimme the facts.

 

[kpandher]

Does it matter if you use the older version for EK? Are the questions they omit on the new version like the harder questions?