The journey to becoming a doctor all starts with getting a high score on the MCAT. However, with so many MCAT prep options out there, how do you choose which course or study program to go with? In today’s comparison, we compare two heavyweights in the MCAT prep space—Princeton Review and Blueprint—to make your decision a little easier.
Given this is a lengthy, detailed comparison, we’ve included a jump-to links above for easy navigation.
In the above video, team member John succinctly breaks down and compares the MCAT courses from these two companies side-by-side. Keep reading for more detailed info.
To compare the MCAT prep courses from Blueprint and Princeton Review, you need to first understand the study materials and features that each company provides. Therefore, let’s first discuss what Blueprint has to offer and why you should purchase one of their courses to help you prepare for the MCAT.
The Blueprint MCAT study materials are organized primarily around learning modules that cover every subtopic tested on the MCAT. Drilling down on that, within each module is a bundle of video lessons, quizzes, drills, strategies, and practice passages. And you’re actually required to master each module and test out of it before moving on to the next subtopic.
While most other online MCAT courses simply offer PowerPoint-style videos or pre-recorded lectures, Blueprint’s videos are purposely designed with illustrations, graphics, and animations that help students visualize complex chemical processes and biological systems. They are in a word: awesome.
The videos are designed with the dual goals of holding your attention and retention of the material, and we found them to be an excellent teaching tool.
Following each video lesson is a series of quiz questions and detailed problem explanations. These explanations include sample highlighting of passage-based problems and access to Blueprint’s Qbank—a pool of over 4,000 additional practice questions which you can specifically filter to create custom practice sets.
The quizzes and problem explanations act as comprehensive drills to reinforce the learning process, and our team found this core coursework to be extremely on point and high-quality.
In addition, Blueprint also provides every student with six hardcopy prep books that cover the primary MCAT subjects, including Psychology & Sociology, Physics, Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry & Organic Chemistry, and CARS.
The prep books (1) do an excellent job of tracking and supplementing the core curriculum, (2) are well written, and (3) are extremely useful in breaking down complex concepts and dense subject matter. However, they are not as detailed as the Princeton Review MCAT prep books, but are nevertheless a powerful resource.
Additionally, the Blueprint MCAT practice tests come as close as possible to the real deal. We loved these mock exams. The Blueprint practice tests are excellent at replicating real MCAT question content, length and difficulty.
Moreover, we found Blueprint to offer highly realistic testing software, with highlighting and strike-through functionality that closely mirrors the official MCAT’s somewhat antiquated design. With 15 full-length practice exams in the program, we found there to be plenty of practice work.
Blueprint also uses advanced practice test scoring analytics, which quickly diagnose the underlying patterns in what you got wrong and why, so you can spot your weaknesses faster and raise your score quicker. That was a nice bonus as well.
In terms of Blueprint’s digital platform and interface, it’s not a critical component of its’ study materials, but quite frankly, it is the best we have seen in the MCAT prep course space. All the primary study resources are in the navigation bar at the top, which is incredibly easy to maneuver through the Blueprint portal and find exactly what you need. The transition between each element is seamless and smooth.
The functionality of the user platform is simple, intuitive, and responsive. Overall, we found the Blueprint interface and user platform to be ultra-modern and at the top of its class. But more importantly, we like the underlying content and design better.
Blueprint’s video lessons are pure genius, and they are the true highlight of the course curriculum. The videos are fast-paced and designed with illustrations and animations to make the study experience visually engaging, and to help you learn more effectively and retain the material more thoroughly.
Every video features an instructor teaching in front of a green screen, which populates with graphics, illustrations, cartoons, notes and varying forms of the actual material you need to memorize.
Their MCAT instructors are engaging, entertaining and insightful, and are masters at holding your attention with humor and smarts.
The videos are not only incredibly well-designed and visually striking, but are also a powerful teaching tool in helping visualize complex concepts and subject matter in a way that textbooks, PowerPoint slides and canned lectures simply cannot.
The value and overall quality of Blueprint’s video lessons in the learning experience cannot be overstated. If you’re a visual learner, definitely take note.
👉 Read our full review of the Blueprint MCAT prep course.
Now that you have a general idea of what Blueprint has to offer, let’s turn the tables and discuss where Princeton Review wins.
Princeton Review is generally known for the sheer quantity of MCAT prep material that they provide. This is an intense and immersive course with heavy workloads.
There are over 500 video lessons, 3,000+ practice problems, 17 full-length practice tests, and 123 hours of live classroom instruction (if you opt for the live package).
