Princeton Review MCAT 513+ Course Review

The Princeton Review MCAT 513+ is among the most comprehensive, intensive MCAT course offered in a live online class format.

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. The Princeton Review gave me free access to this course so that I could share with you my own personal experience – read on to see what I liked and didn’t about this MCAT prep.

About Princeton Review MCAT

Princeton Review’s most popular, intensive MCAT prep course is the MCAT 513+ course. Offered in a live online classroom format, the MCAT 513+ course guarantees a score of 513+ (assuming your starting score on the MCAT is 500 or higher).

A bit deceptive in its name, the score increases are on a scale depending on your starting score (you’ll take an MCAT practice test at the start of this course). A student with a starting score of 490 and below is guaranteed a 17+ point increase, a score of 491-493 is guaranteed a 14-16 point increase, and a score of 494-499 is guaranteed a score increase of 13 points. I’ll dive more into how this score increase guarantee works a bit later in this review.

For more MCAT resources, click here.

Curriculum Review

The 123 hours of instruction for the 513+ course breaks down into the following subjects to meet the MCAT testing outline:

Classes are held between two to five days per week depending on the timeline of the course, spreading out between 2-3 months.

Within 5-7 business days, you will receive your full set of The Princeton Review Complete 9-book set, which has made our top MCAT prep books list year over year. 

Students gain lots of practice for test-day and every 2 weeks, the curriculum is set up for students to take a practice MCAT test. They know that some students have been known to “save” practice tests until the end – so they’ve built in additional practice tests so that you can still have extra practice in the weeks leading up to your test.

Section-specific Diagnostic Exams are used throughout the course to help identify weak areas and primer questions are utilized as pre-work before lectures. Before lectures, students are expected to complete 1 hour of pre-class work so that class time can be devoted to more essential content. On the same day, you should also complete the 3-4 hours of homework. Regardless of how you feel about homework, this is going to make sure that class time is spent progressing forward and you’re getting value from your instructors. I think this is a huge advantage of the course and helps to reinforce learning while it’s still fresh.

After lectures, regular course homework is assigned in your textbooks in addition to subject-specific homework that covers areas identified in Diagnostic Exams as weaker for individual students.

They’ve added a new book, the In Class Compendium (“ICC”) which I really like, as it has all of the passages and work printed to work through in class. You can also access the digital version, but having a physical book to highlight and strike out answers just hits different.

For those who wonder how TPR picks their teachers, you can rest assured that they go through several rounds of interviewing, testing, and training before they are able to instruct a course. First, they partake in a non-academic interview/presentation. Next, interviewees must take a subject-specific content test. Upon satisfactory completion, teachers will follow a 20-hour training (presenting live classroom material).

Unlike other courses that pride themselves on over-preparing you for the MCAT, the Princeton Review curriculum is more focused on just what will be on the MCAT and really drilling down on what’s most frequently tested.

Other MCAT prep companies pride themselves in going above and beyond the MCAT, such as Altius, which I think can waste student’s time and add to the stress of prepping for a notoriously difficult test.

That said, these courses move fast. If you have weaknesses, they will not specifically be covered extra in your class session, and it’s on you to supplement your study with extra practice – you can also speak with your instructors and consider tutoring.

Getting specific, targeted practice outside of class is pretty easy with their MedFlix video library. You can sort through topics that you’re struggling with or also follow along with the recommended videos scheduled by class. In my experience, the videos are pretty easy to digest, as all of them are under 15 minutes.

MCAT Topic Focus Lessons

This course includes additional MCAT Topic Focus Lessons that can be attended on your own time. Some are office hours where you can ask questions in small groups with an instructor, while other lessons are instructor led. There are several MCAT Topic Focus lessons that are led by instructors that are required to attend in order to qualify for the high score guarantee. These instructor-led sessions are only 20-30 minutes in length, but must be attended on time!

If you look through the list of topic focus lessons, it seems a bit overwhelming how many required additional classes there are. You can add them to your schedule to keep track, but it almost seems like it would have been better to add this additional content into the standard course curriculum rather than requiring students to piecemeal their way through the rest of the required coursework.

Practice Tests

When you log into your student dashboard, there is an entire Practice tab that houses all your MCAT practice tests and flashcards.

The MCAT practice tests are divided out by Princeton Review tests and AAMC official practice tests. This is super helpful when you finished with your course and down to the last few weeks of practice before the MCAT. Your course will recommend which AAMC practice tests to “save” until those last couple of weeks.

Unlike a lot of courses that make you purchase the AAMC official resources separately, the Princeton Review includes all of their official AAMC prep in the course and it’s integrated into the course. This makes it a lot easier than having to go back-and-forth from a lesson to AAMC content.

Platform

The live online course option provides all your tools & resources (besides the review book set) online.

