Best MCAT Prep Courses

Kaplan has been around since 1938, so it’s had a long time to research and monitor the MCAT, resulting in a suite of test prep options that cover the medical knowledge and test-taking skills prospective medical school students need to know.

Kaplan offers a variety of different MCAT prep courses, as well as a la carte study options. For example, if you need intensive study for several months before taking the MCAT, you can choose one of the comprehensive live online or on-demand courses. But, if you feel confident and just want a refresher leading up to your exam, you could purchase a practice test bundle or the quiz bank, a library of dynamic online quizzes. 

Kaplan’s flagship Live Online course, which includes 14 scheduled three-hour sessions and more than 90 hours of recorded content, costs $2,499. The Live Online Plus course includes all of that, plus one-on-one tutoring, admissions help, and focus area preparation for $3,099. 

There are two other options which last less time. These courses cost $1,999 for 6 months and $2,299 for 9 months.  You can add online tutoring for any of these option for an extra $600.

If you’re not sure about the live online or on-demand courses, you can try a class for free on the Kaplan website. Or, consider one of the a la carte study options, such as the Gold Practice Bundle, which, for $329, includes over 3,000 practice questions and three full-length practice tests with six months of access.

Notably, Kaplan offers prospective students free consultations to help determine which prep course is right. Students can also opt to apply for interest-free financing with Affirm, which makes the price tag a bit less overwhelming.

If you prefer in-person learning over online learning, consider Altius which provides the best in-person MCAT prep course. Altius offers several MCAT prep course options, but the Platinum Summer Immersion program is the one to attend for in-person learning. According to Altius, students travel from all over the U.S. and Canada for summer immersion MCAT prep course at the Utah and Oregon campuses. 

If you enroll in this program, prepare yourself for an ultra-intense 10 weeks: This Altius MCAT prep course includes 50-plus hours of MCAT study for 10 weeks straight, and you’ll be studying with some of the most dedicated pre-med students around. 

You’ll meet with your individual tutor six times per week, attend 20 office hour sessions, receive 220-plus hours of face-to-face instruction, attend 70 live classroom sessions, and participate in 40 hours of small-group tutoring. By the end of the program, you’ll have received more than 500 hours of MCAT instruction and tutoring in just 10 weeks. 

With a price tag of $9,999, in-person MCAT prep is out of reach for many people. However, Altius does have a scholarship program that can help you save a couple hundred dollars. There’s also a Gold Summer Immersion program for $8,499 with fewer total hours of instruction and tutoring. 

The benefit to in-person test prep is that there isn’t any time for distractions. If you struggle to stay motivated or disciplined with your studies, the Altius Summer Immersion program could be your ticket to the medical school of your dreams.

Another great thing about Altius is its 3X guarantee: Altius promises to offer the lowest price on individual MCAT tutoring, a 90th percentile score guarantee, and a two-week trial/money-back guarantee.

Picky about how you study? Head over to MCAT Self Prep and completely customize your MCAT prep course to maximize your time and effort.

Not only does MCAT Self Prep offer a completely free MCAT prep course as well as a fully customizable option, but its range of prebuilt paid courses starts at $29.99 and covers the same content you would expect to see in a Kaplan or Princeton Review MCAT prep course. 

Of course, you can’t expect the same level of instruction for free or for $9.99—that is, there’s no one-on-one tutoring or in-person lessons. But the free course alone includes 10 study modules, a video library, study tips, MCAT questions of the day, a Meta study group, and 24/7 messaging support. 

If you’re a self-starter and a disciplined student, the free MCAT Self Prep course could skyrocket your score. If you need a bit more structure, consider Self Prep’s Basic Pro ($19.99), Advanced Pro ($199.99), or Deluxe Pro ($1,399.99) courses. These are all one-time payments, and the content becomes more comprehensive and you get more perks as the prices increase.

You can also completely customize your study plan with MCAT Self Prep. You’ll start with a diagnostic exam to determine your current knowledge and test-taking skills. Then, you’ll set goals, determine action items, establish a timeline, track your progress, and, finally, take the MCAT. 

MCAT Self Prep also offers one-on-one tutoring for an additional cost of $149, $249, or $399 per session depending on the tutor’s level of experience and knowledge. Finally, with MCAT Self Prep, you can also opt to purchase flashcard sets or focused subject matter courses called Mastery Courses. 

Ultimately, MCAT Self Prep provides students with a way to pay for everything they need, but nothing they don’t.

Magoosh is the best value you can find in an MCAT prep course: It offers the most comprehensive program you can get on a budget. For $399, you get yearlong access to customizable study plans, nearly 400 content review videos, more than 700 practice questions, three full-length practice exams, detailed question explanations, and email support from MCAT tutors. You can also pause your account at any time if you have to reschedule your exam for any reason. 

