Similar thing happened with me, I got a 9 the first time around and then a 6 this time. Definitely felt like a fluke because I was scoring 9+s on all my practice exams. I plan on redoing both of those books to really figure out a strategy that works for me, don't think it would hurt as long as you don't remember the passages.
We have a lot of time until the next exam date so I want to improve upon my reading skills and speed. The Economist just has well written articles, it's not the end all be all. I'm reading Time along with other magazines/books just to keep my mind sharp and try to really understand what i'm reading.
Would appreciate if other people give their input and share their experiences.
Just got my MCAT score back and didn't do too great in verbal.
I was wondering how much benefit there would be in redoing the ek101 and tprh verbal passages. I didn't finish them all the first time around and I don't think I ever really got a full grasp on all of them. I just hate that I can do so well in science but not have my overall score reflect that because of this one section.
Also, exactly where on the economist do I find these articles that everyone is raving about? Do I have to subscribe? Because all I see there now are some random articles on very specific topics. Can anyone tell me where to go? Thanks.
The specificity of the topics is irrelevant, if not helpful - think about how specific VR passages are. What matters is being able to read the articles at a normal pace and comprehend what they are saying. I haven't subscribed to
The Economist in two years, but I have its app on my phone so I can read the free editor's highlights each week - I do this regardless of MCAT studying; it's a nice, easy, and free way to keep up on int'l issues. After reading, pretend you are writing a VR question set on the article, and make up the right answers.
I would not recommend
Time generally - IM
HO, that's not a quality publication. It certainly isn't the best prep for VR, as (at least most of) its content is not on the same reading level as MCAT VR.
If you want VR-level articles,
The Economist,
The Atlantic, and maybe
Harper's work well.
As for redoing books, I can't speak to its efficacy from experience, but I would imagine you will be severely limited in garnering useful VR experience or lessons from this strategy. You will recognize passages and questions. If there are any entirely unread passages, then, obviously, that will be just as useful as any other new VR practice passage.
In general, just remember to stay focused, understand the principle points, and be able to locate particular contextual discussion pursuant to a given subissue in the text (e.g., the paragraph on bicuspids in a natural sciences article on hippopotamus maxillary development).
