ExamKracker VERBAL 101 SCORES

[Futuredoctr]

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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

 

[wahoo2010]

EK#1: 6
EK#2: 8
EK#3: 10
EK#4: 8
EK#5: 10
EK#6: 11 <---I hope this isn't a fluke

 

[JokerMD]

EK#6: 11 <---I hope this isn't a fluke

actually that's a really good score for EK6. I got my lowest score on it and I think others have had trouble with it too

 

[thakerm]

i dont seem to be as steady as some of you on this board, but here are my current scores:

i am using the second gen book.

ek1: 8
ek2: 10
ek3: 9
ek4: 7 🙁 i took a 3 week break between 3 and 4
ek5: 10 only 2 day break between 4 and 5
Ek6: 9 one question from a ten
aamc4: 7...🙁 choked, all i can say

I took my real mcat last may 2008 and scored a 7 on the real thing. I never did much better on practice so anyone looking to bump of their verbal score i recommend picking up a copy of this verbal book and get practicing. it really helps build your verbal skills.

 

[puravida85]

Does anyone else feel that EK 4 (2nd Edition), Passage VII was f'in ridiculous! I was on par to get a 9 and then I hit passage 7, and got 3/7. I find it impossible for anyone to thoroughly complete it in a time of 8.57 minutes. It was the one about sexual behavior and identity, that included like 4 different studies all with different methods. The questions were mostly all HARD (i thought). So far:

EK1: 9
EK2: 10
EK3: 7
EK4: 7

With an average time of ~56 minutes per exam. Looks like i'm headed down the wrong road. HELP! Any suggestions on how to tackle passages like VII for the future?

 

[thakerm]

Does anyone else feel that EK 4 (2nd Edition), Passage VII was f'in ridiculous! I was on par to get a 9 and then I hit passage 7, and got 3/7. I find it impossible for anyone to thoroughly complete it in a time of 8.57 minutes. It was the one about sexual behavior and identity, that included like 4 different studies all with different methods. The questions were mostly all HARD (i thought). So far:

EK1: 9
EK2: 10
EK3: 7
EK4: 7

With an average time of ~56 minutes per exam. Looks like i'm headed down the wrong road. HELP! Any suggestions on how to tackle passages like VII for the future?

i felt the same way about VII on EK 4. I got 5 wrong just in that one passage. Thats the diff between a 7 and a 10. just keep chugging man. i got a 10 on EK5, just keep working at it.

 

[puravida85]

Thakerm, I'm taking EK5 tomorrow, I hope I do better than a 7. When are you taking your MCAT? I was suppose to take it in June but i'm slacking hardcore. But if I want to matriculate in Fall 2010 then I better get to it.

 

[rocketbooster]

how many editions are out?

I have the 2002 edition. it doesn't say 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

each of my tests is 85 min/11 passages/60 questions. are the newer editions shorter verbal tests to match the CBT 60 min/7 passages/40 questions?

 

[thakerm]

how many editions are out?

I have the 2002 edition. it doesn't say 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

each of my tests is 85 min/11 passages/60 questions. are the newer editions shorter verbal tests to match the CBT 60 min/7 passages/40 questions?

Rocketbooster,

2 editions. first one was 2002 and the second one was released sometime in 2008.

Purvida,

I am taking my mcat on may 28th. i have about 7 weeks left to study but really with school and working full time i have about 5 weeks. Hopefully i can get my act together.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

EK 1 --- 10
EK 2 --- 11
EK 3 --- 11
EK 4 --- 12

What are all these "Verbal Strategies" people talk about from the various prep-companies? I don't have a strategy. I just read the entire passage and answer the questions. I would think that writing down notes and summaries would just be overly time consuming? Not really sure why this is recommended...

 

[JokerMD]

^im using the same strategy you are. Im finding that when I actually highlight, it throws me off like crazy. The passages that I score super well on are the ones where I have like 5 minutes because I'm running low on time, so I quickly read the passage and answer the questions.

btw, highlighting is even MORE of a nuisance on the AAMC CBT's. I think im going to completely ditch highlighting...

 

[Bernoull]

I finally broke through the EK VR 10 barrier!! 😀😀 I hope any celebrations are not premature, i guess we'll see.

