Is Kaplan or Princeton Review better for MCAT?

Neither Kaplan nor Princeton Review (TPR) is definitively "better"; the choice depends on your learning style, with Kaplan often favored for conciseness and value, while Princeton Review offers more detailed, in-depth material, though recent reviews lean towards Kaplan for overall strength, balancing content with modern features and competitive pricing. Kaplan is great for direct learning and visuals, while TPR excels if you need exhaustive detail or more practice tests, but Kaplan's recent updates have made them very strong contenders.

Are Kaplan or Princeton Review books better for MCAT?

Kaplan is better if you're really starting from ground zero or if you haven't taken pre-reqs in a while. Princeton Review is better if you want to focus more on high-yield content or if you feel comfortable with content already.

Which MCAT prep is most effective?

The best MCAT prep depends on your learning style, with Kaplan often cited as the best overall for its comprehensive structure, live classes, and realistic practice, while Blueprint excels for visual learners with engaging video lessons, and UWorld is top-tier for practice questions with detailed explanations. Other strong options include Princeton Review for materials, Magoosh for budget-friendly value, and personalized tutoring through services like MCAT Nerds for customized support. 

Is Kaplan enough for MCAT?

Most students would agree that compared to the different MCAT prep books available in the market, Kaplan is one of those on top of their lists. Aside from being comprehensive and with many detailed explanations, the questions are patterned and structured after the actual MCAT.

Is the Princeton review good for MCAT prep?

Princeton Review MCAT is one of the big names in MCAT test prep. This means that Princeton MCAT has resources to devote to research and in choosing instructors. Online classes available. Princeton MCAT offers online courses, which are my preferred type of courses (I prefer online, as you can see from this website!).

Kaplan vs Princeton Review MCAT books (Which is Better?)

How does Princeton Review compare to Kaplan?

Kaplan comes with a Higher Score Guarantee, flexible financing, and one year of access. Tutoring packages are available if you want more support. Princeton Review offers a 170+ score guarantee in select courses, with extensive resources and one year of access included.

What score is 50% correct on MCAT?

A 50% on the MCAT usually means a total score around 500-502, placing you at the 50th percentile (the average), meaning you scored better than roughly half of all test-takers, though this can fluctuate slightly with test years, with recent averages often being around 500.5. It's considered an average score, not necessarily competitive for top-tier schools but often meeting minimums for many programs, with scores above 508 being in the 75th percentile (good) and above 515 in the 90th percentile (excellent).
 

Is Kaplan harder than actual MCAT?

Yes, Kaplan practice tests are generally considered harder and less representative of the real AAMC MCAT in terms of question style, often focusing on lower-yield content details rather than the official exam's critical thinking, leading to score deflation (e.g., 5-10 points lower). They are great for content review and building stamina, but official AAMC materials are better predictors of your actual score, as they better mimic the official test's reasoning and logic. 

What is 90% correct on MCAT?

Getting 90% correct on the MCAT usually translates to a score in the 90th percentile (around 515+ total), meaning you scored better than 90% of test-takers, with scores of 128-130 per section, though exact raw scores vary by section difficulty and test date due to statistical equating. Achieving this means answering most questions correctly, often around 44-48 questions per section, placing you as a very competitive applicant for medical school. 

Is 2 months enough to study for MCAT?

Yes, 2 months (around 8 weeks) can be enough to study for the MCAT, but it requires intense focus, consistent daily hours (often 30-40+ hrs/week), a strategic plan, and depends heavily on your existing knowledge base, with many recommending 3-6 months for a less rushed approach. A 2-month plan demands prioritizing high-yield topics, frequent practice tests, and efficient content review to cover the vast material, focusing on skills like passage analysis and stamina building. 

What is the best source to study for the MCAT?

Khan Academy and Sketchy MCAT

Khan Academy is well known for having exceptional free videos and practice questions. This holds true for the MCAT, as well. Sketchy is another visual learning company well-loved by medical students that more recently launched an MCAT learning library as well.

How rare is a 525 MCAT?

A 525 MCAT score is extremely rare and exceptional, placing you in the top 1% (100th percentile) of test-takers, just three points shy of a perfect 528, making you a top-tier applicant highly competitive for even the most selective medical schools. While exact numbers vary, only a tiny fraction of test-takers (around 1 in 450 or less) achieve scores of 525+, signifying mastery of the material. 

