EK 30-minute lecture exam scores

[dr.kicia]

I just though tthis could be a useful thread. Post what you think about exams, specific questions, your scores, tricks, techniques....anything that could be usefull for other MCATers.
to you all

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[tourniquet1963]

To those that have already taken the MCAT, how did your 30 minute exam scores correlate with the real deal scores?

 

[DrDre2001]

upping...this thread is the only thing i can compare myself to to see how well im understanding the EK material.

 

[WhiteWashed]

I just did the EK gchem lecture one test, 14! How close are the EK lecture quiz scores to what you will actually get? How are those questions compared to MCAT questions?

 

[futuredoctor10]

Bringing this thread back:

If you have taken your MCAT, how did your 30 minute exam scores correlate with the real deal scores? Particularly for the BS (Biology content book).

 

[HippocratesX]

Bringing this thread back:

If you have taken your MCAT, how did your 30 minute exam scores correlate with the real deal scores? Particularly for the BS (Biology content book).

forget the 30 minute exams...the biology 1001 book is the best! definitely do allll of the 1001 passages, you'll be happy you did...especially since it adds so much more tid bits of knowledge that aren't covered in the EK biology book (which by itself is great btw).

 

[futuredoctor10]

Ya I plan to do EK Bio 1001 in addition to the EK Biology 30min in-class exams, how did those Bio 1001 scores correlate to your real BS score?

 

[Revilla]

I'm doing fine on the 1001 Bio, but the 30-minute lecture exam scores aren't so pretty. I can't break a 10. I haven't taken the ones for Organic yet and from reading this thread, those are likely to be worse.

 

[Yope]

Because each book is divided into chapters corresponding to the lecture manuals, there are no scaled scores in 1001 books (with the exception of 101 Verbal).

Don't pay attention to the scores in the book.

 

[futuredoctor10]

I'm doing fine on the 1001 Bio, but the 30-minute lecture exam scores aren't so pretty.

I am going to be doing EK's 1001 Bio over the next several weeks. Would you say they are easier than the 30 min exams and if so why/how so?

The 30-min lecture exams do have some challenging questions!

 

[JA Prufrock]

I am going to be doing EK's 1001 Bio over the next several weeks. Would you say they are easier than the 30 min exams and if so why/how so?

The 30-min lecture exams do have some challenging questions!

I've done 7 out of 9 sections of the bio 1001, and 3 of 9 of the 30 minute quizzes and I'd say they're comparable in difficulty. I think the reason the 30 minute quizzes seem more difficult is that the difficult questions are concentrated into a smaller set of questions, whereas in the bio 1001 the difficult questions exist, but are diluted amidst a variety of other difficulty levels. Good practice either way imo.

 

[futuredoctor10]

I'd say they're comparable in difficulty. I think the reason the 30 minute quizzes seem more difficult is that the difficult questions are concentrated into a smaller set of questions, whereas in the bio 1001 the difficult questions exist, but are diluted amidst a variety of other difficulty levels. Good practice either way imo.

Yeah that's true (about the 1001 having difficult questions more spread out), and that both are great practice!!!

They have this "MCAT feel" I have not seen in other prep companies' BS questions.

 

[Revilla]

I am going to be doing EK's 1001 Bio over the next several weeks. Would you say they are easier than the 30 min exams and if so why/how so?

The 30-min lecture exams do have some challenging questions!

I think the 30-minute lecture questions are much trickier. The 1001 questions are easier, IMO. But both combined are great practice!

 

[futuredoctor10]

Ya did you see the 30 min In-Class Exam for Lecture 6? I thought it was really hard!
I did better than I expected though thankfully.

In general their passages are very MCAT-like and great practice. I esp thought Lec 6 looked like passages and questions that could be straight from an MCAT, based on the one I took this past August.

 

[Revilla]

Ya did you see the 30 min In-Class Exam for Lecture 6? I thought it was really hard!
I did better than I expected though thankfully.

