worried about mcat

[kornphan]

hi everyone,
i've been practicing mcat tests and i haven't been doing too well on them especially verbal..if i were to get a 6 or 7 would some schools reject me right off the bat without even looking at my gpa? i have a pretty good gpa, but i'm afriad that the mcat may really mess up my chances of getting into med school..your opinions would be greatly appreciate...thanks very much!

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[jordews]

Hey kornphan,
I definately know how you feel. I took the mcat in april, and did well on the sciences, but got a 7 on the verbal. And people say that's the most important section! it hurts! That's why im retaking though. Id much rather have a well rounded score, than a completely lopsided one like that. Ive heard the best way to approach the verbal is to do as many practice passages as possible. The more you do, the better you get at retaining the info in the passages, and you start to anticipate the right answers on the questions. That's the way it is for me anyways. I still haven't broken a 10 on my practice tests though, so I definately need some more practice. Hopefully you can have a good test day, and pull off a higher score than any of your pracitce tests. ive heard of several people who do this. On test day, just make sure to stay relaxed, calm, and focused. I panicced during the april test, and thats how i messed up my verbal. Anyways, good luck. I'm sure you'll do well if you get enough practice in, and keep your composure on test day. Those are the keys.

 

[nashtrash]

hey kornphan--just wanted to offer you some encouragement. i agree with jordews in that practice is the key, and i dont think two weeks is too short of time to make some significant improvement on your verbal score. i would try and wake up at 8 every morning and do a verbal so you can get used to working them early. i would also read a passage or the newspaper the morning of the mcat to get your brain going. if anything else, try taking some passage thinking that you are a verbal god and see how much the confidence in yourself and your verbal abilities help your score. for me (i'm taking this august too) the verbal is very much a psychological game, and the worst thing you can do is to constantly doubt your answers. anyway, good luck with the prep--2 more weeks--you can do it!!!

 

[Georgey]

I took my verbal score from a 6 (two years ago) to a 10 this past spring. I think it is too easy to get panicked on this section and lose time. This probably won't help you now, but I increased my score by doing two or three passages a day over the course of the three months preceeding the actual exam. I don't think you can cram for the verbal section. If you must cram though I think kaplan's method of attack for the VR section is pretty good.

 

[jordews]

Hey, do any of you guys have this problem? I'm going back through my kaplan full length tests to see which questions I missed, and a bunch of the "correct" answers, I just disagree with, especially in the verbal. Even after looking back through the passage, and seeing what they put as the right answer, I have no idea how they got it. It's one thing to miss something, and then be able to learn from your mistake and see why you missed it, but it sucks to miss something, and then after going back and reanalyzing it, still having no idea why your answer is wrong.

 

[rxfudd]

I generally tend to disagree with the verbal section as a whole.

 

[MedPuck]

I agree with RXFUDD!! I too sported a 7 verbal with good science scores and will not retake because I sincerely gave it my all, twice. I consistently scored 8-10's on verbal in my months and months of hard practice and simply did not do well on the day that counts. I am from Chicago and hope UIC, Rush, Loyola, or Finch will see beyond my lackluster performance, although that is unlikely given the weight of this stupid test. But, stranger things have happened.

 

[moo]

Just to offer some words of encouragement. I never got above a 7 on the verbal practice tests for TPR or even the AAMC practice tests. However, I got a 9 on the real thing (along with great science scores). And this is AFTER I misbubbled and had to go back and find my mistake, erase and correct everything, which easily wasted 3 minutes when there were 6 minutes left and I was on the last passage. (I think I could've scored a 10 at least had I not misbubbled) So, my point is, your performance now may not mimick your performance on test day. Good luck!

 

[Popoy]

Just to let you folks know, I know of a second year med student in UCDavis that received a 6 on the MCAT's but did REALLY well on the Bio (13) and Phys section (11).... and as far as I can remember he had a stellar GPA....Anyway, it's not over if you get a 6 or 7 in your verbal as long as other sections and your GPA falls into place.

Good luck kornphan!!!....

 

[rxfudd]

MedPuck, what are the rest of your stats like? I'm also hoping that some IL school will be willing to look past a 7 in verbal. It will be interesting to see how it goes for us.

Also, what college are you at now? IL?

 

[MedPuck]

RXFUDD: I graduated UIC in May 2000, got a 29 total MCAT (on the 2nd test), decent gpa, lots of medical experience. 25 years old, non-traditional. Hope we both have our way. I am applying to 22 schools but really hope any IL school will take me. First we must conquer AMCAS! How about you?

 

[Tideguy]

I personally found that doing a single verbal passage early every morning before a practice test as well as test day really helped me to focus. If this is too much for you, at least read a newspaper or a book to get the gears turning so that you're not cold when they pass out that test. Also, turn the nervous energy that everybody has on test day into focus and you'll fly through the passages faster than ever. On test day, I finished 15 minutes earlier than I usually did and went up huge on my score as well. Being totally focused and not intimidated at all by the section is the best thing that I can recommend. Also, if you're really having trouble with the verbal sections, consider embracing Kaplan's method. I teach for Kaplan now and I've seen it work time and time again for people who are intimidated by verbal pasages. You really have to commit to the method for it to benefit however. Just something to consider. Hope it helps.

 

[Mystique]

This is going to sound controversial and a bit odd...

When I took the review courses, I followed their advice and marked key words/phrases and all that bit. This time I'm studying independently, and I'm not doing all that. I read the passage at a decent pace (not too fast/slow) and only circle impt words (proper names,periods) and circle phrases that I (stress the "I" here) think are important. I used to get 6 and 7's in verbal and now I usually get a 10 and sometimes that occasional 11/12. Sometimes, you have to find your own way of attacking the verbal. Now, I usually finish on/before time, and I feel like my "method" has worked better than PR's and Kaplan's. I also take an entire verbal practice test 3-4 days a week. This bit of advice sounds odd...but it's working for me. We'll see what happpens on test day...

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you!!

 

[Jonny-5]

Pendulum-

Not contraversial at all. I took PR and got a VR 6 on the first diagnostic. I tailored my methods to suit how I read/comprehend best (very similar to yours). On the April MCAT I got a VR 12. It can be done. Just practice and do what works for you.

Good Luck and try to relax!