How long did it take you to see improvement in verbal?

[WhiteCoatSyndrome]

I'm in the second week of the SN2ed schedule and have been pretty hit or miss with the verbal passages. I am trying to focus on understanding the passage and the main point/tone as best as possible and then answer the questions, but given the time constraint I still make quite a few errors, especially with philosophy-type passages. I hope to improve to where I am missing maybe 1 question per passage as opposed to 2-3.

For those who have taken the MCAT, how long did it take until you started to see improvement in your verbal scores? Any suggestions?

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[MedPR]

The day I changed my strategy was the day my scores jumped from 7-8 to 10-13.

Original strategy:
Read/skim fairly quickly then spend most of the time on questions.
Reasoning for original strategy:
Seeing the questions will help focus on the relevant parts of the passage and ultimately save time.
Average score (TPRH): 7.7


New strategy:
Read carefully and think about the important stuff (main idea, author pov, author tone, etc) and answer questions without referring back to the passage.
Reasoning for new strategy:
Original wasn't working.
Average score (TPRH): 11.9
Average score (EK VR 101): 11.2
Average score (AAMC FLs): 12.2
Real score (4/5 MCAT): 11

 

[aspiringdoc09]

I have started missing 1-2 on each TPRH passage which I don't know what that would be if I take a full length, but when I do practice test I make 5/6. I have started doing worst on EK VR because now I am missing 4 of 6/7 questions. I recently started doing 3 passages per day (2 TPRH + 1 EK), to hopefully get an 8 minimum on real thing. I feel you though.

MedPR, I might have to try your strategy to focus better. I find myself referring back a lot. At first referring back seemed to help with EK but as soon as I switched over to TPRH, everything changed. I started out missing all but 2 questions per passage and running over time with TPRH. Now I am doing better, I guess because there are differences in how the two prep companies ask questions. Idk.

 

[LaurenMarie]

The day I changed my strategy was the day my scores jumped from 7-8 to 10-13.

Original strategy:
Read/skim fairly quickly then spend most of the time on questions.
Reasoning for original strategy:
Seeing the questions will help focus on the relevant parts of the passage and ultimately save time.
Average score (TPRH): 7.7


New strategy:
Read carefully and think about the important stuff (main idea, author pov, author tone, etc) and answer questions without referring back to the passage.
Reasoning for new strategy:
Original wasn't working.
Average score (TPRH): 11.9
Average score (EK VR 101): 11.2
Average score (AAMC FLs): 12.2
Real score (4/5 MCAT): 11

This is exactly what I've started to do. Before I was getting in the 5-6 range and I was even going over 9 minutes a passage sometimes. Now I've started to slow down while reading the passage and look for the author's stance on the topic. Once you figure that out, the main idea is much easier to come up with. I did one of the practice exams in TPRH today and got a 10. I've only been at it for 3 weeks, so it is possible to improve quickly once you realize the major flaws in your approach.

 

[Temperature101]

I have started missing 1-2 on each TPRH passage which I don't know what that would be if I take a full length, but when I do practice test I make 5/6. I have started doing worst on EK VR because now I am missing 4 of 6/7 questions. I recently started doing 3 passages per day (2 TPRH + 1 EK), to hopefully get an 8 minimum on real thing. I feel you though.

MedPR, I might have to try your strategy to focus better. I find myself referring back a lot. At first referring back seemed to help with EK but as soon as I switched over to TPRH, everything changed. I started out missing all but 2 questions per passage and running over time with TPRH. Now I am doing better, I guess because there are differences in how the two prep companies ask questions. Idk.

You are probably right. I think for half or more of the question on each passage in EK you have to go back to the passage unless you have an outstanding memory...However, for PR and AAMCs not so much, but still I am not well on any of these prep companies.