No MCAT prep book set is the best. Each one has its strengths, weaknesses, and content philosophy that appeal to different segments of MCAT test takers, depending on learning style and which sections of the MCAT they want to prioritize.
The book sets listed in this article have been chosen based on discussions with high-scoring MCAT takers, as well as from recommendations from the biggest MCAT prep communities.
The article breaks down what each MCAT book set is best at so you can make an informed decision as to which one to choose.
You could even mix and match books from each set to get all the strong points without the weaknesses. However, this may not be necessary since each book set is sufficient to obtain a high MCAT score, if chosen wisely.
Also included are free (but high quality) learning materials that can complement any weak spots these book sets might have.
Best MCAT Prep Books
The Princeton Review MCAT Complete Box Set
The Princeton Review (TPR) is an excellent all-round MCAT prep book set, and offers extensive and in-depth information on nearly MCAT subject. However, the amount of information in Princeton Review can sometimes be too detailed and will even include information not required for the MCAT.
TPR’s strongest sections are:
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
TPR’s weakest section is the Biochemistry segment from Biological Systems and Foundations. The actual information present in the Biochemistry sections is excellent, however there simply isn’t enough content to fully cover the Biochemistry part of the MCAT and obtain the maximum score.
Fortunately, TPR’s gap in Biochemistry can be easily filled with information from the “Free Materials” section of the article.
The remaining topics in Biological Systems and Foundations such as general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biology cover all the material required for a maximum score.
What 515+ testers say about Princeton Review
Yeah, Princeton Review Biology is good enough. I’ve gone through all of their books so far and found that one to be the most useful so far. It’s not too tough to read through and it keeps you engaged with little questions as you read through. They could have gone in more depth on molecular biology and genetic processes since that seems to be a very high yield on the B/B section.
– James B. | 517 Score
The TPR CARS workbook is very good in my opinion. It helped me improve in CARS a lot, although there were other factors like attitude and reading leisurely which I think helped me more. TPR is also better in my opinion than other companies for CARS because they don’t have you make like 9 inferences to get an answer. The logic is simple/short exactly like the AAMC. In trying to write difficult questions many third party companies just end up writing flawed questions. I have done most of the TPR workbook and have yet to find an answer that I got wrong where I didn’t agree with their reasoning. I think TPR CARS workbook is gold. Take this from someone who used to suck at CARS and got a negative reading score on the SAT lol.
– Madison H. | 516 Score
I used Princeton Review for the subjects I needed a total review on (i.e. from scratch), and then used ExamKrackers for every subject to tighten up my performance. Loved them both, think they are both really good at what they are trying to accomplish (PR is very comprehensive, EK is very efficient) and they complimented each other well.
– Anonymous | 521 Score
TPR gives you more info than you need to know but they will tell you when you don’t need to memorize it. The Physics book is kinda convoluted, HOWEVER for everything else I liked TPR. I learn best when the overall picture is presented to me and know why things happen. I think TPR is great if you need to relearn the majority of the content.
I also liked the practice problems in TPR. TPR gives you questions to answer as you go through the material. At the end of the chapters, they will give you discrete questions and then an entire passage to see how concepts are presented and to help you practice applying those concepts.
– Ellie K. | 517 Score
Princeton Review FAQ
How good is Princeton Review for MCAT and is it worth it?
Princeton Review is a good, reliable book set for every MCAT section, especially Psychology, Sociology and CARS. It is worth it because of in-depth content, thousands of question passages and 3 full length practice tests.
Is Princeton Review good for MCAT physics?
Princeton Review has a great Physics book, however some MCAT takers find it too detailed since it covers absolutely everything. It also doesn’t indicate what content is important to learn, and which you can overlook.
How good is Princeton Review MCAT Chemistry book?
Princeton Review has good books for both general and organic chemistry, that covers the subject material in great detail. The books are designed for test takers with little to no knowledge of chemistry.
Is Princeton Review MCAT good for Psychology and Sociology?
Princeton Review has the best books for Psychology and Sociology out of all MCAT prep book sets. It strikes the right balance between covering all the necessary subjects, but its explanations are clean, simple and concise.
