How long are Verbal Passages in MCAT

[manchika]

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I have seen some passages (TBR and EK (Old edition of EK 101) passages are very long...However TPRH (recent one) are quite concise. What is right on the real MCAT? Are they really long or are they ok length like TPR?

I am finding the practice exam hard to finish with EK 101 passages (mind you these are old, so i have 9 passages and 60 questions, however I only answer 7 passages and 40 questions in them. I cut 1 question on average from each passage). They are really long and I am almost missing out on 1 passage and ending up guessing... I am constantly getting 7 and 8 in EK 101

However when I do TPRH passages, They seem pretty good. I end up finishing the 7 passages without struggling (though i do not have a second at the end) and I find those passages much better and easier to understand.... I end up getting 10's most of the time...

How are the real MCAT passages? Which one should I concentrate on now?

 

[BABSstudent]

You will always feel like the actual MCAT has long passages. In reality you will feel stressed for time and rushed. That is the point of the test!

Anyways, the real answer is that it will have some long passages and some shorter ones. I feel like most review books do a decent job of recreating the passages and by doing various ones, you practice for the variety you will see on the real deal.

Good luck!

 

[Mehd School]

I felt that on average, AAMC passages (practice) were longer than EK passages.

 

[MD Odyssey]

On mine (9/11/12) the VR passages were about twice the length of the ones in the AAMC practice exams. Get your timing down and prepare to have less time on the real thing.

Edit: Corrected a typo on my test date.

 

[Mehd School]

On mine (9/11/13) the VR passages were about twice the length of the ones in the AAMC practice exams. Get your timing down and prepare to have less time on the real thing.

You sure you're not exaggerating here? Just a little bit? I can see them being or seeming perhaps a little longer, but double the length of past exams? I have my doubts.

When I took my exam last August I don't remember them seeming abnormally long. I actually found 6/7 passages quite interesting. One passage was a killer though.

 

[darklabel]

You sure you're not exaggerating here? Just a little bit? I can see them being or seeming perhaps a little longer, but double the length of past exams? I have my doubts.

When I took my exam last August I don't remember them seeming abnormally long. I actually found 6/7 passages quite interesting. One passage was a killer though.

Yeah mine in January was only a little longer, not nearly "twice as long". No one would finish that section if it were twice as long.

 

[geh926]

My Sept verbal seemed at least 1.5x longer than the AAMC. Never had one issue with timing on the practice tests and had to guess on entire last passage on real thing. Not saying they are always longer, but I would just prepare accordingly

 

[Postictal Raiden]

On mine (9/11/13) the VR passages were about twice the length of the ones in the AAMC practice exams. Get your timing down and prepare to have less time on the real thing.

Ding Ding Ding...(my BS radar)

 

[manchika]

Thank you all for the replies... I now know I have to practice with some long passages.... TPRH Passages are not that long... I will revamp my verbal practice

 

[I Love Cats]

They are stupid-long and leave you at the end with 4 minutes for a whole passage if you don't expect it... Like me

 

[MD Odyssey]

On mine (9/11/13) the VR passages were about twice the length of the ones in the AAMC practice exams. Get your timing down and prepare to have less time on the real thing.

Ding Ding Ding...(my BS radar)

Not at all my friend. The first four passages were longer than three full screens. The last two were very short.

 

[Yoyyy]

I have seen some passages (TBR and EK (Old edition of EK 101) passages are very long...However TPRH (recent one) are quite concise. What is right on the real MCAT? Are they really long or are they ok length like TPR?

I am finding the practice exam hard to finish with EK 101 passages (mind you these are old, so i have 9 passages and 60 questions, however I only answer 7 passages and 40 questions in them. I cut 1 question on average from each passage). They are really long and I am almost missing out on 1 passage and ending up guessing... I am constantly getting 7 and 8 in EK 101

However when I do TPRH passages, They seem pretty good. I end up finishing the 7 passages without struggling (though i do not have a second at the end) and I find those passages much better and easier to understand.... I end up getting 10's most of the time...