In general their passages are very MCAT-like and great practice. I esp thought Lec 6 looked like passages and questions that could be straight from an MCAT, based on the one I took this past August.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I'm doing Lectures 3 and 4 exams tonight.

 

[futuredoctor10]

I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I'm doing Lectures 3 and 4 exams tonight.

Cool, good luck! When are you taking the MCAT?

 

[junkct]

How do you all think the 30-minute VR sections compare? Are they worth doing? (meaning, are they as good as the 101 VR sections?)

 

[JA Prufrock]

How do you all think the 30-minute VR sections compare? Are they worth doing? (meaning, are they as good as the 101 VR sections?)

I found them to be more difficult, not sure which is supposed to be more useful.

 

[Revilla]

Cool, good luck! When are you taking the MCAT?

January 31st. You?

I only got an 8 on L3 by the way.

 

[Revilla]

How do you all think the 30-minute VR sections compare? Are they worth doing? (meaning, are they as good as the 101 VR sections?)

Everything is worth doing, IMO. Worst case scenario, you realize the real MCAT is easier than the 30-minute lectures. If you're not low on time, do them all.

 

[Recoil]

So I got the books not too long ago, read each chapter and then did the 30 minute exams directly after.

I've done biology, physics, and verbal so far. I scored a 12 on the bio and a 13 on physics. I've been reading how poorly everyone does on the verbal section, but since I'd never experienced it, I was in for a big surprise. So I started the test full of confidence. "I'm going to destroy my first verbal" I thought.

I got a 6 on it. Boy did I underestimate the verbal

Oh well, I won't be writing until August so I have plenty of time

Edit: Actually I was wondering, how is the timing on these 30 minute tests as compared to the MCAT? I was wondering because I finished the 23 biology questions within the first 15 minutes.

 

[futuredoctor10]

January 31st. You?

Debating which date to take it now...

 

[Sleight]

Wow so I am following the EK 10 week plan pretty much (except I don't have the 1001 series yet)...anyway I did the Bio lecture one test and got a 12 then did Phys and got a 9 (I took it on an airplane and would have gotten an 11 if I had read what the question was asking for...all of my math was correct...I learned my lesson on that one...hopefully) and then did verbal and got a 4! i almost threw up it stressed me out so bad...(not really but it was upsetting) especially since I got a 12 on my first full length practice test...It obviously shows me where to practice a lot...any suggestions for a source of endless passages to get me practice? I havent done the rest of the 30 min exams for verbal but the first one killed me (1st passage on theorists, 2nd religion two areas I AM HORRIBLE in and I did well on the 3rd one...) I am hoping it was just a very unlucky day but I am thinking otherwise...I will probably buy the 101 passages book now...anyone been using it?

 

[4as8]

Hey guys,

I've started to use the EK books daily, and it's become the quickest love/hate relationship (and I've had a few) that I've ever been in... and the thing is, EK keeps winning.

So I think generally; the lecture exams in the back of the sciences are relatively easier than the verbal 101 (not making a generalization, but from my experience). Although I've just started, I'm scoring 10+'s in the science's (anywhere from 12-10), but verbal is pwning right now. I just got through passage 6 in 101 and my highest score was a 10, but I'm getting 8's most of the time.

So what to do: I've talked to most people who have used the EK books and they've said that the EK verbal is the best. So in my mind, I'm thinking ****, if that's the best, and I'm not doing well, than I might have to think of another profession. But they also said that going over the mistakes, as more carefully or even more carefully than when the first time you did the passage is equally important. Also to continually "attacking" the paragraph (I think that means relating it back to the main point of the passage over and over, stereotyping the author, being judgemental, and not re reading sentences). I think the improvements will happen, but won't be as dramatic or sudden as those in the sciences.

- one love.

