How soon to study MCAT verbal?

[JohnnyMath]

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I always thought the MCAT verbal is something you could study any time whenever without waiting to actually take a formal class like gen chem or physics, etc.

So, I want to study in advance for it considering I'm a heavily big quantitative mind, and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot with anything reading based.

How long is too soon....I always thought no time was "too soon"....

If so, what is the best MCAT verbal prep in your opinion?


I've heard of things like just general reading and keeping up with stories helps a lot too. Don't know if she's biased as a devout English major, but one of my good friends says reading an abstract text like Gilgamesh or the Bible will help develop reading skills for syntax you're not used to.

At this point, I'm desperate and I'll take anything for superior verbal prep.

 

[RC4L]

If you feel like verbal is going to give you a hard time I would start three months in advance. Start out with 2 or so timed passages a day to establish a technique and then gradually increase the number of passages to build endurance. I think the best way to improve your verbal is to examine your tests very closely and to determine what it is pulling you down so that you can fix and strengthen your approach gradually. Most people agree TPR and EK has the best practice material aside from aamc FL's. Some swear by reading complex literature to increase verbal skills but you have to think about what defeating the verbal involves. Good reading skills are important obviously but the point is to quickly read a passage and answer tricky questions based on that passage. To do this you have to become fluent with identifying the author's point in each paragraph, identifying the meaning of each question, filtering through tricky answer choices, and learning to do so without backtracking or second-guessing yourself considering how little time you have. This is a very task-specific skill which requires task-specific practice. When you read for the sake of reading, you are not sharpening the proper skills needed for the MCAT verbal which is why I do not agree with it as verbal prep but that of course is just my opinion.

 

[FeinMS]

Definitely start doing some general academic reading right now something like The Economists. The sooner you start reading, the better equipped you are for verbal. However, do not start using prep book materials until around 3 months before the test. You have a limited number of passages, so you want to save them for the real game.

 

[MedGuy692]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm not an English person either and I thought I would do terrible on the verbal reasoning section, yet I still pulled off a 10.

Verbal is hard. Think of it as the reading portion of the SAT, but about 10 times harder (just go with the analogy). While practicing your critical reading skills certainly helps, you can't study for it in the same way you'd study for the other two sections (or even for the writing section of the SAT if you took that). To be honest, I found that the only way I felt comfortable for the verbal section was by doing a LOT of practice verbal sections for the MCAT. Practicing them will help give you an idea of the sorts of questions you'll be asked, the things you need to pay attention to, and the pitfalls they'll throw at you.

So...just practice, practice, practice.

 

[FeinMS]

VR also involves luck because outside factors play a great role in this section compared to other sections. Your test day condition and actual test questions may greatly affect your score.

 

[kamikaze1992]

I'm working on this right now too, I thin just working on a first few time practice is important (which I'd say around 15-30 min passage timed), where you would develop your own reading pace and feel for different questions. Obviously practice is the key. I'd suggest buy prep books, start off from TPR to EK (dont get Kaplan) and then do a bunch of actual aamc tests before the test day. The time scale is around 3-4 months before test date

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

There's nothing really to study. Get a strategy, work on making it time efficient, and practice.

 

[Moose A Moose]

All you need is a whole lotta practice sections. Do a couple once every other day for a couple months straight. You'll be ready.