How are the real MCAT passages? Which one should I concentrate on now?

There are definitely some longer ones. And there are definitely short/average ones. Be prepared for both and I would add that you should ALSO DEFINITELY BE AWARE if it's a 5 Q passage, a 6 Q or a 7 Q passage

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Not at all my friend. The first four passages were longer than three full screens. The last two were very short.

Are you sure it wasn't the font that made them appear longer?

Average college students can read at rate of ~250 words/min, and that is for reading typical, average difficulty paragraphs. I think most of us will read the verbal passages at lower speed rate than our typical reading speed. Therefore, reading a 600-word passage (like the ones in the AAMC FL's) will take no less than 3 minutes. If every passage takes an average of 3 mins to read, that will leave you with only 39 mins to do 40 questions. A little less than a minute per question.

Now, you are saying that the first 4 passages were twice the length. Someone like me will need 7 minutes to read a passage this long. This means, it will take me approximately 12-13 mins to read the passage and do the questions. At the end of the 4th passage, I will have only 10 mins to spend on the remaining 3 passages. No matter how short these passages are, there's no way I would be able to answer 15-21 questions in 10 mins, even if I didn't have to read the passage.

That's why I have a hard time believing you claim.

 

[UoCfin]

Not at all my friend. The first four passages were longer than three full screens. The last two were very short.

BY THE WAY...ARE YOU SAYING YOUR FROM THE FUTURE? *SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE ADMINISTERED AN MCAT DATE ON SEPTEMBER 11TH...THIS YEAR OF OURS...2013.

nn revise

 

[UoCfin]

On mine (9/11/13) the VR passages were about twice the length of the ones in the AAMC practice exams. Get your timing down and prepare to have less time on the real thing.

BY THE WAY...ARE YOU SAYING YOUR FROM THE FUTURE? *SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE ADMINISTERED AN MCAT DATE ON SEPTEMBER 11TH...THIS YEAR OF OURS...2013.

nn revise

 

[Euxox]

People keep saying that the verbal passages on the real MCAT are longer than the AAMC FL verbal passages, but I certainly didn't feel that way. In fact, I would say that verbal was the only section that was exactly like the FLs. PS was slightly more calculation focused and BS had slightly harder organic chemistry passages.

I do think that the real MCAT passages were longer than EK, though. EK tends to have shortish passages.

 

[MD Odyssey]

BY THE WAY...ARE YOU SAYING YOUR FROM THE FUTURE? *SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE ADMINISTERED AN MCAT DATE ON SEPTEMBER 11TH...THIS YEAR OF OURS...2013.

nn revise

Troll. That was clearly a typo - I took the exam 11 September, 2012. My testimony remains the same though. I took all of the AAMC practice exams and the real thing in the span of about a month. I've written extensively about it on my blog. Feel free to ignore my advice though - I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[MD Odyssey]

Are you sure it wasn't the font that made them appear longer?

No, it wasn't. The passages each had an extra 1-2 paragraphs each. Initially, I got really worried and clicked through to see the next few passages and saw that they were all of similar length. The font sizes are the same on both the practice exams and the real thing.

Now, you are saying that the first 4 passages were twice the length. Someone like me will need 7 minutes to read a passage this long. This means, it will take me approximately 12-13 mins to read the passage and do the questions. At the end of the 4th passage, I will have only 10 mins to spend on the remaining 3 passages. No matter how short these passages are, there's no way I would be able to answer 15-21 questions in 10 mins, even if I didn't have to read the passage.

As I mentioned, the last two passages were substantially shorter. I had my timing nailed on the practice exams, usually finishing a couple minutes early. On the real thing, I had to make a conscious effort to read faster and go back to the passage less.

That's why I have a hard time believing you claim.

I'm not really sure why people on this forum are so unwilling to believe me. It's not like I have a reputation as a troll or didn't document my MCAT experience in detail. Maybe you should listen to me.