Is Altius good for the verbal section?

[sully677]

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Does the Altius prep course have a good approach to verbal?

 

[FishHungry]

Hey man, I took Altius, but you're kind of lucky I happened upon this thread. There aren't many of us on here because Altius is only offered in Utah. I have seen 3 or 4 other people on studentdoc who took it, so you might search the word Altius and send them a private message to get some feedback.

I think their verbal prep is one of the best parts of their program. I did everything they told me and got a 13, so I was pretty happy. Another kid in our group got a 15. It is very different from what I saw my friends in kaplan doing. Altius has you spend a lot of time analyzing old AAMC passages, breaking them down, categorizing question types, etc, until you start to think like the MCAT authors think. My friends at Kaplan were way more focused on details and specifics--they were taking notes, underlining, diagraming "maps" of the passage, etc. That was ironically the exact opposite of Altius' approach because they tell you to ignore details and focus on the "big picture"- stuff like what the author is arguing for, his opinions, his tendencies, the tone of the passage, etc. This made way more sense to me. I could often see an answer as obviously wrong because it was not a match to the author's opinion/attitude. I could thus answer quickly and move on, while my friends were going back and forth to the passage trying to "look it up." You can't focus on details because they very frequently have quotes from the passage and true factoids from the passage in the wrong answer choices--burning anyone whose going back to the passage trying to "find" the answer.

I think their tactics and strategies are excellent also. They have a killer way of doing your timing that makes it way easier to keep up, know where you are at any minute, and never run out of time. They also beat you to death with verbal-you do some verbal reasoning every single class, even when the main topic is physics or chemistry or whatever. Just that much repetition probably makes a difference.

Good luck man!

 

[PRamos]

2006 quotes

Examcrackers is far superior to both, not because of content, but approach & strategy. Take EC. If they aren't offered in your area, just buy the EC books and study on your own. . . you can use the money to pay all of the ridiculous costs of application.

I've also wondered about the possibility of errors, but dismissed it as highly unlikely. Here's my story: Last six AAMC tests, 4-9, in order: 37, 38, 41, 44, 42, 44. My lowest score ever on PS was a 12. My lowest score on VR was also a 12, but I had been scoring 14s and 15s consistently on AAMC, Kaplan and EC Verbal tests for months. My August scores were 10s on VR and PS, and a 13 on BS (33S). Since I've always done very well on standardized tests, and felt quite good on test day, a 10+ point drop is kind of hard to swallow.

Any realistic ideas on why my real score would be so insanely different?

In 2009

I got a 40S.

I took a diagnostic from Kaplan before I took Altius and they said I scored a 30. After takign the Altius course and all of the AAMC tests however, I am skeptical about the accuracy and realism of Kaplan questions, so I'm not sure what that 30 really means. I then took the entire Altius course.

3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)

Just the Altius materials and the AAMC tests Altius gives you. I did buy the EK 101 book, but after takiing a few I thought they were poorly written, so I stuck to Altius' stuff.

4) Which practice tests did you use?

Altius/AAMC only

7) How long did you study for the MCAT?

About 6 months... and took the exam at the end of June.

Hey man, I took Altius, but you're kind of lucky I happened upon this thread.

Altius has you spend a lot of time analyzing old AAMC passages, breaking them down, categorizing question types, etc, until you start to think like the MCAT authors think.

You got me curious about Altius, because I will unfortunately be sitting for the MCAT a third time and I need some new materials (I did pretty much everything out there five years ago, but NONE of it has changed--every company puts out the same materials with an updated cover and copyright date). I'd love to get some clean verbal materials that I haven't done yet.

So I went back to your threads to read more about their stuff. I'm a little confused whether Altius or EK got you your score. You loved EK in 2006 and were getting over 40 on your practice tests, as well as 13-15 on VR. But now you say you didn't read EK at all. I personally am indifferent about EK, because I've already been through their 101 verbal passages and their book and while they were effective, I don't think it would help to do them again.

Will Altius help me for verbal? You were getting 13-15s already (back in 2006) and got a 13 on the real thing, so it doesn't seem like it mattered what verbal material you used. I'm not looking for anything magical, just realistic passages. You're the only one on SDN with exposure to Altius, and it sounds like they work through the AAMC stuff and not their own materials. Do they have a verbal book and would it be worth getting it?

 

[FishHungry]

Sorry for the confusion. I log-on with my brother's account. That was him in 2006. He didn't take Altius. But he wishes he had after I schooled him =).

They do have some of their own verbal stuff in addition to the AAMC; not a ton, but some. Maybe you should call them and see if you can buy them. Also, have you done those passages that are included in the new mcat guide the AAMC put out this year? I haven't seen them but I heard they have brand new stuff.

 

[FishHungry]

Sorry for the confusion. I log-on with my brother's account. That was him in 2006. He didn't take Altius. But he wishes he had after I schooled him =).

They do have some of their own verbal stuff in addition to the AAMC; not a ton, but some. Maybe you should call them and see if you can buy them. Also, have you done those passages that are included in the new mcat guide the AAMC put out this year? I haven't seen them but I heard they have brand new stuff.

 

[PRamos]

Sorry for the confusion. I log-on with my brother's account. That was him in 2006.

Wouldn't it be easier to open a new account of your own?

I'll look into the AAMC materials you mentioned. That should be some help. Thanks for the update.

Thanks also for the suggestion about Altius, but I think I'm going to pass. I got a PM from someone. The skinny on Altius and a teacher named Lauren wasn't that great. I'm glad you had a good experience with her, but I'm leery after what I read. I'll stick to the proven materials. I'm considering GS for more verbal materials and then I'll just have to repeat EK and BR passages hoping I don''t remember them that well.