Getting into DO school with a 6/7 on verbal

[Uafl112]

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I know MD schools wont look at anything below an 8 on verbal. Does that also go for DO schools?

 

[Mx300]

DO schools will. And a 7 is the minimum for some MD schools. At least that's what I've been told about the Texas schools.

 

[Uafl112]

Alright, now I know

 

[BestDoctorEver]

I know MD schools wont look at anything below an 8 on verbal. Does that also go for DO schools?

There are a few people in SDN who got into MD with 6, but it is rare... You will also see people in here who got into DO with even 4, but it also rare... However, I would say 8 in VR is safe for MD, and 6 is safe for DO.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I got 8 interviews with a 7 on VR, and that's a retake. My first attempt, I scored 3 😳

For what it's worth, Anicetus, an SDN member got in this cycle into an MD school with 6 on VR. He also got accepted to every single DO school he applied and interviewed at. That said, his scores on the other two sections were 14 and 11.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I got 8 interviews with a 7 on VR, and that's a retake. My first attempt, I scored 3 😳

For what it's worth, Anicetus, an SDN member got in this cycle into an MD school with 6 on VR. He also got accepted to every single DO school he applied and interviewed at. That said, his scores on the other two sections were 14 and 11.

Yeah, my friend got into our state MD school with a 7 on verbal, and that was after a retake.

 

[tigga2013]

DO schools will. And a 7 is the minimum for some MD schools. At least that's what I've been told about the Texas schools.

Not true. sister got into UTSW with 6 in verbal (retake) and I was able to get into a&m with a 7 (retake as well) this cycle. There is no real cut-offs, although I have yet to know anyone who got into MD with a 5 in verbal.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I've seen people with a 4 here getting in.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

A 6 or 7 isn't a death deal for DO. That being said with even a month of leisurely practice you can easily be scoring in the 8-9 region. The Verbal section isn't extremely complicated, you just need to get into the writer's head and try to understand why they wrote the piece and the main point.

 

[Mx300]

Not true. sister got into UTSW with 6 in verbal (retake) and I was able to get into a&m with a 7 (retake as well) this cycle. There is no real cut-offs, although I have yet to know anyone who got into MD with a 5 in verbal.

Well I'm glad I'm wrong considering I got a 7 in ps. But I'm sure that it's an exception. And I was told that at my particular school no one has gotten in with lower than a 7 from the director of the premed program.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

VR SUCKS.

I was scoring 8-10 on practice exams and ended up with a 7.

OP, I got 7 interviews with a 7 in VR so don't sweat it.

 

[Chillywilly]

Yeah I got 12 interviews and 1 of them was an MD school with a 6 in VR. I'm not URM

 

[CSqueed]

A 6 or 7 isn't a death deal for DO. That being said with even a month of leisurely practice you can easily be scoring in the 8-9 region. The Verbal section isn't extremely complicated, you just need to get into the writer's head and try to understand why they wrote the piece and the main point.

This is very subjective. I could say the BS isn't extremely complicated. VR is different for everyone. It is just another hoop everyone has to get through. I have friends who do twice sometimes three times the practice and still can't get it to click and some people seriously plateau out at like an 8.

Personally, I think if you read a lot as a kid and don't have many problems with staying alert or letting your mind drift off, progress is definitely obtainable. On the other hand, kids that hated books never read the readings in HS/college (ie just use sparknote and stuff) and have a harder time paying attention to an uninteresting article in 4 mins time range for 7 passages straight, I can understand why an 8 may be their MAX score, if lucky.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

This is very subjective. I could say the BS isn't extremely complicated. VR is different for everyone. It is just another hoop everyone has to get through. I have friends who do twice sometimes three times the practice and still can't get it to click and some people seriously plateau out at like an 8.

Personally, I think if you read a lot as a kid and don't have many problems with staying alert or letting your mind drift off, progress is definitely obtainable. On the other hand, kids that hated books never read the readings in HS/college (ie just use sparknote and stuff) and have a harder time paying attention to an uninteresting article in 4 mins time range for 7 passages straight, I can understand why an 8 may be their MAX score, if lucky.

I hated books growing up and still don't find them appealing. VR still came easily. I got a nine on both my tests and did minimum preparation. For some of us it doesn't make sense how people can score thirteen in bio and physics but barely crack a verbal of seven.

 

[verynice]

I was able to get 6 interviews and 5 acceptances with a 7VR

(was actually invited to 2 more interviews but declined)

 

[slightlygifted]

These numbers are useless without context. The people getting in with a 4 on the VR are people who have very significant life experiences or are URM. If you are applying right after junior or senior year and are just an average joe then I would maybe look at a retake.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

This is very subjective. I could say the BS isn't extremely complicated. VR is different for everyone. It is just another hoop everyone has to get through. I have friends who do twice sometimes three times the practice and still can't get it to click and some people seriously plateau out at like an 8.

Personally, I think if you read a lot as a kid and don't have many problems with staying alert or letting your mind drift off, progress is definitely obtainable. On the other hand, kids that hated books never read the readings in HS/college (ie just use sparknote and stuff) and have a harder time paying attention to an uninteresting article in 4 mins time range for 7 passages straight, I can understand why an 8 may be their MAX score, if lucky.

