I took people’s advice on this site and bought examcraker’s verbal 101… and also took Kaplan’s VR tests. I would do one whole VR everday (since June) and reviewed the passages afterwards. (wrote the Main topic/Scope and summarized each paragraph and reviewed questions). In total, I must’ve have done more than 20 VR sections plus the VR in 15 Full-Lengths.
With the Kaplan and AAMC Full-Lengths: I started with a 4 (kaplan), then moved to 7 (for a while) I got two 10’s (AAMC#3 and Kaplan#3) and several 9’s (Kaplan 4 and 5, AAMC#5).
As for the examcraker tests, I started off with a 3, then jumped to 7, and had 8’s for about 8 tests … that is until last week. Suddenly, I got a 5 last friday… but I felt okay since I got a 9 on my last Kaplan full-length… I did one more examcraker VR test yesterday and got a 7!!! Now, I just finished AAMC#7 and got a 7 on my verbal!!!
I don’t know what’s going on?
ps - my PS is about 10 and BS is 10 - 11 …So, it seems like VR is the only thing that’s keeping me from getting a 30! My ugpa is horrible…but my MPH gpa is good solid.
pps -I took the MCAT twice (1999 and 2000) and I scored 7 on both of them.
First thing is first. Calm down. You will not be able to think straight unless you take in a deep breath and relax for a minute.
Next, if you are not taking the August test take about 2 weeks off and rest your mind. If you are taking the August test. Take this week to relax. It may be that you are a little tired from studying very hard, I would not put too much emphasis into the last few tests.
If you are taking the August test but are worried, see if you can put it off until April. You really do not want to take it if you feel that you are not ready.
After the time of rest. Try it again and see what happens.
Gabe
The only reliable predictor of your MCAT VR score is the AAMC test scores. Forget the Kaplan (different style), forget the EK (these practice tests are hard and they themselves will tell you the score is not meaningful). So what do we see? A nice 10, a nice 9, a 7 that you would like to improve. In general, acceptable scores.
Assuming that your VR strategy is solid and you are finishing on time, you have done everything you need to do to prepare for the MCAT VR. Most important, you have done many practice tests from three different sources including AAMC - VERY important! This is the step that most people skip, and it will really help you on the real MCAT.
I second the suggestion to rest and relax for the rest of the week. You have worked hard and you are ready to kick VR in the butt. Good luck!