Flashcards are an effective study tool for nearly any test prep including the MCAT, which is why we have spent time evaluating the best MCAT flashcards available, both bought as well as free online flashcards and tools. Before we dive into our favorite MCAT flashcards, let’s spend a moment chatting about how to best use MCAT flashcards.
Studying for the MCAT? Check out the best MCAT prep books for this year!
Best MCAT Flashcards (Non-Digital)
Kaplan MCAT Flashcards + App
Kaplan has created a set of 1,000 MCAT flashcards 3”x 2” broken out in the following categories:
- 230 Behavioral Science
- 187 Biochemistry
- 247 Biology
- 143 General Chemistry
- 90 Organic Chemistry
- 103 Physics
The questions on these flashcards are useful and are a good way to review concepts, but should not count as a standalone prep for the MCAT. We suggest purchasing a full MCAT prep course (as well as practicing on full-length MCAT practice tests) if you haven’t done so already. The paper used for these flashcards are a bit flimsy, and if this is of concern to you, we recommend purchasing Barron’s MCAT flashcards instead.
When you purchase these cards, you will also have access to their app with all the flashcards online, which can be great for when you have Wi-Fi to access these cards from your phone or tablet.
Barron’s MCAT Flashcards
Barron’s flashcards are a bit sturdier and larger than Kaplan’s, coming in at 4.5” x 2.75.” Barron’s MCAT flashcards are grouped by the following categories: Biology, General Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Psychology, Organic Chemistry, and Sociology. These flashcards are more convenient for travel than Kaplan’s, as they come with holes and a keyring so that you can take them to-go more easily.
MCAT Flash Cards (Barron's Test Prep)
Study with the Barron's MCAT flashcards that are fashioned together with a metal ring.
AAMC MCAT Flashcards
AAMC flashcards are 5.5″ x 4.25″ and come with a question printed on one side and the answer printed on the other for a total of 150 discrete practice questions written by the MCAT developers themselves. This is broken out to 25 AAMC flashcards per the following categories: Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Sociology, and Psychology.
Paper Flashcards vs Digital Flashcards
Old fashioned studiers tend to prefer physical material and resources versus digital. I, for one, prefer to have a physical book and paper and pen over everything on my computer or tablet. There really is no significant benefit to paper besides just your own personal preference for studying.
Digital Flashcards and apps, on the other hand, will provide you with questions based on an algorithm that repeats questions you may have missed or found more difficult. Some digital flashcard sites will keep track of your progress and create a more personalized way of studying as well as a nearly endless supply of flashcards (some are up to 3,000 flashcards). This is very convenient, as nobody is trying to carry around 3,000 paper flashcards on a regular basis.
Free Online MCAT Flashcards / Digital Flashcards
Magoosh MCAT Flashcards
The Magoosh MCAT flashcards contains over 230 flashcards that can be accessed using the Magoosh app. They can be downloaded while you have Wi-Fi so that you don’t have to use your own data to practice with them on-the-go. These flashcards are especially helpful and easy-to-use if you are already taking a Magoosh MCAT course. See more on our Magoosh MCAT review to see if you’d be a good fit.
Varsity Tutors:
Varsity Tutors offers thousands of MCAT flashcards broken down into categories and subcategories so that you can drill down on whatever concepts you’re currently studying in your MCAT study plan, making this a great supplement to your current prep.
MCATforMe:
MCATforMe offers a vast array of free MCAT flashcards that are intended to be used in conjunction with their MCAT study plans. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, you are not able to sign up for their free study plans. That said, you can still take advantage of these flashcards, although you will not be able to use these in any special app platform, but rather is just a digital flashcard that must be accessed on their website.
Union Test Prep
Union Test Prep offers free MCAT flashcards, but only about 50. If you plan on using this, I suggest that you download these flashcards so that you don’t use data when practicing.
Brainscape
This app allows you to create flashcards and study them online, but they have partnered with Blueprint to offer custom MCAT flashcards. What sets Brainscape apart is the efficiency that you can learn concepts, because they apply adaptive learning to your usage of these flashcards. When you answer questions, you can rate the flashcard question from 1-5 in difficulty and as you cycle through these cards, the app will optimize which questions you should see next. Keep in mind, however, that you need to upgrade to a premium app to access more of the flashcards.
