Which is more impressive?

[TTSD]

Which is more impressive to achieve a higher score in?

Verbal
Writing Sample
Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[....]

Verbal

easy post pad

 

[UCLAstudent]

Verbal. By far, verbal is the hardest section for improvement; you are either good at it or you aren't. Thus, it's impressive if you do well in it because it shows that you have some sort of natural ability.

 

[ice_23]

Verbal definitely because not only is it difficult to study for (hence implying natural ability) but it is very difficult to get a high score (I think the curve is really hard to do well on).

So verbal. Definitely.

-Ice

 

[TTSD]

Well, as long as they don't ask any @#$^ing art questions! Damn that 5R test about Pablo freaking picasso.. hahaha

 

[Tuanisman]

TTSD
right on- that picasso passage p@##ed me off!!!!! I got 6 questions wrong on it!! and I was doing great on the rest of the test- I got through 6 passages with nothing wrong!

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by Tuanisman
TTSD
right on- that picasso passage p@##ed me off!!!!! I got 6 questions wrong on it!! and I was doing great on the rest of the test- I got through 6 passages with nothing wrong!

You're not joking. The questions on Pablo Picasso were asked straightfowardly.. but the way the answer choices were phrased AND their reasoning made me wonder if I could sneak a bottle of whiskey into the actual MCATs to drink and throw at the proctors!!!

 

[lyragrl]

I hated that Picasso passage. I was waiting for the question: "If the author stood under an oak tree under the full moon, what would be the least likely interpretation you could make about Picasso's childhood and artistic ability?"

It was totally nuts.

 

[lotanna]

Yeah that Picasso passage sucked!! I missed 4, and I was a roll till that mess
Truth is I couldnt quite figure out the main idea, and it showed, well I thought I knew it till i tried answering the questions, I was still lucky to get an 11 on the verbal.

 

[gonakillmcat]

To all those guys who think that verbal is a "either you got it or don't" section here is some news. i started off w/ a 5 in verbal and scored an 11 on the real thing. by the end on a couple of my practice exams i scored 12 and 13. Verbal like all other sections is something you have to work at.. i developed a strategy that worked for me and then began to do 3-4 passages everday for 5 months.. in addition to practice exams. By the end it felt like i could guess teh questions they were going to ask as i was reading the passage. I began to formulate answers...to questions they might ask.. even before i read teh qeustions. It is the sheer number of passages i did that allowed me to develop this insight. Good luck to all in april..if you haven't started yet.. do atleast 4-5 verbal passages EVERYDAY from now until the day before the exam.. you will see an improvement of atleast a couple points.. GOOD LUCK>>

 

[TTSD]

That, or if you have the time READ a lot. Anything. The articles in Playboy don't count though.

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by Herpeto
It's definitely possible to boost ones verbal score by atleast a point by reading exorbitant amounts of material a few weeks before the test, but is it too possible to increase ones science score a point or two with just two weeks to go?


Herp

I don't see why not.. hope.

 

[ice_23]

Herp,

Yea, I actually think it's easier to do it with the sciences than with the verbal section. With the sciences, all you have to do is memorize ass-crazy loads of formulas and other stupid minutia like what the malphagian ducts are. I moved up 2 points on my bio and 1 point on my physical sciences than my averages because of crazy studying in the two weeks before the test.

By now, the passages should be cool (you should know how to read them). But getting those few crazy questions (the ones that need a specific formula, or definition, etc.) I think boils down to how hard ppl work the last two weeks. Then again, that may just be how I work.

Hope this helps and good luck on the MCAT!

-Ice

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

I think doing some upper level reading would help boost a lower verbal score. If you can, get your hands on Conrad's Heart of Darkness or Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. If you really want to challenge yourself, read as much Herman Melville as possible. I'd also like to recommend James Joyce's Portrait of An Artist As a Young Man. If you're really into Joyce, go for Ulysses. Well, those are my recommendations. In addition to the reading, I'd also probably go over as many possible verbal passages as you can get your hands on. I think Exam Crackers puts out a book solely dedicated to the verbal section which has over a hundred sample passages. I've also been told that reading the The New York Times on a regular basis has helped some people boost their verbal score. Just try to do as much critical thinking on any given sample of literature. If you've taken AP English Language or AP English Literature as a high school student, you probably have a legs up when it comes to the verbal section.

 

[noy]

Verbal reasoning is what lets you finish the other sections on time, discard obvously wrong answers, and read between the lines to see what the test creators were thinking.

Physics/Chem/Orgo/Bio knowledge cannot help you on any other section nearly as well as the ability to read, think, and understand the language with which you are working.

However, a 12V/9P/9B will not sit well anywhere, I think...

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
I think doing some upper level reading would help boost a lower verbal score. If you can, get your hands on Conrad's Heart of Darkness or Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. If you really want to challenge yourself, read as much Herman Melville as possible. I'd also like to recommend James Joyce's Portrait of An Artist As a Young Man. If you're really into Joyce, go for Ulysses.

