Blueprint MCAT Review

Outline: Blueprint MCAT Course Review

• Blueprint MCAT Pricing & Course Options
• MCAT Curriculum & Coursework Analysis
• Blueprint MCAT Prep Books
• The Practice Tests
• Blueprint Private MCAT Tutoring
• Verdict: Blueprint MCAT Prep Course Review

Given that this is a detailed, lengthy review, we’ve added helpful jump-to links above for your convenience.

Video Review: Is Blueprint MCAT Worth It?

In the video above, John (from the Test Prep Insight team) covers everything you need to know about Blueprint’s MCAT prep course. He discusses quality of the coursework and study materials, pricing, and much more. Continue reading for a more detailed analysis of Blueprint’s MCAT prep program.

Blueprint MCAT Pricing & Course Options

Let’s begin this review by quickly discussing Blueprint’s pricing and course options. I think this will help you to better understand their underlying coursework.

Blueprint offers two primary course options: a self-paced course and live online course. Both of these course options range in price based on your chosen length of access.

The self-paced courses range from $1,700 up to $2,400, while the live online version of the course costs anywhere from $2,600 to $3,500.

Moreover, Blueprint also offers a 515+ course, which guarantees a score of 515 or better and gives you 80 hours of live instruction. That costs $3,500 (which oddly is the same amount as the most expensive live online package).

Anyway, compared to other courses, Blueprint is on the pricier side of MCAT prep providers, though not outrageously high. It’s priced about the same as Kaplan MCAT Prep and Princeton Review. They’re all priced within a couple hundred dollars of each other.

However, Blueprint is more expensive than other prep providers like Examkrackers and Prep101. That being said, I would just note that Blueprint does frequently run sales and special promotions on their MCAT courses, and a lot of times you can find these packages at a discount, so do be sure to check for coupon codes before buying.

Blueprint MCAT Curriculum & Coursework Analysis

After using this MCAT prep course for a good period of time now, I’ll give you my quick analysis upfront: this is one really good MCAT prep program.

This MCAT prep package somehow brings together the best elements of both content review and delivery. That is, it combines high-quality and in-depth content reviews with a super engaging video lesson format (as well as a killer digital platform).

In terms of how this course is structured, it’s a little different from most other MCAT prep courses I’ve reviewed. Rather than moving from subject to subject in a more traditional manner, Blueprint has rolled the various units into discrete learning modules.

Each learning module covers a subtopic of the MCAT, such as lipid metabolism and fluid dynamics, and bundles a series of video lessons with quizzes, drills, and passages. You tackle each subtopic as a standalone task until you master and test out of it.

This integrated approach to learning allows for more effective content retention. You essentially get the same material in a variety of ways all in one sitting, reinforcing your understanding of the content.

This method of approaching the coursework is very comprehensive, covering every MCAT subtopic you may come across, and allows for better overall learning. In total, Blueprint provides 160 learning modules, as well as an additional 30 modules focusing on strategy, reasoning and other soft skills.

Within each learning module you are given one primary video lesson (which is further broken down into segments). These video lessons are what make this course, and they’re so much better than the PowerPoint-style videos from other companies.

They are engaging, incredibly well-designed, and just plain visually striking. Every video features a Blueprint MCAT instructor teaching in front of a green screen.

As they provide their lesson, the screen around them populates with graphics, illustrations and funny little carton animations. In addition, text, notes and varying forms of the actual material you need to memorize appear as well. The production value and overall quality of these videos cannot be overstated (they are better than Kaplan and Princeton Review’s in my opinion).

It is not just little cartoon animations that make the video lessons engaging to watch – they also illustrate the most difficult to understand chemical processes and biological functions.

This visualization of complex systems and concepts makes learning and memorization much easier. Some students can simply read a few lines in a textbook and memorize the material with no issue.

But for many others, you need something to tie that material to in order to improve your recollection of it later. And these illustrated videos do just that. They allow for a helpful visual connection that greatly improves the effectiveness of your recall.

