Why is VR graded more harshly?

[hqt331]

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I get equivalent or lower VR scores than PS or BS, yet my percentile is higher. ???

 

[redlight]

fewer questions and probably more stuff i cant think of atm.

 

[DrDre2001]

Simple: The questions are easier, so more people get more correct. So, then the curve will be very strict.

If 75 percent of the people get 49 questions right, then a 48 raw score all of a sudden will give you like a 5 on that section.

 

[ezsanche]

Simple: The questions are easier, so more people get more correct. So, then the curve will be very strict.

If 75 percent of the people get 49 questions right, then a 48 raw score all of a sudden will give you like a 5 on that section.

Um no the questions are not easier. Verbal is the most difficult section. Plus you can miss a lot and still do good. Missing 15 questions on verbals will most likely get you a score of 8. Which is not too bad.

 

[HopefulOncoDoc]

Um no the questions are not easier. Verbal is the most difficult section. Plus you can miss a lot and still do good. Missing 15 questions on verbals will most likely get you a score of 8. Which is not too bad.

Sure an 8 isn't too bad..but then again the average for matriculants is a 10. Well, at least for Allopathic schools.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

I wouldn't say it's the easiest section. It's probably the hardest section to improve your score in. Can't memorize formulas and rules for reading.

 

[SuperSaiyan3]

you have to realize that this section IS easy for a lot of people who DO have good reading skills and DO read regularly... and not just since studying. I mean regularly ALL their life.

Most people who complain of finding the verbal section difficult have not read a book in years. It's not a skill you can easily gain. It's not a knowledge section.

 

[ezsanche]

Sure an 8 isn't too bad..but then again the average for matriculants is a 10. Well, at least for Allopathic schools.

That is the average. That means some students got lowers and some got higher. I would say that a score of 8 and above is good. A score of 7 is pushing it. Anything less you probably need to improve your reading skills.

 

[hqt331]

doesn't my higher percentile score already take into account relative difficulty?

 

[ChemEngSoonMD]

Isn't it obvious? they are racist against Asians. But all jokes aside, who cares? This isn't going to be one of the questions on the test and knowing it won't help your score.

 

[SuperSaiyan3]

Isn't it obvious? they are racist against Asians. But all jokes aside, who cares? This isn't going to be one of the questions on the test and knowing it won't help your score.

I knew it. It's so true. Some of us Asians who study 1000x more and try harder in academics have no chance when it comes to languages.

My mother had a Pharmacy Degree in our native country, but she failed to pass the test they had in Canada because of the English portion.

I swear it's a f***ing barricade to filter out the competition and prevent multiculturalism from flourishing.

I once walked by a board sign that said : "WHY IS AN MBA WORKING IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT??"

It showed an immigrant with an MBA status in his original country working for McDonalds. This is just oppressive and I hate these countries for it.

 

[LostInStudy]

I knew it. It's so true. Some of us Asians who study 1000x more and try harder in academics have no chance when it comes to languages.

My mother had a Pharmacy Degree in our native country, but she failed to pass the test they had in Canada because of the English portion.

I swear it's a f***ing barricade to filter out the competition and prevent multiculturalism from flourishing.

I once walked by a board sign that said : "WHY IS AN MBA WORKING IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT??"

It showed an immigrant with an MBA status in his original country working for McDonalds. This is just oppressive and I hate these countries for it.

I have to completely and totally disagree with you. Learning and being proficient in the language of the country in which you live is essential. If you're going to be working in an english speaking country and work a professional job then your english skills need to be up to par. There are some professions such as research (in my opinion, even this can be debated) that this may not be absolutely essential but as far as being in the health profession, business, or law then it IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. Language is part of academics and is one of the things that you can work on to improve. It is absolutely idiotic to say that "I'm not good in learning languages" because I guarantee you that if you spent as much time improving on this skill as the rest of the academics then the languages will not be a problem.

Canada and the U.S. have a right to hire and marticulate students that are proficient enough in english to actually work here. It is a requirement.

For a hypothetical example, say that I am a video game designer in mexico and I only know spanish. Now, say that I know that all the opportunites for video game design are in Japan or N. America. I move to Japan and try to get a job there but I don't know the language very well and certainly can't proficiently write or comprehend it. The Japanese companies have EVERY right to deny me a job or opportunity. It is as simple as that.

I wouldn't hire an MBA if his english skills weren't proficient, foreign or not. If he can't understand the reports, memos, budgets, etc. that are sent out then he is not very useful.

-LIS

 

[ChemEngSoonMD]

I knew it. It's so true. Some of us Asians who study 1000x more and try harder in academics have no chance when it comes to languages.

My mother had a Pharmacy Degree in our native country, but she failed to pass the test they had in Canada because of the English portion.

I swear it's a f***ing barricade to filter out the competition and prevent multiculturalism from flourishing.

I once walked by a board sign that said : "WHY IS AN MBA WORKING IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT??"