 

[junkct]

Wow so I am following the EK 10 week plan pretty much (except I don't have the 1001 series yet)...anyway I did the Bio lecture one test and got a 12 then did Phys and got a 9 (I took it on an airplane and would have gotten an 11 if I had read what the question was asking for...all of my math was correct...I learned my lesson on that one...hopefully) and then did verbal and got a 4! i almost threw up it stressed me out so bad...(not really but it was upsetting) especially since I got a 12 on my first full length practice test...It obviously shows me where to practice a lot...any suggestions for a source of endless passages to get me practice? I havent done the rest of the 30 min exams for verbal but the first one killed me (1st passage on theorists, 2nd religion two areas I AM HORRIBLE in and I did well on the 3rd one...) I am hoping it was just a very unlucky day but I am thinking otherwise...I will probably buy the 101 passages book now...anyone been using it?

hahahah I felt the same way about the 1st 30-minute EK VR. Don't worry about it.. I'm usually getting 10-11 on EK 101, but got a 7 on the first 30-minute exam :/

 

[Sleight]

do most people think that the 101 verbal is the most useful resource? I am looking to buy something for verbal but I dont know what...

 

[sylvanthus]

To those that have already taken the MCAT, how did your 30 minute exam scores correlate with the real deal scores?

I seemed to average 10s on most of EKs content but got a 36 on the MCAT itself (12 each section)

 

[Sleight]

ok so I read the second lecture in the EK verbal book and it helped me so much! It made me feel a lot more comfortable approaching the passages...and I doubled my score from the first time (from a 4 to an 8) but hope to keep going up for sure...I still cant believe I got a 4 but I am very glad it went up

 

[futuredoctor10]

Glad to hear the news, Sleight! It sounds like you are using the EK Verbal Reasoning "content" book. They have three passages and do you also have the 101 book? EK Verbal 101 is amazing. I have been doing the passages and reading the explanations for right/wrong answers, focusing on ones I got wrong, and my scores have been going up!

 

[Sleight]

I haven't bought the 101 book yet...I was hoping to find an amazing deal on it but I think I am just going to have to buy it...anywhere cheaper than amazon to buy it? I want to buy it pretty soon since I have already done 2 of 3 of the passages in the content book...

 

[futuredoctor10]

I don't think there is anywhere cheaper than Amazon. (EK store is a little more expensive than Amazon I think). You could try looking for threads in the SDN Classifieds (forget the name, something like that) but it sounds like you've already looked for it online.

 

[capn jazz]

I'm going to rejuvenate this thread!

EK Bio (7th ed)
1: 13
2: 11
3: 12
4: 10
5: 11
6: 9
7: 12
8: 11
9: 10

EK OChem (3rd edition)
1: 9
2: 7
3: 13

The second exam MURDERED me. I guessed on a few and really freak out when I see passages that involve 6-10 different fischer projections. I hate those things. The entire first passage had at least 4 questions in a row that you needed to answer the previous one correctly to have a shot at the next one. ouch.

EK verbal reasoning (NOT 101)
3rd edition (different 30 min exams!):
1: 9
2: 9
3: 9
(talk about consistent)

7th edition:
1: 10
2: 12
3: 6 (what the HELL????)

OChem is really depressing. Ugh. I missed at least 3 questions on the lecture 2 exam because they were solely about lab technique, which I haven't reviewed yet because it's lecture 4!

 

[rprasan1985]

My scores so far on the 30 minute in-class exams:

EK Physics

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 8
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 10
Lecture 5: 11
Lecture 6: 12
Lecture 7: 12
Lecture 8: 9

EK Inorganic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 11
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 12
Lecture 5: 12
Lecture 6: 10
Lecture 7: 12

EK Verbal (scale is messed up; scaled for 23 questions, but exam has only 21 questions. I have the 7th edition. In my opinion, my scores listed here are 1-2 points lower than what I think it should be).

