Verbal score vs Vocab

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Rhino1000

Rhino1000

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I realize the VR on the MCAT is not a vocab test. However, I am interested to know if anyone here has scored highly on the MCAT VR, without having a sizeable vocab. I would be somewhat surprised to see so. For example, I would be extremely surprised to see someone who scored a 14 or higher without having a learned inventory of words.

Please post your MCAT verbal score (or AAMC verbal score) as well as your score on this test (try to be honest on it)? It takes about 5 (maybe 10) minutes.

http://testyourvocab.com/

To start us off: 20500. On the one and only practice test I have taken so far, I scored 10 (on VR).
 
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26,700. My most recent MCAT was a 13 on verbal. Fun test (but a lot of words I need to learn 😉)! It would be nice if it randomly tested you on some of the words you click, since it's a bit open-ended...

I'm sure there's a modest correlation between vocabulary and verbal score.
 
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8500 and I'm averaging around an 8 !

There is definitely a relationship in here but is it strictly due to vocab? Definitely not. People who read a lot and are native speakers will inevitably know more words than people like me who are ESL students, and I think that's whats helping them, not strictly whether or not they know the definition of a word. Vocab definitely helps.

Even if I use a dictionary and give myself 2x time per passage, I still won't get a 13
 
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Interesting. Looks like your making good use out of those 8500! I presume that you mean that it isn't necessary to have a dictionary style knowledge of a given word in order to do well on the MCAT - that familiarity with certain words also will give benefit.
 
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yep, the confounding variable

native speaker --> read a lot/good command of english --> good vocab --> high VR test so it's not just vocab that's helping you, it's the read a lot part that's helping you, which is a combination of vocab/reading comprehension/speed etc.

for instance, if you guys grew up in the US, you've read hundreds of books/plays/poems etc whereas I personally have only read science textbooks in English !
 
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It would be nice to see a few more people post their vocabulary as judged by this test, and their MCAT VR score. I have been reading a really vocab-heavy book lately and it is a slog to get through. It is a lot of work, especially because I've been looking up every word that I do not know; it is the first volume in the series "The Story of Civilization," by Will Durant. This is one of the reasons I am interested in the vocabulary correlation with VR.
 
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This is an interesting thread. I always thought people underestimated the significance of vocabulary and it's effect on verbal performance. There seems to be a general trend for those who really enhanced their vocabulary (either for SAT prep, or by constant reading), and their performance on the MCAT. Sometimes words have a double meaning and understanding those meanings can really help you get a feel for the overall tone of the passage and what the author is telling you, or how he/she feels about a particular viewpoint.
 
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Like Czarcasm said, there seems to be an interesting (yet somewhat unsurprising) correlation. So, I am interested to hear even more replies. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to do so already!
 
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I disagree that there is a relationship between a good verbal score and a good vocab. The NyTimes , which I have heard advice on too read for practice for verbal or even better the Economist, has been shown to only use a vocab of about 400 words.
Reading comprehension vs knowing words though might be related because someone who is a strong reader is probably more inclined to be a wordsmith as well. I like to think of myself as a reader but am not nor care for words (vocab).
I took the GRE when 5-6 yrs ago when it was very vocab heavy and included word analogies which required that you know arcane vocab words. I scored very low. I took the GRE last year which is now more heavy on reading passages and scored above the 80th percentile.
On my practice MCATs have been averaging 11-13 though I expect more like an 11 maybe plus one and hopefully not minus 1
 
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doctorgator said:
I disagree that there is a relationship between a good verbal score and a good vocab. The NyTimes , which I have heard advice on too read for practice for verbal or even better the Economist, has been shown to only use a vocab of about 400 words.
Reading comprehension vs knowing words though might be related because someone who is a strong reader is probably more inclined to be a wordsmith as well. I like to think of myself as a reader but am not nor care for words (vocab).
I took the GRE when 5-6 yrs ago when it was very vocab heavy and included word analogies which required that you know arcane vocab words. I scored very low. I took the GRE last year which is now more heavy on reading passages and scored above the 80th percentile.
On my practice MCATs have been averaging 11-13 though I expect more like an 11 maybe plus one and hopefully not minus 1
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It's clear that the MCAT is not vocabulary-heavy. That was never the question; you seem to have misunderstood. However, vocabulary level tends to correlate strongly with the amount of reading a person does, which also would likely correlate with MCAT verbal score.

