summer mcat bootcamp

The 4 Best MCAT Bootcamps for Summer & Winter

Written by: Adaora Ezike, MPH
Reviewed by: Kristine Thorndyke

If you’re planning on using your summer or winter break studying, then we’ve got the 4 best MCAT bootcamp options that will help you take advantage of your extra time and get in shape for the MCAT faster than you could expect during a busy school year schedule.

4 MCAT Bootcamps for 2024

1. The Princeton Review: Best Overall
2. Kaplan: Best Instructors
3. Blueprint: Best for a Time Crunch
4. Altius: Best In Person

Princeton Review 515+ Immersion

Read our In-Depth Princeton Review MCAT Review

Princeton Review is an established name in the MCAT prep industry and makes no exception with its quality and effectiveness offered in their MCAT prep summer programs. This summer, they are offering the 515+ LiveOnline Immersion MCAT Bootcamp that includes a 515+ score guarantee (or 10 points higher than your starting score), which puts you in the 92nd Percentile.

These courses are not cheap, coming in at $7,349 (discounts running regularly). What you get in exchange for this, however, can definitely be worth it if you are struggling on studying for the MCAT or really, really need to do well. The course meets for 8 hours every day about a month and a half, which is certainly not a time commitment to scoff at.

The total calculated instruction and practice time adds up to about 860 hours.

This is an extremely high price tag, but in terms of sheer number of hours of instruction with an expert instructor, this is actually a pretty good value and will make good use of your time off over the summer.

If you really need a sufficient score increase or are going to fall short of the 50th percentile of the admitted class of your chosen medical school, then this course is a good investment. If, however, you do not need an additional 10-point boost in score or are already close to a score that will land you into medical school, then this is probably an unnecessary course.

Highlights:

  • 195 hours of live online instruction
  • Includes 16 full-length practice tests
  • Immediate access to all AAMC material
  • 11-book MCAT prep book set

Alternatives to the Princeton Review MCAT Bootcamp:

If the Princeton Review MCAT bootcamp doesn’t work for your budget or timeframe, they offer plenty of more affordable, less time-intensive options for doing well on the MCAT:

Our Top Pick
MCAT Prep LiveOnline Summer Immersion – Score 515+, Guaranteed! | The Princeton Review MCAT Prep LiveOnline Summer Immersion – Score 515+, Guaranteed! | The Princeton Review
5.0
$7349

Imagine a guarantee to score in the 92nd Percentile... well now you can with The Princeton Review's 515+ Guarantee LiveOnline Summer Immersion - score a 515 or add 10 points to your starting score or your money back.

Get 15% off with code: TPN15

Pros:
  • Study Advisor keeps you on track
  • Guaranteed 515 score
  • User-friendly Live Online classroom platform
Cons:
  • Expensive
  • No In Person Options
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Go to our MCAT page for more helpful MCAT resources. 

Kaplan MCAT Summer Intensive

Read our In-Depth Kaplan MCAT Review

kaplan mcat

Kaplan’s MCAT intensive has a lot of the same hallmarks as The Princeton Review MCAT Bootcamp, but with the key exception that they do not offer a specific score guarantee. I find this a bit disconcerting, given the high price tag.

Many of the features of this course are the same as The Princeton Review, but where Kaplan is able to differentiate itself is in its vetted faculty. Unlike with the Princeton Review’s courses, with Kaplan, you get to select the instructor as well as keep tabs on his/her bio and experience. Let’s take one of their top instructors, Aeri Kim, for their Summer Bootcamp, for example:

aeri kim kaplan instructor

Aeri has been an instructor and content developer for Kaplan for over 6 years and completed her PhD in Biochemistry.

It’s actually quite refreshing to see an MCAT company boast and share information about their instructors, as most test prep companies tend to hire busy instructors who are recent grads or still in med school.

mcat bootcamp

Like the Princeton Review, these are long days, with the only break being for lunch and dinner. The below is your life for the next 5 weeks during the week days, not including your full-length MCAT practice test on Saturday.

kaplan mcat bootcamp

When you are checking the Kaplan website for enrollment details, be sure to utilize their promos. Oftentimes, they have coupons for discounts on courses that can help make the prices a bit more digestible.

According to Kaplan, students who complete this MCAT bootcamp increase their score by 15 points. That’s an incredible feat, but is not guaranteed like some other courses. The Kaplan high-score guarantee is simply any increase from your baseline score or your money back.

Highlights:

  • 12 hours of on-on-one tutoring
  • 17 full-length MCAT practice tests
  • All AAMC practice material
  • Total of 1,000 hours of practice and instruction

Alternatives to the Kaplan MCAT Bootcamp:

See other differences between Kaplan vs Princeton Review MCAT

Best Instructors
MCAT Bootcamp | Kaplan Test Prep MCAT Bootcamp | Kaplan Test Prep
4.0
$7299

A live online MCAT bootcamp that offers the choice among high-quality MCAT instructors as well as private 1-on-1 sessions with tutors.

Pros:
  • High quality instructors / ability to choose them
  • Private one-on-one tutoring sessions
Cons:
  • More expensive than Princeton Review
  • No specific score guarantee
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Blueprint 1-Month MCAT Immersion

Read Our In-Depth Blueprint MCAT Revew

blueprint mcat bootcamp

I’m really excited about this new offering by Blueprint – the 1-month immersive MCAT prep course. A bit shorter than the other courses (at 4 weeks), this was definitely designed to cater to students who are really crunched for time, but still need to get through a fully immersive MCAT bootcamp to reach the necessary score increase.

I’ve been a huge fan of the Blueprint platform because it’s extremely user-friendly and just feels like it’s been built to serve students where they need it most – offering flexibility in the easy-to-use study plan and AI-driven practice.

