To ESL, how English affects your MCAT vs. step 1

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meddesire

Full Member
7+ Year Member
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I know that your English would affect the CARS section, therefore decrease the overall MCAT score tremendously.
But how about step 1 score? Do we still have that CARS section or any other similar sections that required broad English skills like MCAT?
(Not mentioning the English in Biology or science because I know you're supposed to master that to get enough MCAT scores in compensation for the decrease in CARS)
 
I would think it shouldnt affect your step 1 score as much as it can affect the mcat. I'm an ESL and the mcat CARS was hell but I'm guessing the step 1 questions aren't trying to trick you as much as CARS did lol
 
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Hate to say this but I believe it will affect STEP 1 as well, even more so with the new format and questions. The passages are long and there are numerous answer choices + limited amount of time = therefore need to read fast and able to comprehend and apply information quickly.

Solution: read a lot of books/journal articles
 
Step 1 I would say probably not as long as you are decent with english. You generally have more than enough time for each section. Step 2 is a different story, much more case based with very long question stems.

You've got a long way to go before then though, so keep working on your reading skills in the meantime