Anyone Think EK Verbal 101 is a must-do?

[ThatDude]

Anyone see meaningful improvement by doing EK Verbal 101? I feel like it will not improve my composite score more than doing more science (even though I am already pretty strong with PS and BS). I am taking about 13 more practice tests and am scoring 11 usually on VR. It seems like doing the rest of my EK Verbal 101 book will not improve an 11. Anyone think that EK 101 is a must? Thanks

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[PhilIvey]

Anyone see meaningful improvement by doing EK Verbal 101? I feel like it will not improve my composite score more than doing more science (even though I am already pretty strong with PS and BS). I am taking about 13 more practice tests and am scoring 11 usually on VR. It seems like doing the rest of my EK Verbal 101 book will not improve an 11. Anyone think that EK 101 is a must? Thanks

No, I hated it. Many here swear by it. If you are at an 11 and I hope you mean AAMC exams as everything else pretty much sucks just to lesser degrees then don't do it.

 

[ThatDude]

Yea I am pretty much around an 11 for AAMC tests, I am leaning towards not doing the rest of the EK 101 book, because I have done the first 5 sections of it, and I don't think there is anything that special about the book. I'd rather just focus on the sciences now that I am in the final month of my studying.

But its not like I am neglecting verbal, I am going to take 12 practice tests (6 more AAMCs, and 6 more TBR) and review every section very thoroughly.

 

[Econ2MD]

At a month out, I think you are wise to focus on the AAMC and TBR practice tests and reviewing completed exams. Personally, I found EK 101 to be quite helpful in the process early on. I've seen my scores go from 10 (for the first 6 practice tests straight) to consistent 12's and 13's on both EK and AAMC. I've been doing the AAMC exams throughout the process, though.

Also at a month out, I plan on sprinkling in 3-4 more EK 101 VR tests prior to May 1 to stay fresh.

If your science scores have room for improvement, you'll probably get the most "bang for your buck" focusing on those.

Good luck!

 

[J ROD]

I would focus on the sciences and just get in verbal practice with the practice tests....sounds like you are near your verbal max and probably will stay around a 11-12. That's where I stayed....with an occasional 13.

Anything above 12+ starts getting into luck like you know a subject really well or you are a superior testtaker and reason extremely well.

 

[DrJonesss]

EK was very helpful for me to get an initial jump in my score, from about 6-7 to around 10-11. But once I figured out how to play the game and hit that plateau, it doesn't really help anymore. I stopped around halfway through last month and haven't looked back since...scores have been pretty much the same.

 

[Doodl3s]

well, consensus is right that in the beginning EK101 is a must. But only to get you to 10-11. After that you just gotta start be able to reason well. At the same time though, you're gonna wanna keep practicing verbal while studying the sciences, so it definitely couldnt hurt to keep doing more as long as you dont burn yourself out. Plus, these are the best verbal practices you'll get besides the AAMC, so why stop?

 

[sdsoccer]

deleted

 

[PltEnthusiast]

EK was very helpful for me to get an initial jump in my score, from about 6-7 to around 10-11. But once I figured out how to play the game and hit that plateau, it doesn't really help anymore. I stopped around halfway through last month and haven't looked back since...scores have been pretty much the same.

I have been doing EK101 but the explanations don't really help much. It seems to me that its a must to be able to understand the passage thus the explanations. I don't see any tricks or shortcuts. How did you figure out 'how to play the game?' Am I missing anything?

Can somebody explain what am I not able to see?

 

[Phantastic]

I don't see any tricks or shortcuts. How did you figure out 'how to play the game?' Am I missing anything?

Can somebody explain what am I not able to see?

An intuition for the intangible. e.g. If you and I were to have a conversation, imagine how much subjective information would be lost by someone who was not savvy to my body language. Imagine still that this person was unaware of intracies like sarcasm, gest, etc.

This is why steadfast rules such as "avoid strong language" are not enough. The context is essential. Jonathan Orsay prefaces these intangibles in the beginning comments of the 101 book. Empathy is a skill that many humanities majors develop, and it is paramount to success in verbal reasoning.

 

[UMICHPremed]

I don't really think EK verbal has improved by verbal reasoning skills, but it has shown me the type of questions I am liable to miss. I hit a plateau with 5 consecutive 10s for a while and then it kind of clicked today. Now I'm doing 10+.