Stuck on VR10

[BitofaMaverick]

Took the MCAT in april and got a 10. I Consistently get 10's on AAMC practice tests but cant seem to crack it. I've done all of EK and all AAMC's. My strategy is basically to read the passage straight up and then refer back to it as needed. Any suggestions/tips etc will be greatly appreciated. I need an 11 as my best shot at med is western and I am not swomen .

[Qester]

Took the MCAT in april and got a 10. I Consistently get 10's on AAMC practice tests but cant seem to crack it. I've done all of EK and all AAMC's. My strategy is basically to read the passage straight up and then refer back to it as needed. Any suggestions/tips etc will be greatly appreciated. I need an 11 as my best shot at med is western and I am not swomen .

 

The difference between a 10 and an 11 can literally be one point, I don't know how much advice there can be given for that. Some passages I read I get 6/6 and others I go 1/7 and in the end I am averaging 10 as well. I just hope when the MCAT comes I get more of the former with dumb luck.

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[10wattbulb]

I think you've got a chance at Mac's and also at Queen's; 10 is a good VR score after all. (I saw in one of your other posts that you had a wGPA of 3.79). How are your two other MCAT scores? Are they also in the 10's? If you live in a somewhat rural community, you also have a good chance at NOSM. Then, you could also try to apply to some non-Ont med schools (Calgary or Dalhousie, for instance). Applying broadly always helps, and it's sometimes quite surprising to see the places where you get interviews and those where you thought you had a good shot yet still don't get interviews.

 

Now, with that in mind, you still have time to rewrite the MCAT in late-Aug, early-Sept for this application cycle. Since you already have all the books and study material with you and you have been studying for the MCAT relatively recently, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to give it another shot, but you'll have to find a way to score consistently in the 11's on the verbal first.

 

As Qester said, "dumb luck" plays an unfortunate role in the MCAT. If you choose to rewrite, you're obviously taking the risk of getting a lower score, so be careful to study well!

 

Here's some relatively good advice on how to prepare for the VR passage - you've probably heard it all before, but just in case:

 

From http://studentdoctor.net/2012/09/best-methods-to-improve-your-mcat-verbal-reasoning-vr-score/

 

To perform well on this section, it helps a great deal if you understand what the MCAT VR is and isn’t testing. Primarily, it’s testing your ability to understand, analyze and evaluate an argument whose key points are not always easy to identify. The passages have been selected and/or edited so that you have to read carefully to understand how the points hang together. More than that, you have to listen to the writer’s “voice” — attend to often-subtle clues signaling attitude, priorities, and objectives. This is a very different task than taking in and analyzing facts laid out in an obvious, logical way, as they are in other standardized tests, such as the SAT, GRE, GMAT and LSAT. Many students preparing for the MCAT initially feel confused and even disoriented by the strangeness of the VR — and this is no doubt another one of its purposes, as this section of the test measures your ability to bring all your skills of concentration and reasoning to bear even when you’re feeling uncertain.

 

The special qualities of the VR mean that some common test-taking strategies are useless and can even lower your score significantly. Taking notes, for example, or sketching out an outline or map of the passage – for most test takers, these are time-wasting activities that primarily serve only to distract from the crucial task of fully engaging with the passage and listening for clues to the author’s agenda. Busywork strategies may give students the comforting feeling that they’re “doing something”, but our experience has shown that when students stop taking notes, doodling diagrams, or reaching for the highlighting button every few seconds, their scores almost invariably go up. The bottom line is that the VR relies on different skills than those that serve students well in other contexts, and the only road to success is to approach the VR on its own terms.

 

The worst habit we see regularly is, perhaps surprisingly, reading as if one were reading for a test: looking for facts, paying careful attention to details, trying to “get a handle on the material” as if one expects to be quizzed. “Well, it is a test,” you may object. “How else are we supposed to read it?” Ideally? Read it the same way you would read a challenging but fascinating magazine article. You wouldn’t be trying to memorize facts or thinking in terms of preparing for a quiz; you’d be deeply absorbed in following the author’s points, doing your best to understand the development of the ideas. If the author made a sudden leap in logic, you wouldn’t be thinking about whether you’ll be able to answer the questions; you’d be thinking, “Wait a minute, how did he get to that idea?” or “That’s pretty interesting, but does she have any evidence or is this just her opinion?”

 

VR passages go better when you read them as if you were sincerely interested: when you engage with the author, listen to what he has to say, evaluate the argument in terms of whether you’re persuaded or whether the evidence is scanty — not because you’re thinking about your need to pass a test but because you want to connect, however briefly, with the ideas put forth by another human being. Our experience has shown us that the ability to slip into this mindset is a learnable skill, and that students perform far better on the test when they approach it in this way.

 

Because the VR is about following and evaluating arguments, identifying the author’s attitude and understanding why he or she telling you something is generally more important than grasping any particular fact. In fact, even if you’re quite confused on the details, if you understand enough to pick up on the author’s attitude and purpose, you’re off to a great start.

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[BitofaMaverick]

Hey 10Watt, that wgpa is weighted for ottawa. Im an ottawa resident. my previous mcats are 9/10/11 and 9/10/11 both times. last cycle I applied to queens and ottawa with no interviews. mac and calgary I don't make the GPA cutoff (low cumulative gpa). I think dal might be an option. my best two years are a 3.86. and last two are 3.8 I think.

[Intrepid86]

Took the MCAT in april and got a 10. I Consistently get 10's on AAMC practice tests but cant seem to crack it. I've done all of EK and all AAMC's. My strategy is basically to read the passage straight up and then refer back to it as needed. Any suggestions/tips etc will be greatly appreciated. I need an 11 as my best shot at med is western and I am not swomen .

 

If you've gone through all those materials and consistently get 10s, then chances are you've peaked and plateaued. The range of your theoretical score should include 11, but like others have already alluded to, it takes some luck to score much higher than that (since the difference between 11,12 and 13 are likely a few questions at most).

[10wattbulb]

Hey 10Watt, that wgpa is weighted for ottawa. Im an ottawa resident. my previous mcats are 9/10/11 and 9/10/11 both times. last cycle I applied to queens and ottawa with no interviews. mac and calgary I don't make the GPA cutoff (low cumulative gpa). I think dal might be an option. my best two years are a 3.86. and last two are 3.8 I think.

 

Well look at McMaster's MD Admissions stats; in the Class of 2015, the mean GPA of accepted applicants was 3.75 and the mean MCAT VR was 10.55. You have a shot at McMaster, providing that you do well on CASPER! Your GPA has always been around 3.8, right?

 

If you're from Ottawa, do you speak French at all (you don't have to be Francophone but need to be fluent)? You'd be much more competitive on the French stream, and you don't need to write up your OMSAS application in French even if you apply to the French stream (as a matter of fact DON'T because all the other Ont med schools might not consider you if your application is in French, but at Ottawa, they'll understand if you write it up in English, or so I've heard through the grapevine). You'll have to prove your French skills during the interview, though.