Getting Worried...

[bluesTank]

Alright guys,

Well I've been trying forever and I just can't get my verbal up those very crucial last crucial points. The highest I have gotten on a diag so far is a 7, and I am constantly getting 4/6 or worse on practice passages (rarely higher). I have been working really hard my years in college, and I am getting worried that I this damn section is going to prevent me from getting anywhere. I am doing fine in my other sections (12's usually on both other sections w/ 1 month left to study) but I just can improve my verbal.

I hear that verbal is the most important section, and its important to get the "magic number" 10 or whatever, but is it possible to be able to make up for a deficiency like mine? Can anyone take a look at my link below and see if I may be able to make up for it with my low verbal score?

Thanks for the advice/encouragement...

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[mentirosa]

The magic number for verbal is not a 10. You can get by easily with a 9 or even an 8, and many have done so in the past. Try something different with your approach to tackling the verbal passages. When I was struggling with my verbal sections, I finally decided to read that somewhat thin and seemingly useless book Kaplan gave me about verbal strategies and it actually improved my scores. I had to study for the MCAT in the paper format era so I can't really give you concrete advice on verbal passage strategies. Best of luck.

 

[LolaGene]

I got a 7 the first time (mis-timed myself) and an 8 on the second (was just plain slow) and I am in medical school

The highest I got on a practice test was 11 but I would get 7-9 mostly and it was SO frustrating so I feel ya! I think being used to reading things slowly is what personally got me. Maybe the writing section can be used to your advantage and thats easy to do well on (I got an S). If your problem is speed, then make a strict time schedule and stick to it)

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

You should drop work on the other sections right now and focus strictly on verbal. Doesn't matter if you've got a couple of 14s if there's a 5 sitting in the verbal section. Shoot for a consistent 10 on practice exams, but an 8 on the real deal should be good enough. I don't think there's a reall quick fix for verbal, just check out different resources and prep books and practice. Luck.

 

[tdjn]

"Sorry, but that was pure douchebaggery"

No wonder you are only getting 4 to 6's on your verbal

 

[neurofreak]

bluestank - are you taking a course right now? i remember in my prep course they gave us all these strategies about underlining and making marks and writing small notes and all that crap. i found that it was REALLY slowing me down so i just stopped and my verbal score jumped 2-3 points (from 7-8 to 10-12). i think sometimes you just gotta figure out what works for you.

i think its really helpful to just read the passage and try to understand it without making any notes or marks. it will be MUCH easier to answer the questions if you have a solid idea about what the hell the author is discussing.

best of luck!

 

[Tartheheel]

You have super-stellar ECs, awesome GPA, a HUGE number of awards/honors (that's actually waaay too many lol , I'd be really proud to get 1/3rd that number..)! I don't see how/why a 7 or 6 might hinder you from getting in to at least SOME medical school. Good luck!

 

[Tartheheel]

You have super-stellar ECs, an awesome GPA, a HUGE number of awards/honors (that's actually waaay too many lol , I'd be really proud to get 1/3rd that number..)! I don't see how/why a 7 or 6 might hinder you from getting in to at least SOME medical school. Good luck!

 

[tonytazboy]

i know people who worked up from 4 to 9....verbal is mostly about practice.....you can also try to find lots of good sources of practice questions in addition of ones made by commercial companies (you can even use the lsat, which i found to be an useful addition).....

 

[tonytazboy]

i know people who worked up from 4 to 9....verbal is mostly about practice.....you can also try to find lots of good sources of practice questions in addition of ones made by commercial companies (you can even use the lsat, which i found to be an useful addition).....

 

[imable24]

Exam Krackers 101 passages and Exam Krackers Verbal
Learn the strategies and complete all the passages

 

[NonTradMed]

It's completely possible to improve your verbal. The key is to read, read, read. Given that you don't have much time before the exam, I suggest toying with your verbal strategies (try outlining method, then try skimming method etc). Otherwise, if you need to retake, read as much as you can. Set aside an hour or two every single day to read, read, read. There's no magic formula to verbal, it tests your ability to assimilate the words into meaning and that takes practice. Also, examkrakers verbal is great for lots of practice.

 

[flabergaber]

verbal was def my toughest section. but i went from a 7-8 to a 10 a month before the test. i did what a lot of ppl are suggesting here and changed my reading strategy. i dunno if u took Kaplan but i would highly recommend its methods. i was skeptical abt them at first and so thats why i did it my own way for a while and then i started freaking out realizing it wasnt going anywhere. i highly recommend the kaplan method!

