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

 

[meilideai]

So...... with 5 days until my exam, I've noticed verbal scores dropping within the last week.

Can someone scoring 10 or above on EK 101 or AAMCs please tell me what is going on mentally when you are reading?
What I do is..read every word...summarize what was said in every paragraph..formulate a main idea at the end before answering questions.

I am averaging 8-9s, an occasional 10, on tests 1-10.
But come test 11 I got a 6! I don't know if a girl munching on crakcers + a guy repeatedly sighing next to me had any effect on this...

 

[Jasgop]

I find VR really hard =(

 

[sankara]

EK1:6
EK2:8
EK3:6
EK4:9
EK5:8
EK6:9
EK7:9
EK8:10
EK9:9 (one away from 10)
avg. 9.2
I have about 4 months until test date so I'm going to work on my critical analysis and improving reading speed for one 1 month while doing 1-2 TBR passage per day. I'm looking for more humanities and natural science readings...any recommendations?

 

[Stingarov]

EK1:13
EK2:10
EK3:11
EK4:12
EK5:11
EK6:10
EK7:11
EK8:11
EK9: 12
EK10: 12
EK 11: 11
Feh. So far my optimal strategy is identifying logical premises and highlighting in the text; identifying the question type, therefore facilitating a change in the scope of my analysis for the answer (e.g., Direct Comprehension, Direct Reference, Inference, New Information, Strength/Weakness, Author-related, Main Idea/Thesis, and Structure/Function); and finally, referring back to the text for Direct Comp and Direct Ref. questions. Most people say not to because you don't have a lot of time, but I seem to do OK if I don't even review any marked, instead referring back immediately to the text for some of the vague DC/DR questions.

 

[freothalaf]

Wow Great scores, I got a 6 on EK1 so I have lots of room for improvement

 

[rafflecopter]

Okay, someone tell me if you notice a pattern here cuz I certainly dont see one:
EK 1: 10
EK 2: 10
EK 3: 10
EK 4: 10
EK 5: 10
EK 6: 10
EK 7: 10

I sh!& you not! At least I'm consistent.....

 

[millee3]

So...... with 5 days until my exam, I've noticed verbal scores dropping within the last week.

Can someone scoring 10 or above on EK 101 or AAMCs please tell me what is going on mentally when you are reading?
What I do is..read every word...summarize what was said in every paragraph..formulate a main idea at the end before answering questions.

I am averaging 8-9s, an occasional 10, on tests 1-10.
But come test 11 I got a 6! I don't know if a girl munching on crakcers + a guy repeatedly sighing next to me had any effect on this...

I am in the exact same position...I've been averaging 8-9 on EK..occasional 10 as well. But got a 6 on either 11 or 12...ive lost track. And then I took a full length and got a 7...so I'm starting to freak out haha...i've gone back to kaplan strategies and writing down the purpose of each paragraph just to keep myself organized...we'll see if it works.

Only difference is..I still have 3 weeks...

Are you doing bad on certain types of passages or all equally? I've found that I am terrible at humanities, so what I've been doing is reading up on various topics (mythology, religion, literature styles/poetry, art, etc) just to make myself more familiar with the topics....and that should help.

 

[millee3]

and i just realized you posted that almost a month ago haha

 

[Stingarov]

I just took the AAMC 8 and scored a 13 on the Verbal section, which is kind of neat, but I also scored a 9 on my latest EK. To me the reason behind the discrepancies was that the EK VR test I took had passages on methods for wood finishing, methods for leather tanning, and a bunch of unbelievably uninteresting drivel. Meanwhile, AAMC 8 had an easier passage on litcrit and a bunch of sociopolitical and natural science passages that resonated significantly with my worldview. So I guess my point/question is, is it a good thing that our result on the VR is to a significant extent modulated by how interesting the material is?

So far, most of the AAMC passages, except one involving Picasso and another involving LitCrit, have been quite interesting I must say. Hope the actual MCAT is more like their practice test passages on evolution, human history, sociology, and such, and less like the abstract methodological junk that seems more commonly found in EK passages.

 

[loveportland]

So I'm really scared! I've been working on EK 101 passages, so far I just got done with exam #2. My scores are like 4,5 so far. I took longer than 60 minutes and still scored that low.


I try the question stem and it didn't really help me. I also have a hard time with the main idea and remembering what I read.

How should I get start on the passages? How do I get the main idea of the passage?

Please give me suggestions.

 

[rjns11]

So I'm really scared! I've been working on EK 101 passages, so far I just got done with exam #2. My scores are like 4,5 so far. I took longer than 60 minutes and still scored that low.


