seanwise Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 Hello everyone, I'm debating writing the MCAT on September 1st to see how I perform and to take a shot at the McMaster Medical School application process. However, I have recently made the decision to write the MCAT, and was wondering if ~3 weeks of diligent study would be enough to get a respectable score on VR. I intended to begin preparing much earlier in the summer, however, due to some conflict and stress in my life, I have not been able to consider such an expenditure of time till now. I am finishing my Honours in English / Philosophy this Winter with a 3.85GPA, and I would like to believe that I am fairly well geared for the type of difficulty the VR represents. However, I also realize that no section of the MCAT should be taken lightly, so I'm wondering if its a pipe dream to even consider leaving myself only about 3 weeks to prepare for VR. Thanks for anyone who takes the time to read this and provide an opinion! Best, Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellorie Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 I was an English major and I believe I got an 11 on my first Kaplan diagnostic VR at which point I had not studied at all. Ended up with a 13 on the actual exam after a prep course and 2 months studying. Maybe do some practice tests and see how you do? I only wrote once, so I don't know anything about writing multiple times and how having a poor score now might impact you later, but if it's just VR and you're good at that kind of thing, it might not be a terrible idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkourParkour Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 I did most of my electives in English/Critical Studies and did well on Verbal given that most (see: 95%) of my ~1.5 months of studying time were devoted to Biology/Physical. Get used to the few types of inferences that questions require you to make from the passage and the rest should just be comprehension. Hello everyone, I'm debating writing the MCAT on September 1st to see how I perform and to take a shot at the McMaster Medical School application process. However, I have recently made the decision to write the MCAT, and was wondering if ~3 weeks of diligent study would be enough to get a respectable score on VR. I intended to begin preparing much earlier in the summer, however, due to some conflict and stress in my life, I have not been able to consider such an expenditure of time till now. I am finishing my Honours in English / Philosophy this Winter with a 3.85GPA, and I would like to believe that I am fairly well geared for the type of difficulty the VR represents. However, I also realize that no section of the MCAT should be taken lightly, so I'm wondering if its a pipe dream to even consider leaving myself only about 3 weeks to prepare for VR. Thanks for anyone who takes the time to read this and provide an opinion! Best, Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w_robin Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Hello everyone, I'm debating writing the MCAT on September 1st to see how I perform and to take a shot at the McMaster Medical School application process. However, I have recently made the decision to write the MCAT, and was wondering if ~3 weeks of diligent study would be enough to get a respectable score on VR. I intended to begin preparing much earlier in the summer, however, due to some conflict and stress in my life, I have not been able to consider such an expenditure of time till now. I am finishing my Honours in English / Philosophy this Winter with a 3.85GPA, and I would like to believe that I am fairly well geared for the type of difficulty the VR represents. However, I also realize that no section of the MCAT should be taken lightly, so I'm wondering if its a pipe dream to even consider leaving myself only about 3 weeks to prepare for VR. Thanks for anyone who takes the time to read this and provide an opinion! Best, Sean If you're aiming JUST for VR - I suppose it's possible. Just do a TON of practice in the mean time, get used to the nature of the standardized exam, etc. I'm assuming you're not even going to put it an effort for the PS and BS sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oops_letstryagain Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Definitely possible, but don't be disappointed or surprised if you don't do well. 3 weeks is not a lot of time to get accustomed to the MCAT and the techniques/processes you would use to write this exam. Your english background will help, but ultimately it's how well you write standardized tests and how fast you are that will determine your score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w_robin Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Definitely possible, but don't be disappointed or surprised if you don't do well. 3 weeks is not a lot of time to get accustomed to the MCAT and the techniques/processes you would use to write this exam. Your english background will help, but ultimately it's how well you write standardized tests and how fast you are that will determine your score. Das ist true. I like your opinions "oops_letstryagain". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprinkles Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Get used to the few types of inferences that questions require you to make from the passage and the rest should just be comprehension. would you mind expanding on what you mean by 'inferences' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkourParkour Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Every author has an agenda even in scholarly articles. From my experience with the MCAT, VR passages mainly come from commentary based on the Humanities and Social Sciences. There are obvious biases and positional skews based on what authors are trying to persuade you into believing. For example, if an author is writing about how the Congress of the United States has become ineffective at passing legislation that would 'aid' individual states' education systems due to the growing influence of fringe right wing groups and the growing use of the filibuster, you can make the assumption that: a)The author supports increased funding for social programs/safety nets based on their support of a strong federal education system. b)Has a negative view of emergent Republican ideology circa 1980 (eg. decreased taxation, less government oversight) There are a few more safe assumptions you can make if the passage were longer. However, it really helps to be knowledgable in recent history to get an idea of where people have been general polarized on economic, political and social matters. would you mind expanding on what you mean by 'inferences' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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