How do I improve my CARS score on the MCAT?

Question

The CARS section of the MCAT is 25% of your grade. Many students (especially intuitive ones), seem to hit a road block when studying for this portion of the exam. Why can't I improve my score here?

Answer 1

Hello!

The CARS section is very unique because it requires no outside knowledge and I would even argue that applying outside knowledge can hurt your score. This is very different from the rest of the exam and requires looking at the section differently. To make matters worse, these passages are often on non-science topics that many pre-med majors may not have much experience with. I agree with Sutton that a good way to improve your score is practicing reading passages and answering questions about them. I would recommend focusing on the main idea and tone of each passage. Many of these questions can be answered simply by thinking about the main idea or tone of the passage and how they apply to the question. I would also recommend practicing your timing. You have about 4 minutes to read each passage and 1 minute to answer the question. I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hi,

The CARS section is difficult because there is no information to memorize. Most students struggle with reading the passage quickly and finding the relevant information in the passage. The correct answer to each question is almost always stated in the passage, but it takes a lot of practice to be able to find it efficiently. The best way to improve your CARS score is to practice reading passages and answering questions in a timely manner. There are many free CARS passages with questions, including Khan Academy and Jack Westin. If you do at least one CARS passage every day, you should begin to see your score improving.