I try the question stem and it didn't really help me. I also have a hard time with the main idea and remembering what I read.

How should I get start on the passages? How do I get the main idea of the passage?

Please give me suggestions.

Here's some great advice from Vihsadas: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6022602&postcount=96

Also, you may want to do 2-4 passages at a time until you get better with your timing and attention. If you glaze one paragraph you miss 20% of the content, have to re-read to answer the questions, and may miss the main idea. A 5 second break, from ExamKrackers, before each passage helps me zone in for the couple of minutes required for each passage.

 

[TriagePreMed]

So...... with 5 days until my exam, I've noticed verbal scores dropping within the last week.

Can someone scoring 10 or above on EK 101 or AAMCs please tell me what is going on mentally when you are reading?
What I do is..read every word...summarize what was said in every paragraph..formulate a main idea at the end before answering questions.

I am averaging 8-9s, an occasional 10, on tests 1-10.
But come test 11 I got a 6! I don't know if a girl munching on crakcers + a guy repeatedly sighing next to me had any effect on this...

Well, I am scoring 10-11 on all of the EK 101. One of them I hit a 12. What is going through my mind when reading the passage is to leave good indicators to come back to the passage if necessary. If there is a name or place, I circle it. If there is a concept word or one that I don't understand, I put a box around it and underline the definition if it is given.

Once I hit the questions, my mind asks "what is wrong with this answer?" and I go through all 4 of them. Normally, 2 will glare out easily as being wrong. 1 will seem correct, and 1 will be correct. Sometimes you'll know right away which one is right, but if you're on the 50-50, take your call a friend life-line. Just kidding. Just debate the 2 really quickly in your mind like "well, for it to be correct, the answer would say ____; this one doesn't say that, but it would be a stretch to conclude something similar? What about with this one?" Just basically lawyer it. Don't forget that other questions could give clues to answers, so if you're in this rut in question 1 or 2, answer the others and come back to it.

 

[snipermonkey]

Ek101 gets harder as it goes i think.
ive been scoring 10-11, now my score has been dropping to 9 - 10

 

[ms08bayo]

hey guys, i'm taking the july 8th exam, and ive been using kaplan to prepare, but it seems that exam krackers is overwhelmingly the choice to improve verbal, so I just ordered an 101 book. but, i was wondering if i should get the strategies exam krackers too, in order to get their strategies in solving verbal questions, or will the pactice passages in 101 be sufficient in gaining the benefits of exam krackers strategy?

 

[lostking243]

hey guys, i'm taking the july 8th exam, and ive been using kaplan to prepare, but it seems that exam krackers is overwhelmingly the choice to improve verbal, so I just ordered an 101 book. but, i was wondering if i should get the strategies exam krackers too, in order to get their strategies in solving verbal questions, or will the pactice passages in 101 be sufficient in gaining the benefits of exam krackers strategy?

I have the Princeton Review hyperlearning VR & Writing book for "strategy". I really didn't find it to insightful. The explanations at the back of EK101 give you a good idea of what went wrong. But that's just me. Another idea is to just go ahead and find the book for cheap and re-sell it pretty quickly to get your $ back.

 

[JSU]

Whats the consensus on Exam 12? I just took it and got a 9 (one off from 10 🙁 ). I felt pretty good during it but there were a few questions that didnt have very good answers. Up until this point my VR has been very varied but I think im getting it down to more of a science. My last few tests have been 10,9,9,10,9 including AAMC and various others. Hopefully the scores will start going up now...

 

[Snuke]

I have only done two of the exams so far, but my exam is not until 8/24, so I have time.

EK1: 12
EK2: 12

Missed the same number of questions on each, 4. On the second, 3 of the 4 missed were the first questions in the passage, when they ask for the main argument of the excerpt. I generally am too specific with the answer choice, so we'll see if I can correct that next time.

 

[UofT9919]

Did you guys find that you weren't understanding the passages when you first started out? What were you scoring at first.

 

[eldoctor]

took my first EK101 Verbal today:

Missed 4(!) on the first passage, then another 6 on the rest of the passages.

EK101 #1: 30/40 : 10

 

[freothalaf]

Did you guys find that you weren't understanding the passages when you first started out? What were you scoring at first.

For me it has gotten easier to understand the passages just from practice. After hearing terrible things about the passages at the end of the book i decided to do them backwards (after #1) and these are my scores so far

1-6
14-6
13-6
12-8
11-5(wtf?)
10-9
9-7
8-9
7-10

So I have improved and I feel like I am getting more from the passages each test I take.

