Should I switch to CARS or keep prepping sciences?

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NY_Med

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I took FL 2 Sunday under testing conditions and got a 512 (130/125/130/127)

*small vent sess* kinda dumbfounded from the fact that a 50/59 on P/S was a 127 ngl

but anyway, I am testing June 27th and I basically have my CARS technique down, and have been doing decent with it (relative to when I started). However (Obviously) the desired results aren't their yet. These last 17 days would it be worth it to really pull back on the sciences and ground out cars? Or should I still be prepping my sciences a lot? I only ask cause I understand CARS is a tough subject to really grind out and improve on and not sure how much I could realistically improve in less than three weeks. (and maybe test day I will be more "into" the passages with more motivation?)

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I always tell people to never skip a day on practicing CARS, whether it’s doing only two passages every day. In my case, I thought I had established a solid technique that gave me consistently good score, but as soon as i started slacking off I had to start over again. If I take CARS again now, I wouldn‘t score that well since I haven’t done any passages in a while. IMO, CARS isn’t a section that you can improve over a few weeks of “grinding.” You need to study over time and give your brain some time to adjust/prime into the AAMC logic. With that being said, my quickest way to improve cars score was memorizing AAMC logic with Anki deck every night.
 
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I always tell people to never skip a day on practicing CARS, whether it’s doing only two passages every day. In my case, I thought I had established a solid technique that gave me consistently good score, but as soon as i started slacking off I had to start over again. If I take CARS again now, I wouldn‘t score that well since I haven’t done any passages in a while. IMO, CARS isn’t a section that you can improve over a few weeks of “grinding.” You need to study over time and give your brain some time to adjust/prime into the AAMC logic. With that being said, my quickest way to improve cars score was memorizing AAMC logic with Anki deck every night.
How do you study too retain the AAMC's logic?
 
How do you study too retain the AAMC's logic?

pay attention to word choice (strong vs weak), shades of meaning, question construction (double negatives), and answer construction (A and B, A not B, not A and B, not A not B)

you should go through the AAMC CARS packs at least once.
 
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I took FL 2 Sunday under testing conditions and got a 512 (130/125/130/127)

*small vent sess* kinda dumbfounded from the fact that a 50/59 on P/S was a 127 ngl

but anyway, I am testing June 27th and I basically have my CARS technique down, and have been doing decent with it (relative to when I started). However (Obviously) the desired results aren't their yet. These last 17 days would it be worth it to really pull back on the sciences and ground out cars? Or should I still be prepping my sciences a lot? I only ask cause I understand CARS is a tough subject to really grind out and improve on and not sure how much I could realistically improve in less than three weeks. (and maybe test day I will be more "into" the passages with more motivation?)

The raw score required to earn a high scale score on cars and ps are much higher. A 50/59 in PS may correspond to a 127 while a 50 might correspond to 130 in BB. You kinda have to run up the score significantly in those two sections.
 
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How do you study too retain the AAMC's logic?
As you do more problems, you’ll be able to sniff out answer choices that are wrong for many reasons (most commonly they’re too broad or too specific). CARS QPack is good because it gives the answer immediately after you select your option so that you can still retain your thinking process and analyze what went wrong. People have their own ways of interpreting data or own standards to consider a piece important. But this is AAMC, and you have to adjust to their standards. IMO, those who are naturally good at CARS just have similar thinking processes as the test makers’ rather than having an exceptional reading skill. I considered myself good at reading (98th percentiles on both ACT and SAT reading sections without studying), but CARS was very different and made me work for it. With consistent practicing, you can definitely conquer it though.
 
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I always tell people to never skip a day on practicing CARS, whether it’s doing only two passages every day. In my case, I thought I had established a solid technique that gave me consistently good score, but as soon as i started slacking off I had to start over again. If I take CARS again now, I wouldn‘t score that well since I haven’t done any passages in a while. IMO, CARS isn’t a section that you can improve over a few weeks of “grinding.” You need to study over time and give your brain some time to adjust/prime into the AAMC logic. With that being said, my quickest way to improve cars score was memorizing AAMC logic with Anki deck every night.


Agree with this. I used to do three passages a day and then once a week out gather with a couple friends to do a full-length cars exam (from a book) and then review it together. I found that very helpful to helping to break through plateau because then you could talk through every question and see other people's perspectives and if you are thinking of things the same way or differently.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors
 
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First time studying: 1) put CARS off, 2) did several different resources and got conflicting opinions, 3) was not doing well on FLs. Result: 122

Second time studying: 1) Did CARS nearly every day, 2) Did AAMC materials multiple times and analyzed every question and its answer choices, 3) Didn't take any non-AAMC passages seriously Result: 127

There is no magic bullet for CARS. Hard work wins!
 
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@NY_Premed Took FL2 too and got a 509 (128/125/129/127). Was surprised to see that 50/59 in psych was only a 127 too LOL. But it makes sense.

I'm taking my test July 18th. So I have a bit more time. But as we do have the same section break down for CARS, I would just agree and say I'm going to be hammering CARS with you.

I feel like I have solid technique, but when I take FLs my score is not representative of my strategies. I have yet to do the AAMC CARS practice packs, but plan on starting pronto.

IMO, you are doing well in sciences. I'd shift focus. With my score breakdown, I intend on shifting to CARS and Psych.
 
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