It showed an immigrant with an MBA status in his original country working for McDonalds. This is just oppressive and I hate these countries for it.

Its a challenge but it certainly is doable. This is no different than natural selection. If you move to a new place, you better be damn ready to adapt to the new environment.

 

[DrDre2001]

Um no the questions are not easier. Verbal is the most difficult section. Plus you can miss a lot and still do good. Missing 15 questions on verbals will most likely get you a score of 8. Which is not too bad.

Well you can also miss up to 20 questions and still get an 8 on the physical science section.

20 out of 52 is basically the same percentage out 15 out of 40.

So, they both basically have the same question difficulty.

 

[Evergrey]

you have to realize that this section IS easy for a lot of people who DO have good reading skills and DO read regularly... and not just since studying. I mean regularly ALL their life.

Most people who complain of finding the verbal section difficult have not read a book in years. It's not a skill you can easily gain. It's not a knowledge section.

I dunno man. I have read all my life (when I was a kid, I read so copiously that my parents punished me not by taking away the TV, but by taking away my BOOK). Reading a lot was a trend throughout my entire life. Moreover, I was a humanities major (I read 1000s of pages of academic literature just writing my thesis this last spring semester alone). Since my graduation in May, I've read about 10 books, on top of taking a Biochem class at the local uni and studying for the MCAT..

And yet I still get 10-11s on my EK VR practice tests. Puzzled? Me too 🙁 We'll see how I do on the AAMC FLs when I start taking them in 10 days or so...

The thing is, when you major in humanities, you're taught that there are multiple perspectives to every argument, every sentence. You're taught that any interpretation is correct, as long as you have logically sound support. Somewhere in the midst of that jungle of possibility, you lose sight of what the author is actually trying to say, in ways that will help you on the MCAT at least.

VR is definitely different from reading comprehension, that's for sure. I think it's more of an IQ test (how much trickery will our test takers be able to see through!).

 

[Compass]

Besides the fewer questions, the answers are IN the passage.

Before we get too far, Asian here.

VR scores on Officials:

10 -> 9 -> 11

Relatively consistent.

 

[womp]

Isn't it obvious? they are racist against Asians. But all jokes aside, who cares? This isn't going to be one of the questions on the test and knowing it won't help your score.

I knew it. It's so true. Some of us Asians who study 1000x more and try harder in academics have no chance when it comes to languages.

My mother had a Pharmacy Degree in our native country, but she failed to pass the test they had in Canada because of the English portion.

I swear it's a f***ing barricade to filter out the competition and prevent multiculturalism from flourishing.

Dudes, I take offense to your posts.

The VR section in the MCAT doesn't really even test your English skills so much as your short-term memory, your critical thinking and your ability to apply and juggle things around. My significant other can confirm that I can't speak English properly and yet I did fine on the VR section.

There's nothing racist on the MCAT. Grow some balls and kick its butt instead.

Disclaimer: I was born in Asia and did ESL, and got a 12 in verbal

 

[Compass]

Dude, I take offense to your post. I got a 12 in verbal and I was born in Asia and did ESL.

The VR section in the MCAT doesn't really even test your English skills so much as your short-term memory, your critical thinking and your ability to apply and juggle things around. My significant other can confirm that I can't speak English properly and yet I did fine on the VR section.

There's nothing racist on the MCAT. Grow some balls and kick its butt instead.

I was born here, English was my first language, and my 3rd year COLLEGE literature class wrote on my book review if English was my second language because my essay was so bad.


For the record, I never answered his question and got an A in the course

 

[womp]

I was born here, English was my first language, and my 3rd year COLLEGE literature class wrote on my book review if English was my second language because my essay was so bad.


For the record, I never answered his question and got an A in the course

Wow that was incoherent. You left out a "professor" or something in there.

 

[Compass]

Wow that was incoherent. You left out a "professor" or something in there.

See, it just HAPPENS. I fall back into forgetting




and cats

for three years


and that's why I am such an awesome writer.

 

[ChemEngSoonMD]

Dudes, I take offense to your posts.

The VR section in the MCAT doesn't really even test your English skills so much as your short-term memory, your critical thinking and your ability to apply and juggle things around. My significant other can confirm that I can't speak English properly and yet I did fine on the VR section.

There's nothing racist on the MCAT. Grow some balls and kick its butt instead.

This:

Isn't it obvious? they are racist against Asians. But all jokes aside, who cares? This isn't going to be one of the questions on the test and knowing it won't help your score.

Its a challenge but it certainly is doable. This is no different than natural selection. If you move to a new place, you better be damn ready to adapt to the new environment.

Hey nut sack, learn to read the rest of the passage. I got a 13 on the verbal. What you get? BTW, maybe you should read the whole passage before you open your mouth. You clearly failed to understand the authors main point. (aka I'm the author)

 

[Longshanks]

I knew it. It's so true. Some of us Asians who study 1000x more and try harder in academics have no chance when it comes to languages.

