Does anyone else enjoy CARS?

[__AVI8R__]

I never would have imagined that I would say "Gee, I like reading and answering questions", and yet, I am. I did a few CARS passages from Khan Academy and came away refreshed though that's not to say I was necessarily great at it. I'd do more but I'm still at least 1.5 years from taking the MCAT and it'd be no good if I ran out of passages.

Anyone else feel the same?

I sure hope I can someday feel the same way about the other sections of the MCAT.

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[Lawpy]

Khan Academy CARS passages are too easy and interesting. I'd practice from Next Step CARS 108 Passages or from Princeton Review Hyperlearning Verbal Workbook. The new ExamKrackers CARS 101 Passages is also good, although some say they are a lot harder than the real deal.

It's better to practice reading and analyzing dry, dense and convoluted passages since that's what you are likely to see on test day.

 

[acbakshi]

As Lawper said, practice reading and analyzing dry, dense, and convoluted passages. They were majority of the passage I came across on the MCAT. I did Princeton Review, and their CARS material was not only dry and convoluted, but they were quite long. There were a few subjects I enjoyed reading, such as Psychology and Agriculture, but I did not enjoy the History related passages. I found myself zoning out at times due to the subject matter being very dull and boring. There are a wealth of resources, I do not think you could "run out" of passages. Khan Academy, Next Step, Exam Krackers, Princeton, Berkeley, etc, there are just so many resources from MCAT prep courses. I would also suggest reading through pub med articles, new yorker, just other reading material that would take some time to read because it is not only the difficulty of the passage you have to worry about, but also time. You have a year and half before you take your MCAT, your reading comprehension and speed can definitely increase over that time, which can help you not only in CARS section, but every other section. Best of luck!

 

[STcmOCSD]

I enjoyed CARS and as a result did much better on it than other sub-sections. CARS is interesting and requires a different level of thinking than the other sub-sections.

 

[Coltuna]

Is it weird that 4 months after taking my MCAT, I actually miss studying for CARS? lol

 

[Zenabi90]

... I'm still at least 1.5 years from taking the MCAT and it'd be no good if I ran out of passages.

You hit the nail on the head. It's great that you want to succeed at CARS, but I would recommend you take a different approach. Read outside material critically until 6 mos prior to your exam. Respected magazines like Economist, New Yorker, Time, NatGeo, respected newspapers like USA Today, WSJ, NYT, etc and find a long article on NEJM once a week to read through critically. Save the passages for dedicated prep time.

Is it weird that 4 months after taking my MCAT, I actually miss studying for CARS? lol

I still maintain my subscriptions to New Yorker and Economist from my CARS prep, and I still read them thoroughly.

 

[TestingSolutions]

I liked studying for the CARS. I tried to view it as a puzzle and a challenge and that helped some, but it is tough to have "fun" when you know the test is looming in the background.

I, more or less agree with the previous post about reading material when you're further than six months out from your test date, but when you're actually studying for the real thing, passages are the only real way to practice. Reading random articles is bad because 1) You get points on the CARS for answering questions. Random passage/ article reading does not actually have you practice the skill that gets you real points. 2) You have no way of actually knowing if you understood what you read because there are no questions. 3) Random articles often do not match the CARS passage topics or length. 4) You aren't practicing timing.

Anyways...I thought it was fun. Some of the passages are genuinely interesting to me! I think I've actually mentioned a few of them at cocktail parties...which feels like a really dorky thing to say

Best of luck on your MCAT!

 

[Shotapp]

I liked studying for the CARS. I tried to view it as a puzzle and a challenge and that helped some, but it is tough to have "fun" when you know the test is looming in the background.

I, more or less agree with the previous post about reading material when you're further than six months out from your test date, but when you're actually studying for the real thing, passages are the only real way to practice. Reading random articles is bad because 1) You get points on the CARS for answering questions. Random passage/ article reading does not actually have you practice the skill that gets you real points. 2) You have no way of actually knowing if you understood what you read because there are no questions. 3) Random articles often do not match the CARS passage topics or length. 4) You aren't practicing timing.

Anyways...I thought it was fun. Some of the passages are genuinely interesting to me! I think I've actually mentioned a few of them at cocktail parties...which feels like a really dorky thing to say

Best of luck on your MCAT!

How should I begin practicing for CARS if I am planning on taking the MCAT January 2019?
I plan on following your guide during my preparation b/c my reading comp is very weak.