 

[Parthenon89]

EK1-9
EK2-10

not a bad start so far i think huh?

for you guys that are seriously having trouble, (i mean scoring below 7), try the verbal strategy I just posted, its really helping me out, and let me know if it does the same for you.

also, i see a lot of people saying:
ek1 4
ek2 6
ek3 5
ek5 10 (lucky guessing ahah)

don't just play it off as lucky guessing, even if you got a question right read up on why that particular answer is right.

 

[JSU]

10 on #13. I burnt some time on a few question (spent 10 minutes on the first passage) and ran out of time at the end. Only one more test to go... I want an 11!

 

[snipermonkey]

JSU,
i did #13 yesterday, and i got owned on the first passage
that one killed me haha
oh well,
it gets harder every test
so we will see about the last one!

 

[JSU]

JSU,
i did #13 yesterday, and i got owned on the first passage
that one killed me haha
oh well,
it gets harder every test
so we will see about the last one!

It killed me too. Then everything else was much easier. I mean wood, sandpaper leather. Nothing too intellectual until the last passage.

 

[JSU]

Wow! 7 on #14. That was truly brutal. Every single question was convoluted. There were no easy ones! Did anyone else have the same experience?

 

[anbuitachi]

Hi do you guys know if the old one EK verbal is easier based on the curve?

I'm using the old book for practice, (60 questions 80 min, each test)

i got
EK1- 9
EK2- 10
EK3- 11

however i can't seem to get higher than a 10 for AAMC, and im averaging ~8!! why is aamc so much harder

 

[snipermonkey]

JSU,
14 was the hardest lol
i doubt the real mcat would be like that...
all passages were hard to comprehend

 

[JSU]

JSU,
14 was the hardest lol
i doubt the real mcat would be like that...
all passages were hard to comprehend

Luckily, my test didnt have anything close to test 14

 

[Parthenon89]

EK1-9
EK2-10
Ek3-11

 

[Silverfalcon]

So far:
EK #1: 7
EK #2: 7
EK #3: 7
Changed method
EK #4: 10
EK #5: 10

I wonder whether real MCAT verbal is around EK 101. This could mean a good thing or a bad thing since there are some really straightforward passages in EK while some passages are just odd in terms of their topics..

 

[rjns11]

So far:
EK #1: 7
EK #2: 7
EK #3: 7
Changed method
EK #4: 10
EK #5: 10

I wonder whether real MCAT verbal is around EK 101. This could mean a good thing or a bad thing since there are some really straightforward passages in EK while some passages are just odd in terms of their topics..

In what way did you change your method?

 

[Silverfalcon]

In what way did you change your method?

I increased my reading comprehension. This is much more effective, I think, than trying to analyze each answer choice and whatnot. There are, of course, some patterns that appear in EK 101 because they are all written by same author as well.

 

[Thejakeman]

I increased my reading comprehension. This is much more effective, I think, than trying to analyze each answer choice and whatnot. There are, of course, some patterns that appear in EK 101 because they are all written by same author as well.

I'm curious to how you "Increased your reading comprehension." I took:

EK 1- 4
EK 2- 5
EK 3- 7 (One away from an 8)

I was trying to stick to the EK method and "Get the main idea" and not go back to the passage for the first two tests. However, I found that this is crap because I can quickly find the answers in the passage. I found that the main idea is only helpful in certain questions (maybe ~20%). I am reading through the passage quickly and getting the gist of things, mainly taking note of where stuff is so I know where to refer back to the passage for a certain question. I can still come up with a main idea, but I don't think it's that useful. I have found though that the more and more I read these passages, the more I take away from them, and the easier they are to understand "in general." I'm not sure if I am doing things right as it seems I am going against the "EK Way." Just curious to see how you improved your reading comp as most of the questions I am getting wrong are located right in the passage!

Does anyone else have any other suggestions? I don't know why the heck my verbal is so low! I've been reading ever since I can remember! haha. Oh well, I guess it's just how the story goes.

 

[chewy88]

My scores so far...

Test 1: 7
Test 2: 10 (31/40)
Test 3: 10 (31/40)
Test 4: 8 (26/40)
Test 5: 8 (26/40)
Test 6: 10 (30/40) (Took an hour after test 5 because i was pissed haha)
Test 7: 10 (31/40) (Changed my answer on three questions that i initially had correct to the wrong answer in the last couple minutes, so I could have pulled a 34/40, 11)

 

[phonyreal98]

EK 1- 10
EK 2- 10
EK 3- 11

How well do EK 101 scores correlate with AAMC scores?

 

[snipermonkey]

lol.
someone literally try the TBR Verbal passages.
Mad hard to read
lol

nothing resembles the actual test like
the practice AAMCs tho.

