Verbal - Is it even possible?

[pacemaker]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry about another Verbal post but I am really desperate here for some insight!!!

 

I wrote the MCAT this summer and even though I met the cutoffs for all other sections, I scored a 6 on the verbal . On my practice tests, I was scoring in the 8-10 range (not great) but I didn't feel that bad about verbal after the test other than the fact that I ran out of time and had to make some educated guesses on 3-4 questions for a killer passage.

 

I spent almost 5 months studying for the test while working full-time, took the TPR course and did all the passages in the EK101 workbook (older edition) and TPR Verbal workbook. I have searched endlessly for strategies and tips for verbal and have given them an honest approach. I have tried various things and have stuck with the ones that have worked for me. In addition to doing the passages, I also picked out an article every other day from various sources and read it like an MCAT passage (thought about the bottom line and main point).

 

After some self reflection:

 

- I have had a hard time trying to find a pattern in terms of the questions and types of passages I do wrong.

 

- I know that I preview the questions (since that was the TPR strategy I started practicing with and it seemed to have stuck to me)....it doesn't make a difference in my score though but it helps to calm me down. Since I have a problem with timing (2-3 minute crunch at the end), this is something that I can stop doing to allow me to finish the section on time without having to guess on questions.

 

- I go with the questions in order and passages in order as per the EK strategy but if the 5th or 6th passage is a killer one, I move onto doing the rest and then come back to the killer one later. Again, this killer passage is not usually of one particular category, (most of the time, its about philosophy or arts) but its killer for me because of the language/writing style.

 

- As I was practicing, I kept a chart where I would write down question type, why I got it wrong and why I eliminated the right answer. I went over this chart at several times in the studying process but it seemed like what makes sense in terms of the explanations for one passage/question doesn't necessarily make sense for other situations.

 

- I definitely do not have the "feel" for the right answer. As lot of tips and strategy threads state that once you do enough practice, you get a feel for whats right and whats wrong (maybe this is what I am missing???).

 

- Once I read the passage, I think of the main point or bottom line (one sentence summary of the passage) in my head before moving onto the questions.

 

- Someone suggested a paragraph by paragraph approach to me and I tried it.....I didn't see any big improvements and it took a lot of time (thinking about the summary/main point after each paragraph even when I did this mentally and keeping this straight in my head as I continued to read the rest of the passage).

 

- Most of the time, I get what the passage is about and what the author is trying to say (big picture) but the application of that to the questions is a challenge for me. I am aware of the question types and the kinds of things to look out for like extremes etc.

 

Given that this was my first attempt at the MCAT, I want to give it another shot. I am not sure what else to do since as I have described above, I have tried everything that I have come across but can't seem to figure out the flaws in my way of approaching this section. Is there something wrong with the way in which I am tackling this section.....I don't know how to improve if I don't know what I am doing wrong. Is it even possible to improve? Please help!

 

Thanks

[Morzan]

Scoring 8-10 in practice tests isn't too bad :/

Your 6 is below your average range so this might not reflect what you can do, maybe you were nervous or something?

Otherwise i'd generally expect a score in your average range.

[pacemaker]

Thanks Morzan!

 

I was nervous on test day (which I think is normal) but I realize that Verbal is my weakness and if I were to write the test again, I really want to aim for the double digit score (to be able to have a shot at schools in Ontario). I do understand that the 6 doesn't reflect what I am capable of.

 

Through my practice/studying, my score was variable but towards the end, I scored 9 on most practice FL's. I really don't know what to do in order to improve. I have taken advice from the various threads on the forum (looking for patterns on what I do wrong, incorporating different strategies, working on timing etc). Next time I write (probably in January), I want to go in with the confidence which would come from scoring in double digits on my practice.

 

I have done as much self-critiquing as I could do but I am lost and don't know where to begin the process of improvement

 

Any suggestions? I can start re-studying from beginning of November and can spare a few hours (3-4 hours) each day and weekends. If I write in end of January, that gives me almost 3 months to prep again. Sciences is still fresh in my mind and I will just need to review the material but I am not sure what to do for VR. I have also run out of practice material as I have completed the EK and TPR workbooks and AAMC tests.