Overall, the platform is quite easy to use and is outlined clearly. The only real disadvantage is the simplicity of an expanded study schedule that can house all of your scheduled pre-work, homework, and topic sessions all in one place. This is why I really like the Blueprint MCAT course – their study schedule feels more intuitive and is great for a visual person like myself. You can see my review of Blueprint MCAT here.

Above is a screenshot of my student dashboard. Here, you can see that any Topic Focus sessions are added in a list below my “getting started” section – I think a calendar view would be better suited.

Score Increase Guarantee

I get a bit wary of courses with large score guarantees and the subsequent fine print you’ll often find associated with this bold claim.

Their score guarantee, however, is legit and they’ve made it easier to prove whether or not your score has increased by offering two options in determining your “baseline score.” A student can either use the AAMC official MCAT test 1 score they received when taking their first practice test through the course or he or she can use the most recent official MCAT test score. In the past, these score guarantees didn’t give options of how to prove a score hadn’t increased. The final MCAT score, however, remains the official MCAT test that the student takes upon completion of the course.

I’m happy that they use an official AAMC practice test, as there have been rumors of other companies making the diagnostic test harder than the official MCAT test in order to show larger score “gains” by the end of the course.

As with any big-ticket investment, however, I still advise you to do your own due diligence and confirm that you are clear about the HSG terms and conditions. You can find the full legalese here.

Student Feedback

I was given above and beyond the amount of preparation materials I could have ever expected – there was tons of practice

Christopher

The lectures were very detailed. The MedFlix videos were also super helpful.

Michelle

The professors/teachers that taught the class were very effective at conveying the important content in a timely manner as well as honing in on what was most important for the MCAT.

Zach

Who Needs This Course

The ideal user for the Princeton Review MCAT 513+ course is a student who benefits from experiencing a physical classroom (or at least a classroom that takes place digitally).

Not all students are able to study for the MCAT on their own or using a home study/on-demand program, and that’s okay! The Princeton Review is comprehensive and will cover everything you need to know for the MCAT (and maybe even a little extra). If you feel more confident utilizing a program with a good name that has helped many others like you do well on the MCAT, then this is the right course for you.

MCAT Course Pricing Options

MCAT 513+ Live Online

Price: $3,499

Summary: Increase your MCAT score by 17 points max, up to 513. Guaranteed, or your money back.

MCAT 515+ Immersion

Price: $7,349

Summary: An intense full-time MCAT prep live online bootcamp with a 515+ score guarantee or your money back.

Read our full TPR MCAT Summer Immersion Review: Top Summer MCAT Bootcamps

MCAT Self-Paced

Price: $1,999

Summary: On-demand videos, digital tools, and drills; access to MedFlix 500+ on-demand videos; thousands of passage-based questions; 15 practice tests, MCAT Complete 9-Book Set

Want a budget option? Read our detailed Self-Paced Magoosh MCAT Review

MCAT LiveOnline

Price: $2,799

Summary: LiveOnline MCAT prep with fewer additional required sessions, hence a less impressive score-increase guarantee.

MCAT Tutoring

Price: starting at $183/hour

Summary: LiveOnline tutoring options, custom tutoring plans available

Princeton Review MCAT Alternatives

Blueprint vs Princeton Review MCAT

Blueprint has really stepped up in the MCAT world since acquiring Next Step Test Prep a few years back. Their sleek study platform is definitively more advanced than The Princeton Review’s and they have invested a lot into their HD video lessons.

Blueprint is a great option for students who have the budget, as it’s more expensive than The Princeton Review’s. As I mentioned in this review about platforms, I definitely prefer Blueprint’s platform and study schedule to that of Princeton Review.

Read our full insight on Blueprint vs Princeton Review MCAT 2023

Kaplan vs Princeton Review MCAT

Another test prep behemoth, Kaplan offers a wide variety of MCAT prep courses to choose from. More than Princeton Review, Kaplan is known for its high-quality instructors and makes a point to push them as the main differentiator between Kaplan and Princeton Review.

For students who can’t decide between Kaplan and The Princeton Review MCAT, I suggest considering what kind of course you plan on pursuing. For in-person courses, you may prefer Kaplan for its instructors. For other courses, however, we generally recommend The Princeton Review, especially for those who are seeking competitive score courses (like their 515+ Immersion and 513+ course).

Read our full insight on Kaplan vs Princeton Review MCAT 2023

Princeton Review MCAT FAQ

Similar Live Online MCAT Prep Course Options

Examkrackers MCAT Prep

Kaplan Live Online

Blueprint MCAT (Formerly Next Step Test Prep)

Blueprint vs Princeton Review MCAT – Which is the Best?

What’s Next?

For a full list of our favorite MCAT prep courses, check out our page 8 Best MCAT Prep Courses. Here you’ll find more MCAT prep course options like on-demand, live online, and in-person. Included are reader discounts that you won’t find anywhere else! Good luck choosing the prep course that best fits you!