Sn2ed, I have a Question regarding MCAT Verbal

[SnYpaJY]

I understand why Sn2ed has blocked private messaging. This guy is a total beast when it comes to the MCAT. Seriously if I had money to donate, I would donate some to SN2, and then SDN.

Here is my question:

I was at Boarders today, and saw: Exam Krackers Verbal second edition. I KNOW I want to buy this when I start preparing for the MCAT, but I will not be taking the MCAT for at least another two years (I'm estimating to be taking it at the end of senior year, I am currently going into my first semester of junior year). Is it okay to start and possibly finish this resource within the next few months, like doing a passage a day or test a week? I would like to start getting used to the technique and also start looking at passages to prepare. I realize that buying and finishing this exam krackers book will not help me two years from now in terms of remembering techniques, but I strongly believe that I will be more prepared mentally if I do start looking at it now, instead of just getting used to the method two years from now, and possibly five months from my MCAT test date. I think of it like this: Spanish is easier for me to learn now, because I took a year of it 4 years ago. Sure it was a while ago, but I believe there are somethings in my brain that I will never forget, but can only catch on more quickly if I have learned it before. Kind of like riding a bike. The only drawback is that this book/resource is supposed to be the best for verbal and I probably wouldn't have such a good resource again two years from now. What are your suggestions on this? Do you think this book will become obsolete two years from now? I hope they don't use the same questions two years from now in their 3rd or 4th edition, but I highly doubt they will change the questions.

SN2, feel free to email me.

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[SN2ed]

First off, I'd edit your post to remove your email just for privacy concerns.

If there were tons of good resources for verbal, it might be a good idea to take some verbal practice passages. Verbal does rely heavily on practice. Unfortunately, there are only 2 good sources for verbal practice (EK and TPR Hyperlearning) and 1 decent practice book (BR). It is for this reason that I don't recommend you buy EK 101 Verbal. [By the way, I'm guessing you're talking about EK 101 Verbal instead of EK Verbal since EK Verbal doesn't contain that many practice passages. Plus, EK Verbal has already been past 2 editions for awhile.] Furthermore, when you get into your studying time frame, you want all of your practice passages, not just verbal, to be concentrated. Taking passages over a long period of time decreases their effectiveness. Stick to 3-4 passages of VR per DAY during your study schedule (excluding FL days since FLs contain a full set of VR passages).

Now you might be asking, how can you improve in the meantime. The only thing you might want to consider is reading various materials. Remember to read the boring articles as well as the interesting ones. Chances are your MCAT verbal passages won't be the most exciting read. Here's my suggested reading list:

Wall Street Journal
New Yorker
Economist
Random science journals

Good source for philosophy/humanities work which people tend to struggle with:

Moral Issues in Global Perspectives: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1551111861/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Buy the book used; it's much cheaper.


Whenever you're done with an article try to develop the main idea of the passage and the author's opinion on the subject without looking back to the passage.