Studying for verbal worth it?

[TriagePreMed]

I'm going to retake my MCAT soon. The first time around I didn't study for verbal and got a 9. Would putting the time into this be worth it considering I did poorly on the other subjects?

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[Postictal Raiden]

I'm going to retake my MCAT soon. The first time around I didn't study for verbal and got a 9. Would putting the time into this be worth it considering I did poorly on the other subjects?

First of all, you are very luck for being able to score 9 on verbal without studying.

That said, I would still advise you to routinely do couple verbal passages to build a stamina and improve your reading speed and comprehension. I agree with you that studying verbal is a low yield process compared to the other sections, but it is worth 1/3 of your overall score, so you shouldn't totally ignore it.

 

[Back 5]

Yes, study verbal. My opinion is studying verbal is not like studying PS and BS, where you are learning the material and knowing how to apply the knowledge. Studying verbal is again, my opinion, more about developing an intuition for the answers. This takes time to develop. Some folks in my TPR course are able to divine what the question type is and eliminate answers based on answer stem wording, or extreme wording, but this is all based on TPR wordage. I am unsure if that process is applicable to aamc.

I completed TPR verbal workbook, did EK 101 passages (not all) and am now working on aamc FL's and self assessment.

 

[kmp0410]

Yes, especially considering it won't take as much time. Just consistent practice.

Even if it never really clicks for you, you should be able to bring that score up to an 11 by juts repeated practice.

 

[mathwhiz09]

I'm going to retake my MCAT soon. The first time around I didn't study for verbal and got a 9. Would putting the time into this be worth it considering I did poorly on the other subjects?

Nice work taking it cold and getting a 9. I'd say you don't need to study strategy or change much about what you're doing, but doing full-length tests certainly wouldn't hurt. If you could get a 9 cold, I don't see why 11-12 wouldn't be attainable if you put some work and practice into it. Good luck!

 

[ksun91]

Studying verbal for me did nothing. My practice verbal scores ranged from 6-10, mostly in 7's and 8's. After giving up and focusing on other sections, I got a 10 on the real thing. I also had mini freakout during the test as I was running low on time and pretty much guessed the last passage. I still count my blessings to this day.

 

[Darth]

Studying for verbal is essential. Know the question stems, know the common traps, know different answer types. Its worth the most out of any topic (Bio, Orgo, Physics, Chem).

 

[member1762]

The most common problems on VR are: (1) running short on time in the last 1-2 passages (2) not remembering what was read.

To practice (1), do individual passage sets setting a timer for 3 minutes on the passage and N minutes for N questions. It helps to read the first paragraph slower and the remainder of the passage faster. By 2 weeks out, you should be doing only timed CBTs and making sure you never run short on time.

For (2), come up with a technique to force yourself to pay attention to what is read. Verbalizing silently or highlighting judiciously both work.

 

[EmergentCough]

I don't think studying for verbal should be the focus of your time. It is definitely the hardest to improve IMO. It seems like people either got it or they don't. HOWEVER, study the answers to the questions. Most of the answers are saying the same thing. Be able to recognize that. Use your practice tests as your studying guides and passages.

That and being able to recognize the authors point are vital. Just use common sense. Whatever you think the authors point is, is probably correct. Confidence.

I also think EK has a great explanation for the VR section. One of the only highlights of the series. Read it once and then be done with it, focus on the other two sections.

 

[circulus vitios]

Probably not. I tried studying with EK 101 VR Passages at the beginning of my content review but I quickly stopped because verbal is subjective bull****. I've been scoring 9s in VR on my AAMC FL tests. Apparently you either get it or you don't.

 

[mcloaf]

Probably not. I tried studying with EK 101 VR Passages at the beginning of my content review but I quickly stopped because verbal is subjective bull****. I've been scoring 9s in VR on my AAMC FL tests. Apparently you either get it or you don't.

Strong attitude.