Anki MCAT Flashcards
Anki MCAT is a free app with a flashcard display algorithm. You either make your own flashcards on this app or they have a built-in function to share decks of flashcards with each other. If someone else has a deck of MCAT flashcards, you can import them to your Anki account. This means, however, that you relying on the quality of other users. Here is a quick rundown of a few of our favorite MCAT Anki deck recommended by students:
MileDown MCAT Anki Deck
The author of this deck put together a 90-page MCAT PDF that summarized the content he learned reviewing for the MCAT. It has blown up on the Reddit community and his Anki MCAT deck is no different. In this deck, you’ll gain access to over 2,900 MCAT flashcards that are totally comprehensive. You can see the reviews of this on Reddit Here before downloading.
Boura’s MCAT Anki Deck
Here’s another free MCAT Anki Deck made by a med student Andrew Boura. This Anki MCAT deck is a bit of a mix of other MCAT decks including MileDown and JackSparrow. You can see the reviews of this on Reddit Here before downloading.
JackSparrow MCAT Anki Deck
Jack scored a 527 on the MCAT and decided to share his Anki deck on the r/MCAT subreddit. There are over 6,000 cards in this Anki deck that you can dive into. You can see the review of this MCAT Anki deck on Reddit Here before downloading.
Check out more Anki decks in our 11 Best MCAT Anki Decks for 2024
How to Use MCAT Flashcards
Either you are going to or are already using flashcards for your MCAT prep. Perhaps you just received your MCAT flashcards or even made them yourself and you’re wondering how to start using them. Start with some of these MCAT flashcard tips:
Study for short intervals:
We recommend aiming to use your MCAT flashcards for a maximum of 20-30 minutes before taking a break. After a 10-minute break, go back into studying. We encourage interval studying, as long periods of time straining on material can actually do more harm than good.
Stick to a study schedule:
Sticking to a schedule that will allow you to review your MCAT flashcards daily, if even for a few minutes is necessary. Feel free to keep these flashcards on you, so that you can refer to them wherever you are. The key to these flashcards is repetition to encourage retention!
Mix it up:
You need to mix up the cards so that your brain doesn’t anticipate what flashcards come next. Although flashcards encourage retention through repetition, you still want to be challenging your mind.
Put the cards you know aside:
Once you know the answer or concept on the flashcard, set it aside so that you can continue working through the content that you are not as familiar with.
Still not convinced? You can read some other reasons for why and tips on how to use flashcards more effectively.
Best MCAT Flashcards FAQ
Why do people buy MCAT flashcards?
The act of making MCAT flashcards will help solidify and let you learn the material better than if they were just given to you or bought. Making your own MCAT flashcards also gives you more freedom in how you want to study. That said, it can be extremely time consuming creating 700 flashcards. That said, many of us may be less than ecstatic about creating 700 MCAT flashcards, and for that, there are plenty of companies willing to take your money in exchange for a stack of pre-made flashcards.
What are the best MCAT flashcards in 2024?
The 3 best MCAT flashcards on our list are:
-Best Budget: Kaplan MCAT Flashcards
-Best Overall: Barron’s Test Prep MCAT Flashcards
-Best Official AAMC: AAMC Official MCAT Flashcards
What are the best free MCAT flashcards?
Some of our favorite MCAT Anki decks are included in this list, such as JackSparrow’s MCAT Anki deck of over 6,000 MCAT flashcards! You can see which other free MCAT flashcards made our list.
Are AAMC Flashcards good?
YES! We love to recommend official AAMC content because you’re getting practice that’s been written by the MCAT test writers themselves. There are 150 cards, which is a good value for only $10.
Is Anki good for the MCAT?
Anki made our list of the best free MCAT flashcards because you can take advantage of using someone else’s deck of cards without having to pay for them! You simply import their MCAT flashcards and can get straight to studying. You can start with our top recommended MCAT Anki deck by MileDown, which consists of over 2,900 comprehensive MCAT flashcards for FREE.
If you want more MCAT question-based practice, you can read our review of Lecturio and decide if their Qbank is for you. Looking for more helpful study guides? Check out our list of the best organic chemistry study guides to help make studying and practicing for organic chem that much easier!
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