What is a 78% on the MCAT?

A 78% on the MCAT generally translates to a total score of 510, placing you in the 78th percentile, meaning you scored better than 78% of test-takers, which is a strong, competitive score for many medical schools, often above average for MD programs. While not in the highest tiers (like 90th percentile+), it's a very solid score that makes you competitive, especially when combined with a strong GPA and experiences. 

Is Kaplan inflated in MCAT?

Are Kaplan MCAT Tests Accurate? The general trend for Kaplan practice exams is that they are based heavily on content and may present as much more difficult than the real MCAT. Many students claim that Kaplan practice tests are not accurate or representative of the official MCAT exam.

Are Princeton Review MCAT tests harder?

All of them are generally harder than the AAMC tests themselves. Kaplan's are the most similar to the AAMC (add 2-3 pts to your FLE score) and Princeton Review's are the hardest (I bombed a PR test and then scored 16 points higher on an official AAMC test THE NEXT DAY).

Is 512 MCAT too low?

No, a 512 MCAT score is not bad; it's a strong, competitive score, generally around the 84th percentile, meaning you scored better than most test-takers and are competitive for many MD programs, with averages often around 511-512 for admitted students, though higher scores (515+) boost chances for top-tier schools. It's a solid score that allows for broad applications, but consider your overall profile (GPA, experiences) and target schools, as very selective programs may prefer scores above 515. 

Is the 99th percentile the top 1%?

Yes, the 99th percentile is effectively the top 1% because it signifies you scored better than 99% of the population, placing you in the highest-scoring group, which is the top one percent. If 100 people are ranked, the person at the 99th percentile is above 99 of them, making them the top performer alongside those in that highest bracket. 

What is a top 1% MCAT score?

A top 1% MCAT score generally starts around 517-518+, with the highest percentile being the perfect 528, but scores in the low 520s (like 521-522) already put you in the 98th percentile or above, meaning you're scoring better than nearly everyone else and firmly in that elite tier for top medical schools, though a 528 is statistically extremely rare.
 

How deflated is Kaplan?

Kaplan MCAT tests are generally considered somewhat deflated, with a common estimate being that you can add about 10 points to your Kaplan score to get closer to your real AAMC score, though this varies by individual and some users find recent tests less deflated or even inflated due to difficulty. The main difference often lies in content focus, with Kaplan testing obscure details while the AAMC emphasizes critical thinking, making Kaplan useful for content gaps but not always a perfect predictor of final scores.
 

Which MCAT prep is the best?

The best MCAT prep depends on your learning style, with Kaplan often cited as the best overall for its comprehensive structure, live classes, and realistic practice, while Blueprint excels for visual learners with engaging video lessons, and UWorld is top-tier for practice questions with detailed explanations. Other strong options include Princeton Review for materials, Magoosh for budget-friendly value, and personalized tutoring through services like MCAT Nerds for customized support. 

Is the Princeton Review MCAT practice test the same as the real MCAT?

The Princeton Review practice tests are very similar to the real MCAT, not only in content but also in usability; all of the practice tests you will take in your course, and our Free Online MCAT Practice Test , have the same features as the actual MCAT.

Should I retake a 516 MCAT?

Bottom line: If you scored 498 or below, I definitely recommend retaking the MCAT. If you scored 499-505 your first time, you should probably retake the MCAT. If you scored 506-511, you may not need to retake, but you could if you know you'd score much higher — especially if you're applying to Ivy League schools.

How many questions can you miss on the MCAT to get a 520?

To get a 520 on the MCAT, you generally need to miss very few questions, perhaps only a handful across the entire test, but the exact number isn't fixed because scoring is scaled and depends on the test's overall difficulty and other test-takers' performance, meaning you could miss a few and still score high (around 97th percentile) or need near perfection. You can miss one or two questions per section and still score a perfect 132 on that section, but hitting a 520 (which requires high section scores like 130+) means extreme accuracy, often under 10 errors total for the whole exam. 

Will a 509 MCAT get me into med-school?

Considering that a 509 is quite close to the average MCAT score of a 501, it's not very competitive for med-school admission. With a 509, you might make some med-school score cutoffs, but the rest of your application needs to be very competitive to make you a viable candidate for most med-schools.