20 MCAT Practice Tests: The Only Prep You Need^TM

Sooner is better!

As a rough guide to a solid MCAT prep, approximately 1/3 of your time should be completing a content review; 1/3 working on practice questions to confirm your understanding; and 1/3 completing full-length MCAT practice tests under timed conditions followed by a careful review while producing very brief notes which can be reviewed several times each week. Most mock exams should be completed towards the end of your MCAT prep, but the first should be done relatively early to get a deep sense of the knowledge, reasoning and stamina required for this full-day exam. For sample schedules that you can modify according to your needs: MCAT study schedule

A summary of the process:

Not necessarily!

… but 1-2 practice tests is unlikely to be as helpful as 11-12, and some students may benefit from more depending on learning style and target MCAT score.

Although there are some students who believe that 'more MCAT practice is better', perhaps a more realistic expression would be: 'more effective MCAT practice is better'. There is little value to have extra full-length MCAT practice tests if you don't have the time and motivation to use them as full-length practice which includes a careful review of answers and explanations over 1-2 days per exam. Frankly, re-taking mock exams is not an efficient use of time. However, taking brief, efficient notes from your MCAT practice test experience and reviewing all of those notes several times per week builds knowledge, reasoning and confidence moving forward. Choose the number of practice exams according to your needs, budget and schedule.

It's also important to note that no one company provides the perfect practice test experience. Of course, the AAMC - being the official MCAT organization - is best but other than that, there are as many opinions as learning styles. Most students with high, official MCAT scores have used a variety of reputable MCAT practice tests.

MCAT practice tests are designed to be simulations of the real exam. Question banks can be: 1) chapter, topic or sectional practice questions (with and/or without passages) that may or may not be at the same level of a real MCAT exam. For example, there could be more basic, independent questions followed by more challenging, passage-based questions. Question banks may or may not include mini and/or full-length practice tests.

They are helpful! Perhaps the Khan Academy content is not identical to a real MCAT exam but certainly the Khan Academy's free MCAT practice questions represent an important component of a complete MCAT preparation.

We integrate content on MCAT-prep.com - including our MCAT study schedules - to include Khan Academy's free MCAT practice questions in order to help students improve their study efficiency with additional, helpful content. We never count those practice questions into the total number of practice questions for any programs we offer.

MCAT-prep.com offers an abbreviated free MCAT practice test by Gold Standard (GS) with an online interface similar to the real exam (78 MCQs, approx. 1/3 of a full-length test). The test includes free helpful explanations and instant MCAT scores for all 4 sections of the MCAT: Free MCAT Practice Test

The AAMC has 12 free MCAT sample questions in a pdf: Mini MCAT Test. MCAT-prep.com has 7 free MCAT sample questions with helpful explanations, no registration required. As described above, we integrate content on MCAT-prep.com to include Khan Academy's free MCAT practice questions to improve students' study efficiency with quality, reputable materials.

Some university campuses periodically host a free MCAT practice test by Kaplan and/or Princeton Review. Consider consulting your premed advisor.