The best MCAT practice tests are the AAMC's own full-length exams, because the AAMC writes the real MCAT. Two of them are free, Practice Exam 1 and the Unscored Sample Test, and Practice Exams 2 to 6 cost $35 each (AAMC prep product comparison). Each one is a 230-question exam built like test day (AAMC exam guide).
This page lists every official practice product, shows where the full-lengths fit in a 12-week plan, and explains how to review a practice test so the next score moves.
Official practice exams
| Topic | Official rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Paid full-lengths | Practice Exams 2 to 6, $35 each, with one year of access. | AAMC: official prep product comparison |
| Free full-lengths | Two: Practice Exam 1 and the Unscored Sample Test. | AAMC: official prep product comparison |
| Passing score | None. The MCAT has no pass or fail outcome; schools read the total and section scores. | AAMC: MCAT score scale |
| Real exam results | Official scores are released 30 to 35 days after the exam date. | AAMC: MCAT scores |
Every official AAMC practice product, and what each is for
The AAMC sells more than full-length exams. Each product does a different job, and buying them in the wrong order wastes the most realistic material on a day when you are not ready for it.
| Product | What you get | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Unscored Sample Test | Free full-length, no scaled score | A first look at the test, or a timing rehearsal |
| Practice Exam 1 | Free full-length with a scaled score | Your diagnostic, before content review starts |
| Practice Exams 2 to 6 | Five scored full-lengths, $35 each | Checkpoints in the second half of your prep |
| Section Bank Vol. 1 and 2 | Science passages by section, $45 each | Targeted work on your weakest science section |
| CARS Question Bank | CARS passages, $70 | Daily CARS reps once timing is the problem |
| Question Packs | Biology, chemistry and physics sets, $15 each | Short practice inside a content week |
Prices are the AAMC's (AAMC product comparison). If money is tight, the two free full-lengths plus the AAMC's scored exams are the part to pay for first; the question packs are the easiest to skip.
AAMC or third-party practice tests?
Test-prep companies sell their own full-lengths, and they have a place: they give you more timed sittings to build stamina and they expose content gaps. What they cannot do is tell you where you stand on the AAMC's scale, because the AAMC scales and equates its own exams with no curve (AAMC score scale) and a company exam is a different instrument.
A sensible order is third-party full-lengths early, while you are still learning content, and AAMC full-lengths later, when the score is the thing you want to read. Do not convert a company score into an MCAT score with an online calculator; use it to find what you missed.
When to take your first and last practice MCAT
First: before you start content review. A cold Practice Exam 1 feels bad and is useful anyway, because it shows which of the four sections needs the most of your weeks. In the sample plan below, the diagnostic sits in week 1.
Middle: once content review is mostly done, move to one full-length a week, with the next day kept for review. Taking two a week leaves no time to fix anything between them.
Last: about a week before test day, so there is time to review it and rest. Many students save the most recent AAMC exams for the final weeks so the closest-to-real material comes last.
Plan back from your score date too. Official MCAT scores arrive 30 to 35 days after the exam (AAMC), which matters if you are applying in the same cycle.
Sample 12-week MCAT schedule alongside classes
Sample schedule
Sample schedule for illustration only. Not a real student, not real data. Your tutor builds your actual plan around your practice-exam results and the time you have.
Sample 12-week MCAT schedule alongside classes: 12 weeks, about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week. One day off each week.
A typical day
| Block | Hours | What |
|---|---|---|
| Content review | 1.5 | Content review for the week’s section |
| Question bank | 1 | Passage-based practice (AAMC Section Bank / Question Packs) |
| Anki review | 0.5 | Due reviews (amino acids, equations, psych terms) |
Week by week
| Week | Focus | Practice exam |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Diagnostic: Practice Exam 1 | |
| Week 2 | Biochemistry | |
| Week 3 | Biology | |
| Week 4 | General chemistry; Physics | |
| Week 5 | Organic chemistry | |
| Week 6 | Psychology / Sociology | |
| Week 7 | CARS daily passages + weakest science | |
| Week 8 | AAMC Section Bank Vol. 1 | |
| Week 9 | AAMC Section Bank Vol. 2 | |
| Week 10 | Full-length practice + review | |
| Week 11 | Full-length practice + review | |
| Week 12 | Light review; Rest before test day |
Week 1 uses Practice Exam 1 as the diagnostic. The Unscored Sample Test and Practice Exams 2 to 6 fit from week 6 onward, about one a week, each followed by a review day.
How to review a practice test
The review is where the points come from. Budget about as long for it as the test took, spread over a day or two:
- Every question, not only the misses. A correct guess is a miss you have not found yet.
- Sort each miss. Content you did not know, a passage you misread, or a question you ran out of time for. The fix is different for each.
- CARS separately. For each missed CARS question, find the line in the passage that decides the answer, and note why the wrong option looked right.
- One running error log. Topics that show up twice go into next week's content blocks.
If two full-lengths in a row show the same pattern, change the plan, not the resource.
Reading your practice score
MCAT totals run from 472 to 528, and there is no passing score; medical schools read the number in context (AAMC score scale). The average total across the 2023 to 2025 testing years was 500.6 (AAMC percentile ranks). The AAMC percentile table in use until April 2027 puts these totals at:
| Total score | Percentile rank |
|---|---|
| 500 | 48th |
| 505 | 64th |
| 508 | 74th |
| 510 | 79th |
| 515 | 91st |
| 520 | 97th |
Source: AAMC percentile ranks, May 2026 to April 2027. A practice score is an estimate from one sitting. Look at the trend across several AAMC exams and at the section scores, not at a single total.
One-on-one MCAT help
Practice tests show what is wrong; a tutor helps you decide what to change. MCAT sessions are one-on-one by live video (Zoom or Google Meet): bring a recent full-length and its review, and the session works through the passages you missed, out loud, so the reasoning error is visible. We will tell you on the free intro call who would work with you and how many sessions your timeline needs.
One-on-one MCAT tutoring with The Boards Professor costs $349 per 50-minute session, online by live video (Zoom or Google Meet). Book a free intro consult.