EK1: 9
EK2: 9
TPR CBT1: 7 (wtf!!!)
EK3: 10


I'm looking back at TPR CBT1 and I see real weakness with some humanities passage, in one passage, I had 6/7 WRONG!! I need to get more excited, and focused with these, maybe reading some articles on philosophy or art/music etc might help. This score was part of a FL so I don't know how much that factored into the score.... Has anyone taken this TPR test? If so how did it compare it EK 101s in ur opinion?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[amine2086]

So far my scores have been:

EK1-6
EK2-6
EK3-10 (not sure how I managed that)
EK4-7

Looks like I am in trouble. Any suggestions guys??

 

[BlueElmo]

So far my scores have been:

EK1-6
EK2-6
EK3-10 (not sure how I managed that)
EK4-7

Looks like I am in trouble. Any suggestions guys??

The first two tests are very hard, in my opinion. So don't worry, I did poorly on them also. That 7 in the fourth one could be a fluke. Keep chugging along and see what happens.

 

[BlueElmo]

I hope you guys are doing careful post-game analysis on these tests. Go over ALL the questions, even those you got right. Going over what you missed is as important as the actual taking of these exams.

 

[Dreamer42]

So forgive my ignorance but how do you score the EK 101 tests?

SO I am ******ed. Its on page 443... ehhhh.
Here they are:
EK1: 11
EK2: 12

That all I have done so far. Now we will see how my chm scores are. I am afraid.

 

[Dreamer42]

I finally broke through the EK VR 10 barrier!! 😀😀 I hope any celebrations are not premature, i guess we'll see.

EK1: 9
EK2: 9
TPR CBT1: 7 (wtf!!!)
EK3: 10


I'm looking back at TPR CBT1 and I see real weakness with some humanities passage, in one passage, I had 6/7 WRONG!! I need to get more excited, and focused with these, maybe reading some articles on philosophy or art/music etc might help. This score was part of a FL so I don't know how much that factored into the score.... Has anyone taken this TPR test? If so how did it compare it EK 101s in ur opinion?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Um I have only taken 2 EKs so far but I am usually pretty strong in verbal stuff.

Tips:
- You HAVE to see the big picture. Dont pay attn to the numbers or details but what the author is using them to illustrate.
- Pay attn to the actual Q. Like, if it asks "what does this passage imply about..." and you see a ver batim answer... that is not it. You are looking for an implication rather than a quote.

They are tricky mf'ers but the Q wording is more important than memorizing the passage.

 

[0Complications]

Um I have only taken 2 EKs so far but I am usually pretty strong in verbal stuff.

Tips:
- You HAVE to see the big picture. Dont pay attn to the numbers or details but what the author is using them to illustrate.
- Pay attn to the actual Q. Like, if it asks "what does this passage imply about..." and you see a ver batim answer... that is not it. You are looking for an implication rather than a quote.

They are tricky mf'ers but the Q wording is more important than memorizing the passage.

I agree with this statement for all but natural sciences passages. They often refer back to time periods and specific procedures.

 

[Dreamer42]

I agree with this statement for all but natural sciences passages. They often refer back to time periods and specific procedures.

I havent run into any, but I will def keep that in mind!

I took one today and missed like three answers b/c I apparently cant read the questions. So much for taking my own advice! To be fair there was some very distracting and exceptionally rude cell phone usage in the library today that I tried to plow through. Ugh.

 

[0Complications]

I havent run into any, but I will def keep that in mind!

I took one today and missed like three answers b/c I apparently cant read the questions. So much for taking my own advice! To be fair there was some very distracting and exceptionally rude cell phone usage in the library today that I tried to plow through. Ugh.

I hate that ****!!! The worst part is, and I don't know why this is, but if they are speaking a different language, doesn't matter what it is, they tend to yell on the phone or in small study groups. It's so frustrating. I'm thinking that since they know most people can't understand them they can talk as loudly as they want without anyone having any idea what they're saying.

So annoying... Some dude was doing this at the Kaplan center during my verbal diagnostic and I had to reread a passage 4 times!!!

I feel your pain.

 

[MD2BEEE]

EK1: 9
EK2: 9
EK3: 9
EK4: 9
EK5: 10
EK6: 10

lol... at least i'm consistent? 🙄

Need to work on speed but I feel I sacrifice comprehension if I try and read any faster... any suggestions? Think I just need to practice under stricter timing conditions.

