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Hey MCAT students!
For Test Prep Week, you're probably looking for some great deals on MCAT prep. What's better than a free full-length practice exam? Our full-length can be taken timed or untimed and gives a scaled score as well as detailed explanations and results analysis. Sign up here: FREE Next Step Full Length
NOTE: To be entered in the raffle for a FREE MCAT course, you must comment in the thread here: Free MCAT course. Commenting is all you need to do - you do NOT need to sign up for the free full-length to qualify
For those of you who are just looking for some MCAT tips, we have what you need too! In particular, one question we hear all the time from students is "How do I review the CARS section of my full-length?" You might already keep a notebook of some kind where you write down lessons learned from each missed question, but it can often be hard to know what, if anything, to write down for CARS. Here are our tips for exactly what to record when going over those tough FL CARS sections. For all questions that you either missed or answered correctly but were uncertain, write down:
1) THE FL AND QUESTION NUMBER
This way, you can return to it later if necessary.
2) WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IT IS
Different companies (and the AAMC) have different names for the types of CARS questions, but what you call each question type really doesn’t matter. Question types include “main idea” questions, questions about how the author structures his argument, questions that simply require retrieval of a detail from the passage, and questions that require application of passage information to new situations.
3) ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAD WHILE TAKING THE EXAM
Were you rushed? Did you feel extremely confident in your answer, or were you basically guessing?
4) WHY YOU BELIEVE YOU MISSED THE QUESTION
Was there something about the way it was worded? Were you confused about what it was asking? Why do you think you didn’t answer it correctly?
5) ANY NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CORRECT ANSWER
Was it broad and moderately worded? Did it relate to the main idea, or was it connected to the question stem in some way that the other answers lacked?
6) ANY NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE (WRONG) ANSWER YOU CHOSE
This one is important! Too often, students focus on the right answer alone, without devoting any thought to why their wrong choices were tempting. Since test-takers tend to make the same mistakes over and over, figuring out “what kind of wrong answers” you tend to choose can give you a huge boost in CARS. Was your wrong answer more extreme than the correct choice? Did it “go too far,” or apply the author’s points to something not within the scope of the passage? Was it simply taken from the wrong paragraph?
Good luck
For Test Prep Week, you're probably looking for some great deals on MCAT prep. What's better than a free full-length practice exam? Our full-length can be taken timed or untimed and gives a scaled score as well as detailed explanations and results analysis. Sign up here: FREE Next Step Full Length
NOTE: To be entered in the raffle for a FREE MCAT course, you must comment in the thread here: Free MCAT course. Commenting is all you need to do - you do NOT need to sign up for the free full-length to qualify
For those of you who are just looking for some MCAT tips, we have what you need too! In particular, one question we hear all the time from students is "How do I review the CARS section of my full-length?" You might already keep a notebook of some kind where you write down lessons learned from each missed question, but it can often be hard to know what, if anything, to write down for CARS. Here are our tips for exactly what to record when going over those tough FL CARS sections. For all questions that you either missed or answered correctly but were uncertain, write down:
1) THE FL AND QUESTION NUMBER
This way, you can return to it later if necessary.
2) WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IT IS
Different companies (and the AAMC) have different names for the types of CARS questions, but what you call each question type really doesn’t matter. Question types include “main idea” questions, questions about how the author structures his argument, questions that simply require retrieval of a detail from the passage, and questions that require application of passage information to new situations.
3) ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAD WHILE TAKING THE EXAM
Were you rushed? Did you feel extremely confident in your answer, or were you basically guessing?
4) WHY YOU BELIEVE YOU MISSED THE QUESTION
Was there something about the way it was worded? Were you confused about what it was asking? Why do you think you didn’t answer it correctly?
5) ANY NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CORRECT ANSWER
Was it broad and moderately worded? Did it relate to the main idea, or was it connected to the question stem in some way that the other answers lacked?
6) ANY NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE (WRONG) ANSWER YOU CHOSE
This one is important! Too often, students focus on the right answer alone, without devoting any thought to why their wrong choices were tempting. Since test-takers tend to make the same mistakes over and over, figuring out “what kind of wrong answers” you tend to choose can give you a huge boost in CARS. Was your wrong answer more extreme than the correct choice? Did it “go too far,” or apply the author’s points to something not within the scope of the passage? Was it simply taken from the wrong paragraph?
Good luck