In this specific bootcamp, students meet 5 days per week (see below sample schedule for first week):

blueprint mcat bootcamp schedule

In my experience, meeting 5 days per week versus 6 can be a huge lifeline for students who may not be used to such intensive study. The price of this course is between $5,579 to $6,299 depending on how many hours of 1-on-1 tutoring you want to tack onto your course.

For reference, the Kaplan MCAT bootcamp’s $7,299 cost includes 12 hours of 1-on-1 tutoring, versus Blueprint’s $6,299 with the same amount of 1-on-1 tutoring hours. This can be a considerable amount of savings if you are interested in getting more personalized tutoring.

Some students may be wondering how this course is different from their typical live online courses. The key difference between their flagship Liveonline course and this immersive course is in the 1:1 attention students will get in the immersive bootcamp. These 1-on-1 sessions are extremely specific in working out improvement areas, questions, and concerns – and all of this is done in 4 weeks versus 8.

You’ll get all of the other features from the Blueprint LiveOnline course including live office hours, all the AAMC resources, 15 MCAT practice tests, etc.

Highlights:

  • Shorter than other bootcamps – only 4 weeks
  • Average 13-point score increase
  • Choice of 4, 8, or 12 hours of 1-on-1 tutoring
  • 136 hours of live online instruction

Alternatives to the Blueprint MCAT Bootcamp

Best Short Bootcamp
MCAT 1-Month Immersive Bootcamp | Blueprint Prep MCAT 1-Month Immersive Bootcamp | Blueprint Prep
4.5
$6199

Need a quick and effective MCAT score increase in 4 weeks? Blueprint's intense bootcamp is ideal for those in a time crunch and need to nail down a lot of material quickly.

Pros:
  • Shorter than other MCAT bootcamps
  • More 1:1 tutoring sessions for less $
  • 2 teachers per class
Cons:
  • Fewer hours of in-class instruction than competitors
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Altius Summer Full Immersion MCAT Course

altius mcat prep

Read our In-Depth Altius Review

Altius sets itself apart in this list because they are the only MCAT bootcamp that offers its sessions in-person! Altius’s Summer Full-Immersion bootcamps take place from various dates and locations (as well as online) between May and August.

If you choose to opt for their Gold Summer Package, you will receive 25 tutoring sessions and 45 tutoring sessions if you opt for their Platinum Summer Package. Compared to the 6 tutoring sessions you will receive from the likes of Kaplan, making Altius’s summer MCAT courses much more personalized than the other MCAT prep summer programs on our list.

altius free mcat
Altius practice test

Classroom sessions are in small groups and are designed for participation and practice versus lecture-styled courses you may find from other MCAT prep programs. Included in this MCAT prep summer program is double-blind, peer-reviewed, MCAT practice resources. The curriculum has been designed to get you inside the mind of an AAMC writer, so that you can be good at taking the MCAT.

If you decide to go with Altius, however, you’re going to pay a heavy price tag. These summer MCAT bootcamps start at $8,499 and go up to $9,999. They offer scholarships, but there is little information regarding how many people are accepted for these scholarships or what Altius is looking for in recipients.

Altius is very careful in tracking the results of students who have taken the MCAT and their graduates have ranked in the top 88th to 95th percentile for over ten years now. This sets them apart from Kaplan and Princeton Review, as they regularly publish independently-verified student scores. In one of those independently-verified studies, they have found that their graduates are eight times more likely to score into the 97th percentile or higher.

Highlights:

  • 25-45 one-on-one tutoring sessions
  • Students are reportedly 800% more likely to earn 99th percentile
  • 125-175 small group tutoring hours

Alternatives to Altius MCAT Bootcamp:

  • Altius Elite
  • Altius Silver
  • Altius Gold
Best for High Scorers
Altius MCAT Summer Bootcamps Altius MCAT Summer Bootcamps
5.0
$3699

Altius offers a Summer Long bootcamp as well as a June Immersion for its summer bootcamp programs depending on when you intend on taking the MCAT.

Save $800 OFF mentorship programs with promo: NERDS800

There is a huge price tag associated with these commercial MCAT summer immersion programs. If you find these bootcamps out of your price range, there are still plenty of other options for you including live-online courses as well as traditional in-person courses. Have a look at these other top MCAT prep course reviews.

MCAT Bootcamp FAQ

Is Kaplan MCAT Bootcamp worth it?

The Kaplan MCAT Bootcamp is a great investment for students who need more one-on-one instruction from high-quality instructors. If, however, you don’t need as much face-to-face, then The Princeton Review’s 515+ is a better value.

Does Altius have a money back policy?

Altius’s Elite MCAT courses are backed with a 30-day money back free trial period as well as a Double-Your-Money-Back Guarantee if you complete 100% of the Elite Program assignments and do not improve your score over a previous MCAT.

Is one summer enough time to study for the MCAT ?

Generally speaking, if you dedicate your summer to studying for the MCAT, then you should have enough time to take the MCAT by August. It may be a bit cramped, but as long as you get in the full-length AAMC practice tests, then you should be good to go!

Is an MCAT bootcamp for me? 

MCAT bootcamps can be great for those looking for an intense prep option, but they are not mandatory to do well on test day and can be extremely expensive. A bootcamp would not be recommended if you cannot study full-time or have a lot of content gaps to cover. 

MCAT Bootcamp Wrap Up

If you are still reading this post and still a bit unsure if you want to enroll in over the summer or winter, then you can’t go wrong with The Princeton Review course. Simply “try before you buy” by taking a free Biology class and then you can make an informed decision on this investment.

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