Edit: Also, I find it hard to believe that even the New York Times uses a vocabulary of only 400 words.

Edit: Edit: I would bet 10000 dollars to your one that there is a correlation between the two. To say otherwise (like you did) is pretty absurd. This is because vocabulary has a decent correlation with IQ (which has a correlation with almost any academic test out there, including the MCAT verbal test), and also it only makes sense that vocabulary has a correlation with the amount of reading someone does (as already stated); obviously someone who never reads is much less likely to score well on the VR than someone who is an avid reader.
 
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Rhino1000 said:
It's clear that the MCAT is not vocabulary-heavy. That was never the question; you seem to have misunderstood. However, vocabulary level tends to correlate strongly with the amount of reading a person does, which also would likely correlate with MCAT verbal score.

Edit: Also, I find it hard to believe that even the New York Times uses a vocabulary of only 400 words.

Edit: Edit: I would bet 10000 dollars to your one that there is a correlation between the two. To say otherwise (like you did) is pretty absurd. This is because vocabulary has a decent correlation with IQ (which has a correlation with almost any academic test out there, including the MCAT verbal test), and also it only makes sense that vocabulary has a correlation with the amount of reading someone does (as already stated); obviously someone who never reads is much less likely to score well on the VR than someone who is an avid reader.
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vocabulary has a decent correlation with IQ?
 
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Anyways, the purpose of this thread was not to debate whether or not there is a correlation between vocabulary and the mcat verbal score; the purpose of this thread was to see how big of a correlation there is! So, I am looking for more anecdotes! Please post your score on the VR, and your score on the mentioned vocabulary test! Here it is:
http://testyourvocab.com/
 
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Rhino1000 said:
http://hiqnews.megafoundation.org/The_Role_of_Vocabulary_in_IQ_Testing.html
Do a google search on vocabulary vs IQ, and you will see that vocabulary is one of (if not the) most highly correlated subsections of an iq test, to the total iq score. In other words, it is very highly "g-loaded."

Of course, this correlation doesn't hold up well for non-native speakers.
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source --> http://hiqnews.megafoundation.org ....

So basically you are saying if I sit down and memorize new words, I can increase my IQ ?
 
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Iq and Vocab are highly related and as well as are reading and vocab as a quick google search confirms is empirically confirmed but I am merely suggesting that a large vocab as was tested by the GRE a few years ago is important or even needed for success and that this directly related to what the MCAT verbal tests.
If you are a wordsmith than very likely your have a strong reading comphrension but the reader need not be a wordsmith.
 
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TheAnonymous said:
source --> http://hiqnews.megafoundation.org ....

So basically you are saying if I sit down and memorize new words, I can increase my IQ ?
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Nope. Consider that weight is correlated with height, simply eating a lot and becoming heavier will not make you taller. Just like simply memorizing words will not make you smarter (in the sense of having an improved general intellect), however, this would probably still be a useful thing to do.
 
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doctorgator said:
Iq and Vocab are highly related and as well as are reading and vocab as a quick google search confirms is empirically confirmed but I am merely suggesting that a large vocab as was tested by the GRE a few years ago is important or even needed for success and that this directly related to what the MCAT verbal tests.
If you are a wordsmith than very likely your have a strong reading comphrension but the reader need not be a wordsmith.
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"I disagree that there is a relationship between a good verbal score and a good vocab" is something that you said earlier; this directly contradicts what you just said. However, I expect that what you mean is that while a high vocabulary is not necessary to do well on the MCAT verbal, you agree that vocabulary does indeed have a correlation with your score.
 
