Hi everyone! I’m back my second MCAT post, and this time I will be sharing the best MCAT study material that helped me score a 519. I categorized the resources you should invest in into 5 different categories: Content Review, Practice Questions, Practice Tests, AAMC Official Material, and other amazing, free resources. In this post, you’ll be receiving a very general overview of the materials, but don’t worry! My future MCAT posts will be dedicated to how you can best use the material for studying.
There are definitely an abundance of other material that I didn’t have a chance to use, so please don’t limit yourself to only the ones that I share about below. I’ll also be linking other alternatives to some of the materials; make sure to do your research and choose the one that works best for your study needs!
Read the first post in my MCAT series:
MCAT 101: Everything You Need to Know Before Studying for the MCAT
CONTENT REVIEW MATERIAL
Kaplan MCAT 7-Subject Review Books ($$)
There are 7 books and 3 practice tests that come with the Kaplan MCAT Review Books set; the subject books that are included are Organic Chemistry, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Biochemistry, CARS, and Psychology/Sociology.
I really liked the Kaplan books because they were very comprehensive, easy to follow, and covered nearly all of the topics tested on the MCAT. At the end of each chapter, there are also helpful summaries of key topics and practice problems that I regularly referred back to throughout my MCAT journey. I also love how the books provide detailed diagrams, acronyms, and test taking tips that helped me retain information for the exam.
Even though the set comes with 7 books, I actually did not read the CARS or Psychology/Sociology book because everyone on Reddit claimed that they weren’t as helpful as other resources. For psychology/sociology in particular, students stated that there were MCAT topics missing in the Kaplan book. As a result, I relied solely on third party practice for CARS and Khan Academy for Psychology/Sociology.
Alternative MCAT Review Books
KHAN ACADEMY (Free)
I absolutely love Khan Academy’s MCAT test prep. Not only is it FREE, but it includes almost everything you need to prepare for the MCAT such as review videos and practice passages/questions that cover every MCAT subject. The Khan Academy MCAT prep was actually made in collaboration with AAMC! The only resource that they don’t offer are practice exams. If you don’t have the financial means to purchase many MCAT resources, you can definitely still do well by using Khan Academy and the official AAMC resources.
If you plan on purchasing review books, you can use Khan Academy to supplement your studies on topics that are more challenging to comprehend. Sometimes, it’s easier to visualize a topic by watching a video, such as when you’re learning about the cardiovascular or renal system. Please do not feel the need to watch every Khan Academy video if you are already reading the books; doing so would be redundant! I’ll talk more about how to best approach content review in the next post.
PRACTICE QUESTION MATERIAL
JACK WESTIN (FREE)
Jack Westin was one of my go-to resources for CARS practice. What I loved about Jack Westin was that it was FREE, there’s a new passage everyday, and there are a variety of CARS topics to practice on. This is a great resource to help you get used to reading passages and answering CARS styled questions while being timed. I will say though that some questions are hit or miss because sometimes the logic that Jack Westin uses to get to the correct answer seems far-fetched; you’ll see what I mean when you start practicing. The best resource for CARS practice are the official AAMC questions, but Jack Westin is great for getting used to being timed. Whether you are casually or seriously studying for the MCAT, I would definitely do a couple of Jack Westin passages everyday!
UWORLD ($$)
Besides the official AAMC resources, UWorld was by far the most helpful resource that I used when it came to practice questions. UWorld is essentially a bank of over 2000 questions. It allows you to create practice tests and customize the number of questions and sections you want to be tested on. These practice tests include both passage-based and discrete questions and can be taken untimed or timed. It even allows you to select certain topics within a section (see below)!
The most amazing aspects about UWorld were its well written and challenging passages, as well as its in-depth explanations for each question. If you got a question wrong, it not only explained why each answer choice was incorrect/correct, but it also provided you with a thorough background explanation for the topic that was tested.
UWorld is not cheap, but it is 1000% worth the money. If you’re hesitant to purchase it, they provide a 7 day free trial so that you can test it out for yourself.
KHAN ACADEMY (FREE)
Khan Academy is still a great FREE alternative if you are not able to purchase UWorld. Along with its review videos, there are many practice passages for each MCAT section. I do want to let you know that unlike UWorld, you won’t be able to customize the passages to simulate testing conditions. In addition, Khan Academy’s answer explanations aren’t as in-depth as UWorld. I definitely would still use Khan Academy because they cover a range of topics, were created in collaboration with AAMC, and is overall solid practice. You may just have to rely on looking up any confusing questions on Reddit to see if other students were able to explain it better.
Khan Academy’s practice module does not resemble the actual MCAT interface. However, Jack Westin fixed this issue by making Khan Academy’s passages resemble the format you’d see on your exam day.
PRACTICE TESTS
The absolute best practice tests that you can take are the ones from the official AAMC bundle pack, which I will talk more about below. However, you should save those practice tests for the month leading up to your exam since you want AAMC styled questions to be fresh in your mind. In the meantime, you should use third party tests to get used to testing for 7 hours straight and completing each section on time. Different sources have recommended that students take 6-8 practice tests in order to achieve a competitive score. The AAMC bundle pack comes with 4 practice tests, so try to take an additional 2-4 third party tests beforehand. Here are some practice tests that I used:
BLUE PRINT PRACTICE TESTS($$)
Blue Print tests are pretty difficult– even more so than the AAMC practice tests. However, Blue Print will prepare you for problem-solving challenging questions under a time constraint. This is definitely a skill that you need to develop because you’ll find that the actual MCAT is going to seem more challenging than the AAMC practice tests. If you get a low score on a Blue Print exam, just breathe! It’s completely normal! The AAMC practice test scores are the only ones that will give you any indication of how you’ll score on the actual MCAT.
