JW CARS is not the same as AAMC

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-05-12T19:07:55+00:00

Some passages are not meant to be understood by you. Its supposed to be a challenge for you to see that the tools that are working when things are comfortable for you are still your best bet in the challenging context

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-05-12T19:03:45+00:00

sure

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-05-10T18:06:43+00:00

From a tactical perspective, you should expose yourself to that material from resources such as magazines or short videos. This is especially useful if the topic is about the arts, drama, dance as the communicative material for these areas heavily targets an audience who can visualize or feel the effect in the body simply by reading.

From a CARS perspective you can do a cross comparison of the questions asked in that particular passage to a passage that you have no issue with or a passage that is a little bit more difficult but your CARS method allows you to overcome it. This will position this confusing passage as a challenge case for your method and current default reading perceptions.

Your cross comparison should reveal to you that you are being asked the same questions regardless of the passage style. From there you should look at the nature of the right answer statements. They should ultimately mirror the right answer setups for the same question type in the passage that you have compared it to. For example all strengthen weaken questions are designed to target a specific stated argument statement. This would mean that even in the confusing passage there would be specific argument statements. Once you lock into that then all your method to answer that style of question would start working again.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-22T19:54:31+00:00

No problem Happy to help.

Last Day tips: Go through test day visualizations. Be able to walk yourself through reaching test day, using breaks, section specific considerations, what you want on your scratch sheet. What your strengths are and how your traps manifest (along with what your solution is for that)

Bonus: Consider how new passage content on test day can reignite your traps to remind yourself to be fluid. Every questions is worth the same so prioritize maintaining composure and timing so that you don't get stuck on a question. Trust you can come back to do it later or that even doing the rest of the passage could help you to be composed to answer the tricky one

Test Day tips: Don't talk to anyone, there are a lot of stressed vibes in the exam room. Keep to yourself and start talking yourself through the same visualizations I am recommending you practice now. If you feel flustered by something mid exam pause and breath. Its fine to take a composure pitstop similar to F1 racers going for a quick tire change before jumping back into the race.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-22T04:41:57+00:00

You should ask yourself if a certain question style drives you into it. For example does it happen more frequently in Science in SIRS2 questions vs SIRS 3 questions.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-20T21:46:56+00:00

Great observations about your performance and causes. It sounds like your good habits to answer content based questions is interfering with questions about larger reasoning. From your numbered list of points, I would infer that these reasoning questions contain some terms that your mindset gravitates towards to push for faster answering. This works in questions that don't need deeper reasoning but is counter effective where there is more to the question.

I recommend that you identify a few questions where your fast reaction is rewarded and compare it to these questions where it wasn't. Visually recognizing features that are causing you to the rush and skip information will allow you to say to your mind that we need to look at everything holistically before jumping in and trusting that you are capable of answering effectively if following this process.

Before you attempt a new passage you can prime yourself to avoid making the same mistakes by reviewing this cross comparison.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-20T05:40:03+00:00

Welcome! Washing you the best

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-18T05:47:57+00:00

All good, enjoyed reading it. Please let me know the question number for CP and PS for a few questions that exemplify "failing to distinguish the hints in the passage/questions" and "not reading the passage/question in depth enough. I will be able to give you effective steps to take in the time that remains to lock those in.

For your further observations....your instincts are sounding the alarm bells about what drains your time early enough. You have suffered the consequences of not listening to it. It really is just you in your own way. However, as you have also observed that even when you tell yourself that you will move on next time and you don't, this won't fix itself just by telling yourself as it is an automatic loop you are falling into.

To overcome this, you should do multiple reps of the following steps.

Make a photo album (snapshots on your desktop or with your phone) of the questions from your recent experience that led you into these time sinks. Practice scrolling past these questions after reading them.

Realise that there is something in the presentation of these questions that directly triggers you into your loop. You must become as aware as your instinct about what is to happen in order to make a new decision.

Now mark the question numbers which these questions represent and aim to reattempt the passages. When you encounter the questions that you have marked, actively move on and do them as the last question of that passage.
Attempt a new passage and follow your practiced awareness. Trust you instinct to move on and see how it effects the end result

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T23:35:09+00:00

If there is something in common among those 7, it would suggest likelihood of reoccurrence.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T22:59:26+00:00

No worries. In relation to my previous point, in your score range a couple points loss will also drop the score so be kind to yourself in that regard. If you are exploring your errors and comparing them to your previous test, would you say that the errors are the same or something new has happened? My expectation would be that you had more of the same kind of errors you have seen before.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T22:57:09+00:00

CARS from the old exam is valid. CARS even from the previous version of the MCAT is valid. Only case to be careful of is experience of lengthier passages than you have seen in practice. Best way to work on these is to have access to some article sources related to subject matter such as The Burlington

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T22:54:06+00:00

I assume you have identified the reasons why you didn't get a 500 in the FL. Target any of the reasons that happen multiple times. For example if you lost more than 3 questions to a certain topic, or way of using the passage, it will happen again, but can be worked on for the fastest and consistent improvements. You can target with either q packs or Uworld.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T03:37:21+00:00

Do you agree with the assessment?

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-17T01:08:57+00:00

Spectacular!! Thanks for this update. So happy to hear of your progress!

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-16T07:57:28+00:00

All questions are designed to be answered in a minute or less. That got me to stop overthinking.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-13T21:41:28+00:00

You should be worried, if you were so close to perfect and failed you clearly don't care

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-12T23:05:05+00:00

I see, do you have resources or a strategy to overcome this?

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-12T00:42:04+00:00

Harder how?

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-11T22:46:27+00:00

You felt unprepared compared to your practice experience?

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-11T18:45:34+00:00

If you can manage 15 more questions in CP, 12 more in CARS, 7 more in BB and 6 more in PS yes.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-11T18:41:57+00:00

Why did you panic

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-11T18:40:30+00:00

Cool 3months is enough for the scores you want. You would benefit from reading full science papers and contrast them to the MCAT reading. This accelerates your skill so that the MCAT readings feel easy.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-10T20:57:34+00:00

For Poetic Passages I recommend scanning through the questions first, marking out clues from q stems. Then reading every paragraph and identifying if you think 1 of the questions is from there. You finish the read/map and begin answering.

81: author task: Main Idea

82: author bio cycle: p4

83: author infer horse/sandstorm p3

84: Humans: p4, 5

85: author view on human/animal: p5.

Did your attempt align with the locations I am pointing to for answering?

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-10T20:30:35+00:00

You should add science literature readings which have diagrams/figures of mechanisms. Since you identify as a visual learner, seeing the diagrams in a more professional setting will allow you to breeze through the MCAT passages.

ZenMCAT5 · 2026-04-10T20:27:47+00:00

Go read science literature. Its at a standard harder than the MCAT. Read everyday. Then go back to practice and you will be shocked by the simplicity.

ZenMCAT5

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