 

[Thejakeman]

6/19 EK 1- 4
6/20 EK 2- 5
6/21 EK 3- 7
6/28 EK 4- 8

...Slowly but surely. I feel every test that I do, I get more and more out of the passages.

 

[Silverfalcon]

I'm curious to how you "Increased your reading comprehension." I took:

EK 1- 4
EK 2- 5
EK 3- 7 (One away from an 8)

I was trying to stick to the EK method and "Get the main idea" and not go back to the passage for the first two tests. However, I found that this is crap because I can quickly find the answers in the passage. I found that the main idea is only helpful in certain questions (maybe ~20%). I am reading through the passage quickly and getting the gist of things, mainly taking note of where stuff is so I know where to refer back to the passage for a certain question. I can still come up with a main idea, but I don't think it's that useful. I have found though that the more and more I read these passages, the more I take away from them, and the easier they are to understand "in general." I'm not sure if I am doing things right as it seems I am going against the "EK Way." Just curious to see how you improved your reading comp as most of the questions I am getting wrong are located right in the passage!

Does anyone else have any other suggestions? I don't know why the heck my verbal is so low! I've been reading ever since I can remember! haha. Oh well, I guess it's just how the story goes.

The idea of using just main idea to answer the question is indeed crap. It works... if you can memorize every little change in the passage, which 1) goes against what EK Verbal states, and 2) prevents you from getting the subtlety of the passage, which is critical for getting hard questions right.

My strategy was working until I took a FL and didn't get as high as I wanted. I also took another test today, and that didn't go as high as either. I know what happened though, so I'm adjusting it a bit to hit my goal (13+). What I do is to try to increase the level of my reading comprehension with methodical ways than those companies' words of "read as if you are listening to your mom telling you a bedtime story (come on, do YOU - the author of whatever books - expect to do that with passage discussing originalism and jurisprudence? I don't think so)." It's still in experimental stage, which is why I'm being vague.

 

[rls303]

The idea of using just main idea to answer the question is indeed crap. It works... if you can memorize every little change in the passage, which 1) goes against what EK Verbal states, and 2) prevents you from getting the subtlety of the passage, which is critical for getting hard questions right.

My strategy was working until I took a FL and didn't get as high as I wanted. I also took another test today, and that didn't go as high as either. I know what happened though, so I'm adjusting it a bit to hit my goal (13+). What I do is to try to increase the level of my reading comprehension with methodical ways than those companies' words of "read as if you are listening to your mom telling you a bedtime story (come on, do YOU - the author of whatever books - expect to do that with passage discussing originalism and jurisprudence? I don't think so)." It's still in experimental stage, which is why I'm being vague.

I'm also having the problem finding the main idea. In the audio osmosis, they said not to go back to the passage, but I just can't do that. I always end up going back.

I honestly don't know what to do at this point. Perhaps I will get lucky on test day. 🙄

 

[Silverfalcon]

I'm also having the problem finding the main idea. In the audio osmosis, they said not to go back to the passage, but I just can't do that. I always end up going back.

I honestly don't know what to do at this point. Perhaps I will get lucky on test day. 🙄

LOL to Audio Osmosis.

 

[CoasterForce]

Jeez I don't get this. I got an 11 on test 10, a 7 on the next one, and an 8 on 12. Also I completely agree with the "main idea" thing. I already used up my AAMCs so this is really frustrating.

 

[MCAT guy]

I've take 2 AAMCs and gotten a few 10's but I'm getting owned on EK.

Two in a row I got 7, 7.

Not sure what to think of this. I've heard some people say EK is great and others say that the answers are sometimes off... I definitely score higher on AAMC so far...

 

[MCAT guy]

plus EK says not to go back,

but answers all the time are in the passage.

Like they list: What did the author say was responsible for ___.

I. This
II. That
III. The other

A. I only
B. I and II
C. I and III
D. I, II, III

It's funny they say that you can answer the questions with the main idea, some you need to. Like they had one today where it said "US imports" as an example, when the passage said "US exports", mind you this was a small detail of the passage mentioned once in the 600 words as a side note, this was in no way the MAIN idea.

I think people who do well definitely reference back (quite a bit) and can read fast and know where to look.

 

[MCAT guy]

Does anyone else feel that examkrackers figures out the main idea, then writes in their "distractor" choices a slight twist of the main idea?

Like, "dogs are really good animals"

then the choices go:

A. Dogs are desirable animals to have
WRONG: It didn't say this exactly.
B. Weird tangential idea
CORRECT: This agree with what the author said on line 45

 

[MCAT guy]

Hey guys,

I got a 13 on verbal on the real deal. I was scoring very low when I first started (around 6). I personally did not find the EK101 verbal questions useful. I stopped after about two tests because... well after the tests, I looked over why exactly I got those questions wrong, and most of the time I was just like WTF. The answers did not make sense, and it was very unlikely such a question would be on the real MCAT.



