Company | Price | Time to Complete |
---|---|---|
Kaplan Best Overall | $1,799 to $6,999 | Varies depending on plan |
Altius Best In-Person Option | $500 to $10,000 | Varies depending on plan |
MCAT Self Prep Best Personalized MCAT Prep Courses | Varies by plan type | Lifetime access |
Magoosh Best Value | Free to $999 | Self-paced |
[9 Essential Courses]
Updated on October 15, 2019. In 2020, the basic cost of the MCAT is $320. This price includes both the test itself and the distribution of your scores to all the medical schools on your list. Additional fees must be paid for test date and/or test center changes.
Kaplan offers the MCAT Advantage On Demand course for $1,900, which includes online video instruction accessible any time of the week and a higher-score guarantee. An in-person course or group tutoring for the MCAT can typically cost $500-$2,000 and may last one to several weeks.
So, are MCAT prep courses actually worth it? MCAT Prep courses are probably only worth it if you need structure, support and don't feel confident self-studying for the MCAT. Many students score well on the exam without ever having taken (or paid a lot of money for) a course. It's definitely not a necessity.
An in-person course or group tutoring for the MCAT can typically cost $500-$2,000 and may last one to several weeks. For example Emory University in Atlanta offers an MCAT test prep course for $1,350 with 36 hours of classroom instruction.
Best MCAT Prep Courses SummaryBest Overall MCAT Prep Course: Blueprint MCAT.Most Immersive MCAT Prep: Altius.Best Value MCAT Prep Course: Magoosh.Best MCAT Live Online Classes: Princeton Review.The Popular MCAT Pick: Kaplan.Most MCAT Study Material: Gold Standard.
Yes! Our eCourse is 100-percent FREE! Our Free eCourse includes the MCAT Launchpad, MCAT Bootcamp, our 10 Content Modules, Weekly MCAT Study Tips, MCAT Questions of the Day, our Facebook Study Group, and much more! All of this is available to you completely free of charge.
Conclusion. Kaplan MCAT prep is a great choice to get you ready for the MCAT. Many have gone through the course and had great success and you do have the higher score guarantee, which means Kaplan stands behind their work. Kaplan is a great choice if you learn mainly by lecture/video and practice questions.
The Kaplan MCAT prep options range in price from about $1,800 on the inexpensive end for their self-paced program, all the way up to around $7,000 for their intensive, 5-week bootcamp course.
It also covers most topics you'll encounter on the MCAT. Khan Academy excels in a couple of critical subjects. The platform is one of the best for psychology and social sciences. The MCAT resources don't gloss over those topics, which sometimes occurs with other test prep courses and resources.
Most people need 10–15 hours per week to study for the MCAT over a period of at least four to six months . In total, you should aim for at least 200 to 300 hours of MCAT study time.
The earliest we recommend taking the MCAT is the end of the summer between your sophomore and junior year of college. In that case, we recommend beginning to study no earlier than the spring of your sophomore year.
For students that cannot afford the $270 price, the AAMC offers a fee assistance program that allows students to get access to the materials for free! As well as other perks like reduced MCAT exam fees, MSAR's access, and reduced primary application fees.
You have many options when it comes to MCAT studying, you can self-study or you can take a prep course. Both options can be effective, but you should consider your goals and circumstances to choose the best path for you. One of the hallmarks in any pre-medical journey is taking the MCAT.
To get an excellent MCAT score means to score in the overall 90th percentile, which currently means a score of 515 or greater. Anything above the score of 517 is considered as outstanding. With that kind of score, it will be difficult for med schools to reject your application!
Is Princeton Review good for the MCAT? Princeton Review is consistently one of the highest-rated MCAT courses among students and our staff. Their course options, high score guarantee, and top-notch platform keep students satisfied with their study.
Verdict: Magoosh MCAT Prep Course Review If you are self-motivated, prefer learning alone at your own pace, and fancy video lessons, Magoosh may be a great fit for your MCAT prep needs. Their 380+ video lessons, while on the dry side, are very thorough and expertly communicated.
Uworld helps you fill content gaps and start practicing. They're more content heavy and difficult than the real deal, but great practice because it really helps solidify content. Then in the last month do AAMC stuff. It's obviously a must have because it's the right style of question.
fourTo help you prepare for the MCAT exam, the AAMC offers four low-cost practice exams along with a FREE Sample Test. The Sample Test can be accessed at the MCAT Official Prep Hub and includes 230 sample questions.