 

[dapmp91]

i have second generation ipod, i mean EK 101 passages and here are my scores
EK1: I don't have it
EK2:
EK3: 8
EK4: 9
EK5:8
EK6: 8

ok, I'm sick of getting all these 8 and 9's 🙁 I am, I just wanna break through 10!!!! I'm thinking about going over the EK reasoning book (not the 101 book the other one that talks about strategy)

oh oh, now I now , up until EK5 I took 5 minutes to read a passage, now I am beginning to take 8 🙂

 

[BlueElmo]

i have second generation ipod, i mean EK 101 passages and here are my scores
EK1: I don't have it
EK2:
EK3: 8
EK4: 9
EK5:8
EK6: 8

ok, I'm sick of getting all these 8 and 9's 🙁 I am, I just wanna break through 10!!!! I'm thinking about going over the EK reasoning book (not the 101 book the other one that talks about strategy)

oh oh, now I now , up until EK5 I took 5 minutes to read a passage, now I am beginning to take 8 🙂

Try AAMC tests.

 

[dapmp91]

Try AAMC tests.

I will soon 😉

 

[Dreamer42]

MD2BEEE- Love your quote. I am a huge HHGTTG fan!

Also,
EK3-10. WTF?!

This was during the stupid rude cell phonage though. We shall see how 4 goes friday...

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Ek 1 --- 10
ek 2 --- 11
ek 3 --- 11
ek 4 --- 12
ek 5 --- 11
ek 6 --- 11

 

[rocketbooster]

WTF, is the 2nd test impossible or something?

I have the really old book, so I did Test 1 Passages 1-7 for my 1st test and Test 1 Passages 8-9 and Test 2 Passages 1-5 for my 2nd test. Granted, by doing it this way, I am always doing 47 questions instead of 40 in 60 minutes.

I got an 8 on the first one and a 7 on this last one. wtf I have never scored so low on a verbal. Last year, I got a 10 on the real thing and consistent 10s on all the AAMCs....uhhhh 😕

 

[BlueElmo]

WTF, is the 2nd test impossible or something?

I have the really old book, so I did Test 1 Passages 1-7 for my 1st test and Test 1 Passages 8-9 and Test 2 Passages 1-5 for my 2nd test. Granted, by doing it this way, I am always doing 47 questions instead of 40 in 60 minutes.

I got an 8 on the first one and a 6 on this last one. wtf I have never scored so low on a verbal. Last year, I got a 10 on the real thing and consistent 10s on all the AAMCs....uhhhh 😕

Yes I found the first two tests to be especially hard. You should find the later tests better though.

 

[rocketbooster]

Yes I found the first two tests to be especially hard. You should find the later tests better though.

I graded one of them wrong on test 2, so I actually got a 7. Yay, lol.

Does anyone remember the industrial melanism passage? The last question is ridiculous. It's based on catching that the question stem used the word "sight" rather than "cite." The wording of the question fits "cite" better, so your brain just reads over it as that word instead of "sight." That's so stupid lol. The real VR would NEVER stoop that low ha.

 

[OneMCATAway]

I got a 5 on test 1 and i am doing test two in pairs of passages!! do you guys read the passages again when you go over your answers?! how do you get the most out of reviewing and post game analysis?! i wish the EK was computer based so it would look more like the real thing!!

my test is in 20 days
what are some strategies you guys used when you saw huge improvements?!

 

[BlueElmo]

I got a 5 on test 1 and i am doing test two in pairs of passages!! do you guys read the passages again when you go over your answers?! how do you get the most out of reviewing and post game analysis?! i wish the EK was computer based so it would look more like the real thing!!

my test is in 20 days
what are some strategies you guys used when you saw huge improvements?!

I suggest reading over Vihsada's and BloodySurgeon's verbal guides.

 

[MD2BEEE]

EK7: 10

Even though I didn't score any better, I'm a little disappointed in the "easiness" of the passages in this section. I hope this trend doesn't continue.

 

[rocketbooster]

I graded one of them wrong on test 2, so I actually got a 7. Yay, lol.

