Best MCAT Prep Courses [2024]

If you’re a medical student who’s looking to ace their MCAT test, you’re on the right page. We understand that MCAT is a tough exam to crack and that is why we’ve compiled a list to help you out. In this article, we will discuss the best MCAT prep courses detailing their pros and cons to find out which one among the lot stands ahead of others.

In addition to the course reviews, we have also added some suggestions, guidelines, and advice from current MCAT students that will help you better prepare for your test. So, wait no further and keep reading to figure out which MCAT Prep Course truly meets your requirements.

Contents

Is the MCAT Exam Difficult?

In 2019, only 41% (approx.) of the total aspirants could successfully crack the exam. The average score is around 511 but it tends to vary every year. Since the acceptance rate of the test is extremely low, you can probably understand how difficult the exam might be. However, with the right test prep material by your side, cracking this exam will be easier than ever.

Best MCAT Prep Courses

Best MCAT Prep Course

When it comes to MCAT Prep course you will probably find multiple options. Whether it is BluePrint, Magoosh, Princeton Review, or MCAT Self Prep, you will be practically spoilt for choice. So, which course should you zero in on? Let’s find out!

1. Blueprint

Blueprint
Our pick

Blueprint Logo
Deal:
Save 30% on 12 month Online Plan
9.7
  • Loaded with 160+ modules and 15+ mock tests
  • Highly integrated study models
  • Score Increase Guarantee
  • Quality course content
  • Comes with supplementary course material like personal tutoring and study books
  • 4000+ Practice questions via Qbank
Visit Blueprint Prep

BluePrint is popular for delivering value across all their learning resources, and their MCAT Prep course is no exception. Unlike competitors, Blueprint’s prep course is only available in a single online format. This is a completely self-paced course where you can control every aspect of it.

At its very essence, the course is highly interactive and comes loaded with a range of video exercises. Focusing on these video classes, the company provides 160+ study modules. These modules are smartly tailored to help students recapitulate the same concepts.

Along with this course, BluePrint also comes with exceptionally prepared practice content that includes 4,000+ questions via Qbank, mock tests, and practice content. Their study resources are well prepared and even more well placed. The best part: you get all of this in a highly affordable range. So, if you are looking to enjoy value in a completely self-controlled environment, this might just be the kind, of course, you are looking for.

What’s more, the company also offers a score increase guarantee for the online courses spanning for 6+ months and 6 to 18 months. You are also eligible for the refund if you purchase their tutoring services. You can check Blueprint’s website to find out more about the documents you will need to claim this refund.

Overall
Overall, this is a quite decent course both in terms of value and price. With quality course content and 160+ modules, you can totally rely on this course for addressing your doubts about the medical concepts. Besides, with 4,000+ questions, your MCAT preparation is sure to reach an entirely new level.

2. MCAT Self Prep

MCAT Self Prep
MCAT Self Prep Logo
Deal:
No Active Deal Right Now
9.5
  • Complete access to 300+ hours of video lessons
  • Extremely Affordable
  • Comes with 5000+ flashcards for enhancing your memory retention
  • Offers personalized support (as needed)
  • Thriving Facebook community for clarifying additional doubts
  • Does not have any specific practice exam
Visit MCAT Self Prep

One of the least MCAT prep course to be on our list, MCAT Self Prep delivers just the right kind of value you need to get prepare for the impending test. Thanks to this course, you can access quality content, clarify recurring doubts, understand complex concepts in detail- without having to shell out thousands of dollars.

Even with the most basic module of their course, you would be able to access a range of video content, 10 study modules, bootcamp, and a study planner that helps you personalize your kind of study plan. Finally, you also get a spreadsheet, a portal, and a score tracker to fast track your preparation schedule.

The most defining aspect of this course is that it is highly comprehensive. The makers actually attempt to divide the concepts into a different module. So, from biochemistry and physics to behavioral science- all your doubts about each of these concepts are clarified in detail and substantiated with ample examples.

