Help Verbal!!!

[kreno]

Okay, now that I have like 3 days left 'til the MCAT, i'm really getting scared over my verbal reasoning abilities. I just got a record score on a kaplan test (test 2, i have taken them out of order) of a miraculous - and I mean for me, it's unbelievable... whopping ten. But, that was basically a fluke, 'cuz my normal scores are 'bout 8... low eights... sometimes nine (always a low nine).

I've read EVERY type of strategy out there, and I have given each a good two-three weeks practice to no avail... that is, i always revert back to my normal method and end up doing slightly better.

I've basically saved up a TON of verbal stuff so I can cram 'til saturday. you might ask me "why have you done that leon, reading is a developed skill, not something you can learn in a night." yes, i agree. However, i'm hardly one who doesn't read - i love to read, it's just apparently i'm not too great at it Anyway, I have saved a bunch of verbal because I hope this will serve me best. Don't get me wrong, i've been doing plenty of verbal practice up 'til now... it's just, i have like 13 full lenghts to try (combination of columba, TPR, kaplan, AAMC, etc stuff).

So, the purpose of this post? Well... anyone else doing this? more importantly, did this work for anyone? I hope to hit my "prime" on saturday. I think i'm going to do a full length verbal the morning before - just to get my head in the mode. GRRR....

basically, what i do now is go as fast i can possibly go at a pace where I am mostly sure of my answers. I see no point in going faster 'cuz then i'd get everything wrong. Inevidebly, I end up with 4-6 minutes on the last passage (of course, the one i saved for last, which is the hardest) and usually guess right or wrong, and... those last guesses are what ultimately determine my score (since the difference between an eight and ten is often less than 5-7 points difference!). To me that's ridiculous. i want to cry


good luck to you all

leon

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[E'01]

Leon you need to relax! You'll be fine. Verbal was not my hot spot either yet I've always been an avid reader. I would suggest that you not cram right now and get yourself all worked up. Instead, think positive and keep on reading, particularly on the day of the test (the NY times book secion is great -and read the boring reviews too - that's good practice for some of the passages you may see on Saturday). Make sure that you understand what the author's argument is and do not get caught up in unimportant details. Hopefully you are prioritizing your passages (doing the easy ones first) and making sure that you do not run out time. I think the difference between 1-3 points on the MCAT, is having a positive attitude. Go in there thinking that you'll rock the test and you will! Good luck

 

[jc2001]

I don't know if this will help. A while ago, I asked a similar question, and a guy told me to read philosophy. So I went to read Kant and Locke and Bateson. Oh man, those are the most abstract and obscure stuff I've ever read. And somehow, I improved, and I don't even have a clear idea on how I improved...