Is Princeton Review’s Biochemistry book good enough for MCAT?
The explanations in Princeton Review’s Biochemistry are excellent, however there simply isn’t enough content to fully cover the Biochemistry part of the MCAT and obtain the maximum score for that particular section.
How good is Princeton Review MCAT Verbal Reasoning book for CARS?
Princeton Review’s MCAT Verbal Reasoning book is the best resource for CARS on the market. Its question passages have very similar logic to the real AAMC exam, and are not significantly harder or easier.
How many practice tests does Princeton Review MCAT set have?
Princeton Review’s MCAT book set comes with 3 practice tests that can be accessed online. The 3 included practice tests are full length, so close to 8 hours long.
Does Princeton’s online demo or diagnostic test give explanations or solutions? How long is it? Is it full length?
Princeton’s demo or diagnostic test is a full-length exam and is approximately 8 hours long, however it does not come with explanations or solutions.
Are Princeton’s practice and demo tests accurate? Do they reflect the actual MCAT or is the score deflated?
Princeton Review’s practice and demo tests are harder than the official MCAT exam, so they are not an accurate representation of the score you would have on the real exam. On average, the scores are deflated by 6-12 points.
Kaplan MCAT Complete 7-Book Subject Review
Kaplan Review is a well-structured and in-depth MCAT book set. It is comparable to Princeton in terms of volume of information and quality of explanations, however it offers some excellent quality of life features such as:
- High Yield Badges, for chapters that produce many MCAT questions.
- A slightly higher number of charts, graphs and illustrations.
Kaplan’s Strongest Sections are:
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems – The Biochemistry book is the best among all MCAT review book sets.
Kaplan’s Weakest Section is Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. Kaplan’s CARS section is significantly harder than the official AAMC CARS, and uses a different type of logic that doesn’t carry over very well on the real test.
The get a maximum score on CARS, consider supplementing Kaplan with the free questions from Jack Westin.
What 515+ testers say about Kaplan Review
Kaplan is much better in terms of content covered. My best friend is super strong in Biochemistry and he even said that Princeton’s Review Biochemistry book was lacking after we reviewed it.
This coming from someone who’s not a fan of Kaplan’s way to present content but their biochemistry book is really solid and is the best out there in the market.
– Eric M. | 516 Score
I used Kaplan 7-book review, and most people agree that the book is dense. It took me 2 months to go through their biology review book, while enrolled in school full-time. With that being said, you can pace up by focusing only on high-yield sections. Their materials are dense but have a detailed explanation to almost every question you get wrong on AAMC materials. Everything was pretty solid for my taste, except two things: their organic chemistry book is way too dense and their CARS book just sucks.
– Jane L. | 515 Score
I used both Princeton Review and Kaplan for Psychology and Sociology. Kaplan was missing things that TPR included, especially for sociology. However, sometimes I went back to Kaplan because they explained a term better or had diagrams that Princeton didn’t.
– Mike S. | 519 Score
Kaplan CARS is pretty bad. Personally, didn’t really like a lot of the third-party CARS material. My favorites would have to be the Princeton Review CARS workbook, but I got through those passages super quickly. I also used UWorld but it was meh, not sure how useful it was. AAMC CARS QPacks were the best prep for the exam, hands down. Once I’d gone through those, I felt sooo much better about the CARS section.
– Anonymous | 515 Score
I scored a 520, I used Kaplan and really liked it. Gives a good overview but not too in depth.
For Psychology & Sociology I used nothing besides the Kaplan books and all the AAMC material (reviewed the s*** out of it). Disclaimer: I had previously taken a few Psych classes and Intro Soc so it was all review for me.
I would skip the Kaplan CARS book if I had to do it again, or I would just do the practice passages in it. I didn’t use the strategies they talked about so looking back it was a waste of time. For CARS, just practice, practice, practice with any passages you can get your hands on Kaplan, Jack Westin, etc and then only do AAMC at the end to get into their logic.