Following each video lesson is a quiz. These quizzes are made up of a nice variety of question types, including multiple-choice, drag and drop matching, ordering, and fill-in-the-blank. In fact, these quizzes are more like comprehensive drills that serve to reinforce what you just learned.

And following each quiz question is a problem explanation. You will know right away whether you got the question right or wrong, and will be given a succinct explanation.

While this is a great feature, these problem explanations are a far cry from the most detailed I have seen. In fact, I would actually like to see Blueprint offer some more detail around these. Oftentimes there will be just one sentence answer around the correct choice only.

It would be nice to get an explanation around the incorrect answer choices as well, explaining how they relate to the matter at hand and work in other circumstances. This would allow for a more fulsome understanding.

However, one aspect of the problem explanations I do quite like is the sample highlighting for passage-based problems. For those questions that follow a lengthy passage, Blueprint shows you exactly where you should have focused your highlighting and strike-through for ultimate efficiency. All in all, the problem explanations, while brief, are nonetheless effective.

In addition to the quizzes following each video lesson, you also get access to Blueprint’s QBank, which contains over 4,000 practice problems. This study tool allows you to access similar practice questions as you see in the quizzes, but with advanced filtering functionality to create custom practice sets.

You can narrow your problem sets by question type, difficulty, and number of questions, among other things. This is very useful tool and should be used frequently in conjunction with your learning modules.

All things considered, I was really impressed with Blueprint’s coursework, finding the curriculum to be very comprehensive and well-designed. I particularly like the method of approaching MCAT material through integrated learning modules.

For me personally, this was highly effective in improving my material retention and later recall. While the text explanations may have been a little thin, the insanely good video lessons, quality practice problems and handy QBank more than make up for it.

Blueprint MCAT Prep Books

In addition to the video lessons and practice materials described above, Blueprint also ships you six printed prep books when you sign up.

These prep books cover the primary MCAT subjects, including Psychology & Sociology, Physics, Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry & Organic Chemistry, and CARS. These books, which apparently have been recently revamped, are integrated with your online course and serve as a supplement to the core curriculum.

In terms of content, the prep books provide substantive reviews of the primary MCAT subjects, and contain end-of-chapter practice problems and strategies.

They are well-written and clearly explain complex and hard-to-understand subjects. I personally found them to be useful, though I would like to see them better integrated into the coursework. Bottom line, while not quite as good as the Princeton Review subject review books, these are a powerful study resource.

Blueprint’s MCAT Practice Tests

Blueprint seems to prides itself on the quality of its practice tests, both in terms of question content and testing interface, and they should. In my opinion, their practice tests are a dead ringer for the real thing and come as close to official MCAT tests as you can get (apart from the AAMC materials of course).

The testing software is a mirror of the real MCAT, with its highlighting and strike-through functionality, and that funky early 2000’s design. Putting them side-by-side, it is really hard to decipher between them.

More importantly than interface, I think the quality of the practice test questions is top-notch. Blueprint does an excellent job replicating real MCAT questions in terms of question length, difficulty, and content.

With respect to quantity, you get access to 15 full-length practice exams. This is a very respectable figure. Only a couple other companies like Altius provide more.

Short of the AAMC tests, these are about the best I have seen. And on the point of AAMC practice tests, 5 of the 15 total practice tests provided by Blueprint belong to AAMC.

Don’t be disappointed by that though. This is a very good thing. The AAMC tests are as good as they come, straight from the makers of the MCAT. Between the 5 AAMC practice tests and 10 high-quality practice exams from Blueprint, you will have ample opportunity to test under exam-like conditions.

Digital Platform & User Experience

While not often looked at as a critical component of a prep course, a good online platform can make a huge difference in your studies. If lessons and coursework are hard to find or usability is clunky, it can negatively affect your efficiency and overall learning. At least it has in the past for me with other courses.