Lecture 1: 10 (17/21)
Lecture 2: 8 (14/21)
Lecture 3: 8 (14/21)

EK Organic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 11
Lecture 4: 13

EK Biology

Lecture 1: 15
Lecture 2: 13
Lecture 3: 14
Lecture 4: 9 (!)
Lecture 5: 13

 

[rprasan1985]

hey folks,
let's keep this thread alive. does anyone want to post how their actual MCAT scores and AAMC practice test scores compared to the EK 30-min in-class exams? That would be of great help to all of us struggling through the EK exams!

 

[capn jazz]

I got a 13/15 on Ochem 3! So happy!

 

[rprasan1985]

I got a 13/15 on Ochem 3! So happy!

congratulations! that's awesome. Ochem is my weakest subject, so I know the feeling when I get a good Ochem score (rare as it may be).

 

[capn jazz]

Ouch. Verbal reasoning lecture 3 30 minute exam: 6/15. I had a fairly hard time with the 2nd and 3rd passages. Next week I start Verbal 101! Hopefully that will show some significant improvement...

 

[branch]

I found the EK verbal passages to be harder than the official AAMC ones. That might be because I did the verbal 101 + 30 min lecture ones before I did the AAMC ones. I was scoring 8-10 for the EK material, and 10-12 for the AAMC ones.

Do them all! You get better in verbal by practicing, there's no shortcut to it unless you've been a critical reader your whole life.

 

[rprasan1985]

My scores so far on the 30 minute in-class exams:

EK Physics

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 8
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 10
Lecture 5: 11
Lecture 6: 12

EK Inorganic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 11
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 12
Lecture 5: 12
Lecture 6: 10

EK Verbal (scale is messed up; scaled for 23 questions, but exam has only 21 questions. I have the 7th edition. In my opinion, my scores listed here are 1-2 points lower than what I think it should be).

Lecture 1: 10 (17/21)
Lecture 2: 8 (14/21)
Lecture 3: 8 (14/21)

EK Organic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 11
Lecture 4: 13

EK Biology

Lecture 1: 15
Lecture 2: 13
Lecture 3: 14
Lecture 4: 9 (!)

Update: EK inorganic chem Lecture 7: 12

 

[allthaticanbe]

Just started studying for the MCAT today. Have the EK and 1001 EK for bio, physics, and Verbal.

Biology 30 min
Lecture 1-10

 

[rprasan1985]

My scores so far on the 30 minute in-class exams:

EK Physics

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 8
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 10
Lecture 5: 11
Lecture 6: 12

EK Inorganic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 11
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 12
Lecture 5: 12
Lecture 6: 10

EK Verbal (scale is messed up; scaled for 23 questions, but exam has only 21 questions. I have the 7th edition. In my opinion, my scores listed here are 1-2 points lower than what I think it should be).

Lecture 1: 10 (17/21)
Lecture 2: 8 (14/21)
Lecture 3: 8 (14/21)

EK Organic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 11
Lecture 4: 13

EK Biology

Lecture 1: 15
Lecture 2: 13
Lecture 3: 14
Lecture 4: 9 (!)

UPDATE:
EK Biology Lecture 5: 13

 

[rprasan1985]

My scores so far on the 30 minute in-class exams:

EK Physics

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 8
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 10
Lecture 5: 11
Lecture 6: 12

EK Inorganic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 11
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 10
Lecture 4: 12
Lecture 5: 12
Lecture 6: 10
Lecture 7: 12

EK Verbal (scale is messed up; scaled for 23 questions, but exam has only 21 questions. I have the 7th edition. In my opinion, my scores listed here are 1-2 points lower than what I think it should be).

Lecture 1: 10 (17/21)
Lecture 2: 8 (14/21)
Lecture 3: 8 (14/21)

EK Organic Chemistry

Lecture 1: 9
Lecture 2: 10
Lecture 3: 11
Lecture 4: 13

EK Biology

Lecture 1: 15
Lecture 2: 13
Lecture 3: 14
Lecture 4: 9 (!)

UPDATE:
EK Biology Lecture 5: 13

 

[jackson1]

I'll add to the thread, we'll see how well it correlates to the real thing on June 2nd!