My mother had a Pharmacy Degree in our native country, but she failed to pass the test they had in Canada because of the English portion.

I swear it's a f***ing barricade to filter out the competition and prevent multiculturalism from flourishing.

I once walked by a board sign that said : "WHY IS AN MBA WORKING IN A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT??"

It showed an immigrant with an MBA status in his original country working for McDonalds. This is just oppressive and I hate these countries for it.

Alright, well the test is in English, her clientele are English speaking (unless they're Quebecois), the industry guidelines are in English - of course she's going to fail, and should. If you can't speak English, you won't be able to survive in the business and professional world in American or Canada.

Its a simple fact, yet if a caucasian America says this they're a 'racist'. I saw a commercial on Telemundo the other day that put it pretty bluntly. Translating into English it said, "Now that you're in America, you need to learn English to succeed". That is a very positive message to give to other immigrants. It has nothing to do with losing your culture or your heritage, which is always part of you if you carry it with you and practice it, but a matter of assimilating parts of the society's culture you now find yourself in so to promote you and your family's quality of life. The same goes conversely, if I moved to France for some reason or to my cultural background of Poland. Even though I'm college educated and have the intellect and skills for a 'higher quality' or 'demanding' job, I wouldn't be successful in France if I couldn't speak French (which I don't) and would have to learn if I wanted to be successful. I couldn't go back to Poland speaking the kidnergarten level of speaking that I have and expect to be a doctor there.

 

[nabeel76]

Dudes, I take offense to your posts.

The VR section in the MCAT doesn't really even test your English skills so much as your short-term memory, your critical thinking and your ability to apply and juggle things around. My significant other can confirm that I can't speak English properly and yet I did fine on the VR section.

There's nothing racist on the MCAT. Grow some balls and kick its butt instead.

Disclaimer: I was born in Asia and did ESL, and got a 12 in verbal

I would have to disagree with you there, if you don't understand the English language well enough to pick up on the higher level academic vocabulary which is often used in some of the passages, well then your NOT going to be able to pick out the main idea or the authors central thesis and it will NOT be an accurate reflection of your 'critical thinking ability' at that point. That would be the equivalent of me taking the exam in spanish after I've only had several years of coursework in it - I would fail miserably.

Although you did well on the test, it does not mean that others who have been in the country for less time than you well do as well. I have several friends that I graduated college with that went to HS in Ghana that bombed the VR section because they couldn't understand the passages as well as the students that completed HS here could. That does not in any way reflect poorly on their critical reasoning ability as they were in a number of my courses at a top tier university and had no problem excelling in the coursework. You might be underestimating your ability to comprehend the english language, maybe your girlfriend is referring to your gramatical usage or sentence or word choice when you are speaking or writing - all of which are not required to understand a pre-written MCAT passage. Maybe your reading comprehension is good however, which is why you did good on the VR section.

Disclaimer: I too am a non-native english speaker from Afghanistan, however I completed K-12 here and english is not a problem for me so I would have no excuse to do poorly as for me it would be reflective of my critical reasoning. However for a lot of my Afghan Engineering or Computer Science friends that did not enter the US till after HS it would be near impossible for them to do well on that section as they will just not understand some of the passages.

 

[Naijaba]

There seems to be a growing debate here as to whether the MCAT is biased against foreign students. Well, I'm a completely native born English-speaking student, and I can tell you that I worked very hard to go from an average of 8's to the 11 that I earned. IMO the reasoning skills needed to understand the author's message may be obtained through practice, but the immense vocabulary needed to understand each passage is a legitimate obstacle for ESL students.

 

[loveoforganic]

I scored a 12 on a FL VR and was in the 97th percentile while I scored a 13 on PS and was in I think the 92nd percentile. I think that's what the OP is referring to.

 

[womp]

Hey nut sack, learn to read the rest of the passage. I got a 13 on the verbal. What you get? BTW, maybe you should read the whole passage before you open your mouth. You clearly failed to understand the authors main point. (aka I'm the author)

"aka I'm the author"??? Stick to being an engineer.

 

[womp]

I scored a 12 on a FL VR and was in the 97th percentile while I scored a 13 on PS and was in I think the 92nd percentile. I think that's what the OP is referring to.

Yeah, and to answer the OP, I think it's just the way the test has always been. They try to make the scores on each MCAT session consistent with past years. Maybe for some reason they didn't even out the scores on the first MCATs (or at least since the early 90s), and for comparative purposes never corrected this.

 

[ChemEngSoonMD]

"aka I'm the author"??? Stick to being an engineer.

Since you were replying to my thread, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that I am the author of the passage you were responding to. Strong logic and deductive reasoning skills there. Bottom line, you misread my post and failed to realize it was purely a joke even though it was followed by "ALL JOKES ASIDE".

100x better than your psychology major.

edit: my bad, chemistry major, lol.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/employment/84/8432startingsalary.html