– Liz V. | 520 Score
Kaplan Review FAQ
Is Kaplan Review a good MCAT prep book set? Is Kaplan Review worth the money?
Kaplan Review is a good MCAT prep book and is worth the money because it’s in-depth on all subjects, and excels at science sections, especially Biochemistry. Its only weakness is CARS, but it can be supplemented with other sources.
How good are Kaplan’s Biochemistry and Biology books? Are they enough for the MCAT?
Kaplan’s MCAT Biology book has clean explanations for all biology topics, without unnecessary information. The Biochemistry book explains all biochemical processes with simple examples, and gives good explanations for amino acids.
Is Kaplan’s Behavioral Sciences good for Psychology & Sociology on MCAT?
Kaplan’s Behavioral Sciences book is mostly good and comes close to the real MCAT Psych Soc, but misses some 5-10% of P/S terms and the explanations can sometimes feel dense and boring to read. Khan Academy can fill in the gaps, however.
Is Kaplan good for Organic and General Chemistry on the MCAT? Is it sufficient?
Kaplan’s Chemistry books do a good job explaining functional groups, general structure of molecules and how to analyze an organic reaction. They do require some basic, introduction knowledge of Chemistry to prioritize learning.
Is Kaplan Verbal Reasoning good? Is it harder or easier than the MCAT CARS?
Kaplan’s Verbal Reasoning book is not very good for CARS. The methods and strategies it suggests aren’t very useful, and the practice passages are significantly harder than the actual AAMC CARS questions.
Is Kaplan Review’s Physics book good for the MCAT?
Kaplan Review’s Physics book is good for the MCAT, but it is dense, in-depth, and contains some concepts and equations that aren’t tested on the MCAT. Fortunately, it has High Yield Badges that indicate important chapters.
Is Kaplan Review too in-depth and detailed for the MCAT?
Kaplan Review is not too detailed, it is simply thorough and in-depth so that even MCAT takers with minimal knowledge of the content can use Kaplan to learn every section and subject there is to know on the MCAT.
What do Kaplan MCAT books have in the online version? Does it have videos for each chapter?
Only the Kaplan Review MCAT Self-Study Toolkit comes with an online companion, and also includes 6 full-length tests, practice questions, 2900 questions in Adaptive Qbank, and videos for most chapters in the MCAT books.
The Kaplan Review MCAT Self-Study Toolkit costs $299, compared to the regular Kaplan Review MCAT Prep Book Set which is $150.
How long does it take to read and go through the Kaplan MCAT books? How many pages are in each book?
Kaplan Review MCAT set has 7 books, with 300 to 450 pages each. It will take 1 month to complete the entire set if you read 100 pages per day. Doing all included tests and passages requires one extra month, so 2 months in total.
Are Kaplan MCAT full-length, demo, and practice tests accurate? Are scores deflated or overestimated compared to real AAMC MCAT?
Kaplan’s MCAT tests and FL practice exams are not accurate because they are harder than a real AAMC exam, and underscore by 6-10 points. It is normal to have a lower score on Kaplan diagnostic test compared to the real AAMC MCAT.
Is Princeton Review better than Kaplan Review as an MCAT prep book set?
Princeton and Kaplan MCAT prep books are equal in quality, but Kaplan has a far better Biochemistry book and high yield badges that mark important content, while Princeton has the best CARS and Psychology & Sociology books on the market.
Are Kaplan tests harder than Princeton for MCAT?
Princeton MCAT tests are slightly harder than Kaplan’s and deflate your score by 6-12 points, compared to Kaplan which underscores by 6-10 points.
Where is Kaplan’s MCAT diagnostic sample test?
Kaplan’s MCAT diagnostic sample test can be accessed for free on the official Kaptest.com website. It is 7 hours 30 minutes long, and underscores you by around 6-10 points.
A link is attached below.
https://www.kaptest.com/mcat/free/mcat-free-practice-test
What is the latest and newest version of Kaplan MCAT? Is there a difference between Kaplan editions?
Kaplan MCAT’s latest edition is 2020-2021. Content in the new editions is virtually identical to older editions, as far back as 2017, except for some typos and different formatting.