Does anyone remember the industrial melanism passage? The last question is ridiculous. It's based on catching that the question stem used the word "sight" rather than "cite." The wording of the question fits "cite" better, so your brain just reads over it as that word instead of "sight." That's so stupid lol. The real VR would NEVER stoop that low ha.

yay, I got my focus back on VR3. 9!

VR1: 8
VR2: 7
VR3: 9

 

[OneMCATAway]

so i got a 6 on EK #2 (didn't finisht it all at once though).. do you guys use the question stem method from EK? it made sense when i read the strategy book but most of the time the questions dont really help me get the point of the passage!!


What do you do when you have 5/4 min or less and an entire passage? read super fast or jump right into questions?!

also what do you do if you finish reading a long passage and realize you didnt understand ANYTHING?

 

[n618ft]

so i got a 6 on EK #2 (didn't finisht it all at once though).. do you guys use the question stem method from EK? it made sense when i read the strategy book but most of the time the questions dont really help me get the point of the passage!!


What do you do when you have 5/4 min or less and an entire passage? read super fast or jump right into questions?!

also what do you do if you finish reading a long passage and realize you didnt understand ANYTHING?

I did the exact same thing and feel the exact same way about their question stem method... you're SOL if you didn't understand ANYTHING... make sure you're in a quiet environment w/o a watch or clock to stare at and no distractions!

 

[MD2BEEE]

so i got a 6 on EK #2 (didn't finisht it all at once though).. do you guys use the question stem method from EK? it made sense when i read the strategy book but most of the time the questions dont really help me get the point of the passage!!


What do you do when you have 5/4 min or less and an entire passage? read super fast or jump right into questions?!

also what do you do if you finish reading a long passage and realize you didnt understand ANYTHING?

I tried going straight to the questions once and it just made the situation much worse... I'll never do it again. But yes, I agree the question stems are not usually the "pot of gold" that EK likes to make them out to be.

I found a better strategy that worked for me the second time that happened. I read the entire first paragraph and then the first sentence, or two, of each paragraph that followed. This was enough for me to get the gist of the passage as well as be able to somewhat mentally map so I knew where to look for answers to more specific questions. Of course, this works for certain types of passages better than others. Also, I found it especially important in this case to just move on from a question if I didn't immediately understand it or know the answer, cut my losses, and get to the ones I could answer for sure.

If you do have a problem finishing on time, I would definitely take maybe a couple of passages at a time with less than 8 minutes or so, and attempt different strategies on them to see what works best for you should you encounter that problem on the real thing.

 

[Protactinium]

Yeah I still can't understand what the heck EK is talking about with question stems. Seems bogus.

 

[rocketbooster]

Yeah I still can't understand what the heck EK is talking about with question stems. Seems bogus.

what EK pointed out isn't bogus. it worked for THAT passage that they used to prove their point in that lesson. when I did that lesson, I did get every question right by just reading the question stems and answer choices.

after that lesson, I was like "WTF are you serious??? tiighht!" then like a few of you above, I tried it on a VR FL when I had 5 minutes left for the last passage. it ended in FAILURE.

why did it end in failure?
1) that strategy only worked really well on that one passage in that lesson. they found the best example of their strategy and used that to convince everyone it works. funny how they didn't have any other examples in that lesson! because it rarely works.

2) in order to actually get enough info out of the question stems and answers only, you have to spend just as long as it would normally take to read the entire passage and answer the questions. that strategy requires you reading all of the questions and answers, finding comparisons between them, putting a little story together, and then going back and rereading and answering all the questions. it's not even worth the hassle.

Conclusion: it's a bogus strategy written to 1) sell books and 2) give you confidence that it's THAT EASY to improve your score.

Final conclusion: DON'T USE this strategy.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

EK 1 --- 10
EK 2 --- 11
EK 3 --- 11
EK 4 --- 12
EK 5 --- 11
EK 6 --- 11
EK 7 --- 13 (Interesting passages for once - I think that's why I did so well)

 

[Protactinium]

what EK pointed out isn't bogus. it worked for THAT passage that they used to prove their point in that lesson. when I did that lesson, I did get every question right by just reading the question stems and answer choices.

after that lesson, I was like "WTF are you serious??? tiighht!" then like a few of you above, I tried it on a VR FL when I had 5 minutes left for the last passage. it ended in FAILURE.

why did it end in failure?
1) that strategy only worked really well on that one passage in that lesson. they found the best example of their strategy and used that to convince everyone it works. funny how they didn't have any other examples in that lesson! because it rarely works.

