If you've ever reviewed a CARS passage and found the right answer sitting there in plain sight, you know how frustrating it is! You read it well. You narrowed it down to two. Then you second-guessed yourself and picked the wrong one.
We've all been there, and it took us a lot of disappointing CARS scores to see what was going on. Overthinking CARS questions is one of two mental habits behind it, and the second one goes hand in hand with it.
In the video above, we walk through both habits and how to break them. Here's the written version 🙂
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Why CARS Feels Easy in Review and Hard on Test Day
Many of our students tell us some version of the same thing. Looking back at CARS, they know they're good at it. The first time through, it's a different story.
In review, the right answer looks obvious.
You can even see the moment you went wrong, whether it was a piece of evidence you dropped or an answer you liked and talked yourself out of. It hurts most when you'd narrowed it to two and switched to the wrong one!
That pattern usually comes from two habits, overthinking and avoiding the decision. Both are fixable, and fixing one helps with the other.
Bad Habit 1: Overthinking CARS Questions
Here are some signs you might be overthinking:
- You understand the passage well, then miss the questions.
- You steer away from an answer because it feels too easy.
- You keep getting stuck between two answer choices.
CARS asks you to take what you understood from a passage and apply it to a question.
The AAMC splits the section into Foundations of Comprehension (30%), Reasoning Within the Text (30%) and Reasoning Beyond the Text (40%), so a big share of the points goes to applying the passage in new ways (AAMC CARS overview). That takes some intuition, and the AAMC content outline describes each of these skills in detail.
Most students we've worked with read the passage, go to the question and know the answer. Overthinking comes in after that point!
Once you dismiss the answer you first liked, your mind turns to the three weaker choices and asks which one sounds next best. Then you start building a case for it.
That case can feel convincing, and it's built on a choice you'd already ruled out. This is how overthinking CARS questions turns a right answer into a wrong one!
If you keep landing on two answers, our guide on what to do when you are stuck between two answers has a specific elimination method.
How to Catch Yourself Overthinking CARS Questions
If you're putting together a big, complicated reason to justify an answer, treat it as a red flag that you're overthinking CARS!
When you notice it, take a second, step back and breathe. Then look again at the answer you were drawn to early on and dismissed. More often than you'd expect, that's the one :)
Build awareness outside of CARS
You can only catch the habit if you notice it happening. That awareness comes from being present, and meditation and mindfulness help you practice it in everyday life.
With awareness comes calm, and with calm comes confidence. You'll need that confidence to trust your first instinct and commit to it. If you want a starting point, read our guide to mindfulness for the MCAT.
Catching yourself mid-rationale is easier with someone watching. In a 1:1 session, a mentor can sit with you through a timed set and flag the moment your reasoning starts to stretch.
Bad Habit 2: Avoiding the Decision
The second habit feeds overthinking CARS questions, and it's about the skill CARS is testing in the first place, making a decision.
Most of us aren't great at decisions to begin with!
Think about how long you've spent scrolling Netflix, with endless options and somehow nothing to watch, knowing you're wasting time and still scrolling. That's us too!
Now add a time limit. Add the feeling that you don't have enough information. Add the sense that this exam affects the rest of your life. A simple choice starts to feel paralyzing, and it's no wonder so many premeds feel anxious on CARS.
Make Good-Enough Decisions on CARS
Picture yourself a few years from now. A patient comes in needing urgent attention.
You don't have time to look up every medication and every procedure, and you can't be 100% sure, but you still need to make a confident decision.
CARS works the same way. If you sit with every question until you're 100% sure, the clock catches up with you, and you won't reach that certainty anyway. Overthinking CARS and waiting for certainty end in the same place, a rushed finish.
The same goes for the passage. Most CARS passages aren't thrilling lol, and trying to understand every one of them in full burns far more mental energy than you need. Aim for a good-enough understanding, enough to find a good-enough answer, and move on!
That shift also helps your pacing. Our guide to MCAT CARS timing covers how to stop rereading and keep moving.
Committing under a clock gets easier with reps. Our 6-Week Live MCAT Accelerator works live passages in every section, so you practice good-enough decisions with a group every week.
Practice Quick Decisions to Stop Overthinking CARS
CARS comes down to quick, confident decision-making. You'll need the same skill as a physician, so you might as well build it now :)
- Commit to your first read. When an answer matches what you understood, choose it and move on.
- Flag the long justifications. In review, mark every question where you built a case for a switch, and check how often the switch was wrong.
- Review the pattern, not only the question. Our guide to reviewing CARS shows how to spot the habits behind your misses.
For more strategies that work with these habits, see how 130+ scorers approach CARS passages and our full guide to increasing your CARS score.
Overthinking CARS FAQ
How do I stop overthinking CARS questions?
Watch for the moment you start building a long reason to justify an answer. Pause, breathe, and go back to the choice you first liked. In most cases your first read of the passage was right!
Why do strong readers end up overthinking CARS?
Overthinking CARS starts after you've understood the passage, when you talk yourself out of a good answer. Strong readers often see more ways an answer could work, which gives them more room to build a case for the wrong one!
Should I trust my first instinct on CARS?
If your first pick came from what you understood in the passage, yes. Switching usually means talking yourself into a weaker choice you'd already ruled out.
Why do I get CARS questions right in review but wrong on practice tests?
In review there's no clock and no pressure to decide, so the right answer stands out. On a timed section, overthinking and indecision take over. Practicing quick, confident decisions closes that gap :)
Do I need to understand every CARS passage fully?
No. A good-enough understanding is enough to find a good-enough answer, and it saves the mental energy you'll need for the rest of the section.
Get a CARS Plan That Works for You
Our CARS Mastery Course goes much further on overthinking CARS and the other mental habits, along with passage reading strategies, question breakdowns and answer elimination methods, all taught by 130+ CARS scorers.
Our hope is that you start to see CARS and the MCAT in a new light, as practice for the skills you'll use as a physician. Seen that way, these passages are a step toward your doctor dream!
If you'd rather work on it one-on-one, MCAT tutoring pairs you with a mentor who can watch where you second-guess yourself and help you break the habit. We'd love to help :)
You've made it this far, and we want to make sure CARS isn't what holds your score back. You've got this :)
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