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Actually nutrition and eating is directly linked to being taller (for childern) as well as is an increased vocab is directly linked to Iq for childern. But I think the relationships stop at childern.
I would suggest look into taking a Linguistic Anthropology course if you have the freedom or pick up some stuff from Steven Pinker or Noam Chomsky. Just suggestions as I think the real questions are much more broader or in depth than arguments on the internet
 
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doctorgator said:
Actually nutrition and eating is directly linked to being taller (for childern) as well as is an increased vocab is directly linked to Iq for childern. But I think the relationships stop at childern.
I would suggest look into taking a Linguistic Anthropology course if you have the freedom or pick up some stuff from Steven Pinker or Noam Chomsky. Just suggestions as I think the real questions are much more broader or in depth than arguments on the internet
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You're right, I should have specified that I was referring to adults (for both vocabulary memorization affecting IQ as well as eating habits affecting height). I don't think that the arguments concerning these correlations go above our heads simply because we are on the internet.
 
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The number of drownings is directly corealated to the amount of Ice cream eaten per day Or on the hottest days of the year people eat the most ice cream and go to the pools/beaches.
"Reading comprehension vs knowing words though might be related because someone who is a strong reader is probably more inclined to be a wordsmith as well"
The MCAT verbal is testing reading comphrension which I am saying is distinctly different skill set from being a wordsmith ( a skill set that used to be heavily used in the GRE and is still tested to an extent) Though the two will be related by the obvious closeness to both Intelligences (Multiple Iq theory) and Skill Sets.
 
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doctorgator said:
The number of drownings is directly corealated to the amount of Ice cream eaten per day Or on the hottest days of the year people eat the most ice cream and go to the pools/beaches.
"Reading comprehension vs knowing words though might be related because someone who is a strong reader is probably more inclined to be a wordsmith as well"
The MCAT verbal is testing reading comphrension which I am saying is distinctly different skill set from being a wordsmith ( a skill set that used to be heavily used in the GRE and is still tested to an extent) Though the two will be related by the obvious closeness to both Intelligences (Multiple Iq theory) and Skill Sets.
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You lost me. Also, I don't know who you quoted right there. Take solace in the fact that I can not comprehend how what you are saying in any way refutes the simple fact that vocabulary and reading comprehension are (pretty highly) correlated.

If anyone has the free time to take this 5-10 minute vocabulary test, please post your score, as well as your score on the MCAT VR (or practice test VR scores)!
 
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Furthermore, if any of you guys are not posting your scores because they are low, take heart and post! Both reading comprehension and vocabulary can be improved through exposure to challenging reading material! I only want to see the correlations of these scores!
 
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You should refine your request to only AAMC scores.

I got a 20,800 (30th percentile for my age. Yikes!). Got a 10 on AAMC #3.
 
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kouentou13 said:
You should refine your request to only AAMC scores.

I got a 20,800 (30th percentile for my age. Yikes!). Got a 10 on AAMC #3.
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Thanks for the reply. You're right, I will indeed narrow my request. I don't think that 20800 is truly a 30th percentile; I believe that I read somewhere on there that over half the people who took that test online were in the 98th percentile on the SAT - or something along those lines. And the test's percentile score is based on the people who took it online (it wasn't normed against a representative population).

Edit: From the testyourvocab.com FAQ:

[[Your results seem high—I'm well-educated and well-read, and I'm pretty sure my vocabulary is in a higher percentile that the results you've listed!
You're probably right. The percentiles listed so far are of the people who have taken the quiz, not of the population as a whole. And their average self-reported verbal SAT score, so far, is around 700 (out of a perfect 800 score). Compare that to the average US population score of around 500, and it's clear that our test-takers are far more literate than average.]]
 
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Rhino1000 said:
I realize the VR on the MCAT is not a vocab test. However, I am interested to know if anyone here has scored highly on the MCAT VR, without having a sizeable vocab. I would be somewhat surprised to see so. For example, I would be extremely surprised to see someone who scored a 14 or higher without having a learned inventory of words.

