Mcat Takers Next Step

Getting Through the MCAT Without Losing Your Mind

Most people who reach the point of seriously considering the Next Step practice exams have already cycled through UWorld, AAMC materials, and maybe a few other question banks. I've helped dozens of med students get through this process over the years. The honest answer is that Next Step sits somewhere between solid and essential depending on your baseline score. Next Step offers full-length practice exams, subject-specific review books, and an online question bank. The exams are known for being slightly harder than the real MCAT, particularly in the CARS section and the chemistry/physics passages. Their explanations tend to be more detailed than Kaplan's but less exhaustive than AAMC's official explanations. The typical workflow I see work looks like this. You take one diagnostic exam before you start studying seriously. Then you rotate through the remaining exams while doing targeted content review. Each exam takes about 7 hours including the breaks. You should plan for at least one full day to review it properly. Rushing through the review in two hours defeats the purpose entirely. Most students who do that miss the specific patterns that actually move their score.

I ran into a specific issue last year with a student who was getting consistently lower scores on the Next Step CARS section compared to AAMC practice exams. He was frustrated because the gap was around 4 points on his scaled score. The workaround was straightforward but not obvious. Next Step CARS passages tend to feature more dense scientific literature and academic philosophy passages, while AAMC leans toward personal narratives and historical analysis. I had him do two additional hours of AAMC CARS daily alongside his Next Step material for the final three weeks. His actual MCAT CARS score ended up matching his diagnostic. The gap was entirely a practice-to-test format mismatch, not a knowledge gap.

Using Next Step Effectively

The biggest mistake I see students make is treating every Next Step exam as a predictor of their actual MCAT score. They shouldn't be treated that way. Next Step exams typically run about 2 to 4 points lower than your actual MCAT score when you perform at your best. If you score a 128 on a Next Step exam, you are probably looking at a 130 to 132 range on test day, assuming you retain the material. This isn't a hard rule but it has held up across many administrations I've tracked. The scheduling matters more than most people realize. Taking two full-lengths back to back in the same week leads to compounding fatigue that skews your results. I recommend spacing them at least four to five days apart. That gives your brain time to reset between sessions and makes the diagnostic data actually comparable. For content review alongside the exams, the Next Step review books are adequate but not exceptional. They cover the core material accurately. If you are starting from a low baseline, I would pair them with Khan Academy's MCAT course for the sciences and AAMC'sOfficial Guide for CARS. The Khan Academy videos fill gaps that Next Step's books gloss over, especially in biochemistry and organic chemistry mechanisms.

Common Pitfalls and Where the Material Falls Short

Next Step's question bank is the weakest part of their offering. The explanations can be vague on the more nuanced CARS questions, and the science questions sometimes rely on assumptions that don't match AAMC's approach. For example, Next Step tends to test certain physics scenarios using simplified models that AAMC explicitly avoids. I've seen students lose points on Next Step for applying a formula that AAMC would consider valid, just because the test-maker took a different interpretive angle. Another limitation is that Next Step does not update its materials as frequently as AAMC does. The AAMC changed several question formats in recent years, particularly around data interpretation in the chemical and physical foundations section. Next Step has caught up but not always in lockstep. If you are relying exclusively on their questions for this section, you may encounter unfamiliar formats on test day. The full-length exams are realistically where Next Step earns its keep. They are the closest non-AAMC alternative available and they build the endurance you need. The actual MCAT is 7.5 hours of sustained concentration. If you have never sat through a 7.5-hour exam before, your score on test day will reflect that regardless of how well you know the content. Taking at least three Next Step full-lengths before your actual exam is the minimum I would recommend. Four is better. Five if your budget allows it.

Cost is another factor. The full Next Step package runs around $1,100 to $1,400 depending on which tier you buy. For some students this is prohibitive. In those cases, the AAMC materials alone plus UWorld is a viable alternative, though you give up some of the extra practice volume that Next Step provides. If you are scoring in the 128 to 130 range on AAMC practice exams already, you may not need Next Step at all. It matters more for students who need additional volume or who score lower on official AAMC diagnostics and want something to push them. The honest assessment is that Next Step is a solid tool with identifiable weaknesses. It is not a magic score booster. It is practice material that approximates the real exam well enough to be useful if you use it correctly and pair it with the AAMC resources you absolutely cannot skip.