I scored a 515 (129/129/127/130) last May and used the Kaplan review books and CourseSaver MCAT videos for content review. I highly recommend those videos because they are concise and faster than reading through all of the information in the Kaplan books. The instructor, Chad, is very knowledgeable. They are geared towards the old test, but really the science content has not changed. Unfortunately, they are not free (I think $50 for a 30 day subscription.) I used the Kaplan books to reinforce concepts I did not understand or to learn material I had not studied in my undergrad courses (Sociology, Genetics, etc.)
I would recommend sitting down every morning and doing 1-3 CARS passages. Spend a lot of time reviewing the reasoning behind the correct answers and understanding the question types. I used the Kaplan outlining method for CARS and it worked for me, however, I only wrote down 1-2 keywords for each paragraph to have as reference when going back to the passage to answer questions. The best thing you can do for your CARS score is daily practice with a small number of passages so that you have time to review them thoroughly.
For those "few extra points" -- decisiveness and timing are key. My lowest score was on the Bio section, this is also the section where I got caught up on a passage, threw off my timing, and did the last three passages in 10 minutes. You need to pick an answer, be confident with it, and move on. If there is a challenging passage, forget about it once it's over and don't let it affect how you perform on the next passage. Pace yourself so that you have the appropriate amount of time on each passage. Only mark questions that you know you can figure out if you have extra time at the end such as those that require calculations, examining data carefully, etc.
Also, I wish I had known more about genetics before my exam and renal function is a high yield topic -- know all about the kidney!
Good luck!
