Retake MCAT with TPR online course/verbal accelerator??? Literally exhausted all other materials!!!

[Amar2014]

Hey everyone;
Thanks for reading this. I took the 06/20/2013 MCAT and scored a horrible 20 (11PS/3VR/6BS). I studied on my own and used TBR (contents and passages)/EK (content, 1001, 101 verbal, and quizes)/TPR (hyperlearning verbal book and passages)/all AAMC tests. I never took the AAMC self assessment package though.
I registered for the TPR online class 01/02-03/14 and thinking about registering for the verbal accelerator since I get a discount and coz the course includes 9 VR classes only.
I heard bad stuff about the TPR strategy and I feel that it's bad from the book I have from 2006 but I am out of VR practice passages. I know that the EK are the best but I did all of them unfortunately.
I am desperate for an advice since I can't change my mind and get a refund after the class starts. Any advice is appreciated especially from those who took the TPR and scored well on VR.
I have not been studying any MCAT-related stuff for 5 months (I just gave up and then came back after I started working as a scribe). I know the TPR VR thing is repetitive but I hardly found anyone with the same situation here. Thanks a lot in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

How did you prep for BS? A 6 is also and indicator that you didn't master BS-related material or that you have sub-par reading skills(more likely).

 

[Amar2014]

I did use TBR passages for BS, but the problem was anxiety during the test. The PS was easy then I was shocked with VR and I didn't give a care about the BS afterwards I was so stressed and I was just guessing on the BS and finished "guessing" 20 minutes earlier. I know I would do well on BS if I handle my test anxiety but I know for sure that my weakest IS VR. thx

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I read your past posts and you said you have been averaging ~50% on the passages. That's not indicative of concept mastery. Did you review the passages thoroughly afterwards? How did you make the concepts/info stick? Also, since you said it was mainly test anxiety, how many practice tests did you take? You should take enough FL's to be sure that anxiety will not affect your overall performance come test day.

 

[Amar2014]

I can't admit to 100% mastery and the 50% was on BR I think early in the prep process. I took all AAMC tests, 2 GS, 1 Kaplan, and 1 TPR FL. thx

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I think concentration trumps all in VR. I mean total concentration. I put all my focus into verbal in EK tests and so far I've been averaging 10s on EK VR test 6, 7, and 8 with approx 15 minutes to spare (full 60Q 80min). I have no particular strategy and I think paying for a tutor or anything like that to improve verbal is a huge scam. I think practice also helps to develop an initial strategy. Anyways, what were your averages on EK VR and the other ones you took? How about averages in the AAMC? Those are factors to consider, provided that you can't blame it all on your nerves during the test(hopefully).

 

[valkener]

Before you hurry into the next thing (online course), you need to ask yourself why you did so poorly. You have all the materials you need, but you're doing something wrong. You need to make sure you actually understand the techniques and concepts behind the questions that you are getting wrong. Instead of jumping into the next materials, master the ones that you have. Reading explanations for the question you got wrong is not enough. Just because your brain read the answer doesn't mean you will remember it -- you need to understand the concept behind it.

Take each question that you get wrong as an opportunity and create flash cards. Master the underlying concept so that if you get a similar question, you won't get it wrong again. Take your time with this but do it right. Good luck!

 

[Amar2014]

I think concentration trumps all in VR. I mean total concentration. I put all my focus into verbal in EK tests and so far I've been averaging 10s on EK VR test 6, 7, and 8 with approx 15 minutes to spare (full 60Q 80min). I have no particular strategy and I think paying for a tutor or anything like that to improve verbal is a huge scam. I think practice also helps to develop an initial strategy. Anyways, what were your averages on EK VR and the other ones you took? How about averages in the AAMC? Those are factors to consider, provided that you can't blame it all on your nerves during the test(hopefully).

My averages were 6-8 on AAMC and EK VR!

 

[Amar2014]

Before you hurry into the next thing (online course), you need to ask yourself why you did so poorly. You have all the materials you need, but you're doing something wrong. You need to make sure you actually understand the techniques and concepts behind the questions that you are getting wrong. Instead of jumping into the next materials, master the ones that you have. Reading explanations for the question you got wrong is not enough. Just because your brain read the answer doesn't mean you will remember it -- you need to understand the concept behind it.

Take each question that you get wrong as an opportunity and create flash cards. Master the underlying concept so that if you get a similar question, you won't get it wrong again. Take your time with this but do it right. Good luck!

Thanks for your input, I started studying on 01/13/13 and stopped the day before the test and I did the SN2ed schedule and all the materials I had from BR to TPR to EK the only thing I didn't use was kaplan because I read bad reviews and they didn't have passages only stand alone questions. I also did the flashcards I have a bag of flashcards and a notebook on the things I got wrong from practice tests and classroom quizzes it did help but the test anxiety and the VR were the worst!

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Yeah, so I'll say the BS was a bit of a fluke, but still don't count out the fact that you still did bad in that section. Practice with more VR material. Obviously that is your weakness and scoring below your averages is a big indicator that you are not a good of an "MCAT VR" style reader.

 

[oreamgdogs]

Practice with more VR material. Obviously that is your weakness and scoring below your averages is a big indicator that you are not a good of an "MCAT VR" style reader.

 

[DownByTheWater]

Did you take it again in the end? Did you improve? I'm looking at taking the verbal accelerator from Princeton Review, too, so I desperately want to know how you did.

 

[Gauss44]

Many people hire tutors for verbal reasoning for help understanding WHY some answers are "right" and others are "wrong," and for help with reading comprehension. A good tutor can encourage you, time you, test your comprehension, and catch patterns in any trouble you might have with comprehension or question types. For VR, ONLY hire a tutor who can prove his or her ability to do well on a practice passage that you provide.

I recommend www.wyzant.com for finding tutors because there's no commitment, because you choose who you hire*, and because there's no commitment (so you can change tutors or just quit any time). If you can't find a tutor in your zip code, you can use any zip code, and ask to meet online or over video conference.

*Many tutors will mention in their profile that they took the MCAT and got 12 (or whatever) on the VR section.

**I've heard that with TPR, you don't get to choose your tutor, that it's expensive, and that they push a strategy that doesn't work for everyone.