The course also lets you access 300+ hours of video content. It is designed to improve your memory retention by breaking down the otherwise large course content in easily digestible chunks.

Overall
This is a pretty decent course with quality video content and interactive study modules. With 5,000+ flashcards you get to learn new concepts in a fun interactive way. The videos, on the other hand, help you understand the topics better. Overall, this is one of the most affordable MCAT courses with plenty of value for both beginner and expert students.

3. Princeton Review

Princeton Prep
Princeton Logo
Deal:
Save $200 on Self Placed Plan
9
  • Highly comprehensive 123+ live/in-person hours and 500+ hours of video content
  • Significantly higher subscription length
  • 2500+ practice problems and 16+ full-length tests
  • Loaded with supplementary materials
  • Led by multiple instructors
  • Plenty of course materials to sift through
Visit Princeton Prep

As with BluePrint and MCAT Self Prep, our list is truly incomplete without the iconic Princeton Review. Over the years, Princeton has thoroughly assisted students in preparing for the toughest exams, and their latest MCAT prep tool just goes the extra mile.

While price of the course is bit on the higher side, it does live up to your expectation with the quality and degree of detail in the curriculum. The course stands out with its high classroom time and interactive study modules. As of now, students can access 123+ live or in-person course hours by purchasing the course.

Additionally, they can also access 500+ hours of video content that doesn’t just cover the vital facts but further reinforce them. In terms of the practice test, they just rank a little higher than Blueprint by offering 16 full-length exams. With these tests and more than 2,500+ practice problems, students are more than prepared for the otherwise fiendishly difficult exam.

As with other leading courses, Princeton offers a score improvement guarantee for their MCAT Bootcamp, online courses, and tutoring plans. Depending on the subscription, you are eligible for a complete refund if you do not witness at least a 10-point increase in your current score.

With course content that is three times higher than their top competitors, we were highly impressed by the structure of their live sessions. Instead of being trained by an expert, each of your lessons will be driven by professional SMEs. Overall, you will get around four to six experts taking your classes and you can always reach out to them for any clarification.

We consider this one of the biggest add-ons because you always get more comprehensive lessons when trained by a team of instructors as opposed to a single one. This plays a major role in improving your total study experience. So, if quality sessions are what you are looking for, Princeton Review is what you should consider.

If you are more into hard copies of the courses, Princeton Review won’t disappoint you there either! Every time you buy a quality course, you would receive 11 different prep material, all of which cover concepts across all subjects like biology, chemistry, math, and the likes of it.

Besides, the course also gives you four additional books that are basically workbooks with focus on specific subjects. All of the books have heavy detailing, well prepared, and loaded with excellent graphics. As supplementary material, they definitely stand out in offering the best kind of resource.

Overall
Overall, this is certainly a decent course and despite being expensive, we would vote for it given the comprehensiveness and the nature of each course. With a long subscription length, plenty of live and in-person hours, this course redefines your learning approach. Its value is truly unmatched with quality supplementary materials and expert instructors.

4. Magoosh

Magoosh Prep
Magoosh Logo
Deal:
Get 12 Month Premium at just $299
9
  • 380+ hours of video content and more than 740 mock tests
  • Available at a highly affordable price point
  • More than 800 questions with video explanations
  • A detailed explanation of 380 scientific concepts
  • Personalized practice tests
  • No provision for live instruction
Visit Magoosh Prep

Magoosh is yet another top provider of quality MCAT materials. Their course is not just high on value, but they are also worth every penny you spend. So, if you’re really tight with the budget and are looking for a limited but quality course material, this one might be worth your time and money.

The study curriculum is indeed good for the price and you get tons of study materials. It includes 380+ hours of video content, more than 740 mock exams, and three full length exams. While the numbers may not appear impressive at the outset, they are still worth the money considering the fact that they efficiently communicate and explain close to 400 scientific concepts as a part of MCAT.

