The best free MCAT prep resources include two official AAMC full-length exams, the MCAT Content Outline Course, sample questions, an exam features tool and the Khan Academy MCAT Collection. You can combine these materials to assess your starting point, review tested content and practice applying what you learn.
A productive free study plan needs more than a large collection of questions. You need to understand what each resource provides, use full-length exams at the right stages and spend time reviewing your reasoning after each practice session. The resources below can support that process without relying on unverified commercial question banks.
Free MCAT Prep Resources at a Glance
- The AAMC provides two free full-length exams. The Unscored Sample Test works well as a baseline, while Practice Exam 1 provides a scaled score and percentile rank.
- The free Content Outline Course combines the official content framework with open-access textbooks, Khan Academy lessons and 120 practice questions.
- The Sample Question Guide and Exam Features Tool use the same 12 questions, but they serve different purposes.
- A strong free study plan alternates content review, active recall, question practice, exam simulation and detailed review.
Free Official AAMC Practice Exams
The AAMC offers two free full-length exams and five additional low-cost exams. The free options are Practice Exam 1 and the Unscored Sample Test. Both contain 230 questions, but they provide different types of feedback. IMA’s MCAT practice test guide covers how full-length practice fits into your broader preparation.
The Unscored Sample Test
The Unscored Sample Test has the same look, length and functionality as the actual exam. It does not provide a scaled score or percentile rank, which makes it a useful baseline when your immediate goal is identifying strengths and knowledge gaps rather than measuring a score. Its review screen also includes video walkthroughs for four CARS passage sets.
Taking this test near the start of your preparation can show you how MCAT questions connect content knowledge with reasoning. Review the Content & Skills Breakdown afterward and record which topics or skills need the most attention.
Practice Exam 1
Practice Exam 1 contains 230 questions from previously administered MCAT exams. Unlike the sample test, it provides a scaled score and percentile rank like an actual exam. Consider saving it until you have completed an initial round of content review. The study schedule section below explains how to take and review it.
All AAMC practice exams explain every answer choice in every section and connect relevant questions to Khan Academy lessons on the same content. That makes the review process as important as completing the exam. If you are working with practice results that require a score estimate or conversion, IMA’s MCAT score calculator can help you interpret them while keeping the limitations of an estimate in mind.
Free AAMC Content Review
The AAMC provides both a PDF content outline and an interactive Content Outline Course. They cover the same content framework, but the course adds learning links and practice questions. The AAMC free planning and study resources page provides access to these materials.
The MCAT Exam PDF Outline
The free PDF identifies the foundational concepts, content categories, skills and academic disciplines you need to know for test day. Its framework organizes the exam around foundational concepts, content categories and scientific inquiry and reasoning skills. You can use it as a checklist, but it does not teach each topic by itself.
The outline covers the four MCAT sections: Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior; and Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. Marking your confidence beside each content area can turn the outline into a working study guide.
The Content Outline Course
The free What’s on the MCAT Exam Content Outline Course contains the full outline and links each part of that framework to open-access textbooks and Khan Academy lessons. It also includes 120 free practice questions from the retired Official Guide to the MCAT Exam. This structure lets you move from a tested concept to review material and then to practice without treating the outline as a simple reading assignment.
The AAMC also added CARS resources covering tips for answering questions across the three assessed skill areas. Ten CARS practice questions with video walkthroughs from the CARS Diagnostic Tool became available in the course on September 14, 2026. Use these walkthroughs to compare your reasoning with the approach demonstrated in the review rather than memorizing particular answers.
Free AAMC Practice Questions
The AAMC offers two ways to work through the same set of 12 introductory questions. The Sample Question Guide emphasizes what the questions assess and why each answer is correct. The Practice with Exam Features Tool presents those questions in an interface that mimics the exam.
The MCAT Sample Question Guide
The Sample Question Guide contains three questions from each of the four exam sections. The science questions demonstrate how you apply the ten Foundational Concepts and Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning skills. Some require you to interpret information in tables, charts or graphs.
