Is CARS on the actual exam really longer?

[mariposas905]

I keep seeing people complaining about how long the CARS passages are on the actual test. But the AAMC MCAT site says the CARS passages are from 500-600 words only; it seems weird that they wouldn't follow this....So are they really longer compared to the practice exams? Or are people exaggerating? I can't figure out which one it is 😕

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AsianPersuasion]

I don't know the exact word count, but CARS was much longer than the practices. It was along the line of the 2nd score practice from AAMC.

 

[Powerlifter95]

The passages were all long on my test. Less dense material though.

 

[sapientnarwhal]

Larger font and spacing with less of the passage in view => illusion that passages are longer => testers freak out and CARS score drops

 

[mariposas905]

Larger font and spacing with less of the passage in view => illusion that passages are longer => testers freak out and CARS score drops

But is this not adjustable on the actual exam? I thought we could adjust the monitor display view?

 

[sapientnarwhal]

I (n=1), tried to adjust it to no avail. Also I practiced on an extremely bright/clear retina display with a wide screen that permitted me to view the entire passage. Compare this to a dim and grimy monitor with visible pixels.

 

[mariposas905]

I (n=1), tried to adjust it to no avail. Also I practiced on an extremely bright/clear retina display with a wide screen that permitted me to view the entire passage. Compare this to a dim and grimy monitor with visible pixels.

Okay so it felt longer, but you're saying it should still be within the 500-600 word range? Did it take you the same amount of time to read each passage on the real mcat as it did on your practices?

 

[sapientnarwhal]

I would say most of them are closer to 600, and they felt longer. I had 3 art passages which is probably why I scored lower than usual and had difficulty finishing on time.

 

[mariposas905]

I would say most of them are closer to 600, and they felt longer. I had 3 art passages which is probably why I scored lower than usual and had difficulty finishing on time.

Oh I see...you said you changed your CARS strategy after 2.5 months of studying for it inefficiently. What did you do to change that helped you in CARS?

 

[sapientnarwhal]

EK CARS strategy, but I did not have enough time to practice.

 

[lac5678]

No it isn't. My CARS actually felt easier and shorter than CARS Q pack 1 (first half)

 

[Blanky]

I think it was the same length passages but I will say I nearly ran out of time. (Usually finish with 6-8 mins to spare)