While they do lack in the engagement department and are available from a massive library, the value is still quite good. Harping on the previous point, perhaps the one big highlight of their training content are the practice tests and their explanations. The explanations are not just detailed but are backed by the right examples and graphic illustrations. The best part is you get all of these and more at a single one-time cost.

Magoosh guarantees to increase your score by 10 point for all their MCAT courses. If you do not end up with a higher score, you can always email your existing and previous scores to the authorities for claiming a refund.

Regardless of the price, the course does not skimp on the quality of the content. In fact, you get some truly first-rate features that you would not otherwise get in a similar course. One such feature is the personalized practice session. It enables you to create mock questions through the company’s highly advanced filtering options.

You can also narrow down practice problems depending on the subject, the type of question, and the level of difficulty. This allows you to study in a fully targeted approach for further assessing your strengths and weaknesses.

Overall
We loved this course for its detailed explanation of the scientific concepts, sheer detail and accuracy. It is also quite affordable and comes with plenty of customizable components, especially in terms of the practice tests.

5. Kaplan

Kaplan Prep
Kaplan Logo
Deal:
No Active Deal Right Now
9
  • 2,900 practice tests and plenty of mock exams
  • Excellent video production quality
  • Follows a DIY based learning model
  • Backed by the highly adaptive personalized QBank
  • Led by expert instructors
  • The course is not as comprehensive
  • Price is slightly higher
Visit Kaplan Prep Now

Regardless of your preferred learning approach, you will probably agree that the conventional in-person style of learning never disappoints! And this is exactly what Kaplan focuses on. Although they aren’t leading in a specific category-spanning across the quantity of the practice content and overall features, they end up doing more than what you’d usually expect.

The biggest takeaway of this course is the nature of the video instructions. Unlike others, Kaplan focuses on more DIY based instruction along with a bunch of live classes. While they are certainly not of the same quality as BluePrint, we would give them second place in terms of production quality and the contents covered.

The videos have a super sharp picture and highly modern whiteboards. Besides, their opening is uniform with your instructor appearing before the screen to introduce different topics as the corresponding slides set the course agenda. Over the next few seconds, the video will beautifully transition into an excellent study lesson followed by a digital whiteboard where your instructor reinstates the facts learned over the course.

Coming to score guarantee, Kaplan is no exception. They offers a score increase guarantee for all their HSG courses. Since most of the MCAT courses fall under this category, you can claim a refund upon not getting your desired score.

Unlike many top course providers, they do not use boring PPT slides. Instead, the production is both high quality and engaging, powerfully cutting through the otherwise dense course content. By purchasing their course, you can access 130+ videos which add plenty of value to their instruction department.

We also loved the adaptive QBank that lets you access more than 2,900 practice tests with advanced functionality for filtering. With QBank in place, you can easily personalize the course content depending on the subject, the type of question, the overall level of difficulty, and other factors. The best part: each of these questions are tailored to adapt to your existing performance and skill set, as you are working out the questions.

We love this approach as it helps you understand all the weak areas while also helping you ace up the difficulty with improvements. After each practice test, you also get a complete score report of your performance with decent analytics. Overall, this course with all its offerings is not just efficient, but also effective in disseminating the core concepts.

Overall
This course is the first of its kind, when it comes to DIY learning models. The personalized QBank is adaptable to say the least, and thanks to the instructors you can have your concepts cleared any time. Although priced at a steeper end, we loved the course for its instructors and high quality videos.

Bottom Line

Regardless of the course you choose, do keep in mind that MCAT is indeed a tough exam and you would require rigorous preparation to ace the test. That is why we suggest keeping at least three to six months to fully prepare for the test.

While the length of preparation should primarily depend on the exam date, you also need to factor in the academic and non-academic commitments you’ve made throughout your way. Once you have test date, prepare your schedule immediately so that you still have enough time to accomplish all exam-specific tasks.

Finally, also choose the right MCAT Prep Course for a loophole-free preparation schedule where you actually get an opportunity to understand your learning approach. Make sure to align the course with your learning preferences for the best results.

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