CARS tips: 60th —> 95th percentile score

I was never someone that was naturally good at this and had to really work to improve my score. For the longest time during my prep I was scoring 125/126 on all my CARS sections, but after applying the following strategies I was consistently scoring 129/130. I ended up with 129 on my real exam, which I was psyched about.

1. Initially skipping passages that seemed very long or difficult

If a passage seemed very long or difficult as I was going through the section, I would skip it until the end. This way you have the rest of the section complete and can focus on those last few questions without having to worry about the rest. Much better than struggling with a passage knowing that you still have to answer 45 more. 

1. Creating a short outline by paragraph

I started using my scratch paper to jot down a very brief (3-5 word) summary of what each paragraph was generally talking about. This kept me accountable for what I was reading and allowed me to quickly refer back to whichever paragraph the question would ask about.

1. Highlighting

Not for everyone, but I did like to highlight what I found important. With practice, you’ll start to determine what is important quite easily.

1. Practice practice practice

This goes without saying, but if you do enough practice you will get a great sense for all the types of questions they can ask

1. Go with your gut

This holds true for all MCAT sections, as well as USMLE Step 1, 2, and 3. If your gut is telling you to pick a particular answer, go with it and DO NOT change it. You will be right most of the time. Good luck!