If you prefer to learn via live classes, you can get everything in the basic package plus eight hours of live online class time on a flexible schedule for just $100 more.

To try it out, you can sign up for a free seven-day trial. Just keep in mind that the trial is limited, with just 16 MCAT practice questions and 60 lessons.

Although Magoosh is relatively new to the test prep scene (founded in 2009), it has a great track record of helping students improve their scores and get into top medical schools around the country. Magoosh offers a 10-point score improvement guarantee or you get your full tuition back, so if you’re a retaker, the investment is risk-free.

The best one-on-one MCAT lessons come from Varsity Tutors. It’s the only type of MCAT prep this company offers, which means its sole focus is on matching students with the best MCAT tutors possible. 

There are many benefits to self-paced and group MCAT test prep, but nothing beats face-to-face (online or in-person), individualized tutoring. If you believe you need significant prep before taking the MCAT, definitely consider Varsity Tutors. 

You can browse a list of MCAT tutors and select one right off the bat, or take a quiz, and Varsity Tutors will match you with a smaller selection of tutors based on your answers. The quiz asks whether you’ve taken the MCAT before, what prompted you to seek MCAT tutoring, and which sections of the exam you think are the most challenging.

You choose when you want to get started and then get matched with your tutor. Once you sign up, you meet with your tutor, and after the initial consultation, work out your study plan. One major benefit is that there’s flexibility in the schedule and frequency of sessions; you can have as many or as few sessions as you want each week. 

Also, one-on-one tutoring allows you to focus on the areas you need help with and skip over the ones you don’t. This is a major benefit for students who only need to boost their score on one of the four MCAT sections. 

Tutors at Varsity Tutors set their own rates, so the cost of sessions varies. For instance, someone seeking a last-minute cram session the day before their exam can expect to pay a different rate than somebody who meets their instructor more regularly.

Blueprint offers the best live-online course, complete with 40-plus hours of live class instruction (and unlimited class retakes for complicated content). In addition to the live classes, you’ll have access to a study planner tool, 160 learning modules, videos and animations, advanced analytics and explanations on questions you answered incorrectly, several full-length exams, question banks, six MCAT books, and over 4,000 total MCAT practice questions. 

The Blueprint live-online course offers unlimited class rescheduling, so you can essentially have as much flexibility as you need. Your study planner tool automatically adjusts to your new schedule when you change a class time.

Another key factor that makes the Blueprint course better than other live-online courses is its unique double lecturer feature. During each live class, two MCAT expert instructors lead the way, conversing rather than lecturing. 

This program covers everything you’d expect to see in an MCAT prep course, but it blends live instruction with online resources in a way that keeps students engaged from day one until exam day. 

Blueprint says its courses increase MCAT scores by an average of 15 points, and the company offers a score increase guarantee or you can get your money back, minus the cost of some fees.

The Princeton Review offers the best intensive and thorough MCAT prep courses to help prospective medical school students stay focused. Like Kaplan, The Princeton Review is a well-known name when it comes to test prep.

The four course options include: 

• Self-paced, an online-only course that includes a library of 500-plus videos, 10 MCAT books, thousands of practice questions, and 16 full-length practice tests. The cost is $1,999.
• Ultimate, which includes everything in the self-paced course, but also 123 hours of live instruction, either online or in the classroom, with MCAT subject matter experts. The Ultimate costs $2,799.
• MCAT 510+, which includes 11 MCAT books, one-on-one study managers, live instruction, all official AMCC materials, access to MCAT focus topic materials, and more. This course option costs $3,399.
• MCAT 515+ Summer Immersion, which is a bootcamp-style course with nearly 1,000 hours of instruction, unlimited 24/7 on-demand tutoring, strategy lessons, and much more. At $6,999, this is The Princeton Review’s most expensive course option. 

The Princeton Review also offers one-on-one tutoring for an additional cost. 

While all of The Princeton Review MCAT prep courses are intensive, the MCAT 515+ Summer Immersion is the place to be if you need a hardcore, focused prep course. This 12-week course includes section-specific practice, as well as strategy-driven techniques, because The Princeton Review knows that acing the MCAT is about more than just memorization. 

The Princeton Review’s MCAT prep courses are by no means inexpensive, but they can definitely be worth it for students who need intensive study. The high volume of outstanding reviews from former students, as well as The Princeton Review’s longstanding and favorable track record, justifies the cost of these MCAT prep courses. 

Plus, The Princeton Review offers score guarantees for all of its programs. For the self-paced and Ultimate courses, the company guarantees you’ll score higher. If you don’t, you can get a full refund. For the MCAT 510+ and MCAT 515+ courses, The Princeton Review guarantees you’ll score a 510 or 515, although you only qualify for the guarantee if your former score was a 500 or 505, respectively.