Personally, I purchased the Blue Print bundle that included 4 tests!
KAPLAN PRACTICE TESTS($$)
The Kaplan review books come with practice tests; however, you can also purchase them separately if you choose to use other books. I only took around 1-2 Kaplan practice tests during my retake studying phase. These tests were great for getting used to the time constrains and question styles of the MCAT. However, they were not very reflective of the actual exam because the questions were more detailed and based on the Kaplan books compared to the actual MCAT, which tests larger concepts. If you plan on using the Kaplan tests, take them at the very beginning of your practice testing phase.
Alternative MCAT Practice Test
ALTIUS TEST PREP
(INCLUDES A FREE TEST!)
OFFICIAL AAMC MATERIAL
If you are going to spend your money on any MCAT material, you should invest in the official AAMC MCAT material! The AAMC resources are going to mirror the real exam the most, so it’s important that you save their practice materials during the last few weeks leading up to the exam. There are several AAMC material that you can purchase; I recommend getting their Official Prep Bundle which includes:
4 Practice Exams
Section Bank
“The Section Bank provides a total of 300 practice questions (passage-based and discrete), which includes 100 practice questions from each of the following sections (Source: AAMC):
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior”
One of best aspects about the section banks is that the question difficulty and content are very similar to the real exam. Going over the section banks multiple times is a great way to determine which topics you need to review more before the exam. It will also help solidify your test taking skills, especially with how you plan on approaching challenging questions.
Practice Questions from The Official Guide to the MCAT Exam
“This product provides online access to the 120 passage-based and independent questions. (Source: AAMC)” Think of this resource as a half practice test since there are only around 30 questions per section.
Question Packs for Biology, Chemistry, CARS, Physics
Each of the question packs contains 120 discrete and passage-based questions. There are a total of 6 question packs: 1 physics, 1 chemistry, 2 biology, and 2 CARS question packs. This resource is known to be a bit easier compared to the section banks, so it may not reflect the actual exam as much in terms of question style and difficulty. However, it’s still a great tool to determine gaps in your content knowledge!
CARS Diagnostic Tool
“The CARS Diagnostic Tool includes 28 passage sets with questions to help you improve your critical analysis and reasoning skills. (Source: AAMC)”
This resource is great if you need more CARS practice and don’t want to re-read the same passages from the question packs! Remember, third-party CARS material such as Khan Academy/Jack Westin are not accurate in mimicking AAMC CARS questions. To truly understand and conquer AAMC CARS logic, you really have to nail the CARS practice questions by AAMC!
Flashcards
“The Online Flashcards contain 150 independent practice questions that cover the six disciplines assessed on the MCAT exam. (Source: AAMC)”. The flashcards are similar to discrete questions that you’ll encounter during the test. This is most useful for determining which topics you’re confident in or need more practice with.
The total price for this bundle is $268. If you’re on a budget, you can definitely purchase these resources individually. The most important material that you should have are the 4 practice exams, Section Bank, and at least one of the CARS Question Packs because they are going to reflect the difficulty and question styles of the actual test the most.
OTHER AMAZING RESOURCES
QUIZLET
Use Quizlet to create flashcards of practice questions that you get wrong or content that is difficult to memorize such as the various biochemistry pathways!
ANKI DECKS
There are literally so many pre-made Anki decks that were graciously created and shared by previous test-takers. I mostly used the Anki deck that was created based on the Khan Academy psychology/sociology review videos. Going over those Anki cards multiple times throughout my MCAT journey really helped me retain even the most detailed psych terms and definitions.
PSYCHOLOGY 300 PAGED DOC/100 PAGED DOC
If you plan on reviewing psychology/sociology with the Khan Academy videos, download this 300 paged document which contains key details and diagrams from the videos. As you watch the videos, you can highlight and add notes to the document. Once you’ve watched all of the videos, you can use the condensed 100 page document to review all of the topics!
REDDIT (R/PREMED & R/MCAT)
Reddit is going to be your best friend throughout your MCAT journey. I used Reddit to get ideas on study plans, find Anki decks, and get clarification on complex topics and specific practice questions that I got wrong. Basically, for anything that I was unsure of, I would always search on Reddit to see what other MCAT takers recommended or explained about a topic.
KAPLAN QUICKSHEETS & MILESDOWN QUICKSHEETS
I used the Kaplan quicksheets and the Milesdown quicksheets during the last few weeks before my test to review key terms and definitions for each section and determine if there were any gaps in my knowledge. If I didn’t feel strong about a topic, I would either go back to the Kaplan books or watch a Khan Academy video to review it again.
CONCLUSION
Thank you for reading this post! I hope that it helped you get familiar with the best material that you’ll need to study for the MCAT. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! My email (p31beauty@yahoo.com) and Insta DMs (@p31beauty) are always open. Stay tuned for my next MCAT posts where I’ll be breaking down how to study for the MCAT! Good luck studying!
Love,
Blaze Ann