How I Scored 131 on the MCAT CARS Section

[@DarrenChaiMD]

🕒 Timestamps 🕒
0:49 - Top CARS Resources
2:28 - Best Practice Methods
5:53 - 90th Percentile Strategies
10:39 - Traps to Avoid
11:55 - Mindset for success
🔑 Key Resources 📚
Princeton Review CARS Workbook: amzn.to/2RaLGWy
Examkrackers 101 Passage in Verbal Reasoning: amzn.to/3kiH1OX
Official AAMC MCAT Resources: store.aamc.org/mcat-prep.html
Khan Academy MCAT: www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/critical-analysis-and-reasoning-skills-practice-questions

[@Zarafzk]

I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing his personality was the entire time lol. Instead of making me stressed, which I already was before watching this video, he managed to make me relax, smile, and laugh throughout the entire video. Subscribed! Thank you for the helpful tips Darren!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@dsyi12400]

I like how you're providing mental strategies (the active reading and summarizing of each sentence). This helps so much! Other videos miss this kind of stuff

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Glad it was helpful!

[@KaiaReed3]

Awesome video! Scoring that high on CARS is no small feat. Thanks for the insight! 🙏

[@user-po3ii1tl9z]

Who would be churlish enough to challenge the good tips given in this video? :)

[@DarrenChaiMD]

LOL!

[@JT-tx2ns]

There are some really good gems in here that you can't get from other places. Thanks for this!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thank you JT! If you don't mind me asking which pieces of advice did you find most helpful?

[@JT-tx2ns]

@@DarrenChaiMD i found you talking about traps being unique, and that you read the entire passage. lots of people don’t do this(admit to
this). also-you mentioned how there is a way to better communicate the thinking processes that go on in your head while reading a passage. that’s important ! because of your words (that helped me better understand), i now know that it’s not just me being in my head lol. sounds weird but i found that v helpful for you to simply say this is what’s supposed to be going on. at first, it seemed like multitasking but i guess i got better at summarizing everything. i also read a tip that a lot of the passages have fluff in them (usually separated by a comma) and something in an EK book helped me realize how to shorten a question with all the fluff in it, in example: the author of the passage felt the need to state why this would be a problem, what answer would most likely weaken his claims? shortened version: what is the opposite of the main idea

[@JT-tx2ns]

you also ranked the resources. that’s useful to do. telling people just to practice is annoying(you can practice wrongly). you gave time saving tips. you explained how it’s ok to start off slowly just to get into game mode. being bored about the material doesn’t help either. people don’t realize to be in serious mode until it’s too late. so you gave a lot of gems :) i could write all day

[@sewpungyow5154]

!!! That strategy at 8:08 on strategic highlighting is something I also figured out that worked well for me. I also highlighted things that seemed like they would be relevant and would need to be referenced quickly. So I highlighted anything like "said, thought, stated" etc because it usually introduces an opinion. I also highlighted "experiment" or "study" so I'd know where to go quickly. And I also highlighted numbers for ease of reference, but that is dependent case by case for me

[@shaytanna6864]

I'm just about to take my last practice test before the actual MCAT (a week from today), and I'm watching this video while eating breakfast. CARS has been my weakest section by at least 3-5 pts on every practice test I've taken so far. I know they tell you not to change your strategy right before the actual exam, but I think Im gonna give this a shot and keep practicing until test day. Whatever nonsense I was doing before isn't working so hopefully this does LOL. thanks for the vid darren!

[@Shafi_23]

How'd it go?

[@gdulay95]

I just can't do it. I do cars everyday. Broke down the passages so slowly after. Nothing works

[@sk8tergirl740]

this was the most helpful and relatable cars video i've seen so far. Thanks sm!!!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Glad it was helpful!

[@yesno5247]

idk if you still check comments on this video but the active reading suggestion was pretty helpful. but would it be possible if you could do a cars passage together and show us what you mean by active reading and how you approached passages?

[@BilboBaggster]

Damn Darren your comprehension trick is godly

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Shawwblagoo]

At first, I thought you misspoke when you said to summarize each sentence. However (underline this part), I went and did some practice questions right after watching this and the active reading bit made a huge difference.
I went from averaging 75%-80%, and feeling nervous about 1/2 of my answers, to 95% and feeling very confident.
My previous method was to write down the main idea of each paragraph and worked well enough. But doing a mental summary of each sentence made it soo much easier to relate the arguments from each paragraph. The passages honestly seemed more interesting when I did this method as well. The extra time it took to read was compensated by how much quicker I answered the questions.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@QuickLearnScience]

Yeah I agree it does work. But my concern is that it take long to do.

[@kalkidanberhanu7708]

This advice is golden! Thank you :)

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jaimecca6259]

Great strategies. Haven’t found actual strategies until now

[@DarrenChaiMD]

My pleasure Jai! Glad you found them helpful :)

[@nunitchagucci3047]

Wow Why I just found this awesome video!! You deserved more views!! !

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Glad you liked it!

[@smivlibee5936]

Amazing tips. I scored 122 on cars the first time around im aiming for 126-127 next time around !

[@KDoc-io5fo]

Amazing video thank you! I would super appreciate it if you can make some videos for the other sections of the MCAT too. Cheers!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thank you Ryan! I am working on it for sure :)

[@mayalari]

spot on!! thank you!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thank you Maya!

[@Sweetlynah]

Gorgeous & gives great advice ✨

[@DarrenChaiMD]

You're too kind!

