Preparing for the MCAT

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to start this article, and I think I'll start out by answering a few questions that seem pretty common, and that came up a lot before and during my preparation for the MCAT.

Should you take a prep course?

I originally didn't start out with an in-class prep course for the MCAT, and I was on a budget, so I went with this ExamKrackers MCAT prep study guide, which is a book for each subject that the MCAT covers, and then I got the 1001 series for each subject, which function as drill books and workbooks.  In addition, I studied a large Kaplan book that I got from Barnes and Noble that functions as a study book with a lot of content and some examples.

Later on, I took a Kaplan prep course.  The strength of the Kaplan prep course was the online training modules, which are a lot of tests and quizzes.  They include practice MCATs and subject tests, ranging from really specific things like "oxygen containing organic compounds," to subjects in physics.  It's really great for knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, and that's critical for the MCAT.

What is the best method/company to prepare?

I'll do my best to answer this, since I took a sort of shotgun approach in regards to MCAT prep.

If you're self-motivated (or on a budget), I'd say go with the Kaplan book and the EK study guide, supplemented with books from the 1001 questions series where you have weaknesses in (for example, if you're weakness is in physics, get the 1001 questions book for physics and try to finish it).

If you have more money to spare, I'd say take Kaplan or The Princeton Review (TPR).  I originally started out with Kaplan's online course, then "upgraded" to the classroom course.  The teaching at the classroom course is slow and very general/broad, because everyone is on a different knowledge level, and it's sorta one-size-fits-all.  However, to benefit the most from the in-class component: you need to go in with questions from the review material or practice tests, and the one-on-one time is excellent and really helpful.

I think the one-on-one private tutoring for the MCAT is really overpriced, and it's better and less expensive to just go to a large classroom version.  Kaplan's online stuff was amazing and really well organized, and it came with probably 10-14 practice MCATs that were harder than the real thing.  Kaplan's challenging MCATs were great, because when I started taking AAMC practice exams and the real deal at the end, nothing phazed me or really made me worry.

Having a teacher available to ask questions on the MCAT is great, especially if they took the real exam and have been accepted to medical school (they'll know the ins and outs of the test and admissions process).


Depending on what you can afford, buy and take as many AAMC exams as you can: they're the closest to the real thing.  After taking the Kaplan exams, I found the AAMC exams to be easier, and the real thing wasn't so bad; it felt like another AAMC practice exam.  The good thing is, you can take the AAMC exams on your computer just like the real MCAT.  I'm a strong proponent of familiarization before performance, and I feel like I benefited from it since the sections on the AAMC practice tests are timed, just like the real thing.

How much should I study?

As much as you can, even though that answer sounds pretty general.  If you want something more exact, I think Kaplan's page used to say around 330 hours total.  However, don't just memorize and learn, you really need to do drills and practice questions over and over (as many as you can) to just ingrain the information in your mind.  Also, test your recall, by writing equations and every bit of knowledge that you can, from memory.  Time on the MCAT is limited and you want to be sure you can quickly recall information so you can spend more time solving problems correctly.

Further Advice

Don't schedule the test until you feel ready for it.  If you schedule your exam before you start studying, you'll most likely reschedule it because you don't feel ready or because some life changes may occur (graduation, moving, finding a job, big tests coming up).  When I took it, it cost $250 to register, and $50 to reschedule.  I think you can get a refund if you cancel your registration in a certain amount of time though.

To clarify a little better though, if it's November or December, you're good scheduling it in April or May.  If it's February, scheduling an exam in April or even March can potentially go against you as far as maximizing your performance.  Some people take the exam the summer before their senior year, and that's a great time to do it, given you've taken all the pre-reqs.

Here's what I actually used to prepare for the MCAT:

Kaplan's MCAT Advanced - Some passages were insane, but great training.
ExamKrackers MCAT Study Guide - Contains a book for each subject, a practice test, and section quizzes for each section of each test subject
Kaplan's Classroom Course - the online stuff was amazing since it's available 24/7 and you can take and re-take tests/quizzes as much as you can.  It also tracks your scores on practice exams, and shows you in what subjects and sub-subjects you do the best in/need improvement in.
Kaplan's High Yield Study Guide - This came with the classroom course and was the best material I had during my preparation.  I carried this book around with me all the time because it was just a real holy grail in MCAT prep.  It covers 100+ of the most commonly tested things on the MCAT, covers hard subjects, and works out the problem step-by-step with explanations AND shortcuts/tips.  Seriously get this and you'll be amazed.
ExamKrackers 1001 Questions Series - These are great for drills and as workbooks.  You need to know the basic material and how to solve questions as the minimum, because you'll see things on the MCAT you've never seen before and you need to bridge the gap between the basic and the new never-encoutered stuff on the test.
Kaplan's MCAT in a Box - Seriously worthless.  Don't waste your money on this.  Unless you can only learn through flashcards, or something.

I hope this helps you guys out, I'll write some more on the MCAT since there's so much to know.