Does Kaplan Review have MCAT tests? Does Kaplan sell more MCAT practice tests?
A standard Kaplan Review MCAT 7 book set has 3 full length practice tests. The self-study toolkit set adds another 3 online exams, so 6 in total. For a price of $179 you can also purchase a separate pack with 3 full length tests.
Is memorizing Kaplan’s quicksheets enough for a high MCAT score?
Kaplan’s quicksheets are excellent for quickly reviewing content you have already read and learned, however, it does not have all the required explanations, equations and terms, so it is not enough for a high MCAT score.
Is Kaplan’s MCAT adaptive question bank good? Is it worth getting?
Kaplan’s Qbank question packs contain some 3,000 practice questions. In general, these are harder than AAMC MCAT questions. They’re worth it at a discounted price, but Uworld and the AAMC question packs are better.
ExamKrackers MCAT Study Package
ExamKrackers has a different philosophy compared to Princeton or Kaplan. It has much less raw text, but uses huge numbers of charts, graphs and illustrations. It is very focused and concise, and doesn’t go into unnecessary detail to explain each MCAT topic.
It was designed for students who prefer to learn by taking practice passages and tests, but need a book set that can quickly refresh their material and provide quick answers.
ExamKracker’s strongest sections are:
- Fantastic Physics book. Sufficient detail for a maximum score, but clear enough to learn quickly.
- Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. Comes very close to replicate the feel and reasoning of the official AAMC CARS section.
ExamKracker’s weakest book is Psychology & Sociology. Simply put, this book covers only 50-66% of the MCAT topics for this section and wouldn’t guarantee even a passing score.
Fortunately, you can easily fill in EK’s gaps in Psychology & Sociology section with Khan Academy’s videos on the subject (endorsed by AAMC) or the MCATKings transcripts of the KA videos.
What 515+ testers say about ExamKrackers
In my experience, Kaplan and (to a slightly lesser extent) Berkeley are both very popular. I will always endorse EK personally though because it cuts thru more of the BS and skims the lower-yield content. It’ll be hard to get a 528 with them but getting through content review and into practice/full-length tests faster is super valuable, and it throws plenty of practice passages (not just discretes) both in and after the chapters.
For reference, I got a 522 (131/129/130/132) using EK and the MCATKings 300 page doc for P/S.
– Anonymous | 522 Score
If you have great content knowledge, TPR or ExamKrackers are good choices. You do not need to know as much as the Berkeley Review nor the Kaplan, but if you know roughly 80% of Kaplan’s content, you should be relatively good for the test. However, with ExamKrackers the details are minute, and it may be challenging to solve some problems if you do not have good background knowledge from your classes.
– Anonymous | 515 Score
I had both ExamKrackers and Berkeley Review, but didn’t dive into TBR much. If you have a strong basis in the typical premed coursework, EK would suffice. I like how succinct EK is but if you took the prerequisites a while ago or didn’t do that well in those courses, TBR might be a better choice.
– Dave C. | 515 Score
Scored a 522. I used ExamKrackers for content review, all the AAMC material for practice material. To go into more depth, I think the Exam Krackers content books were the least in-depth which suited my needs best. I believe it covers the content enough for anyone to score a 515+ and since it’s less thick, less room to get caught up on the small details, and more room to focus on practice content.
The AAMC material is a must. I wouldn’t recommend anyone sitting the exam without going through all the Q banks, section banks, FLs, etc.
– Chris A. | 522 Score
I scored a 520, I used Kaplan and really liked it. Gives a good overview but not too in depth.
For Psychology & Sociology I used nothing besides the Kaplan books and all the AAMC material (reviewed the s*** out of it). Disclaimer: I had previously taken a few Psych classes and Intro Soc so it was all review for me.
I would skip the Kaplan CARS book if I had to do it again, or I would just do the practice passages in it. I didn’t use the strategies they talked about so looking back it was a waste of time. For CARS, just practice, practice, practice with any passages you can get your hands on Kaplan, Jack Westin, etc and then only do AAMC at the end to get into their logic.