[@daaiibrahim1652]

Amazing tips, thank you so much !!!!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

You're very welcome!

[@inexp1]

Who else was feeling nervous when the mouse stepped onto the trap with that music

[@billymeeks845]

Thanks very insightful Im looking for more focus with respect to discerning those pesky questions themselves!!! always trapped.That mouse was me

[@DarrenChaiMD]

You're so welcome!

[@paulh123456]

You’re awesome!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Appreciate the love man! Happy to answer any questions as they come up :)

[@elafalasadi7308]

Thank you so much! I'm trying to work on my CARS skills as it is my lowest score section. For future videos, can you please lower the volume of the music so it becomes easier to focus on the content :)

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Absolutely! Thank you for the suggestion

[@kayecatacutan8955]

Thank you for this!!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Racquel Quiminales I got you Racquel!!

[@kayecatacutan8955]

ChaiTeaDarren could you please make a study with me with music? That would really be a good source of motivation!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Will definitely add it to my list! What kind of music do you like?

[@kayecatacutan8955]

The 1st MD hmmmm...Maybe lofi? Everyone seems to like it! But tbh, whatever you put is good!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

@@kayecatacutan8955 lol name change exposed! Okay, I like lofi too so that works :)

[@DP-jl6xz]

Hello! Thanks for the great tips, this is an amazing video.
I wanted to know more about the Nextstep CARS book, I hear it is very good and wanted to know more about it and how it helped you

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Hey TBH it was an "okay" resource IMO. Definitely helped but I would rate all the other resources I used more highly.
In order of best to worse I would list the resources like this:
1. AAMC
2. Khan Academy
3. TPR CARS
4. EK Cars
5. Next step 108 passages

[@DP-jl6xz]

@@DarrenChaiMD Thank you for the reply I will definitely look more into these.

[@jphil1848]

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU

[@pusmaster]

Thanks for sharing

[@danielghiasvand9458]

Thank you for the video! Did you do the mcat twice? How did that happen( if so, when did you do your first one approximately and when did you do the second one)?

[@QuickLearnScience]

This vid is 3 years ago but I figure I would post this now.
How do you summarize each sentence fast? Like it would take me 8-10 to read the passage if I summarized each sentence

[@yourfuturedocburenbeiya]

Congratulations!! How did you review the FLEs? I erased one of my questions; you answered it, thank you!! Wish I found your channel sooner! Broke students unite LOL! Love the content btw; too funny and very informative!! :) I also hope the rat didn't fall into that trap like many of us did. :(

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Hey Farida, I reviewed the FLEs by ensuring I knew the logic behind why every right answer was right and every wrong answer was wrong! I completed the review, then for questions I struggled with, I tried to re-visit the question again to see if I could recall what I had learned from my initial review. Hope this helps!

[@yourfuturedocburenbeiya]

@@DarrenChaiMD Thank you so much, Doc! That is helpful and great to know!

[@sarahbahreinian9713]

Hey Darren! How did you manage to go through AAMC, Khan Academy, Next Step, TPR, and EK CARS material over 4 months? Are there some of these resources that you would reccomend more than others for CARS?

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Hey Sarah!! I'll admit I did start casually doing some CARS in January for a September 1st MCAT write!
I think between January-April I ended up doing TPR, then throughout the summer is when I did the other resources!
I didn't finish all of the resources but I found it helpful to get a mix of different companies because everyone writes the questions differently and you don't want to get stuck thinking too much like one specific company (besides the AAMC of course).
In order of best to worse I would list the resources like this:
1. AAMC
2. Khan Academy
3. TPR CARS
4. EK Cars
5. Next step 108 passages
Would definitely save the AAMC for about mid-way through the study plan cause you don't want to burn through those resources too early. That being said I did all the AAMC stuff twice so if you leave about a month or more in between repeats you should be fine!

[@sarahbahreinian9713]

@@DarrenChaiMD You have no idea how much I appreciate this Darren. Truly, thank you so much! This means a lot to me.

[@bbharat307]

bring more such videos

[@10PlaystationGamer]

Did you use Jack Westin CARS or did you not like it?

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Hey SC87, I did not use Jack Westin CARS because it was significantly out of my budget. I self-studied everything for my MCAT, including the CARS section.
The main resources I used are listed in the description. I'd say the main benefit of any kind of structured course is the benefit of forced discipline. If you have trouble motivating yourself to stay on track and are willing to fork over a couple thousand for a tutor then go for it.
Otherwise, I truly believe this is something most people who are disciplined enough can self-study.

[@10PlaystationGamer]

ChaiTeaDarren thanks for the advice!

[@whfishridhe6106]

@@DarrenChaiMD Isn't Jack Westin free? I've been using it for a while now and I never got asked to pay.

[@satinderjit4]

3% percentile on the CARS checking in.

[@TOBZMONEYBAG]

your personality is A1

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thank you!

[@sarahchong9616]

Awesome video, I would just say lower the volume of the music slightly

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Thanks for the tip!

[@user-po3ii1tl9z]

Hey, regarding your active reading strategy of summarizing, did you do this for literally every single sentence or did you only summarize for important "main idea" sentences? Ty!

[@DarrenChaiMD]

Hey A, great question! I used it as more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. Some sentences just don't have as much of an "idea" so to speak to summarize individually. The more you practice doing this, the better of an idea you'll get about when it's necessary.
Eventually it becomes pretty automatic though

[@Mat_Mot_Mi_Channel]

Could I love you?😘