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UWorld vs Blueprint MCAT
Thoughts on the MCAT study materials from Blueprint and UWorld—one is definitely better
At this point, I have purchased and reviewed around a dozen different MCAT study products. In fact, the number might be closer to 20 now. However, of all the MCAT courses and Qbanks I’ve used, the two that I get asked about the most are likely Blueprint and UWorld (and maybe Kaplan). In this post, I compare and contrast the MCAT study tools from UWorld and Blueprint so you can figure out which is best for you.
Before diving in, the first thing we need to talk about is the scope of these MCAT study tools. Specifically, I am referencing the Blueprint prep course options. When comparing UWorld and Blueprint, are we talking about Blueprint’s full MCAT course, or just their Qbank? It’s a question that needs answering because this can make a big difference. Let me explain.
UWorld’s MCAT prep product is essentially just a Qbank. It is not a full prep course. With UWorld, you get a bank of around 3,000 practice problems and answer explanations, along with the ability to make flashcards and custom notes. That’s about it.
Blueprint, on the other hand, has the same Qbank-style type of product and a full MCAT prep program. That full course includes a detailed study plan, live MCAT classes, mock exams, printed prep books, on demand video lessons, office hour sessions, homework assignments, and a lot more. It’s your quintessential, full-scale MCAT prep course.
Blueprint MCAT video lesson
You can see what I’m getting at here. With Blueprint, you get the choice of their cheaper Qbank study tool or their full MCAT prep program, which costs around $1,500 to $3,000 full retail, depending on what format and features you’re looking for.
As these two types of prep products are so vastly different, and I’m assuming you want an apples-to-apples comparison of UWorld vs Blueprint, I plan to focus on comparing the two Qbank products. That’s the only way this post really makes sense.
Being honest, if you’re debating between one of Blueprint’s full MCAT courses and UWorld, it’s not even close—you have to go with Blueprint all day. It’s an insanely better MCAT prep product, and although it obviously costs more, it’s about 100x better in my opinion. With video lessons, targeted homework, study planners, office hours, and all of those other features noted above, it’s not even close.
Office hours session with Blueprint
So if that’s your debate, then go with Blueprint, without a doubt. However, assuming you’re more curious about which company has a better MCAT Qbank, let’s get into it. Below, I’ll discuss where each company wins and has its highlights, before giving you a quick verdict at the end as to which one we think you should go with. Let’s start with Blueprint.
Highly Realistic Practice Problems
Directly comparing the question banks from both companies, Blueprint gets the win when it comes to one of the most important factors: question realism.
Simply put, we think Blueprint has more realistic practice problems. Both companies do a nice job generating practice material, but when you look at the length, content, style, and difficulty of real MCAT passages and problems, Blueprint is better.
Blueprint’s problems are more realistic
Obviously, nothing compares to the AAMC practice bundle. Assuming though that you’re using these Qbanks in addition to the AAMC materials, when considering the problems that Blueprint has crafted in-house as compared to UWorld’s, we like Blueprint’s better. We found them to be more realistic and a better match for the official MCAT.
Study Planner
The next advantage for Blueprint over UWorld is that they actually include their study planning tool from their full MCAT course with their Qbank. This is something completely missing from the UWorld program.
UWorld doesn’t have any sort of calendar function or study planner, which can be a nice feature for students that need a little bit more guidance or hand holding through their studies.
The Blueprint tool guides you through the process and keeps you on track to work through all of the problems in the Qbank before exam day. This was a really nice added benefit in my opinion.
More Practice Material
The third highlight for Blueprint is that they simply offer more problems. If we’re directly comparing Qbanks, Blueprint gives you 4,000 problems, while UWorld only gives you 3,000. It’s that simple. You literally get 33% more practice work work with Blueprint.
Blueprint MCAT quiz question
So if you’re the learn-by-doing type, then Blueprint will give you more bang for your buck.