The study materials are divided up into the six MCAT subject areas, with each subject then broken down into classes for each subtopic. In each class (or learning module online), students move through three study components: Prework (before class), class, and homework (after class). Each element comes with individualized instruction, practice problems, drills and reading.
The video lessons that drive the instruction in the self-paced course cover subtopic specific content, and typically take the form of a digital whiteboard with a voiceover by the instructor. The videos are usually short, and the instructors move quickly through their lecture material as the onscreen whiteboard updates with text, notes and graphics.
Although there is very few or no interactive elements or attempts to lighten up the material, the instructors are good at using analogies and mnemonics to help with retention of the subject matter.
To the extent that the video lessons comprise such a large part of the course curriculum, we found the videos to be just average. At times, the video production quality appeared a little subpar, the footage grainy, and the audio tinny.
After each video lesson, Princeton provides access to practice problems, drills and diagnostic exams. We found the practice problem explanations to be very detailed and of high value; breaking down the basic elements of the question, and providing a thorough analysis of each answer choice.
They are better than Blueprint’s answer solutions. The diagnostic exams are also incredibly useful at providing a baseline and continuingly tracking your progress.
Princeton also provides each student with 11 hardcopy prep books, 7 covering the primary MCAT subjects, and 4 workbooks containing various course-related materials.
The subject specific books are absolute solid gold, covering each topic in detail and providing a nice complement to the core coursework. The prep books are so well written, thorough, and do such a good job of breaking down complex concepts and material that we found them virtually equal in value to the online coursework itself. The workbooks also nicely supplement each class and study component, and are designed to reinforce the subject matter.
An invaluable component of any MCAT prep course are the practice tests. Princeton offers the opportunity to take up to 17 full-length practice tests under exam like conditions.
It’s critical to success that students practice like its game-day, and Princeton Review does an excellent job of matching the real MCAT in terms of question content, structure and format.
Similarly, their digital testing platform is an excellent representation of the actual MCAT testing software and makes for a true exam-like experience. After each exam Princeton provides students with a detailed interactive score report (similar to Kaplan).
The reports are well designed, extremely detailed, and do an excellent job of breaking down your performance by subject and subtopic area, giving you a clear idea of where your weaknesses lie.
Tying all of Princeton’s study materials together, and guiding you through the study protocols, is their digital platform. Much like Blueprint’s user interface, maneuvering through the online portal is a breeze, and the navigation bar at the top smoothly guides you through the various resources and study materials in an easy and understandable manner.
While not as sleek or modern as Blueprint’s, the overall user interface is nevertheless visually appealing and easy to use.
👉 Related Article: Princeton Review vs Kaplan MCAT Comparison
The heart of Princeton’s MCAT prep course is its classroom component. The scope and content of their live classes are hard to rival. With their Ultimate course package you get a crazy 123 hours of live classroom instruction, and with their 515+ Immersion program you get an incredible 195 hours of live classroom work.
Further, the live instruction is not just with one instructor, but, from a team of 4-6 subject matter experts who are also MCAT specialists.
Our 5 instructors were all very professional, friendly, extremely knowledgeable, and totally invested in every one of their students’ success.
The instructors also made themselves available for questions and comments during breaks, and had no problem spending some 1-on-1 time answering my numerous questions.
Overall, we found the quality and sheer quantity of Princeton’s live instruction to be well above and beyond its competitors. This makes for an invaluable learning experience that is well worth the investment.
👉 Read our full review of the Princeton Review MCAT prep course here.
In our team’s opinion, both Blueprint and Princeton Review each offer excellent MCAT prep courses. Thus, the decision of which course may be best for you is difficult. Ultimately, we think it boils down to features and the type of learning environment that best suits you. For self-paced and visual learners, we think Blueprint is the way to go. For those that plan to lean heavily on live classroom instruction, we think Princeton Review might be the better choice. Either way, good luck, and you can’t go wrong with these two MCAT prep courses.
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It largely depends on what type of learner you are. If you’re seeking a ton of live instruction, Princeton Review is likely the answer. If not, Blueprint and their super engaging video lessons, interactive learning modules, and sleek interface may be better for you.
Both companies offer multiple MCAT prep options so it ultimately depends on which course you select. With that said, Princeton Review technically offers the cheaper MCAT course.
Yes, both Blueprint and Princeton Review offer hardcopy prep books with their courses. In our opinion, Princeton Review gets the win in this department.