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_Examkrackers 101 Passages in MCAT Verbal Reasoning_


Guest dopetown

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Guest dopetown

Who's taken it? What do you think of it? I read very good reviews on this book on Amazon.com, but I'd like to hear some more opinions first.

 

-dopetown

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Guest 15Sacha

Hi dopetown,

I liked it a lot because it was challenging and gave me some extra practice. I say go for it because the more practice you have with verbal, the better. Is this your first time writing?

Sacha

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Guest dopetown

Yes, I'll be writing it for the first time in August.

 

It looks like I'll be getting this book seeing as how I haven't heard a single negative review.

 

Thanks,

dopetown

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Guest Natalia22

Has anyone used any of the other Examkrackers exercise books, such as 1001 Questions in Physics, 1001 Questions in Org, etc? Are they any good? Is the set-up similar to that of the MCAT, ie. passages with questions?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest physiology

Hey - I used this book to study for the MCAT. It was an excellent source.

 

Although I just borrowed it from my library everyday - and then eventually photocopied it.

 

It was up to date, and catered to the new style of verbal reasoning (ie. less questions then before). The difficulty of the passages was representative of what was actually on the MCAT. Inevitably, the actual MCAT will be harder due to exam stress.

 

However, it didn't seem to help out my VR score much. But still, I loved the book.

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Guest dopetown

Hey phys,

 

How come you don't think the book helped your score much? I just ordered this book off Amazon and I plan to work through it cover to cover. Do you think it's a good way to study for the VR?

 

Would you mind sharing your VR score? I'm interested in knowing the benefits this book has to offer other than enjoyment.

 

Thanks a lot,

dopetown

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Guest physiology

I got a 7 in the verbal - and I studied the most for it too. I got higher marks in the BS and PS sections and a S in the writing sample without prepping, so...I can write but I can't read?

 

The book really caters to that "ambiguity" that you find in the MCAT. That's what makes the passages hard, and I guess I overanalyzed. I do that, and with MC, I changed my answers a lot as well.

 

It has plenty of those inference/interpretation/extrapolation type questions. Although, I found that I did disagree with some of their answers. But, alas, that's what you get when you make your questions too abstract.

 

Benefits:

1) offered 7 or 8 full-length exams

2) great variety in passages (science to completely non-science based)

3) comparable difficulty

4) explained answers at the back

5) caters to new style (less VR questions, which is actually disadvantages you I find)

 

One drawback, although I can't really remember, is that some of the passages were so hard, so that I kept second guessing myself during the actual MCAT. When I was stuck, I looked for the "loftiest" answer because that's what seemed to happen on those examcrackers passages. The answer would be one of the choices that I had previously identified as "definitely wrong," which didn't help to bolster my confidence at all.

 

At times, the VR passages was extremely frustrating because of this. I had no desire to learn or improve because I knew I'd screw up anyway.

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Guest dopetown

Phys,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your frustration.

 

What are you going to do to improve your VR score? You said you changed your answers, and, in some cases, just guessed. There must be some significant factor that contributed to your unsatisfactory score.

 

How have you done on the practice tests from the Examkrackers book?

 

By the way, I have a friend who also got 7 on VR but scored well in all other sections. He also said "I can read but I can't write." You don't happen to live in Waterloo, do you? :D

 

Dopetown

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Guest physiology

Interesting, but I live in Vancouver, not Waterloo.

 

It was frustrating, and in the end, I did give up on studying. It was too nice outside.

 

So this time around, I may take a course if I don't get into UBC.

 

I need something to force me to study. Now, if only they weren't so expensive!

 

This time around, I'll just practice, practice, and more practice. I plan on doing the full-length MCAT exams I bought from a friend (released by the AAMC) and doing more. I did a lot of studying about a month prior to the exam and then got lazy thereafter. That may have contributed to my demise in that section.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest 4EverRose

Hi there,

 

I wrote my MCAT April last year and I used the Examkrackers to help practice my VR as well. The thing that I like most about the VR passages in this book is their length - I found their length most similar to the length of the actual MCAT questions when compared to passages from Kaplan and Princeton Review. I would recommend this book as well because it certainly gives you tons of practice (I think the one I got has 11 full-length exams). Although I remembed I got a 4 on the first practice exam, then consistently got 6 - 7 in the next 6 exams and finally 8 - 9 in the last 4 exams, I am not sure if this is because the passages become easier (so Examkrackers can say 'hey, see your score is improving because of Examkcrakers') or is this because I have really improved my VR skills.

 

I agree with physiology that it's the vague nature of the whole VR section that beats me. At the end, I scored an 8 on the real MCAT.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest clinicalchief

I think the EKVR101 is definitely worth getting. I got 6V in Aug'03, then I did the 101 book in wrote again in April. I got 7 this time, and although I would have liked higher, I think it helped somewhat.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest pinkbonkers

Hi,

I was wondering whether the EK passages were representative of the passages on the MCAT (in terms of difficulty) as opposed to PR or Gold Stanadard passages?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest jamiel911

I have done 3 practice exams from EK and found them to very similar to the MCAT. Kaplan seems to be a little short with the passages, but have more killer ones like those metaphors with magic wands symbolizing something holly. Overall, I have been pleased with the purchase and recommend it.

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