The MCAT tests your knowledge on the basic sciences in topics such as Biochem, biology chemistry physics, sociology, and Psychology. For many Pre Med students this test can be challenging. However a lot of this fear comes from not knowing which question banks are best for tackling this exa. In this article I will be reviewing the best MCAT prep courses.

Which is the Best MCAT prep Course

The Princeton Review Self Paced Course

The Princeton Review is number one on my list. First and foremost The Princeton Review has a variety of different courses for people in specific situations. In fact they have courses for those trying to score above a 515, those trying to score above a 513 as well as those who just want a Self Paced Course. I have provided a full write up of the Specifics here

I really liked The Princeton Review Self Paced Course because it gave me the flexibility to work on my own schedule, and go at my own pace essentially. This is the perfect course for those who need some guided direction, but do not necessarily want to be overrestricted in their progress.

• Detail oriented questions: Very detail oriented, and requires more memorization
• Difficult Questions: A lot of the questions involve multi step calculations or require the you remember a certain equation. I remember taking the Chem/Phys portion of The Princeton Review and thinking to myself “I feel like I am taking an exam to get my pHD in engineering or something.” Even though the questions are excessively difficult 
• User friendly: It is easy to scroll in the video playlist and find a topic that you want to do practice questions in.

Another Huge benefit of this course is that it comes with an unlimited amount of live Question and Answer Sessions

Magoosh MCAT prep course

Magoosh is an online mcat prep platform which contains video lessons as well as a variety of chem phys practice questions. Additionally the this resource provides free flashcards, study schedules, and full length practice exams. The platform contains a 1 month premium plan a 12 month premium plan as well as free plan.

Some reasons why I think Magoosh is a great option for MCAT prep

• 24/7 email support from the Tutors : the tutors for this company work around the clock to ensure that all of the students had their questions about specific content answered. This level of support really blew me away.

• User friendly: Easy to navigate through the lesson plans

• Ability to take notes: it gives you the ability to take notes, so that you can be more engaged with the material, and better retain the information for later on.

• Covers Organic Chemistry Well: Additionally Magoosh has solid coverage of organic chemistry. This tends to be a topic that some resources do not cover in good enough depth. Magoosh however goes over this topic extensively

Should you Buy Magoosh: Yes, I think Magoosh is a great option if you are just starting out with learning the material and have not necessarily began looking at passages yet. The questions particularly in the chem phys section are designed to be rapid drills to begin This is in contrast to something altius which has more long passages and are good for developing your critical reasoning skills in the Chem/phys section.

Berkeley Review MCAT prep course

This resource is very old and is usually sold  as a series of paperback books. However despite how old it is I would consider a very useful resource especially for the chem/phys section. Each topic for chem phys has  a section which is considered as practice, and then additional sections which are considered as exams and should be taken under timed conditions. Here is what folks on Redditt say about the Berekely Review

• Is it only practice problems?: No, Just before each problem set is the chapter which  contains paragraphs the go in depth into each topic, and provides in depth explanations as well as  examples.
• Does it include images? Yes, this resource does include images however it is in black and white. The images include things such as organic molecules, force diagrams, chemical equations, as well as graphs.
• How Many Physics books are there?: Berkeley Review contains two books for physics. One book is for Physics I and the other book is for Physics 2. The Physics book contains the following topics:
  • Forces, Circular motion, and Gravitation
  • Work and Energy
  • Momentum and Torque
  • Periodic motion and Waves
  • Translational motion

• Where can it be purchased?: Because the company is so old it is difficult to find in stores. However it can be easily found on Amazon or ebay.

Altius Test Prep MCAT course

I really liked the Study course, because you are given a tutor that provides you with an extra layer of accountability, and also a lot of the activities are done in groups which helps to keep the morale high

One of the things that makes altius stand out is the fact Altius has many regional hubs, meaning that depending on where you go to school, they have MCAT instruction sessions that are likely within your vicinity which you can attend if you signed up for the Altius program

Overemphasis on select topics: One thing I liked about the Altius Chem/Phys exams is that each of the Chem/Phys exams in the 10 FL set overemphasizes one concept in chem/phys. For example, one exam might ask a lot of physics questions on a topic such as electricity while another focuses more on organic chemistry. This is particularly helpful because it forces you to be proficient in all of the chem/phys subjects.

In depth explanations: The explanations for the Altius test Prep

Good Organization: The practice for all of the sections questions are organized into Mini exams that were each anywhere from 2-5 passages. Doing the practice questions in small quantities like this id ideal because it prevents you from getting overloaded with too much information at once from doing a high volume of practice questions

Khan Academy MCAT prep course

This is a free resource which contains a video playlist of all of the MCAT topics

• Does it contain practice questions?: Yes, at the end of each video lecture are a series of multiple choice practice questions which can be answered
• User friendly: The interface is very user friendly. It is easy to navigate though the playlist and see which topic that you want to review.
• Do the questions mirror exam format: The questions do not mirror the exam format 100% however it still does a reasonable job of providing similar enough practice. It is a great resource for extra practice but I don’t think it should be the only resource you use

In Conclusion

As you can see there are many high quality question banks out there for MCAT Chem/Phys. Ultimately you should choose which ever one best meets your needs and is within your budget. Choosing any from the list in this article is a sure way to boost your score on the Chem/Phys section on the MCAT.