Fortunately for Blueprint, they have one of the best digital platforms I have used (definitely better than Princeton Review and Magoosh).

The interface is clean, modern and super intuitive. Your primary categories of study resources, including your study plan, exams, QBank, analytics and more, are housed in the navigation bar at the top. This makes it incredibly easy to maneuver through the Blueprint portal and find just what you need.

By and large, most of your time will be spent in the learning modules, watching video lessons and doing quizzes. These are primarily accessed from your personalized study plan (more on this below) or from the resources tab. In either case, you’re never more than a couple clicks away form your primary materials.

The functionality of the platform is also first-rate. It is snappy and responsive, and feels ultra-modern. If I had to compare it to some other commonly used platform, I would say it is like working in Google’s suite of apps. It is just intuitive and easy-to-use, while still feeling modern. Overall, I give high praise to the Blueprint interface and user platform.

Live MCAT Classes

What I’ve described up to this point in the review is the self-paced course from Blueprint. If you opt for the live online version of the course, you get 40 hours of live online classes across 16 separate sessions (each one is 2.5 hours long). These live online classes are integrated with the self-paced program and materials, and serve to build on these primary resources.

I really enjoyed my live class time with Blueprint and found their approach to teaching live sessions to be super useful. They employ a two-instructor approach, and this dynamic makes for some really engaging classes.

With some MCAT courses, you get one lecturer all class, every class, and it just gets a little old hearing them drone on. But the dual instructor approach adds a cool element, as they often play off each other and will defer to one another for different topics based on their strengths.

In addition, the classes dive deeper than what’s contained in the books and video lessons alone, providing some really helpful tips and tricks that I don’t think you’d otherwise get.

Honestly, for around $600 more (over the cost of the online-only course), I do think the 40 hours of live class time is worth it. And for students who want even more live instruction, you can always upgrade to the 515+ course, which includes an additional 40 hours of class time (80 hours total).

Supplemental Study Resources

In addition to the main coursework, Blueprint provides some supplemental resources to complement its course. The first resource worth mentioning is the customizable study plan. At the outset of your studies, Blueprint will ask you to look at a calendar and specify which days are best for you for studying, as well as days that you need to block off.

From there, they will personalize a study plan for your needs, dropping in learning modules, diagnostic tests and practice exams to complete (as well as your live classes if you take the live online course).

The result is a rainbow-colored study planner on an interactive calendar. As life gets in the way or you finish modules early, you can freely move your daily tasks around. Drag and drop each assignment wherever and however you’d like.

This is a great tool for staying on track and tracking your progress through the material. It also serves as your main jumping off point for your daily studies. I really liked the detailed and interactive study planner.

Another notable resource is Blueprint’s daily office hours. These consist of 2-hour study sessions with a Blueprint MCAT instructor six days per week. Most sessions take the form of a deep dive into a particular subtopic of the MCAT.

The teacher will zero in on the finer points of the subject, answer questions, and work practice problems. Some other sessions are just open Q&A to talk about any subject or anything MCAT-related generally.

For the most part, these sessions are incredibly helpful. The Blueprint instructors are not afraid to get into the weeds, and are very open to answering your questions. The only time these lessons don’t help is if you’ve already mastered and tested out of a topic. In that case, I found my time could be better spent elsewhere.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all supplemental resources, are Blueprint’s advanced analytics. Under the analytics tab on the navigation bar, you will find a bunch of great data on your performance.

These metrics go well beyond the simple percentage of questions answered correctly and dive into answer-changing habits, weakness by question sub-type and other more detailed analysis.

It is all great data, and in fact, it’s almost too much. A couple of times I caught myself going down a rabbit hole looking at data on performance in these niche areas and looked up to see I had lost 20 minutes. As long as you can efficiently distill this analysis into actionable tips, it is a great resource.

Blueprint Private MCAT Tutoring

If you’re struggling with a handful of subjects or just need some pro tips to optimize your studies, you can always opt for one of the Blueprint MCAT private tutoring packages.