– Liz V. | 520 Score
ExamKrackers FAQ
How good is ExamKrackers for the MCAT?
ExamKracker’s MCAT prep books are a good choice for test takers who are familiar with the MCAT content, and want a book set with only essential information plus many charts and graphs, so they don’t waste time learning excess detail.
Are ExamKracker’s 1001 question books good for the MCAT?
EK’s 1001 questions increase your MCAT score by helping you fully understand a topic, formula or equation and not rely only on rote memorization. They are however dense and cover things not on the MCAT, so use them for sections you’re weak at.
How do ExamKracker tests compare to AAMC MCAT? Are they harder or easier? What is a 50%-70% EK score on AAMC MCAT?
Compared to the real AAMC MCAT exam, ExamKracker’s practice and full length tests are somewhat harder and are scored differently than the real MCAT. As a reference, a 60% EK score corresponds to a 502, while 70% is a 508-510.
Which MCAT full length test is the best?
ExamKracker’s full-length tests are considered of similar quality, but FL 3 and FL 4 are thought to be the best, and most similar to the AAMC MCAT.
Does ExamKrackers MCAT come with practice tests?
The regular ExamKrackers MCAT book set does not come with practice tests, and only has 24 questions after each lecture. You must either buy the tests separately or as part of the live EK MCAT prep course.
What does the ExamKrackers MCAT study package include?
ExamKrackers Study Package includes 6 books for every MCAT subject, 32 tests topical tests, huge numbers of charts and other visuals, 24 questions for each lecture, and useful test-taking strategies.
How long are EK’s MCAT books? How many pages do they have?
ExamKracker’s MCAT prep book set has close to 1600 pages, divided in 6 books with 300 pages on average. If you read around 100 pages per day, it will take close to 3 weeks to finish the entire EK MCAT book set.
Is ExamKrackers verbal book good for CARS? Is it harder than the MCAT?
ExamKracker’s Verbal Reasoning book is slightly harder than the official MCAT CARS, but comes very close to replicating the logic and feel of the official AAMC MCAT exam.
Is ExamKrackers better than Kaplan or Princeton Review MCAT books?
ExamKracker’s MCAT book set is as good as Kaplan or Princeton, but is designed for test takers who are more familiar with the MCAT subject matter, and want to focus on practice questions and tests, instead of content learning.
Is ExamKrackers good for Organic, General Chemistry and Biochemistry?
ExamKrackers has good books for all chemistry subjects on the MCAT, however they’re short and have only essential, high yield information. Choose EK if you’re familiar with chem and want a quick brush-up. Go Kaplan or Princeton to learn chemistry from 0.
How good is EK Psychology & Sociology compared to the real AAMC MCAT?
ExamKracker’s Psyc Soc section is the weakest point in EK’s book set, and simply doesn’t cover all the subject on the P/S section of the MCAT exam. At best, it covers only 2/3 of the required content for a maximum score.
How good is ExamKracker’s Physics book and passages?
ExamKracker’s has a good Physics book, with very clear explanations, useful graphs and charts, and contains only essential information. Equations, formulas and concepts that aren’t tested on the MCAT are not included in the book.
What is the latest edition of ExamKrackers MCAT? Do old editions like 8th, 9th, 10th still work?
ExamKracker’s latest MCAT edition 11th. Older editions such as 9th & 10th still work since they have the same content as 11th, but more typos, errors and different formatting. Much older editions such as 8th or 7th are outdated.
The Berkeley Review Complete MCAT Set
Berkeley Review for MCAT is one of the least known MCAT prep book set, but its quality is top tier. It is published by Berkeley University, the top ranked public university in the world.
It goes into great depth on all subjects, however it does a fantastic job organizing content so it’s easy to read and chains together in a very logical manner.
Berkeley Review’s standout selling point is the 4,000 practice passages for every subject, that are close in difficulty with the official AAMC MCAT test questions.
Berkeley Review’s strongest sections are:
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems. Especially organic chemistry, general chemistry, and physics.
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems.