The Bio section is usually not hard because the material is most similar to a college level exam.

In my opinion most people do poorly on the verbal because of poor inference and deduction that is magnified by a time constraint. Which on a sidenote is in my opinion due to the fact that science education on the ugrad level has become less about competence with research and hypothesis testing and more about memorization.

I think the issue with the verbal section is the same with many other mcat sections. There are tricks to it that make it easier to pull it off and unless you have cash you won't be able to learn about them. However with practice, some cash, and training just about anyone can do it.

I hated books growing up and still don't find them appealing. VR still came easily. I got a nine on both my tests and did minimum preparation. For some of us it doesn't make sense how people can score thirteen in bio and physics but barely crack a verbal of seven.

Am I the only one who enjoys leisure reading? They open up worlds and perspectives that a single life cannot....
That being said I don't think the verbal is hard or even mystifying. There are enough freebees on the test to get you to a 6 or 7.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Am I the only one who enjoys leisure reading? They open up worlds and perspectives that a single life cannot....
That being said I don't think the verbal is hard or even mystifying. There are enough freebees on the test to get you to a 6 or 7.

Trust me, my friend. I wish I was able to enjoy leisure reading, but I was one of those dumb teens that thought I was too cool for school. I never got to develop that passion for reading, although my parents did try when I was a kid.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Trust me, my friend. I wish I was able to enjoy leisure reading, but I was one of those dumb teens that thought I was too cool for school. I never got to develop that passion for reading, although my parents did try when I was a kid.

Lol try reading something fun... Like fantasy or Dan Brown ( even drunken house wifes can read it and it's not half bad tbh).

 

[Hvilledoc]

Trust me, my friend. I wish I was able to enjoy leisure reading, but I was one of those dumb teens that thought I was too cool for school. I never got to develop that passion for reading, although my parents did try when I was a kid.

Im right there with you on that. I almost almost dropped out of high school. Luckily I barely graduated.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Im right there with you on that. I almost almost dropped out of high school. Luckily I barely graduated.

Honestly, I feel like high school was an extremely boring experience. I legit had maybe 2 classes I actually liked and I'm genuinely surprised that it didn't put me off of science. I mean if not for AP Bio I'd almost 100% done something with history or psych. But yah, it did make me passionate about educational theory and policy.

 

[Hvilledoc]

Honestly, I feel like high school was an extremely boring experience. I legit had maybe 2 classes I actually liked and I'm genuinely surprised that it didn't put me off of science. I mean if not for AP Bio I'd almost 100% done something with history or psych. But yah, it did make me passionate about educational theory and policy.

I understand. I was not a good student at all in high school. To say the least, I was a troublemaker and made Cs all the time. I do regret not taking advantage of high school education because I was not prepared at all when I decided to attend college, much less for a college level exam. I had to learn the hard way.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I understand. I was not a good student at all in high school. To say the least, I was a troublemaker and made Cs all the time. I do regret not taking advantage of high school education because I was not prepared at all when I decided to attend college, much less for a college level exam. I had to learn the hard way.

It's why they need to rip out all of the busy work in high school, make it more genuinely interactive (introduce more online or computerized work), reduce the student teach ratio down to 1:10, get rid of AP courses ( Have Grad students or Community College Professors teach them for college credit), and look into new educational competences that are related to performance in college.

 

[Hvilledoc]

I completely agree with you. I will say that unfortunately I went to a high school that was not known for its good education. We had fights all the time, kid got shot/ killed, and a girl got raped in one of the restrooms by a stranger who just walked into the campus. It is truly hard to focus on doing good in school when you have to watch out for your own safety on a daily basis.

 

[Goro]

It's doable, even at my school.

I know MD schools wont look at anything below an 8 on verbal. Does that also go for DO schools?

 

[Hakuna Matata]

Verbal is probably the least important section, in my opinion. 6/7 can still get you acceptances if that's your only issue.

 

[Uafl112]

well this is all good to hear. Im still gonna try my damn best to get atleast a 10 in verbal

 

[CSqueed]

I hated books growing up and still don't find them appealing. VR still came easily. I got a nine on both my tests and did minimum preparation. For some of us it doesn't make sense how people can score thirteen in bio and physics but barely crack a verbal of seven.

Everyone is different.

The answer to why some people do 13/6/13 is solely because of the time restraint. I can relate because I sort of had the same issue. When given enough time to read something that is TOTALLY disinteresting to me, I can break it down in a greater amount of time better than if I am only given like 4 minutes like on the MCAT.

This brings us to what it takes to do well on VR. It isn't just reading comprehension, it has more dimensions. Some people just can't deal with picking up ANY bit of reading and analyze it well enough in a time constraint. Obviously the 13/6/13 people found the Physics and Bio appealing enough to understand well, but the economics of indochina, maybe not so much so it takes more attention and time to break down a passage about it. Others who are more open minded to other topics may subconsciously use more brain effort and pay more attention at a faster speed even if it is about the development of acorn nuts.