The MCAT is a difficult, high-stakes exam and nailing a great score is key to your med school prospects. So while the private tutoring packages may be pricey, so is the cost of not getting accepted and having to push your timeline back a year.

Blueprint’s tutors are all 99th percentile MCAT scorers and trained by Blueprint to efficiently communicate MCAT topics in a way that aligns with the Blueprint curriculum.

I used a Blueprint instructor I particularly liked during my course for two hours of tutoring and found it to be a huge help. He was crazy smart and very open to tackling anything I raised, whether it was substantive content review, strategy questions or study planning.

I did pick up that he himself had an area or two where he wasn’t a complete guru (like physics), but it’s hard to imagine someone being a complete master of every single subject. The MCAT is all-encompassing and tests a crazy mixture of scientific principles and disciplines. So I don’t fault him for that.

Apart from that small issue, he was personable, approachable and a huge help. In contrasting the Blueprint tutoring with Kaplan and Princeton Review’s tutors, I cannot speak to the quality of the others as I did not personally use them. Though I assume they would be good as well.

If tutoring is going to be a major part of your study plan, one other idea is to maybe take a look at Altius. Instead of offering tutoring as a standalone package of supplemental hours that can be added on, Altius incorporates weekly tutoring sessions as part of their course. In fact, it’s at the core of their teaching style. Just a thought.

Access Periods To Blueprint’s Online Content

For Blueprint’s self-paced and live online courses, you get your choice of three content access periods – 6 months, 9 months, or 12 months. Obviously longer access periods come with a higher price tag, but choose the duration that you know for a fact will give you enough time to complete your studies.

If you’re on the fence about whether to do 6 or 9 months, I suggest you pay up for 9 months, as you never know when you may need to delay or retake the exam. There is a reason other test prep companies like Magoosh offer longer access periods.

Lastly, Blueprint’s 515+ course comes with 12 months of access to their study materials.

Is There A Blueprint Mobile App?

Blueprint does not have a separate mobile app (for iPhone or Android), but has optimized their website to give it an app-like feel. Even when using your desktop to study, you feel like you’re in an app with its mobile drop down in the upper corner. This makes working on material seamless across your desktop, laptop, tablet and phone.

Blueprint’s Score Increase Guarantee

Like most other test prep companies, Blueprint offers a money back guarantee if your score does not increase after taking their courses.

There are some baseline requirements that must be met (like completing all the lessons and taking a diagnostic test), but assuming you meet the criteria, they will give you your money back if your score doesn’t go up. Alternatively, you can also repeat the course at your option.

Blueprint offers this guarantee because their students see a roughly +13 point score increase on average. This fact gives them the confidence to offer such a promise. This is a very nice safety net and I was glad to see Blueprint offered this feature.

As we mentioned earlier, Blueprint also offers a 515 score guarantee with their premium course. Like the other two courses, there is some fine print attached. For example, you need to score at least 500 on your first diagnostic test in order to be eligible. Still, for students eyeing acceptance into a top rated medical school, it’s pretty hard to beat that type of score guarantee.

Blueprint MCAT’s Refund Policy

Blueprint has very short fuse for requesting a refund of your course purchase – 24 hours. If you don’t call or email them within 1 day of buying their MCAT course, you’re locked in.

From a quality perspective, I wouldn’t worry about being committed to this course, as Blueprint is one of our top-rated courses, but if life events come up that may preclude you from studying, this is a short window to back out.

Verdict: Blueprint MCAT Prep Course Review

Honestly, after reviewing around a dozen different MCAT courses at this point, Blueprint is definitely one of the better courses we’ve used. With killer video lessons, smartly structured online learning modules, targeted practice work assignments, nightly office hours, and some very good instructors, there’s a lot to like here.

We do have a few complaints with Blueprint, like the cost of this course and some thin problem explanations, but all in all, this is a very effective MCAT prep program and we rate Blueprint’s course near the top of our best MCAT prep list.

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