Kaplan

Guess I’m the odd one out here but I used ExamKrackers books and I found them sufficient for content review...although I think they’re less detailed than other books so if you don’t remember anything from your prereqs Kaplan might be better

Hands down The Berkeley Review. They are like MCAT bible. They are intimidating for shire but have by far the most practice passages 10 fold than anything else. Helps a lot cause u can hammer out 15 passages per subject if you really wanted to or need the extra practice questions.

Any of the major test prep companies (eg Kaplan, The Princeton Review, ExamKrackers,...) all have great prep book sets and they will give you the content knowledge you need. In addition, you can use Khan Academy's section on the MCAT (http://khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/) which was done in partnership with AAMC which is super helpful.

If you haven't already done so, I would advise you to purchase the AAMC practice bundle that will give you access to practice problems and sample full-length tests that will be like what you can expect on test day. Otherwise, there are some great links under the "High Yield MCAT Links" in the subreddit.

For MCAT prep, some of the best textbooks include Kaplan and Princeton Review, which are comprehensive and excellent for content review and practice strategies. Examkrackers is another great option, offering concise and engaging materials for quick review. While not a textbook, UWorld is invaluable for its high-quality practice questions and detailed explanations, making it a must-have for test prep. If you’re looking for free or low-cost options, Khan Academy (MCAT) is a fantastic resource recommended by the AAMC.

For additional support, check out YouTube channels like Khan Academy Medicine, AK Lectures, and MCAT Bros, which offer helpful strategies and explanations. Focus on using AAMC official resources alongside UWorld for realistic practice. Create a detailed study schedule that balances content review and practice, targeting weak areas while simulating real test conditions. You don’t need to break the bank—stick to essential resources and focus on mastering the material efficiently!

First thing I would recommend is to buy content review books. I personally used Kaplan ($150) and thought they were good in terms of breaking down the content. I would also recommend investing in UWORLD question bank ($250) to get used to the MCAT interface and to solidify your review. If you have money left over I would also recommend to buy practice exams. I’m using NextStep (~$100). The final thing that I would recommend is the official AAMC material. If you qualify for the Fee Assistance Program you can get this for free. Use Anki pre-made MCAT flashcards from premed95 to also drill the information. This material is free and available online.

uworld and aamc materials for sure. There's a free altius and NS full length, and kaplan material can be found as ebooks if you yar har har.

I bought the one with everything included, flash cards, tests, etc. You def don't NEED everything, only the FLs, SBs, and q packs were strictly necessary imo. Also, If you're getting Uworld, the q packs might be somewhat redundant. I ended up using Uworld far more than the q packs.

If you're looking for a comprehensive content review Kaplan is a solid choice. The drawback is that they don't offer a lot of insight into the test itself (Exam Krackers would be your best bet here) but then again that's what practicing AAMC materials is for. Hope that helps.

The AAMC bundle and Uworld are pricy but essential. Any 3rd party for content review will suffice. I personally used Kaplan books and it was good enough.

Premed95 is a reddit user who posted their Anki cards online. A lot of members use them as a study aid. See the link below:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/5xdg6i/by_popular_demand_the_anki_deck_i_used_to_get_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

Thank you for the advice! Seems like UWorld is one of everyone's favorite resources!

Uworld, AAMC FLs, Examkrackers imo

Kaplan is fine and you can score very high with any of the book sets. Honestly, the review books are best used as a reference and refreshment if your content isn't super weak and in need of lots of remediation. Anki will help you memorize way more material than the book sets ever can. I prefer the Anking MCAT V2 deck since it is decently comprehensive.

None of the CARS books in the sets that teach you how to approach CARS are worth spending time on as the recommendations in them are all pretty unrealistic. The TPR hyper learning book PDF has decent problems, but if you have UWurld you are better off using that resource instead since it is digital and matches how the MCAT will actually work.

Overall, practice problems are more important as the MCAT highly favors application since and the book sets favor explanation of concepts (in too much detail IMO) rather than how to apply those concepts effectively.

Lastly, a score of 519 or 520 is functionally equivalent to a 524 or 525. Once you hit those scores the rest of your application carries far more weight and will get you in rather than those extra couple points on the MCAT especially since a 520 and 525 are only separated by 3 percentile points.

I recommend using Kaplan's MCAT prep materials. Their books and online resources are comprehensive and provide in-depth content review.

Content: Kaplan for everything except P/S and 300 page khan academy doc for P/S. Either make your own anki cards or use decks already made. Anki is a must. Should take 1.5-2 months

3rd party resources (after content reviewing): UPlanet was great for reviewing topics. Just keep in mind that the questions are on average slightly more difficult than the AAMC resources. Should take 1 month

AAMC resources: most representative ofc. Use these resources, qbanks and FLs, last. Note: I thought the cars diagnostic tool and cars qbank 1 were way harder than the actual exam cars. Should take 1 month

Other: even though I primarily did anki cards the first 1-2 months of studying, I would continue going through the decks up until test day to ensure you don’t forget anything. Also, make anki cards of questions you got wrong so that you can understand the topics and also themes of questions that you frequently mess up on. In terms of time management during the test, for CARS, make sure to use only 10 minutes per section cuz there’s 9 sections and 90 minutes. In general, for all sections, if there is a question you can’t figure out, it is probably best to flag it and come back after you finish all other questions, except for cars, cuz, at least for me, you probably won’t have time to check your answers

Kaplan for everything except CARS (which let's be honest, you can't "study" CARS, only practise it). Despite what some would say, I think the Behavioural Sciences content is pretty good but it definitely needs supplementation from the 100- or 300-page document.

UWorld was really invaluable. It is able to simulate your exam sections. Just select the setting "Timed mode," and you now have an MCAT section simulator. Personally, I did the "Timed mode" as I felt the pressure of time constraint was really useful for me to get acclimated to the tempo of the exam.

r/MCAT is a great resource

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there is an mcat subreddit with all of this info!

I felt like the Kaplan books were easy to access for content, the world CARS were most accurate, and the Altius/aamc tests were good to get ready for focusing for 6 hours straight

The only advice i can give is for the p/s section: Do the KA videos + 300 pg p/s doc + pankow anki deck and you're good for p/s (if you can afford it then uearth questions as well. uearth is so worth it for every subject!!).

Also there is a website called jack westin that has a free question bank.

1.) You should go day by day and breakdown all your resources into a study plan. I recommend excel/google sheets. I personally didn't have a study plan, but did the best I could every day and kept pushing forward.

Leave space daily/weekly/monthly for reviews.

2.) I wish I knew about all the free resources that exist. Khan academy is AMAZIng and free, and there are free notes on the mcatbros website as well. AAMC has tons of questions and focusing on those and even doing them twice is probably better than focusing too much on third party questions