plateauing on verbal

[impulse462]

Hi all,

I'm registered to take the August 16th MCAT, so i've recently started doing some full lengths. (AAMC and Kaplan)

My glaring weakness is verbal however. My first kaplan full length, my breakdown was 14ps/6v/12bs and second was 13ps/8v/13bs. I'll be taking the 3rd today.

I've heard mixed things about kaplan verbal however; it seems that I just don't understand what is being talked about in the passage. I do have EK 101 and my scores have been a little better: averaging 8-9 and I did get an 11 on one test.

Are there any more tips to help to boost my verbal other than just practicing? I've started to read some magazines (the economist etc) but truth be told I was always a pretty big online reader (usually technology websites, which probably aren't as dense though). It seems as if my biggest problem is reading on a computer screen. My TPRH verbal workbook is coming this Friday.

Also, I keep hearing that Kaplan FL's are harder than the AAMCs...is there any truth to that? I have yet to take an AAMC FL, but I will starting next week.

Thanks in advance for anyones input.

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[OCDOCDOCD]

Yes, the Kaplan FLs are much harder than the AAMCs, and even harder than the actual MCAT from what I hear. However, the difficulty is compensated for by the generous curve in those exams so the two cancel out. That said, I wouldn't pay much attention to Kaplan VR scores. I didn't even bother with the VR sections in the Kaplan FLs I took, I just substituted them with TPRH VR tests instead.

As for how to improve on verbal, all you can do is practice. Unfortunately there's no real trick to it, which is why people find it so hard to improve in VR. Reading The Economist and other things like it won't really help much either, especially not with only a month to go.

 

[shaboobly]

my aamc, kaplan, and ek verbal has all been around the same. kaplan's science sections you can miss more and get a higher score compared to aamc, but the questions require more content knowledge instead of using the passage like aamc. i still, however, scored around the same on each science section from aamc and kaplan.

 

[DavetheMD]

Get the EK Verbal book. The one that gets sold with the entire package. Read a Lecture every other day and take notes from the advice given in that book. I swear your verbal will come up. I started scoring 7-8's. Now, I don't get below a 10.