The CARS questions focus on your ability to comprehend, analyze and evaluate a passage, draw inferences from text and apply arguments or ideas in a new situation. Every question is followed by the correct answer and an explanation connecting the task to the relevant concepts and skills. Read those explanations even after a correct response so you can confirm that your reasoning was sound.
The Practice With Exam Features Tool
The Exam Features Tool uses the same 12 questions as the Sample Question Guide, but its purpose is interface practice. It introduces exam functions, including optional keyboard shortcuts, while reproducing the look and feel of the MCAT.
Use the guide first if you want to concentrate on the tested skills and written explanations. Use the tool when you want to become familiar with the interface. Neither resource substitutes for a full-length exam, but both can help you begin practicing with official questions before committing a full testing day.
Khan Academy MCAT Collection
The Khan Academy MCAT Collection is one of the AAMC-listed free study resources. Created with support from the AAMC and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the collection includes 1,100 videos and 3,000 review questions. It covers sample content from all four sections of the exam.
The collection is most useful when you connect it to a specific gap rather than watching videos in sequence without a plan. Start with the Content Outline Course, identify the concept you need to learn or refresh and follow its Khan Academy link. After reviewing the lesson, answer related questions from memory and explain why each response is correct.
This approach keeps video review connected to the official content framework. It also fits the active learning cycle described in the study schedule section below. When an AAMC practice-exam explanation points to a Khan Academy lesson, use that lesson to address the specific concept behind the missed or flagged question.
Other Free AAMC Planning Resources
The MCAT Official Prep Hub is the central access point for free resources, purchased practice products and products received through the Fee Assistance Program. You sign in with your AAMC username and password. You can also purchase additional products through the hub.
The AAMC’s How I Prepared for the MCAT Exam feature shares study schedules, strategies and practical advice from students who performed well on the exam. Treat these examples as ways to compare planning approaches, not as a schedule you must copy. The study schedule steps below show how to build your own.
Free premed webinars provide guidance about AAMC services, including the MCAT, Fee Assistance Program and AMCAS. The Premed Navigator is a free monthly newsletter with information and tips for the path to medical school. The AAMC also maintains a Preparing for the MCAT Exam YouTube playlist containing videos and webinars. These resources can answer planning questions, but your content review and question practice should remain the core of your study time.
How to Make a Free MCAT Study Schedule
Build your free schedule around your baseline, available study time and specific content gaps. The AAMC recommends beginning with the Unscored Sample Test and using its Content & Skills Breakdown to identify where you need additional work. IMA’s guide to how to study for the MCAT provides more help with active study methods.
Establish Your Baseline
Take the Unscored Sample Test without expecting a scaled score. Match the Content & Skills Breakdown tab in your report to the Content Outline Course. Repeat this process for each exam section so your plan reflects topic-level gaps rather than only a general impression of which section felt difficult.
Assign Confidence Levels
The AAMC suggests assigning low, medium or high confidence to each content area. Low confidence identifies material you need to learn for the first time. Medium confidence identifies material you previously learned but need to refresh. Use these labels to decide where to spend your next study sessions.
Use an Active Learning Cycle
Move from targeted content review to recall, practice and reflection. The AAMC defines active learning as engaging with the material through those activities instead of relying only on reading or watching videos. Forgetting some material is normal, so return to lower-confidence topics and test whether you can retrieve and apply them without looking at your notes.
Take Practice Exam 1 Under Timed Conditions
After addressing your initial gaps, complete Practice Exam 1 under test-day timing conditions. Plan how you will answer questions comfortably within the time limits. Then review every incorrect or flagged question, identify why you missed it and decide how you will address the underlying issue.
Spend substantial time working on those weaknesses before taking another full-length exam. Your MCAT prep timeline should leave room between exams for this review and targeted practice. Taking full-length tests too close together gives you less opportunity to correct the problems each one reveals.
Low-Cost Official Options After Free Resources
Free resources can establish a baseline, support content review and provide official question practice. If you need more full-length exams or larger question sets, the AAMC also offers low-cost products. Practice Exams 2 through 6 each contain 230 questions from previously administered exams, provide a scaled score and percentile rank and cost $35 for one year of access.
