Lost&Found Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Hey guys, How long before taking the MCAT should I be starting to score a 10-11? 2 weeks? A month? I've been studying for a while now and I'm still all over the place and I feel like I'm desperately running out of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let'sGo1990 Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'm in the same position as you and I write in exactly a month. When are you writing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tms Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 I am also in the same position and I write in a month as well. How far are you guys in studying for the other sections? Also, for verbal, how many passages are you practicing everyday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocelot Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Do you mean on the AAMC tests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1b1 Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Same problem, i do 4 passages a day, sometimes i get 1 wrong, sometimes 3-4, on average 2 wrong per passage. Every once in a while i bomb a passage and totally crushes my moral. Im kinda not sure where this improvement is suposed to come from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecobeco Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Exact same problem here... my scores looked to be on the rise from a 6 and was a qsn away from getting a 10 on one of the tests then recently fell back to 8 and stayed there. Discouraging and it doesn't seem like it will get better before my write Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1b1 Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Exact same problem here... my scores looked to be on the rise from a 6 and was a qsn away from getting a 10 on one of the tests then recently fell back to 8 and stayed there. Discouraging and it doesn't seem like it will get better before my write exact same here! At least It's somewhat comforting to know that we're all going to go down in flames together really hope things get better thought, no idea how, maybe we are doing something fundamentally wrong? What do you guys do when reading a passage? Personally, i try to understand each paragraph decently well and formulate the authors main idea/opinion while reading. Like i said before sometimes this works great, most of the time it works okay and other times it seems that I have completely missed the point of the passage despite feeling as If i understood the main idea real well. Any tips would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecobeco Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Yeah looking at the qsns as if you are the author helps cause it all comes down to what the author thinks/his main ideas. Depends, recently I've been averaging about 5/7 per passage which is around 8/9 but I wanna bump that to a 10 at least but this morning I did a passage 3/7... it was about 100 lines long so reading took a bit longer and I find if what I read isn't interesting my scores suffer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost&Found Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I'm writing on Sept 1st so I guess I still have a bit of time. But I still haven't finished content review for the sciences and I have a lot of practice to do so I guess I'm freaking out a little. I'm pretty much like you guys too. On average, I get two wrong, which is beyond annoying. I find that I get way too obsessed with the time. I'm constantly glancing at the clock and that breaks my concentration and freaks me out. Anybody else having this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpatient Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I use my iphone to time and I just flip it down after I press start, then I'll check the time after 2 passages. I can generally feel if a passage is taking longer than normal or if it's taking me longer than normal to read the passage. You have lots of time! 2 months!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost&Found Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Thanks bpatient! Lol I was just about to respond to your message. My biggest problem is that I'm a bit of a worrier so I constantly worry about what may or may not happen instead of just concentrating on the task at hand. Which is ridiculous, I know. But I really need to just calm down and get to work! Thanks again for the encouragement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tms Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Same problem, i do 4 passages a day, sometimes i get 1 wrong, sometimes 3-4, on average 2 wrong per passage. Every once in a while i bomb a passage and totally crushes my moral. Im kinda not sure where this improvement is suposed to come from. I am exactly at the same position as you. When are you writing the test? How about the other sections? Are you done the review for the other sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a1b1 Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I am exactly at the same position as you. When are you writing the test? How about the other sections? Are you done the review for the other sections? Im writing the test early september. As far as review goes, im done with chem, orgo and halfway in both bio/physics, but man this verbal is really killing, i really hope some improvement happens, atleast enough to get a 10 on the real thing, I would be satisfied with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motivated Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I have been studying for the MCAT for a bit over a month. I took the MCAT last year, and got a low VR score - so re-taking this year. I am using the EK strategy and doing EK 101 passages at the moment - switching to the AAMC tests this weekend. I have been keeping track of progress, and I've notice some improvements - now scoring consistently 10+. The following EK strategies/tips seem to work for me: - FOCUS - Take 20 secs RIGHT after reading the passages to summarize the main idea (helps a lot with answering the questions - then you don't need to worry about doing this later/get confused about the main idea at a later point - do it when it's fresh in your mind) -I don't skim the text, but read with "interest" Also, I don't know if this makes sense..., but I am finding that if I fixate my eyes on a certain point on the computer screen/book and then force myself not to move my head when reading, but rather my eyes, then I read much faster. I've been averaging 7 mins per passage with time to go back to double-check some answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I have been studying for the MCAT for a bit over a month. I took the MCAT last year, and got a low VR score - so re-taking this year. I am using the EK strategy and doing EK 101 passages at the moment - switching to the AAMC tests this weekend. I have been keeping track of progress, and I've notice some improvements - now scoring consistently 10+. The following EK strategies/tips seem to work for me: - FOCUS - Take 20 secs RIGHT after reading the passages to summarize the main idea (helps a lot with answering the questions - then you don't need to worry about doing this later/get confused about the main idea at a later point - do it when it's fresh in your mind) -I don't skim the text, but read with "interest" Also, I don't know if this makes sense..., but I am finding that if I fixate my eyes on a certain point on the computer screen/book and then force myself not to move my head when reading, but rather my eyes, then I read much faster. I've been averaging 7 mins per passage with time to go back to double-check some answers. 7 mins/passage and have time to go back to double check is something I'm striving for to achieve as well. Just out of curiosity, how long did each passage take you when you first started practicing VR. Or maybe a month or 2 later? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motivated Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 When I first started doing VR passages it took me anywhere from 8-12+ mins per passage. Now after having taken the real MCAT ones (didn't study that systematically for it last year), and studying about for it this summer (about 1.5 months) it's taking me on average 7 mins/passage. I will be switching to more computer-based passages soon. I hope I can keep the reading speed up on the computer. Anyone finding it slower to read on a computer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpatient Posted July 6, 2012 Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 I found it slower reading on the computer, just gotta get used to it I guess. It's taking me an extra minute or minute and half due to rereading sentences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost&Found Posted July 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 UGGGHHHHH If I see a 4/6 or 5/7 one more time, I think I'm gonna scream -___- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endoplasmic Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 if i see another 2/6 or 3/7 im gonna.... well i dont know.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecobeco Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 Holy **** 1/6..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost&Found Posted July 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 if i see another 2/6 or 3/7 im gonna.... well i dont know.... Is that what you're averaging on passages? Or is it just one odd passage? Make sure you self-evaluate! It really helps as most people make the same mistakes over and over again. Holy **** 1/6..... Just the odd passage. Must be a killer. Don't worry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecobeco Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 The one before was 3/7 just not doing well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo555 Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 I was there...2/6 and 3/7 and even 1/6... now I have no verbal passage left over for me to practice...yet when I did it the second run, sometimes I would get whatever wrong I get wrong again.... I perservered... but ended up getting 10. I'm not sure if I can improve further than that..... It just amazes me that ppl with 8 and 9 VR getting into medical school.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 its amazing to me how people can finish vr passages in 6 or 7 minutes. I take 4 whole minutes to just read the passage. I am gonna go crazy on a few passage while reading and try to read it done in 3 minutes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 its amazing to me how people can finish vr passages in 6 or 7 minutes. I take 4 whole minutes to just read the passage. I am gonna go crazy on a few passage while reading and try to read it done in 3 minutes!! I believe its either because the passage is very easy or they do it on paper. I tend to take longer on a passage when I'm doing it on the computer. 8 min on a passage is what you should be aiming for. Still tough though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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