Please post your MCAT verbal score (or AAMC verbal score) as well as your score on this test (try to be honest on it)? It takes about 5 (maybe 10) minutes.

http://testyourvocab.com/

To start us off: 20500. On the one and only practice test I have taken so far, I scored 10 (on VR).
Click to expand...


Unlike non-AAMC MCAT practice tests, the AAMC rarely if ever, tests you on your knowledge of complicated complex words.

However, AAMC does like test you on your ability to be a careful reader. AAMC likes to use similarly spelled (simple) words with different meanings to test if you are paying attention. You will see that on their practice tests. (An example of what I mean by "similarly spelled words with different meanings" would be "spring" and "string" in a context where you are expecting the word that isn't used. They will use stuff like that to guide you to the wrong answer choice. To avoid spoilers, I made up spring/string. They don't actually use those 2 words. If anyone who's already taken all of AAMC's practice tests wants real examples, PM me.)
 
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Unlike non-AAMC MCAT practice tests, the AAMC rarely if ever, tests you on your knowledge of complicated complex words.

However, AAMC does like test you on your ability to be a careful reader. AAMC likes to use similarly spelled (simple) words with different meanings to test if you are paying attention. You will see that on their practice tests. (An example of what I mean by "similarly spelled words with different meanings" would be "spring" and "string" in a context where you are expecting the word that isn't used. They will use stuff like that to guide you to the wrong answer choice. To avoid spoilers, I made up spring/string. They don't actually use those 2 words. If anyone who's already taken all of AAMC's practice tests wants real examples, PM me.)
Click to expand...
The very post you quoted shows that it has already been stated that the MCAT is not testing you on your knowledge of difficult vocabulary. You'll see that I already addressed someone about this. I just want you to know that reading comprehension scores commonly are correlated highly with vocabulary (for reasons other than the occurrence of difficult words); I wanted to see how much of a correlation there was. However, that is an interesting tidbit on the "like-sounding" words.
 
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20,300: I have taken about 7 practice verbal back in 2010. From memory (AAMC 3 = 6 did not finish; Kaplan 1 = 6 did not finish; Kaplan 2 and 3 = 7 did not finish either one; Kaplan 4 = 10 finished for the first time; Kaplan 5 = 13 [37/40] finished for the second time; Barron 1 = 14 [finished, but this test is a joke compared to the others.]) Got sick after and then life got in the ways. About to start studying again next Monday March 3 2014. I hope to see improvement.
 
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I guess, I'll add mine.
13,800 and non-native English speaker. I haven't taken any practice tests yet (because my MCAT is in August), but I usually get 2 questions wrong on a verbal passage. If I get lucky, I would get 1 wrong. Twice I got all the questions correctly.
 
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Thanks for the replies, guys! And MrMention:
MrMention said:
20,300: I have taken about 7 practice verbal back in 2010. From memory (AAMC 3 = 6 did not finish; Kaplan 1 = 6 did not finish; Kaplan 2 and 3 = 7 did not finish either one; Kaplan 4 = 10 finished for the first time; Kaplan 5 = 13 [37/40] finished for the second time; Barron 1 = 14 [finished, but this test is a joke compared to the others.]) Got sick after and then life got in the ways. About to start studying again next Monday March 3 2014. I hope to see improvement.
Click to expand...
I am not sure what to make of this. It seems that you would be able to improve your reading comprehension over a period of 4 years by quite a bit. So, it is possible that if you took them at this time, you might score quite a bit higher. Were those last few scores (10,13,14) after an intense regimen of studying verbal (e.g. reading difficult books, etc)? Have you been reading a lot lately?

@slickwillbo I will say that your actual percentile is almost certainly not 20%; the percentile scores that they give are compared to an "elite group of individuals," most of whom scored 700 or more on the verbal portion of the SAT. So your percentile score is relative to the people your age who took this test online, not your percentile relative to a representative population.
 
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Bump. This vocab test literally takes 5 minutes! You get interesting info for yourself, and you might be able to contribute to the thread!
 
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