The decision to attend medical school and pursue a career as a doctor is a lengthy and challenging one that begins with a good MCAT score. You’ll probably need to study for about 200 hours to do well on the exam.
As a result, picking the correct preparation course is critical. In today’s comparison, we take a close look at two of the most popular MCAT prep companies so you can make an informed choice.
Overview of Blueprint MCAT Prep Courses
Blueprint has been a key competitor in the MCAT prep course area for years, and it’s standing and core curriculum have recently been considerably updated and strengthened thanks to Blueprint’s merger with Next Step Test Preparation.
The merger has combined the talents of two top-tier prep course providers: Next Step’s industry-leading coursework and test-taking tactics, and Blueprint’s award-winning video lessons and analytics.
The new Blueprint MCAT, as a result, provides prospective medical students with a wide range of top-tier prep courses tailored to their personal learning preferences.
Blueprint MCAT’s Online Course is recommended for students who are highly motivated self-starters who like to study at their own speed and on their own time schedule.
The Online Course is extremely rich in the depth and breadth of its core content curriculum, thanks to its combined Blueprint and Next Step legacy, and includes as its backbone a highly customizable study planner tool, as well as 160 learning modules integrating video lessons, quizzes, and assessments – including 30 modules exclusively focusing on strategy and statistical reasoning skills.
Students can also benefit from live online office hours five days a week, the ability to personalize test preparation and save time by testing out of a module by passing the pre-module assessment, and access to Blueprint’s Qbank, which contains over 4,000 questions, problems, and passages, as well as 15 highly representative full-length MCAT exams.
The Online Course is priced according to material access durations, which range from 6 months for $1,799 to Blueprint’s most popular 12-month program for $2,100 to 18 months for $2,500.
Blueprint MCAT study materials include the greatest features of both Blueprint and Next Step, including high-quality in-depth information and exciting animated videos.
Blueprint has broken down each MCAT topic into subtopics, and then developed 160 discrete learning modules for each subtopic, incorporating amazing and engaging video lessons, quizzes, drills, strategies, and passages, rather than moving through the curriculum in Next Step’s more traditional subject to subject manner.
The learning modules have been carefully and effectively created to assist pupils in mastering rather than merely memorizing the subject. Before going on to the next subtopic, each student must complete each subtopic and pass the test.
Overview of Kaplan MCAT Courses
When it comes to MCAT exam preparation, Kaplan is the “granddaddy of them all,” as legendary sportscaster Keith Jackson would remark. For over three decades, Kaplan has been aiding prospective medical students in getting into the medical school of their choosing.
Their extensive experience, insider knowledge, and resources have resulted in one of the best and most relevant curriculums in the industry, allowing them to provide a broad range of prep courses to match the demands of each person.
The 6-month DIY Course is Kaplan’s most economical course choice for students who choose to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule.
The DIY course provides complete flexibility, with pre-recorded lessons, office hours, detailed independent study programs, Qbank with over 2,900 questions and explanations, access to Kaplan’s MCAT channel with live lessons six days a week, and over 90 hours of recorded lessons, and 16 full-length realistic practice tests.
The Plus option adds 3 hours of 1-on-1 coaching and individual subject-specific sessions in Biochemistry, Behavioral Science, and Medical School Admissions to the DIY Course. The DIY Course costs roughly $1,800 (the same as Blueprint’s 6-month Online Course), while the DIY Course Plus costs around $2,300.
The Adaptive Qbank from Kaplan is a one-of-a-kind and important tool for swiftly improving your test-taking abilities and making the most of your limited study time. You may personalize the Qbank’s over 2,900 practice problems and quizzes by duration, topic, and subtopic.
An algorithm adapts and modifies the questions and problems to your learning and skill level fast, avoiding questions that are either too simple or too challenging and so speeding up the learning process.
Final Verdict
Although there are slight differences between Blueprint and Kaplan, and each has comparable strengths and drawbacks, selecting between these two high-quality MCAT prep courses is challenging.
They will both give you everything you need to excel on the MCAT. Hopefully, the following short comparison of topic areas may make this difficult decision a bit simpler.
Study Materials
Kaplan’s curriculum is highly amazing, and the sheer number and quality of it are astounding. It has been tried and true for many years. Blueprint’s coursework is just as engaging, and its integrated learning modules are cutting-edge.
Blueprint, on the other hand, stands out due to its excellent video courses and attention-getting visuals and animation. Blueprint is the winner for this.
Price
On pricing, Blueprint and Kaplan are quite competitive. Their 6-month self-paced and online classroom courses are practically equal in terms of cost and materials.
Kaplan, on the other hand, has a few more tutoring alternatives, and Blueprint’s intense Bootcamp immersion program is unmatched. Kaplan is the winner for this section.
Practice Tests
Kaplan offers 16 full-length practice examinations, whereas Blueprint offers 15. Despite the fact that this would seem to favor Kaplan, our team found Blueprint’s practice tests to be somewhat more realistic of the actual AAMC exam, its testing interface to be more functionally equivalent to AAMC’s, and its test scoring data to be more informative and useful. Blueprint is the winner for this section.
Online Content Access Period
For most of Kaplan’s course offerings, students have access to online materials for 6 months after the course begins. Blueprint’s Online Course offers additional flexibility, with access durations of 6, 12, or 18 months available; however, their other course selections often only provide the 6-month term.
Fortunately, most anecdotal test prep data suggests that 6-months of preparation is the sweet spot for the majority of applicants. Overall, we tied in this area.
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