Berkeley Review’s weakest sections are:
- Biology books contain all the information you need, but can be very dense and hard to read.
- Psychology & Sociology books are overly detailed and dense, and don’t emphasize the important concepts very well. This can be fixed with Khan Academy videos or MCATKing transcripts of the KA videos.
What 515+ testers say about Berkeley Review
I highly recommend using The Berkeley Review for in-depth review in physics, chemistry, and organic chemistry, and using their end of chapter phase practice passages as directed. Personally, I found TBR too dense for biology and biochemistry so I used Kaplan to do content review and then did the TBR practice passages. I would then review TBR to fill in specific gaps.
– Anonymous | 515 Score
TBR P/S (Psychology & Sociology) is not great. It covers most of the big concepts, but is very dense and still doesn’t seem to cover everything. It’s ok to reference if you want to read a concept in more detail, but at the same time a YouTube video on it would be just as helpful. MCATKigns 300 page doc, Premed95 Anki deck, and UWorld questions are sufficient for a 130+ in P/S.
– Robert L. | 522 Score
For sciences, the best material is TBR hands down. I can say with certainty that I would not have scored as high as I did without them. They come with both content review and detailed examples how to solve problems AND over 5000 questions with some seriously genius ways to solve complicated questions quickly. Their tricks are pure gold. I kept an ongoing list of their tips, tricks, shortcuts, and strategies as I did the homework and reviewed it before every practice exam and ultimately my real MCAT. This was a HUGE help. I pocketed a pair of 132s here and couldn’t be more elated. Their books are the only ones that have both content review and tons of passages with detailed and helpful explanations.
– Anna F. | 526 Score
The Berkeley Review FAQ
How good is the Berkeley Review for MCAT?
Berkeley Review is a great MCAT prep book set, that excels at the sciences section of the MCAT, has 4,000 practice passages of fantastic quality and useful test taking strategies. However, its Psych Soc and CARS sections are average.
How good is Berkeley Review for Physics? Is it as hard as the MCAT?
Berkeley Review’s Physics will answer every possible question you might have but also contains a lot of information not tested on the MCAT. Also, the hundreds of practice passages will help you learn everything about MCAT physics.
How good is TBR Verbal Reasoning book compared to CARS MCAT?
Berkeley Reviews Verbal Reasoning book is overall of average quality. Question passages and examples are harder, more convoluted than CARS MCAT, but they are good for practice since a lot of the logic carries over to the real exam.
How good are Berkeley Review’s MCAT tests? Are they predictive of real AAMC MCAT difficulty?
Berkeley Review’s MCAT tests come separate from the main book set, and are generally harder compared to the real AAMC MCAT tests.
How long is the Berkeley Review MCAT book set?
Berkeley Review’s MCAT book set has 4300 pages, divided into 10 books. Each book is divided in sections, with each section having around 100 pages. Reading one section per day, it would take two months to finish the TBR book set.
How good is Berkeley Review Psyhology book? Does it include Sociology content?
Berkeley Review’s Psychology comes included with Sociology book. While not bad, Berkeley’s P/S book simply contains far more content than is tested on the MCAT, so you risk wasting time with concepts that are not required learning.
Is Berkeley Review’s Biology book good for the MCAT?
Berkeley Review’s Biology books contain more information than is tested on the MCAT, however the concepts are clearly explained and the hundreds of high quality practice passages will help cement what you have learned.
AAMC full length exams (and maybe question packs)
When it comes to fidelity to the actual MCAT, nothing can beat the full-length tests and question banks from AAMC, the people who actually organize the MCAT.
If you have the budget, consider buying their entire Official Prep Bundle. It does cost some 300 dollars but it contains the following:
- 4 full length exams.
- Question packs for biology, chemistry, physics.
- Flashcards.
- 2 volumes of questions for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section.
- Guide to the MCAT exam.
- Other useful tidbits.
If your budget does not allow this expense, then focus only on the 4 full length exams, which will set you back some $170 in total.