Cost Savings
On the topic of value, the next win for Blueprint is cost. Again, this is easy. Blueprint is a better value than UWorld.
The UWorld Qbank product costs somewhere between $320 and $420 depending on format. It costs $320 if you want 90 days of access, $370 if you want 180 days of access, and $420 for a full year.
In contrast, the Blueprint Qbank costs $250. Their package gives you 6 months of access and all of the tools noted above.
Thus, if you compare that package from Blueprint vs UWorld’s 6-month package, it’s $250 for Blueprint vs $370 for UWorld. Or in other words, $120 in savings in favor of Blueprint.
Included Full-Length Mock Exams
Lastly, tying in with my point above about pricing advantage, Blueprint additionally offers a Qbank product that includes 10 full-length practice tests.
This is something that UWorld does not provide for some reason. Working individual practice problems and reviewing answers is a huge part of prepping; however, so is taking full-length mock exams under test-like conditions.
Blueprint MCAT practice test
I’m honestly kind of surprised UWorld doesn’t offer this. They do give you the ability to take Qbank problem sets under timed conditions, but they don’t have curated mock exams. So this is a big advantage for Blueprint.
Plus, the nice thing is that the Blueprint package with their Qbank + 10 practice tests only costs $399. That’s only $30 more than UWorld’s 6-month package. This goes to show that Blueprint offers a ton of value.
Next, let’s get to UWorld’s highlights. I have two of them.
Fantastic Problem Explanations
Personally, I think the UWorld problem explanations and rationales are better than Blueprint’s. Every problem in the UWorld Qbank comes with a detailed text explanation, illustration of the underlying principles being tested, and rationales as to why each answer choice is correct or incorrect.
This is a huge part of the UWorld learning system. They believe in learning by doing, and you must have good problem solutions and review tools in order to do that. Thus, this is clearly where they’ve invested the bulk of their resources.
UWorld problem explanation
These problem explanations are well-articulated, written in easy-to-understand terms, provide a nice amount of detail, and are accompanied by top-notch visuals. These are my favorite part. These are stunningly beautiful illustrations and graphics that I think visual learners will love.
Even though we think Blueprint offers more realistic MCAT practice problems, the UWorld explanations are better.
Nice Notetaking Features
UWorld doesn’t provide flashcards or notes directly like Blueprint does, but instead provides an integrated tool where you can make your own.
Basically, anytime you come across a graphic or explanation that you like (or know you will need later), you can just click a button and add it directly to your digital notebook or create a flashcard with it.
The UWorld notetaking feature
It’s a really smooth integration, and it’s very easy to use. Don’t get me wrong—we like Blueprint’s flashcards as well (you get about 1,600 of them with your Qbank), but there are some benefits to the way UWorld does it.
By being forced to make your own notes and flashcards rather than being handed a deck, you have to think critically about what notes to write down, helping you to move the material to your long term memory. As such, we really like UWorld’s notecard tool.
If you’re debating between the full Blueprint MCAT course and UWorld’s Qbank, my advice is to go with Blueprint. There’s no doubt about it in my mind. It is such a superior MCAT study program that you can’t even compare the two.
However, between the two MCAT Qbanks, both have their own strengths and it’s a tough decision. Yet, at the end of the day, we still give the edge to Blueprint, and I would suggest going with their Qbank with the 10 full-length practice tests.
For just $30 more than UWorld, you get so much more value. With flashcards, a customized study planner, full-length mock exams, and more realistic practice problems, I prefer their study materials. Even though UWorld might have slightly better explanations, I think Blueprint is the way to go.
In my opinion, Blueprint’s Qbank product offers so much more value than UWorld’s. With flashcards, a study planner, full-length mock exams, and more realistic practice problems, I prefer Blueprint’s study materials.
Does UWorld or Blueprint offer more realistic practice MCAT questions?
I believe that Blueprint’s MCAT passages and problems are more representative of actual MCAT questions. In my opinion, they more closely match the difficulty, content, style, and length of real MCAT problems.
