retake...advice please :)

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ilayawake

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hey guys...i'm looking for some insight or advice! anything will be appreciated :)

i took the mcat in june and did okay in the sciences but got a 7 in verbal....to prepare for verbal i did all the EK 101 and TPR hyperlearning as well as all of the aamc FLs. i also made sure to go over all the passages and questions afterwards.

i am planning to retake in january and am going to start studying within the next few days. i am going to get the BR verbal and also use those as my FL this time around.

i am tempted to go back through all the verbal passages i did (NOT retaking them but just looking over them again to remember what i got wrong and WHY) but is this completely useless??

and what is this about reading some magazines/journals (such as the economist) for help?

thanks guys!

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hey guys...i'm looking for some insight or advice! anything will be appreciated :)

i took the mcat in june and did okay in the sciences but got a 7 in verbal....to prepare for verbal i did all the EK 101 and TPR hyperlearning as well as all of the aamc FLs. i also made sure to go over all the passages and questions afterwards.

i am planning to retake in january and am going to start studying within the next few days. i am going to get the BR verbal and also use those as my FL this time around.

i am tempted to go back through all the verbal passages i did (NOT retaking them but just looking over them again to remember what i got wrong and WHY) but is this completely useless??

and what is this about reading some magazines/journals (such as the economist) for help?

thanks guys!

I'm kinda in a similar situation and got a 7 in vr as well, except i did not study (spent 2 weeks only)... So, I decided i'll try and see what i can do till nov 1st with verbal only... If I can improve my verbal a little by nov 1st then register (registration for JAN probably opens in november anyways)... So you could try the same?
OR
You could always register and void after taking it if you feel like you're not gonna improve...
OR
If you don't believe you can improve dont take it haha...

I'd personally go with the first option, you have nothing to lose except time u spend practicing for verbal... (what difference does it make now, since you've worked so hard already.. )
 
I retook the mcats and used the EK verbal my second go-round. I went through the vebal FL's and reviewed after as you did. I made sure to focus on the main points and really picture the author and where they were coming from, putting myself in their shoes. Doing this I went from a 7 to 11. There is hope. My improvement showed in the diagnostics before I retook though. Although this is never a guarantee, I'd say if youre seeing an upward trend with any diagnostics you use this time, youre headed in the right direction.
 
hey OP, in case you don't know, there's a HUGE thread that's stickied specifically addressing retakes.
 
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thanks for the replys guys!

it is frustrating for me because i was getting 9-10's on my practice EK and TPR verbal material...i also hit that average with AAMC but had an actually range of 6-11.

i just want to know if i would be wasting my time going back over old material to really see why i missed it or if it too late for that. i am also open to reading journals if that is really supposed to help...

i do realize there is a retake thread but i noticed it was to see if others think you should retake or not...i have no question about it, i am retaking.

...or is there another thread i am missing?

thanks :)
 
i am tempted to go back through all the verbal passages i did (NOT retaking them but just looking over them again to remember what i got wrong and WHY) but is this completely useless??

This is a brilliant plan IF you truly can determine why you got the question wrong. That doesn't mean reading a line in the passage again to find the random fact that made one answer better than the other, but more so why you missed that one line and how you could recognize that same situation on a future passage.

You need to thoroughly analyze what is going through your mind as you (a) read the passage, (b) try to guess what their questions will be, (c) think right after you read a question, but before you look at any of the answer choices, and (d) whether wrong answer choices talk you into picking them.

Getting better at verbal isn't easy, but it's doable. The problem is that it's draining and you don't see improvement right away. Unlike sciences, where the logic is clear and you can rely on background knowledge for comfort, verbal requires intense focus and and the ability to comprehend instantly. Good luck. Pace yourself and pat yourself on the back with each small improvement.
 
Thanks for the encouraging advice!! Hopefully I can go through all my old verbal books and really figure out WHY I got the answer wrong. Sounds exhausting but hopefully it helps :/
 
This is a brilliant plan IF you truly can determine why you got the question wrong. That doesn't mean reading a line in the passage again to find the random fact that made one answer better than the other, but more so why you missed that one line and how you could recognize that same situation on a future passage.

You need to thoroughly analyze what is going through your mind as you (a) read the passage, (b) try to guess what their questions will be, (c) think right after you read a question, but before you look at any of the answer choices, and (d) whether wrong answer choices talk you into picking them.

Getting better at verbal isn't easy, but it's doable. The problem is that it's draining and you don't see improvement right away. Unlike sciences, where the logic is clear and you can rely on background knowledge for comfort, verbal requires intense focus and and the ability to comprehend instantly. Good luck. Pace yourself and pat yourself on the back with each small improvement.

:thumbup:
 
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