Medical How do I explain a low CARS score?

[Goro]

Hello everyone, I am lucky enough to have two interviews this far, one to ACOM and one to ICOM.
I am currently going over mock interviews and ways to make sure i succeed during them. I figure I will probably be asked about my low CARS section (123) and I was curious about how to address the situation.
I feel that this low score is due to my younger sibling who has social issues (Drugs and anger problems) started to freak out and destroy our house and awoke me to the point I had to call the cops and have him evicted. I do not want to come across as I am making excuses but this was a very stressful night for me right before the MCAT and I feel it may have affected me during because it was the only section that I allowed myself to think about what had occurred.

Tell them the truth, that you had a poor night sleep before the MCAT.

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[Goro]

Just that, No other details?

I want to minimize the follow-up question which is going to be why didn't you just avoid?

You have to remember that the MCAT is a career deciding high-stakes exam, that also assesses judgment as well as knowledge.

Plus you want to minimize the possible damage that could be done buyer decision making process

 

[Goro]

Avoid the issue that was going on? It was hard to because when I say destroying the house I mean the windows being smashed, screaming at the top of his lungs, threatening my mom, etc. Myself being the eldest male in our household have the responsibility to make sure he wasn't going to harm my mom.

The interview process is not meant to be a therapy session or for catharsis. I'm terribly sorry to hear about these awful events, I have family members who are going through similar things.

BUT, If I were an interviewer hearing about this horrible event the night before the MCAT, it would make automatically make me ask you why didn't you just void? And then I would be worried about your judgment.

Just saying truthfully that you were having trouble sleeping the night before would make me go on to another question.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I agree with the above advice. On such a high stakes exam, submitting your exam for scoring knowing you weren’t on your “A” game could call into question your judgment. I would not go down that road. “I had a horrible night sleep before my exam.”

 

[tantacles]

Just that, No other details?

Less is more in these situations. If they are interviewing you, they are interested in you. It's best to just take responsibility for the score and not blame a family member, even if it truly was what disrupted you.