Dude.. when I was in High School I attempted Ulysses.. only got halfway through.. turned in a 20 page report and I scored an A just for the effort alone and the teacher knew I was only able to get halfway through in a SEMESTER! I usually finish a 500 page book by the second day or the day of time depending.

 

[deez4life]

Originally posted by md_hopeful21
How come everyone says verbals more important, while if you look at the stats in the MSAR you see that the weakest correlation of any MCAT score with acceptance is that of verbal. Also the averages for all of the scores are about the same, maybe off by .1 or .2 but not to such a degree to make the correlation off.
I think people are more daydreaming about the fact that verbals more important, while in reality its the sciences the medschools focus on.

This is only true if you superficially look at the stats. The liberal arts majors who do exceptionally well in VR (12+) usually don't do quite as well in the science sections, and have less research and clinical training than their science major counterparts. Hence, the science major who scores a 11P 8V 11B and has great EC's is more likely to get admitted than the liberal arts major with a 9P 12V 9B. That's why medical school statistics are skewed downward for VR for the entering class. And that's why getting a higher VR score (if the other sections are also decent) is all the more impressive.

 

[spumoni620]

ok. this is slightly off topic but explain something to me. say you have a stereotypical science kid who doesn't like lib arts classes and has spent his whole life since high school in lab and science research. he/she gets a low-average VR score but shines on the science sections.

so people thus far seem to assume that the VR is key b/c it tests your natural ability, predicts your success in learning new material, etc. etc. my questions are: 1) how did the student get such high science scores in the first place (i.e. not ALL mcat science questions are memorization-based--a lot of them require new information) if he's so poor in verbal. 2) how did he train himself to become so good in science if he had such poor reading comprehension? and isn't it this training/memorizing that's important in med school anyway? and then 3) so let's say he is only good at understanding scientific material, not literary criticism or an author's intended "message" etc. etc. if he gets into med school, isn't the scientific reading skill the type of reading comprehension which will prove valuable to his training as a doctor? after all, if you're a doctor, is it more important that you can comprehend literary themes or understand and know your science?

so anyway, i guess i'm trying to say i don't see one particular section as being the most important--they are all important, as strong performance in one section might help mitigate poorer performance in another. one of my friends is a med school student and knows of classmates who got into harvard and ucsf with breakdowns of scores similar to 9-13-13. and i'll beat a dead horse: scores are only one factor in the game.


my $.02.

 

[TTSD]

That's a good question spumoni..

But truth be told, the science sections barely need any sort of comprehension skills per se. Hell, in the biological section you don't even have to READ the passages most of the time.

Verbal tests your comprehension of a given situation/passage and be able to make inferences and interpertations which is pretty important in the field of science and medicine. Not literary criticsm.. though chicks think its cool if you can do that.

Such as in medicine: Would you rather have a doctor who's just a walking dictionary or a doctor that can see through multiple layers? As you know, there are a lot of instances in medicine where the obvious is not always the case and have to be inferred from very little data.. but also a doctor should be ably to COVERSE with their patients as well.

 

[deez4life]

Although you don't need as much reading comprehension ability in the science sections, it's still a necessary component. On my own mcat, I remember not even having to know half the material in PS and BS, since it was all in the passage if you were able to abstract it.

I would agree, though, that ALL three sections are very important. Otherwise, they wouldn't be on the mcat.

deez

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by TTSD
That's a good question spumoni..

But truth be told, the science sections barely need any sort of comprehension skills per se. Hell, in the biological section you don't even have to READ the passages most of the time.

Verbal tests your comprehension of a given situation/passage and be able to make inferences and interpertations which is pretty important in the field of science and medicine. Not literary criticsm.. though chicks think its cool if you can do that.

Such as in medicine: Would you rather have a doctor who's just a walking dictionary or a doctor that can see through multiple layers? As you know, there are a lot of instances in medicine where the obvious is not always the case and have to be inferred from very little data.. but also a doctor should be ably to COVERSE with their patients as well.

very good points...this makes sense now.

 

[raining4days]

Writing: In my opinion, this is the least important (not that you should leave this part blank or write poorly constructed essay either).

Verbal: this is the most impressive, since I have been told that it is highly correlated with the success of USMLE step I.

But a 4 PS, 4 BS, 13 VR is not impressive either.

In conclusion, you should aim for a balanced score on all sections (~10s).

 

[mosfet]

That's BS. There are IMGs, esp. from some Asian countries that kill the USMLE step1 (I mean get 255+) who won't be able to score an 8 on VR even if they tried. I am saying this 'cause I know some of them. USMLE is about how much information you can retain, its not about picking some abstract choices as answers like the VR.

 

[DD214_DOC]

One sure way to improve your chances of scoring high on the VR section of the MCAT: be a liberal arts major.

 

[dankev]

Originally posted by Tuanisman
TTSD
right on- that picasso passage p@##ed me off!!!!! I got 6 questions wrong on it!! and I was doing great on the rest of the test- I got through 6 passages with nothing wrong!

Ditto. Rrrrrr!