Retaking for CARS. Is September test date too late?

[wabisabidos]

I am retaking the MCAT due to a very low CARS score. Other sections I did very well on. Can anyone give me some insights into how to improve my CARS score in a month? I am thinking about taking it on either 9/3 or 9/11. Do you guys think it's too late?

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[corbse]

I improved my CARS score by reading/listening to fiction. I know that seems oversimplified but it's great for memory and social cognition so you get better at picking up on syntax and tone in the passages. In a prep course I took, it was described as a total switch of gears compared to the rest of the test - which requires you accessing knowledge beyond the questions. CARS requires you to look only within the information given - do not rely on outside knowledge of passage topics to answer questions, which is where they can get you.

Also, I think that 9/3 would be a good date. My retake is on 9/4, but I'm retaking for C/P.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

What was your CARS score?

 

[wabisabidos]

What was your CARS score?

My average on FL was 125 but somehow I got a 122 on the real thing

 

[wabisabidos]

What was your CARS score?

Also tbh I didn't spend that much time to prep for CARS because I felt like it was hard to improve. I was running low on time and decided to focus on the other 3 sections.

 

[JimKimSlim]

How to improve in a month? Some people study for several months and achieve only 1-2 points improvement. The best thing you can do is to somehow manage to get your FL average of 125. Try to simulate the same condition as how you took your practice FL's. If it's the test anxiety, find a way to manage your stress better. Also, don't focus exclusively on CARS, since you don't want your other subsection scores to go down.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Agreed with @JimKimSlim. CARS is incredibly difficult to improve on, and I've found that people only really improve over long periods of time with consistent reading. Best things you can do over the next 6 weeks is to try and learn the logic that AAMC test writers use on their exams, which you will achieve by looking at every aspect of all the AAMC CARS material. Focus on the questions you got wrong, and if you have the time, look at questions you got right as well. Try to do all of this while maintaining your knowledge in the other sections too.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors