The 6 Best MCAT Prep Courses Guide

To help you make the best possible decision on your MCAT prep this year, we revealed the best MCAT prep course based off what you need as a student. Each of these MCAT courses has been carefully vetted by the Test Prep Nerds team and recommended by real MCAT test takers.

In a hurry? Check out the editor’s top 3 picks:

Best MCAT Prep Course Reviews + Discounts

The Princeton Review MCAT Ultimate

Best Overall

Princeton Review is the best MCAT prep course available with its flexibility and well-paced study plan. Its self-paced course is great for students who have busy schedules and need to work around a study plan.

The self-paced course provides up to five hundred hours of video lessons that you can access whenever you need it. There is no strict schedule and students are given the freedom to prioritize studying problem or just skip anything they already feel adequately prepared for. The self-paced course offers 16 full-length practice tests and all official AAMC material (including Practice Test 4).

Princeton Review gives students the chance to also consider a live online course, which meets for 40 hours across a span of 1-3 months.

For those who really need to have some score gains, there is the 513+ live online course that guarantees a score of at least 513 and the 515+ immersion course – an intensive full-time live online MCAT bootcamp.

If you’re looking for a score improvement but don’t necessarily need a 515 to get into the med school of your choice, then I’d recommend sticking with their standard LiveOnline course, which still has a high score guarantee.

With Princeton Review, students have the option to request private tutors for live online sessions for additional focused work.

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Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep)

Best platform

• Most Popular Course: Live Online
• Course Formats: Live Online, Self-Paced
• Video Lecture Hours: 160
• Higher Score Guarantee: Yes
• Tutoring Available: Yes

My favorite part about the Blueprint course is the flexible online study plan.

When you enroll in their MCAT course, you’ll start with a diagnostic test – this determines your baseline score and populates your study plan. Blueprint’s Study Plan generator creates a personalized study schedule depending on your baseline score + selected MCAT test date.

Above is the Blueprint study plan, where you can drag-and-drop all tasks and lessons to suit your schedule

The online course has a dashboard containing several tabs that give you access additional study resources, office hours, etc. Once you enroll in a Blueprint MCAT course, you’ll also receive their set of 6 section-specific MCAT prep books (which is great if you’re like me and prefer physical content to work through in addition to online coursework).

Here are the MCAT books I received when I tested out the course

Although it is priced competitively with other online courses, the Blueprint MCAT course also offers live-online office hours, making it way more affordable than other live-online offerings. The advantage of this is that even though you are studying on-demand only, you will still experience the one-on-one attention from a tutor in the same way you would receive in a classroom.

Although they offer one less practice test than Princeton Review (15 tests compared to TPR’s 16), I think that they have superior analytics that can be used to efficiently improve upon weaknesses faster. Read more on our full analysis in Blueprint vs Princeton Review MCAT – Which is Better?

The organization of content is easy to understand and their platform is super intuitive, as you can see in our demo video that we shared above. If you need any extra help beyond live online office hours, there are also various tutoring packages (though they’re pricey).

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MCAT Self Prep

Best Budget

• Most Popular Course: Deluxe Pro
• Course Formats: Live Online, Self-Paced
• Video Lecture Hours: 100
• Higher Score Guarantee: Yes
• Tutoring Available: Yes

MCAT Self Prep has recently taken the stage as one of the best MCAT prep companies, going from a cultish following on Reddit to a real player in the MCAT industry today.

The MCAT prep courses offered by MCAT Self Prep are extremely affordable and are paid monthly – $19.99 for Basic Pro, $199.99 for Advanced Pro, and $999 for Deluxe Pro.

All of the courses, whether you opt for the $19.99 Basic Pro or the $999 Deluxe Pro, come with 10 content modules (Biology I, Physics II, etc), and a Create-your-own Study Plan Course (note that you don’t get the study plan course with the free course).

The Deluxe Pro is probably the only course that could serve as a standalone MCAT prep course, as you’ll have access to more specialized strategy courses for CARS, Science Passage Reading, etc. These strategy courses actually feature Andrew (in videos) and are mostly MCAT Self Prep created content, so it feels like you’re getting more for the price.

The analytics for the course are a bit more DIY than you’ll get with the other MCAT prep courses on this list, but if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves on this course, you can enjoy one of the best MCAT prep courses at a fraction of the cost!

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Kaplan Test Prep

Best In Person

• Most Popular Course: Live Online
• Course Formats: Live Online, Self-Paced, In-person
• Video Lecture Hours: 130
• Higher Score Guarantee: Yes
• Tutoring Available: Yes

Kaplan Test Prep has arguably one of the most comprehensive preparation package of all MCAT test prep courses, making it in our best MCAT prep course list. With the largest network of classroom sites nationwide (present in 43 states), you can likely find an in-person class in your metropolitan area.

For those looking for a more personalized approach, you can select the MCAT Plus offering, which gives you an additional 3 hours of private online tutoring, a CARS course, and AAMC PREview™ On Demand Exam Prep.

What makes Kaplan stand out among these MCAT courses is the sheer amount of practice you’ll receive with over 11,000 quiz questions. This is amazing, as we know that practice is one of the leading indicators of how well you’ll do come test day. You’ll also get anywhere from 70-320 hours of instruction and 17 full practice tests.

See how Kaplan stacks up with Blueprint in this Blueprint vs Kaplan MCAT Review.

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Magoosh

Best Video

• Most Popular Course: 12-Month Premium
• Course Formats: Self-paced
• Video Lecture Hours: 60
• Higher Score Guarantee: Yes
• Tutoring Available: No

The Magoosh MCAT prep course stands out in our list as one of the most cost-effective. Their entry-level package is a twelve-month premium account that offers 380 video lessons that span all the sections available on the MCAT exam.

One popular feature that Magoosh offers is a 7-day Money Back satisfaction guarantee that lets you cancel at any time during the period without having to part with a single penny. Magoosh MCAT prep is fully online, meaning you can take your study anywhere and at anytime.

On-demand video courses simply aren’t for everyone, but if you do learn well on your own, you’re going to save literally thousands.

Keeping with their online reputation, their website is mobile-optimized so that it can be accessed from any smart phone. They also have an MCAT app, which is pretty nice (and free) but only has MCAT flashcards.

Their course comes with 3 practice tests, 9 extra CARS passages (that’s over 740 practice questions). During our review, we found that Magoosh has a practice question difficulty level that is slightly harder than that of the AAMC practice MCAT questions. The difficulty level can be seen as a benefit as students prepare for tougher questions than they may actually see on the actual MCAT exam, making testing day easier.

Magoosh MCAT prep course is a favorite among students because of its large video catalogue that offers almost every topic and section on the MCAT in a simple and easy-to-understand format. Bonus features include resources such as flash cards and a glossary of common terms which you can use for refreshers during down time.

One major disadvantage we noticed of using the Magoosh MCAT test prep is the absence of any sort of live interaction with tutors or a teacher community for additional help. This makes the MCAT course more suited for students who prefer to study alone.

In the past, Magoosh charged extra for a study plan in your MCAT prep, but now, thankfully, any paid MCAT course includes a customized study plan based on how long you have to study.

All this said, if you can motivate yourself without the pressure of a teacher or peers, then this Premium MCAT course can offer you an extremely low price and adequate practice materials to supplement your personal study schedule. For self-starters, you would do well to look at Magoosh as one of the most effective MCAT exam prep courses for you.

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Altius

Best for High Scorers

• Most Popular Course: Elite Live Online Course
• Course Formats: Live Online, Self-Paced, In-Person
• Video Lecture Hours: 200
• Higher Score Guarantee: Yes
• Tutoring Available: Yes

Altius MCAT Prep makes our list of the best MCAT prep courses as it provides a full suite of services from in-person classroom teaching and live online courses to personal tutoring sessions as well as admission guidance services.

The Elite course, their most popular MCAT prep course offered, includes 4 in-person proctored MCAT tests and 105 hours of small group sessions.

Altius Test Prep also offers an intensive summer program comprised of over 400 classroom sessions, private tutor sessions and assistance during admission preparation over the course of 10 weeks. At the moment, they are offering free round-trip airfare for these bootcamp sessions, which can be a steal for those who don’t live nearby. See more of our thoughts on the top 4 MCAT bootcamp programs.

When you first sign up for Altius, you will receive a no-obligation trial period of two weeks with the option of a full refund if you dislike the course. This may be a godsend for some students, as this MCAT course can feel a bit too reading-heavy and lacks the user-friendly platform that we’ve come to expect from a top-tier MCAT course in today’s age.

Altius practice test

Oftentimes, students relocate to these campuses for their 10-week in-person course, and Altius is more than happy to help with providing housing during this time. Overall, Altius can get you one step closer to being one of the highest scorers in the nation at the most competitive prices.

See how Altius stacks up in our Kaplan vs Altius MCAT review for 2023.

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The 7 Best MCAT Prep Courses

Let’s meet the contenders – each of these are awesome courses in their own right and what follows will be a summary overview of each, a ranked evaluation based on the aforementioned categories, and a short-but-in-depth review of the course overall.

We also did long and comprehensive reviews of each of these in order to go into even more detail – click “Long Review” to check those out!

Princeton Review

The Princeton Review MCAT Ultimate Course is the most comprehensive, intensive MCAT course offered both Live Online or In-Person.  123 hours of live instruction by a team of 4-6 subject-matter experts means you’ll be ready for the MCAT in as little as 12 weeks.

Curriculum:

5/5

This 12-week course is designed to diagnose your weaknesses and improve your strengths. A team of 4-6 subject matter experts, each uniquely certified in a topic area, will help you to conquer complex topics that you will see on test day.

Pricing

2/5

Princeton Review’s MCAT Ultimate is expensive but keep an eye out for sales as they often mark down prices during holidays and special promotions.

Platform

5/5

Princeton Review’s LiveOnline course is extremely user-friendly and offers comprehensive score reports, subject-specific diagnostic exams, and on-demand videos all located in the student dashboard.

Student Feedback

3/5

Many students who opted for the In-Person would have chosen the LiveOnline if they could do it again.

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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Blueprint MCAT (Next Step Test Prep)

Blueprint MCAT is a personalized online MCAT prep course that utilizes diagnostic test results to create a custom study plan.  This MCAT course includes 240+ hours of live instruction over a 6-month period. In addition to the course, students can join 2-hour Live Online Office Hours with your instructor up to 5 times per week.

Curriculum

4/5

Study curriculum is customized for each student based on diagnostic test results and all courses come with 15 AAMC practice tests. Instructors are required to have taken the MCAT and scored in the 99th+ percentile.

Pricing

3/5

Blueprint MCAT costs the same as Kaplan’s On-Demand course, but is a better value with its Live Online Office Hour sessions

Platform

4/5

This is a hybrid course with both on-demand video lessons and live-online small-group Office Hours which can be accessed from your online dashboard. The testing platform resembles the same features found on the AAMC 2019 interface. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Student Feedback

3/5

Students show an average increase of 9-10 points from their first MCAT diagnostic test to their official MCAT score. Public student reviews, however, are limited which makes a full assessment difficult.

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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MCAT Self Prep

MCAT Self Prep is known as one of the most affordable MCAT prep courses available today. Their on-demand courses give students structure to plan out their MCAT study schedule.

Curriculum

3/5

Pricing

5/5

Platform

2/5

Student Feedback

4/5

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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Kaplan

Kaplan is among the top commercial MCAT prep course options and provides a wide variety of course deliveries including Live Online, In Person, On Demand, Tutoring & Consulting, as well as Winter and Summer Intensives.

Curriculum

3/5

The curriculum in Kaplan’s MCAT course is not fully comprehensive and requires a lot of self-study outside of class.

Pricing

2/5

Kaplan is expensive, even if you opt for their on-demand course option.

Platform

5/5

The adaptive Qbank and simulated MCAT practice tests make Kaplan’s platform top-notch

Student Feedback

3/5

Students either loved this course or hated it, you’ll need to decide if this is the right fit for you before enrolling.

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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Altius

With robust in-person and online course options, Altius is one of the leading providers of quality MCAT prep courses. Their strengths lie in how they structure their courses as well as their comprehensive practice tests and 90th percentile score guarantee for all students.

Curriculum

5/5

Altius provides up to 5 different types of reviews as well as 10 exact-match MCAT practice tests. They offer both in-person and online classes as well as summer bootcamps.

Pricing

2/5

Altius is expensive but comparable to heavy hitters like Kaplan and Princeton Review.

Platform

1/5

The platform here feels outdated and is not very visually-appealing. A lot of reading and scrolling is required on this course platform, which isn’t super enjoyable.

Student Feedback

4/5

Most students rave about Altius – their score guarantee and the sheer number of resources they provide make them hugely popular.

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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Magoosh

Magoosh MCAT sets itself apart as one of the only budget MCAT prep courses on the market today.  This MCAT course includes 1-12 months of access to 380+ video lessons, 3 practice tests of over 700 practice questions, detailed text explanations, email assistance, and a 7-day money back guarantee.

Curriculum

3/5

The video content is too simplified, yet the questions’ difficulty makes up for this and helps to identify low-yield gaps.

Pricing

5/5

This is among the cheapest commercial MCAT prep course available and you get a ton of value for what you pay.

Platform

4/5

Everything is streamlined and can be accessed online on any device. They have an app but it can only support flashcards so far.

Student Feedback

3/5

The general consensus is that the Magoosh video content is too simple, yet it makes up for it with its difficult questions.

Read Full Review | Visit Website

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MCAT Prep Course FAQ

Winding Down

No matter which of these MCAT prep courses you prefer, it’s important to realize that the best study course is one where you are able to identify, focus on, and strengthen your weak areas. The availability of so many test prep courses means that every student has something to fit both his or her schedule as well as budget requirements.

If you’re at the end of this list and still feeling unsure about the best option for you, then you can consider the Princeton Review MCAT course options. This is our top pick, overall, for their comprehensive courses and higher score guarantee.