 

[etsuprinthead]

what practice tests have you been taking? i thought the AMCAS practice tests (and thus the real MCAT) were actually somewhat easier than the Kaplan tests (Kaplan diagnostic: 27; highest AMCAS practice: 36; actual: 35), so, if you haven't taken an AMCAS practice yet, give that a try, and it might give you a better idea of where you stand. if you're getting low scores on AMCAS... i don't know what advice to give you -- verbal was pretty easy for me (PS was the rough one), so i don't really know how to review for it.
i did take it all when it was on paper -- AMCAS DOES still have practice tests available, right?

 

[uzbekistevie]

I don't really know if you can make up for a low verbal with good EC's but I do have a few tips for verbal study. You should be spending about 1/3 of your study time on verbal. It's 1/3 of your total score, after all.

The key to verbal is understanding the main idea of the passage. If you have a solid grasp of the main idea you can answer the questions without going back to the passasge to look for information. In fact, I would say you should almost never go back to the passage to find the answer to a particular question. When coming up with a main idea ask yourself what is the ONE thing the author wants you get out of the passage. Why did the author write it? What point is s/he trying to make? Take 10-20 seconds and write it down. It will be much more solid in your mind if you write it rather than just think it. Coming up with a good main idea takes some practice, but it is extremely important in doing well on verbal.

Once you understand the main idea you also know what is important to the author. This is important for answering questions such as: "Which of the following pieces of legislation would the author most support/oppose?" Or: "Which of the follwing most weakens the author's argument?" These are just ways of testing your understanding of the main idea. You will not find this type of information by going back to the passage.

Timing is also crucial. Whenever you do practice passages do them timed. Always. Give yourself about two minutes to read the passage and work out the main idea and then about one minute per question. On the CBT MCAT this works out to about 8 minutes total per passage.

Oh, and I agree that underlining and marking the passage does little good. It will just slow you down. If you are having trouble finishing on time you can't afford to spend time on something that, in my opinion, won't help. I think old MCATs released by the AAMC are the best practice for verbal.

 

[MadHopsMD]

Alright guys,

Well I've been trying forever and I just can't get my verbal up those very crucial last crucial points. The highest I have gotten on a diag so far is a 7, and I am constantly getting 4/6 or worse on practice passages (rarely higher). I have been working really hard my years in college, and I am getting worried that I this damn section is going to prevent me from getting anywhere. I am doing fine in my other sections (12's usually on both other sections w/ 1 month left to study) but I just can improve my verbal.

I hear that verbal is the most important section, and its important to get the "magic number" 10 or whatever, but is it possible to be able to make up for a deficiency like mine? Can anyone take a look at my link below and see if I may be able to make up for it with my low verbal score?

Thanks for the advice/encouragement...

with your URM status and your high GPA with awesome if not GODLIKE ECs, you are shoe-in at a top 10 school. No need to retake.

 

[Mastac741]

This probably should be in the MCAT forum

 

[Instatewaiter]

The key to verbal is understanding the main idea of the passage. If you have a solid grasp of the main idea you can answer the questions without going back to the passasge to look for information. In fact, I would say you should almost never go back to the passage to find the answer to a particular question. When coming up with a main idea ask yourself what is the ONE thing the author wants you get out of the passage. Why did the author write it? What point is s/he trying to make? Take 10-20 seconds and write it down. It will be much more solid in your mind if you write it rather than just think it. Coming up with a good main idea takes some practice, but it is extremely important in doing well on verbal.

Once you understand the main idea you also know what is important to the author. This is important for answering questions such as: "Which of the following pieces of legislation would the author most support/oppose?" Or: "Which of the follwing most weakens the author's argument?" These are just ways of testing your understanding of the main idea. You will not find this type of information by going back to the passage.

I think this is pretty solid advice. Although, I did need to go back to the passage and did underlining just so that I wouldn't zone out while reading.

There are a few major questions that MCAT verbal asks:
- Main idea of the passage
- Author's Tone
- Opinion/opposite of opinion of author or someone mentioned in passage

You'll find these questions in almost every passage.

The best way to improve verbal is to take lots of practice tests and then go over the answers in depth. You must figure out why you are missing questions and what you are doing right for the questions you got correct. This usually takes nearly as much time as the actual test taking.