The MCAT prep courses and materials include at least one full-length practice test, practice sample questions, and study tools that cover all sections of the test, including biological sciences and writing prompts, physical sciences and verbal reasoning.
Approx. 10% off Kaplan study programs is provided to the members of the American Medical Student Association.
MCAT study plans, practice tests for purchase ($35 each) and test day tips, as well as a free practice test are provided the Association of American Medical Colleges.
The MCAT tests basic medical knowledge you need to have for medical studies, and it’s made up of four sections.
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a multiple-choice exam that can be computer-based or paper-based.
The AAMC offers an assistance program aiding students who can not afford to take the MCAT exam or apply to medical schools without financial assistance. This program is only available for US residents.
Since most medical schools require applicants to submit an Medical College Admission Test score, having a good MCAT score will increase your chances of attending a reputable med school.
MCAT and medical school application fees are not the only thing you have to consider.
You won’t be able to get the MCAT fee reduced unless you apply for the AAMC fee assistance program. However, there are other ways to save some money.
Why We Chose It: Blueprint is our choice for the best MCAT prep course because of its strong student support, impressive instructors, breadth of study materials, and access to full-length practice exams.
The MCAT is administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and consists of multiple-choice questions on problem-solving; critical thinking; and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science required for students who want to study medicine. The best MCAT prep courses are those that are engaging, ...
Pricing is $2,299 for six months of access. Blueprint’s Online Course provides the same learning modules, practice questions, and full-length MCAT exams as the Live Online Course, but in a more mobile-friendly format. You pay $1,799 for six months of access, $2,199 for nine months of access, or $2,499 for 12 months of access.
Kaplan’s Live Online Course is available for six months for $2,499. You can also choose the Live Online Course Plus for $2,999 which includes everything in the Live Online Course plus three hours of one-on-one tutoring, MCAT foundation courses, and more.
Why We Chose It: Kaplan is our choice for the best live-online course because of its full schedule and study plan, access to live classes, and the ability to ask questions to off-screen teachers throughout the lessons.
The 510+ score guarantee promises that if you don’t see an increase in your score of 10 points or a score over 510, you will get a full refund. The Princeton Review’s Ultimate Course is regularly $2,099 but is on sale for $1,899 as of March 2021.
Each course comes with its own features, score guarantee, and refund policy. The Princeton Review was founded in 1981 and has since become a top name in the prep course industry. Today it offers a wide selection of test prep courses including four MCAT prep options and a bootcamp.
The Next Step MCAT class includes official AAMC materials, and on top of this, they have ten full-length practice tests. They have 70 hours of class videos. They have ten hours a week of live office-hour instruction. You get a six-month enrollment so that’s equal to 250 live hours.
It’s about $300. It’s significantly less expensive if you qualify for the free assistance program. If you have no other money to invest in prep, the Khan Academy is free. Their quality of prep material ranges from excellent to pretty good. It’s the official partner of AAMC and it’s free.
However, for a lot of people, the self-study approach is not going to work for them. They need an MCAT prep course and the social support of classmates. They need live interaction with faculty members.
The cost of registration for the MCAT exam is USD $320 for all US and Canadian exam centers. International students pay an additional international fee of USD $115 in addition to the above amount along with any local taxes such as sales tax, value added tax, GST/HST, etc. as applicable.
The MCAT is one of the toughest exams you’ll face! It’s deliberately created to be a challenging exam as many medical schools consider your MCAT score a key signifier of your academic and intellectual preparedness for medical school.
The MCAT is not an online exam, and you will have to travel to an MCAT exam center to take the test. One of the hidden MCAT costs students often forget to account for is the cost of travelling to your MCAT destination, and associated expenses such as accommodation for the test period, transportation to and from the test center, and so on.
AAMC offers a fee assistance program to help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds pay for their MCAT exam and prep materials. Only US citizens and eligible US residents can apply for this program.
To help you understand the actual expenditures involved when taking the MCAT, we have created a table with the total estimated MCAT costs, based on an example of a specific student, Mary. In our example, Mary is a US citizen who does not qualify for the AAMC fee assistance program. She signed up for a mid-range MCAT prep course.
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