At the start of his exam experience, Jake found himself very stressed out when it came to studying for the MCAT (especially with the CARS section). After scoring a 498 on his first practice exam, he knew he needed to increase his workload, but he sacrificed a lot of sleep and relaxation in the process. All of this stress and anxiety culminated in him led to him scoring a 509 on his first real exam day and although he knew that others might consider the score to be good, he knew that he could do even better if he was able to get adequate sleep and take care of himself better before the exam.

So– on his second time around, with only 3 months to study, Jake made sure to prioritize his mental and physical well-being to reduce some of the stress that had been plaguing him on his first attempt. By creating a study schedule, working hard to increase his CARS score, and even more that we’ll cover today, he was eventually able to feel calm and confident about the exam, and on his test day, he ended up scoring a 516 (an 18 point increase from his original starting place)!

In this interview, we’re going to launch into exactly how Jake was able to increase his score as a retaker, how he studied overall, how he scheduled his prep,  what strategies he used for each section, and so much more…

He also credits a lot of his success in CARS to taking an MCAT Mastery course. Here's what he says about MCAT Mastery:

"Their CARS dissection videos are a must-watch! They are what caused me to get out of my plateau. The other tips in the CARS course helped me in my other sections as well. Would definitely recommend!”