Good 3rd Party Practice MCATs

  • If you have taken the MCAT before, you may need some 3rd party practice MCATs. Even though it is almost always a better idea to take an AAMC exam you've had before than any 3rd party MCAT (Work with those AAMC exams until they become transparent!), you will still need to take some exams cold. Berkeley Review and Kaplan practice tests can be very useful for learning and practice, but the highest quality 3rd party practice MCATs, in our opinion, are those from either Altius Test Prep or Blueprint Test Preparation (formerly NextStep). Both of those companies have knowledgeable, thoughtful designers on the staff. Both companies have people who understand the new exam. Altius and Blueprint did a good job with their practice tests.
  • Not having the full method of AAMC, however, neither company can ever fully replicate the MCAT. A real MCAT passage from AAMC has a statistical character. The distribution of difficulty level in the questions has been validated statistically. The difference between a 119 and a 123 in a section needs to have the same significance as the difference between a 127 and a 131. For this to be possible, there must be plenty of easy questions on the MCAT! (This is one of the best things to remember when you are getting punched around by a hard passage!) In our opinion, the exams of both Altius and Blueprint are a little bit too hard. They are like real MCATs but with ankle weights. People seem to land about five points lower on both Altius and Blueprint exams than they do on the real exam.
  • The differences Altius or Blueprint exams have with each other are subtle, and so are the differences between each company's exams and the real MCAT. They are good tests, but their higher level of difficulty makes the exams of both companies actually dangerous for one group of people - those struggling to break 500. Above 500, Altius and Blueprint exams deflate the score a few points, but for people whose goal is to get to 500, the time pressure and demoralization can lead to a collapse. There is an extra headwind working against you throughout both Altius and Blueprint exams. Do not let these exams damage your self-efficacy! It is not necessary. Give yourself a little extra time to complete the sections on your first attempt or two.
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Blueprint Test Preparation

There seems to be a somewhat greater challenge in the quantitative problem solving in the physical sciences section of a Blueprint exam. This may actually be a reason to choose Blueprint. Blueprint exams are consistent and competent.

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Altius Test Prep

Altius exams are more of a shaggy dog. The editorial polish is not as finished as with Blueprint, and the test to test variation is greater, but their research focused passages really are excellent. The pitfalls, traps, and out-of-scope elements are pitch perfect. Altius can be frustrating and demoralizing, but they know how the MCAT works.

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Extra CARS Passages

  • If you have taken a previous MCAT, you might need extra CARS practice. Valid or reliable 3rd party CARS passages do not exist from a testing standpoint. However, there are excellent 3rd party CARS passages just for practice. The best 3rd party CARS passages are by Jack Westin and Testing Solution. Jack Westin passages are free. Access to Testing Solution passages requires at least a level of paid enrollment. Both companies are very good at selecting passages and writing CARS questions. Each group has their own idiosyncrasies, which makes them a good complement to each other.
  • 3rd party CARS is for practicing your method, pace and flow. Learn from your mistakes, but don't let yourself get attached to results. Jack Westin passages may beat you up in the morning, and then you score above 130 at AAMC in the evening. On a genuine, authentic AAMC CARS exam, it is very subtle the way a correct answer may pitch its doubt or how an incorrect choice may pitch its merit. There is refinement in AAMC's full method. Passages and questions are tested on a population. 3rd party developers can create a good replica. Jack Westin and Testing Solution are both very good at making CARS passages!
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Jack Westin

The selection of passages at Jack Westin is good. There is a strong emphasis on humanities over the more matter-of-fact variety of passage. Every now and then a question might seem overly clever at Jack Westin. Don't let it break your stride!

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Testing Solution

In addition to the passages, the most inexpensive levels of enrollment at Testing Solution also provide you with a variety of instructional resources. Testing Solution has good advice about the CARS section. It may differ from our own advice, but it is always thoughtful and appropriate.

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Extra Practice

  • Although UWorld is a little expensive for what it is, in our opinion, the UWorld question bank is actually really excellent. You do not have to get UWorld. You can do great without it, but access to UWorld is helpful. UWorld especially shines during the second half of MCAT review when you are arriving at the state of holding yourself responsible for the whole knowledge-base. It is very good to have access to the UWorld question bank to test yourself with from any direction.
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An extensive collection of well-designed passages with good explanations.

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