Looking back, there was a few mistakes I made when studying with the MCAT. In addition to learning how to study for a longer heftier exam, I learned the value of not over-inundating myself with multiple resources. It seemed like every week I would find a new resource that seemed better than what I was using. I would switch over to that and then have to play catch-up with my schedule. Luckily, the second time I studied for the MCAT, I had learned this lesson and stuck to my resources throughout. I would say this, being consistent with my study schedule, and the resources below allowed me to successfully increase my MCAT score by 7 points! Not all of these resources are free (the first 2 are not free). I’ll have an upcoming post on free MCAT resources coming soon.

1. AAMC MCAT Bundle - It always amazes me that people that the MCAT exam without having touched the AAMC MCAT material. I understand this process is a financial burden and some may not be able to afford it. To those people, I say look into applying for the AAMC Financial Assistance Program (FAP). If you qualify, you’ll receive the MCAT bundle for free! To those who are able to make some financial investments, I say that is is the one product you should purchase if you buy nothing else. I used many resources for practice questions but nothing prepares you like the AAMC MCAT material as they make the actual exam. The section bank questions were some of the most difficult questions I have seen and really prepared me for the real thing. There is also nothing like their CARS section. Give yourself ample time to complete and review these questions. I counted once and I believe there are over 2000+ in the bundle.

2. UWorld - Another fantastic resource. I have to say I have been luckier than others as I first purchased UWorld when they were offering the 6 month free trial. UWorld is a question bank system with over 2000+ MCAT styled questions. The best part of UWorld are the answer responses. Each question will have detailed paragraphs with why each answer in the question was correct or incorrect. It allows you to understand the direction of the question and review content you might have missed. UWorld will tell you exactly what subjects the questions relate to and lets you take timed, tutored, subject-specific, or a set number of questions on a section. It is my opinion that this is the best question set you’ll find. You definitely want to do these before the AAMC MCAT Bundle to be best prepared. If you have the AAMC FAP, there are ways to also receive UWorld at a highly discounted rate.

3. Miledown MCAT Review Sheets- If there is one thing I constantly kept with me throughout my studying period it was this document. The Miledown MCAT Review sheets is a 90 page document that summarizes each chapter of the Kaplan MCAT subject books. It is a great way to refresh yourself on content and to review content overtime to make sure you do not forget it. It comes with graphs, photos, and even steps of biochemical pathways as well as an equation sheet with approximately 100 important pages to know. This is a free document that can be found on the sidebar of the MCAT reddit page or you can google it. It is updated every so often as well so you can have accurate information.

4. Kahn Academy MCAT Videos - This is an extensive comprehensive video set of all topics regarding the MCAT. These videos were made in collaboration with the AAMC. They can be found on the Kahn Academy website or via the AAMC website. I did not get through all the videos but I would watch videos on any subjects I found difficult. For my second MCAT, all I did for the Behavioral Sciences section was watch every single Kahn Academy video on Behavioral Sciences (at 2x the speed of course) and did some light review with resource 5. I scored at 130 for that section. These videos provide you with background so that you can understand why you are using a method or equation and when to apply it. This is a great resource for the MCAT.

5. Premed95 Anki Deck - Last but not least is the Anki deck. You can find many stellar Anki decks on the MCAT reddit page sidebar but this is the one I used. I only used anki for the Behavioral Sciences but it was extremely helpful. The MCAT Behavioral Sciences section is becoming less about vocabulary and more on analyzing but it is still important to have the foundation down.

I hope you found this helpful. You can definitely find more resources online that suit your needs. My biggest advice is to check out a lot of resources a few weeks before you begin studying. Find the ones that suit you best and stick to it. It’s okay to change and adjust but constantly switching materials can be detrimental to your studying.

What other resources have you found that was helpful? List them below.