Section Bank Volumes 1 and 2 each contain 300 questions, with 100 questions from each of the three science sections. Each volume costs $45. The CARS Question Bank contains 575 questions, including 166 new questions and 409 from previous CARS products. It costs $70 for one year of access and is scheduled to be available September 30, 2026.
You do not need to buy every product simply because you have completed the free materials. Decide what is missing from your plan. A full-length exam addresses endurance, timing and score feedback, while a section bank provides concentrated practice. You can compare these options with IMA’s other MCAT prep resources before choosing your next step.
Free Official Prep Through the Fee Assistance Program
The AAMC Fee Assistance Program supports people who could not otherwise take the MCAT or apply to medical schools that use AMCAS. Applicants must have a U.S.-based home address. Eligibility for assistance does not automatically place the official prep products in your account.
Recipients must elect the MCAT Official Prep benefit. The benefit is the Online-Only Bundle, which includes all online MCAT Official Prep products. After electing it, recipients access those products through the MCAT Official Prep Hub.
Recipients with active MCAT Official Prep products receive free access to the CARS Question Bank within two weeks of its release. Anyone who elects the prep benefit after September 30, 2026 receives that question bank automatically. Other benefits include a complimentary two-year subscription to the Medical School Admission Requirements online database.
Benefits begin on the approval date and expire on December 31 of the following calendar year. You may apply once per calendar year and receive fee assistance no more than five times during your lifetime. Benefits are not retroactive, and the AAMC does not refund fees paid before approval. Review IMA’s guide to MCAT cost before paying a registration or preparation expense that may be covered or reduced. For the 2026 award, recipients pay a reduced MCAT registration fee of $145 instead of $355.
Building a Free MCAT Prep Plan That Works
Free resources can carry you a long way when you use them in order: take stock of where you are, review the content you still need, practice with official questions and study every mistake. The resources in this guide cost nothing, but the time you spend reviewing your work is what moves your score.
When your practice results show you are close to ready, pick a test date that gives you room to finish your plan. IMA’s guide to MCAT registration and test dates walks you through choosing and booking a seat.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Free MCAT Resources Does the AAMC Offer?
The AAMC offers two free full-length exams, a content outline and interactive course, sample questions, an exam features tool and several planning resources. The Unscored Sample Test is useful for establishing a baseline, while Practice Exam 1 provides a scaled score and percentile rank.
Are There Free MCAT Question Banks?
There are free collections of official MCAT questions, although the AAMC does not describe all of them as question banks. The Content Outline Course contains 120 questions, the Sample Question Guide contains 12 and each free full-length exam contains 230. The Sample Question Guide and Exam Features Tool repeat the same 12 questions.
Is There a Free MCAT Prep Course?
Yes. The free What’s on the MCAT Exam Content Outline Course contains the official content outline, open-access textbook links, Khan Academy lessons and 120 practice questions. It is best used as an organizing framework for targeted review rather than as a passive sequence of readings.
How Many Free Practice Questions Are in the MCAT Content Outline Course?
You get 120 practice questions at no cost, all taken from the retired Official Guide to the MCAT Exam. Since Sept. 14, 2026, the course also offers 10 CARS questions with video walkthroughs that came from the CARS Diagnostic Tool.
Is the Khan Academy MCAT Collection Free?
Yes. The Khan Academy MCAT Collection is included among the AAMC’s free planning and study resources. It contains 1,100 videos and 3,000 review questions covering sample content from all four MCAT sections.
How Do I Make a Free MCAT Study Schedule?
Start with the Unscored Sample Test, match your Content & Skills Breakdown to the Content Outline Course and assign a confidence level to each topic. Study low and medium-confidence areas through active recall and practice, then take Practice Exam 1 under timed conditions. Review every missed or flagged question before scheduling another full-length exam.
Can I Get Official MCAT Prep Free Through the Fee Assistance Program?
Yes, if you receive fee assistance and elect the MCAT Official Prep benefit. The benefit provides the Online-Only Bundle with all online official prep products. You must have a U.S.-based home address to apply, and benefits do not reimburse purchases made before approval.
