How do you guys suggest to improve your VR?

[supertrooper66]

when I took my very first practice test, I got 9 and was unable to finish the last passage due to time. from the next test and on i timed myself so i'd spend no more than 8 min/passage. since then, i got 10 on the remaining 6 practice tests. i took the real thing on 4/5 and i got a...10...who would have guessed!

now i have to retake july 10th cuz my overall score is way too low. i got 8s on the sciences...grr the physics was expected cuz ran out of time but can't explain the 8 in bio. i generally got 10s on the practice tests...i didnt actually study an ounce of material for the bio section b/c i thought i knew it all from my bio major. now that i have a chance to retake, i'm going full force and studying ALL of the bio material even if i think i know it.

the funny thing is i never practiced the writing section. in fact, i didn't finish EITHER essay b/c i ran out of time and i still got an R haha. so anyways that's my little mcat story.

while i know for improving PS i need to work on time (since i ran out of time and got an 8 just like i would on practices if i didnt finish) as well as review more of everything and for improving BS i need to actually study for it this time, i'm not really sure how to improve my VR. i don't really buy the argument that you should go read the economist to improve your reading. the ?s i miss always seem to be pretty random. each passage is a different topic so i don't see how you can really improve that. i don't know...help?

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[SN2ed]

There are tons of threads on this. Try searching for them to see if they're of any help. They should be what you're looking for.

 

[majik1213]

SN2ed made a great point.

I don't understand .. you want to improve VR but your actual post suggests that you are low on BS and PS? care to explain?

 

[supertrooper66]

yeah, i definitely need to improve my sciences the most. i just didn't ask about how to improve those b/c i already have a plan of action to improve those. i really don't know how to improve the VR, tho, which is why i asked on here.

i've done searches on this topic before but the advice i've read doesn't seem very useful to be honest. they mostly pertain to go read some newspapers like the New Yorker and it's all about practice, practice. i got 10s on every practice test and it never changed. i miss random questions, the topics are always different, the ones i do miss i often disagree with the right answer, etc. that's why i made this thread hoping to see if anyone had some other advice. thanks

 

[JA Prufrock]

I don't think you'll find any 'magic bullet' to improving verbal. Anything worth discussing has already been discussed -- improve reading comprehension by reading challenging material and practice by working passages and answering questions.

 

[supertrooper66]

I don't think you'll find any 'magic bullet' to improving verbal. Anything worth discussing has already been discussed -- improve reading comprehension by reading challenging material and practice by working passages and answering questions.

k cool, the problem is i'm basically out of practice tests. i hear the AAMC verbals are the only good ones and i only have one AAMC test that i'm saving till right before my retake. what books do you suggest i use? i'm not in a kaplan course so i don't know have access to all their material.

 

[JA Prufrock]

k cool, the problem is i'm basically out of practice tests. i hear the AAMC verbals are the only good ones and i only have one AAMC test that i'm saving till right before my retake. what books do you suggest i use? i'm not in a kaplan course so i don't know have access to all their material.

I think everyone agrees that EK 101 is a must-have for verbal practice. If you haven't worked through those passages yet, then definitely pick it up.