2) in order to actually get enough info out of the question stems and answers only, you have to spend just as long as it would normally take to read the entire passage and answer the questions. that strategy requires you reading all of the questions and answers, finding comparisons between them, putting a little story together, and then going back and rereading and answering all the questions. it's not even worth the hassle.

Conclusion: it's a bogus strategy written to 1) sell books and 2) give you confidence that it's THAT EASY to improve your score.

Final conclusion: DON'T USE this strategy.

They also advise not to 'waste' fresh passages and test out this tactic on tests already completed.

 

[mfrizzo3]

Yeah I still can't understand what the heck EK is talking about with question stems. Seems bogus.

The only thing that whole question stem thing has helped me on is when a question asks whether or not the passage "implies" or if the passage "provides evidence" for or against the authors opinion. If it is implying you are looking for something not stated in the passage and if it provides evidence you are looking for answers found somewhere in the passage. Other than that the only thing that really helps is the whole main idea thing.

 

[rocketbooster]

The only thing that whole question stem thing has helped me on is when a question asks whether or not the passage "implies" or if the passage "provides evidence" for or against the authors opinion. If it is implying you are looking for something not stated in the passage and if it provides evidence you are looking for answers found somewhere in the passage. Other than that the only thing that really helps is the whole main idea thing.

well, um yea...I don't know how to say this in a nice way, so please don't get mad at me...but no ****. you don't need to read a strategy book to know that if the passage "implies" something then it means it's not directly written in the passage.

 

[mfrizzo3]

well, um yea...I don't know how to say this in a nice way, so please don't get mad at me...but no ****. you don't need to read a strategy book to know that if the passage "implies" something then it means it's not directly written in the passage.

.

It seems so simple doesn't it. I am I commenting on how one should really focus on the question. Some people tend to get in a hurry and miss those vital words. They see the word passage and instinctivly look for answers taken directly from the passage. But hey, I could care less if anyone listens to me.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

The MOST important thing regarding verbal (for me at least) is to NOT make any personal assumptions. Try to shut your bias off and base your response only on what you have read and nothing else.

 

[JokerMD]

ok...i just wanted to post here to give everyone taking EK101 some advise on verbal based on what I saw on today's test:

1) the passages are WAAY longer than what is in the EK exams or in the aamc's. If I were you, aside from doing practice tests also just get used to reading longer passages. You could do this by looking at opinion/editorial sections of the newspaper online or whatever.

2) the majority of the questions are similar to EK's inference questions. I didn't see too many direct "main idea" questions. there were also some annoying questions asking you to make inferences about ideas presented in specific paragraphs of a passage.

bottom line: longer passages and more complicated questions. I think if you become good at EK's inference-type questions, it will be very beneficial.

may be someone else would want to chime in on their experience today...

 

[rocketbooster]

yay, I got my focus back on VR3. 9!

VR1: 8
VR2: 7
VR3: 9

Yay, got a 10 on VR4!

VR1: 8
VR2: 7
VR3: 9
VR4: 10

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Yay, got a 10 on VR4!

VR1: 8
VR2: 7
VR3: 9
VR4: 10

👍 Keep it up !

 

[rocketbooster]

👍 Keep it up !

Thanks!

I just took EK5! 10! same score as previous one but it was a higher 10 at least!

EK1: 8
EK2: 7
EK3: 9
EK4: 10
EK5: 10

 

[MD2BEEE]

ok...i just wanted to post here to give everyone taking EK101 some advise on verbal based on what I saw on today's test:

Thanks Joker 👍

 

[derArzt]

EK1: 9
EK2: 10
EK3: 10
EK4: 9
EK5: 8
EK6: 9

AAMC 4: 13

AAMC seems a lot more straight forward

 

[rocketbooster]

EK1: 9
EK2: 10
EK3: 10
EK4: 9
EK5: 8
EK6: 9

AAMC 4: 13

AAMC seems a lot more straight forward

yeah, I think so, too. I don't have any AAMC tests to test it on, though. Your real MCAT score will for sure reflect your AAMC scores. Most ppl claim your EK scores reflect it also, so IDK.