-EK Bio: 12-10-10-7-4-7-10-11-8
-EK Chem: 12-10-6-6-6-8-6
-EK Physics: 9-8-12-6-8-8-6 (didn't do the last one)
-EK OChem: 9-9-9-7
-EK Verbal: 8-10-10

 

[JulyMD]

I just started using the EK ten-week study package. I have the following scores:
Biology 1 an 11
2:8
3:8
Chem 1 :8

I did very poorly on Orgo. I took Orgo over ten years ago and didn't do that well in the class either. I'm hoping that I can learn something from EK. It did not help that the 30 minute exam covered stuff that was not covered in the lecture.

 

[Dr Gerrard]

EK Verbal 1 --- 10 (15/21)
EK Verbal 2 --- 10 (15/21)

Don't know if the scale I used is correct, just did 15/21*23, and used that to determine my score.

Is the general consensus that these are harder than EK101 and AAMC?

 

[smhogans]

EK Chem Lecture 3: 6 (Needless to say I resorted back to my Chemistry Text book on Thermochemistry/Thermodynamics)
EK Bio Lecture 8: 12 (Going to review my incorrect answers now

 

[fizzgig]

doing the organic tests is like watching a movie where a monster just slaughters countless wide eyed people who never see it coming. O.O

anyone who did the first two have an opinion on whether they should be that hard or not? tryin to gauge if it's me or the tests really were mean to me. some people seem to agree with me but some people posted top scores on them too.

with other subjects if i bombed a test i could mostly get why once i went back through, and maybe checked a couple of concepts in the chapter that i obviously didn't get as well as i should have. i have had real trouble just telling what the hell they're trying to tell me they DID in these passages...

auuughh ok.. guess i'll go try the other 2 exams...

 

[deleted74029]

30 minutes exams are tough, I'd add at least 1 point to the scaled scores they give you. I've even heard some say you should add 2.

 

[fizzgig]

ugh. ok what other people posted i'll confirm, orgo 3 and 4 are much better. i don't know how people rocked orgo 1 and 2 but good for them.

ejay thanks - it's hard to tell yeah, some people have said the 30min exams are worthless, some they're harder, etc. they sure do show me what chapters i'm a flunkie on though, which i guess is good. i've got 10 or so that really should be redone though i doubt i'll have time. it's hard to tell sometimes if i am good/bad at the content and methods or if i got clear and straightforward / unclear and difficult passages. trying to understand what experimenters are doing can be rough, but i guess the real thing may be just like that too...

anyway, on to blazing through verbal.

 

[superman3]

Adding my scores to the data set. I've completed all of EK 1001 and TPR hyperlearning Bio. I plan to do 1 30 minute exam a day to keep my knowledge fresh. Plan on doing the test then reading the section afterwards as review.

EK Biology
Lecture 1: 13 (missed 1 for missing passage detail, missed 1 because I wasn't able to effectively eliminate to the final answer).

The question stems were much clearer than the EK 1001 exams, probably on par with TPR science workbook question stems in clarity. However, the questions really made you think. I went through all the questions in 15 minutes, then proceeded to spend the majority of my time refining my answer for 4 or 5 questions when trying to decide between 2 answers.

 

[superman3]

EK Biology
Lecture 1: 13 (missed 1 for missing passage detail, missed 1 because I wasn't able to effectively eliminate to the final answer).

UPDATE:
Lecture 2: 8 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! can't breathe!. I don't know what happened here. I just know I felt really really strapped for time during this section. mostly because I had to keep referencing the passage. I've heard that the mcat is genetics heavy. Officially scared, but glad to know what is a big weakness for me! This was my best section in the EK 1001 Bio book. wow. good ego check. that's all I can say for now.

after looking at my errors, I made a lot of mistakes and struggled with time because I missed critical information in the question stem or passage that would have enabled me to answer the questions. I read the questions, but my mind clearly didn't process them. Looks like I still have question interpretation errors I need to work on.