I would recommend sticking with AAMC practice questions for verbal.



Remember, you can take your time on verbal passages. Read them thoroughly. The questions go by much quicker if you know the passages well.

Next, I logged every wrong question I got. I copied and pasted the question on word and analyzed them. For example, what did the question really mean when it said "evidence." Most of the time, it turns out, "evidence" refers to something specific mentioned directly in the passage rather than anything implied. Like this, I started noticing patterns after a few tests, and they were corrected. The only questions I got wrong after that were just those ones that come up rarely that you cant really prepare for. If you use this strategy in EK101 books and then move over to AAMC tests, you will probably get confused by conflicting results because the tests are not that similar.

Wish you all much luck!

It's funny, I see a lot of people giving stories like this that obviously are good at verbal. You finally get the hang of EK then you move to AAMC and it is completely different...

Maybe EK is good reading... but the answers sometimes are like, what???

 

[Silverfalcon]

It's funny, I see a lot of people giving stories like this that obviously are good at verbal. You finally get the hang of EK then you move to AAMC and it is completely different...

Maybe EK is good reading... but the answers sometimes are like, what???

EK test questions are different from AAMC test questions. This is a fact. But the thing is... with any prep company's book, you have to bare this in mind as it is very difficult for anyone to completely reproduce the test as the original test makers.

I actually find EK to be not that obscure in terms of its answer choices. So far (I've done EK tests 1-6), the only passage I was like perplexed involved the passage about three dimensions of time (x,y,z, and t). It was.. lol.

 

[MCAT guy]

EK test questions are different from AAMC test questions. This is a fact. But the thing is... with any prep company's book, you have to bare this in mind as it is very difficult for anyone to completely reproduce the test as the original test makers.

I actually find EK to be not that obscure in terms of its answer choices. So far (I've done EK tests 1-6), the only passage I was like perplexed involved the passage about three dimensions of time (x,y,z, and t). It was.. lol.

I guess I'm not talking about the passages, but the questions:

The stems are ok, but the answer choices...

AAMC likes to go:

A. Correct
B. Opposite main idea
C. Not logical but in passage
D. Nonsensical

often they do this but sometimes a variation

EK likes to go:

A. Correct (reworded to not sound like main idea)
B. Seems likely to be correct based on main idea
C. Not logical planted from passage
D. Nonsensical

AAMC will do this sometimes on the tougher questions too I guess, but their 50/50 choices are clearer in my opinion. When I 50/50 EK, I get half or more wrong. When I 50/50 AAMC, I get half or more right. I guess I don't have the EK feel.

I'm not great at VR though, I'm a sub-10 EK and ~10 AAMC but I hope to practice up a few points.

 

[MCAT guy]

Sweet.

Retook AAMC 3 VR and got a 14.

Now I need to figure out how to take my MCAT VR section, review it, and then retake it on exam day and I'm set.

 

[Silverfalcon]

I guess I'm not talking about the passages, but the questions:

The stems are ok, but the answer choices...

AAMC likes to go:

A. Correct
B. Opposite main idea
C. Not logical but in passage
D. Nonsensical

often they do this but sometimes a variation

EK likes to go:

A. Correct (reworded to not sound like main idea)
B. Seems likely to be correct based on main idea
C. Not logical planted from passage
D. Nonsensical

AAMC will do this sometimes on the tougher questions too I guess, but their 50/50 choices are clearer in my opinion. When I 50/50 EK, I get half or more wrong. When I 50/50 AAMC, I get half or more right. I guess I don't have the EK feel.

I'm not great at VR though, I'm a sub-10 EK and ~10 AAMC but I hope to practice up a few points.

I don't analyze answer choices as detailed as you do (mainly because I think it's a waste of time since you are not going to be analyzing how each answer choice falls on which one at the test day), but it looks like you have some solid info there.

I took AAMC #3 and got 9 on Verbal. A long way to go so hopefully my method will keep it up (I modified it last night after having some issues on AAMC #4 last week).

 

[brdmadgrl82]

I'm glad I decided to look in this thread (as opposed to the non-trad I've been visiting). I took my practice exam 3 for verbal reasoning and so far only: 4, 6, 6...It was nice to read I'm not the only one- I was feeling very low earlier! English is also my second language, but some of these passages were just so dry and boring, lol. Hopefully this will improve the more I practice. Thanks for the tips some of you posted!