Also, if you feel CARS is your weak point, consider purchasing the two Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills question books (here and here)
Another important note is to not burn the AAMC full length exams needlessly. Do not use those exams as a diagnostic, especially since many of the other MCAT publishers offer their own (usually free) diagnostic exams. They are quite a bit harder than the official MCAT, but good nonetheless.
Keep the AAMC exams for when you’re done, or almost done, with your content review and want to see well prepared you are.
Free MCAT prep materials, tests, and more
Khan Academy MCATBros 300 page Psychology/Sociology Doc
Khan Academy has a series of videos for Psychology & Sociology that were created in tight collaboration with AAMC. They are considered to be of very high quality, with very straightforward and clear explanations of all the required concepts.
Thanks to MCAT Bros, these videos are also available in a completely free document format, usually called the 300 page P/S notes doc by the MCAT prep community.
It is a free resource, but the quality is top notch and comparable with any of the above book sets.
In any case, here is the link to the free, 300 page P/S doc:
Jack Westin CARS practice passages
Jackwestin.com is an MCAT tutoring site that focuses on CARS and on improving your reasoning skills for the MCAT in general. A lot of his CARS resources are also free.
His CARS resources stand out because they are similar in feel and logic to the official MCAT CARS section. Doing just 1-2 passages per day can make a real difference in helping you improve your CARS.
Here is the link to Jack Westin’s free CARS passages: https://jackwestin.com/mcat-question-of-the-day
MileDown’s Anki flashcard deck
For the uninitiated, Anki Flashcards is a free smartphone and PC/MacOS app (except on iPhone where it costs 25$) that is centered around the concept of spaced repetition using flashcards.
In the case of MCAT, an unsolved flashcard would look something like this:
The solved flashcard looks like this:
Spaced repetition means that your Anki software will periodically feed you Anki cards, with the frequency based on whether you answer the Anki flashcard correctly or not.
For example, if you answer a flashcard correctly, Anki will push the same card again in 30 minutes. If after 30 minutes you answer it correctly again, it will push the same card after 2 days, then 5 days, then 7 days, then 15 days, then 30 days, etc.
However, if you fail the card the frequency sequence resets. Thus, if you fail the 15-day flashcard, Anki will push the same card again after 30 minutes, then 2 days, then 5 days, and so on.
The frequency is adjustable within the app, so you aren’t limited to just the timetable mentioned in this article.
The app itself doesn’t come with any MCAT decks, so you’ll have to either make your own flashcards or simply upload a premade deck.
The Anki deck of Reddit user MileDown is probably the best free Anki deck you will find. It’s not something you’ll see mentioned on commercial pages simply because it’s free, but our own readers, as well as learners on MCAT-related communities, vouch for its quality.
As a brief overview of this deck, it contains:
- 2,900 cards organized in 7 subdecks (Behavioral, Biochemistry, Biology, Essential Equations, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Math)
- Every equation, unit, and constant needed for the MCAT is included.
- Every item in the 300 page Khan Academy Psych/Soc document is included.
- All cards include a graphic or picture to help you understand the topic.
- All cards include a link to the relevant Khan Academy video or, in some cases, a YouTube video as a reference.
- Each card is written as a “fill-in-the-blank”.
Overall, this deck is of very high quality and a great way to practice your content and go over the material.
That being said, it does have some very, very minor disadvantages:
- It is very comprehensive, but not 100% so. There may be a few subjects that aren’t sufficiently covered in this deck.
- It does have a handful of errors. These are few and far between, but they are there, so if a particular flashcard does stand out as not making sense, be sure to double or triple check it.
Download links:
- Anki Flashcard Software
- MileDown’s Anki Flashcard Deck
- Original Reddit Thread by MileDown containing the download link
92 page biochemistry notes
This is a document by a Reddit user called Lazy OCD, who has created a beautiful looking, 92 page document that contains useful notes on Biochemistry.
By his own admission, these notes do contain some extra information that is not on the MCAT, but could be useful as context info.
They pair well together with the Anki cards and any other book set, especially Princeton Review.
Download links:
Free MCAT Practice exams
Below is a list of free MCAT practice exams:
Good luck on the MCAT!