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CARS: Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

What Makes CARS Different from Other Sections

The CARS section is unique on the MCAT: it tests no science content whatsoever. All 53 questions are based on reading comprehension of passages drawn from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences writing. You have 90 minutes for 53 questions across 9 passages, averaging about 10 minutes per passage. Unlike B/B or C/P, no outside knowledge helps you in CARS — and outside knowledge can hurt you by leading you to select answers that are true in the real world but not supported by the passage. Every correct CARS answer must be justified by specific passage text or its direct logical implications. The passages are typically dense, argumentative, and drawn from academic writing, philosophy, cultural criticism, and the history of ideas.

CARS: Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

What Makes CARS Different from Other Sections

The CARS section is unique on the MCAT: it tests no science content whatsoever. All 53 questions are based on reading comprehension of passages drawn from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences writing. You have 90 minutes for 53 questions across 9 passages, averaging about 10 minutes per passage. Unlike B/B or C/P, no outside knowledge helps you in CARS — and outside knowledge can hurt you by leading you to select answers that are true in the real world but not supported by the passage. Every correct CARS answer must be justified by specific passage text or its direct logical implications. The passages are typically dense, argumentative, and drawn from academic writing, philosophy, cultural criticism, and the history of ideas.