The Berkeley Review Full 10-Book MCAT Review Set Review

The Berkeley Review's Full 10-Book MCAT Review Set costs $395, and it buys you more in-book passage practice than any other set on the market: over 800 practice passages and over 40 sectional diagnostic exams across roughly 4,000 pages. It includes no full-length MCATs, and before you click buy you should know that the company's own return policy makes the purchase final and non-refundable.

Most write-ups about this set repeat the same two lines: the physical sciences books are excellent and the books are dense. Both are true. The more useful questions are what the $395 actually covers, what it costs to add full-length exams, which edition you are buying when Berkeley Review's own two pages disagree, and what happens if the 23 lb box never arrives. Everything below was verified on 16 September 2026.

Summary Table

The full set product page at berkeleyreview.com, captured September 2026. Read the description block closely: this page calls it the 2021 Edition and counts over 6,600 questions, while the purchase page for the same item says 2026 Edition and over 6,000 questions.

The Berkeley Review 10-Book Set Overview

The Berkeley Review has been writing MCAT material since 1992, and the home-study set is the print version of what its classroom students get. It is ten books, sold as one box, covering the four science sections plus CARS.

What separates it from Kaplan, Princeton Review or Examkrackers is the ratio of practice to prose. Other publishers write a textbook and add questions at the end of each chapter. Berkeley Review writes chapters that are built around passages, then closes each subject with sectional diagnostic exams in MCAT format. Over 800 passages is not a marketing round number; it is the reason the box weighs 23 lbs.

Here is what $395 includes, with each book's own page count from the publisher:

• Biology Part I (physiology), 432 pages, and Biology Part II (biochemistry and molecular cell biology), 600 pages
• General Chemistry Part I, 422 pages, and General Chemistry Part II, 400 pages
• Organic Chemistry Part I, 318 pages, and Organic Chemistry Part II, 320 pages
• Physics Part I, 350 pages, and Physics Part II, 334 pages
• Psychology, 410 pages, covering the biological foundations of behavior across seven sections
• CARS, with 3 non-diagnostic and 5 diagnostic CARS exams built in
• Free shipping on the full set, and over 40 sectional diagnostic exams distributed through the books

Add those ten page counts up and you get 4,380, so the "over 4,000 pages" claim holds by the publisher's own numbers. What the box does not include is any full-length MCAT, any video, any question bank you can filter, any digital version of the books, and any score guarantee.

Berkeley Review MCAT Books Review For 2026

The passage practice is the product, and it is genuinely unmatched

At $395 for over 800 passages, you are paying under $0.50 per passage, and passages are the unit of work that actually moves an MCAT score. Content recall gets you to the question; passage reasoning gets you through it.

The general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics books are where this pays off, and their reputation among students who have used the whole market is deserved. The physics books in particular work through the quantitative reasoning that the Chemical and Physical Foundations section rewards, rather than handing you a formula sheet and moving on. If your practice scores show a gap between your content knowledge and your section score, this is the most direct print fix available.

The unevenness is equally real and worth planning around. Students who praise the physical sciences books are usually the same ones who warn that the CARS, psychology and biology books are the weak links. For CARS especially, the UWorld books are the only set shipping two dedicated CARS books, and daily passage work through our MCAT CARS practice roundup beats any single chapter. Treat Berkeley Review as a physical sciences specialist that happens to include five other books.

Density is the other recurring complaint, and it is a fair one. These chapters do not flag high-yield material the way Kaplan's set does. If you have eight weeks and no triage instinct, you will drown. Read our MCAT study schedule guide before you open book one.

Two official pages, two different answers about what you are buying

This is the part no other review resolves, and it matters because the set costs $395.

Berkeley Review sells the same item through two pages, and both add the identical product to your cart. The product page describes it as the 2021 Edition with over 6,600 questions. The home-study purchase page describes it as the 2026 Edition with over 6,000 questions and adds the "over 40 sectional diagnostic exams" line that the product page omits. Page count and passage count match on both.

There is a second mismatch inside the purchase page itself. Its 10-book set block lists the CARS book at 794 pages and Sections I to VI, while the CARS block further down the same page lists 508 pages and Sections I to IV.

We are not going to tell you which figure is right, because Berkeley Review has not. What we will tell you is what to do about it: email or call before you order and ask which print run ships today. A five-year gap between the two claimed editions is not a rounding error, and on a $395 purchase you cannot return, it is worth the phone call to find out which one is true. This is the single reason this review rates the set 3.8 rather than higher.

What happens after you pay

Berkeley Review publishes a return and refund policy, and it is the shortest and hardest one in MCAT publishing. In its own words, any purchase of its MCAT materials is final and non-refundable. The same clause states that the company is not responsible for lost or stolen packages.

That is unusually strict for print prep. Most competing sets are bought through Amazon and carry Amazon's standard return window, which is part of why the sticker-price comparison below understates the gap. Berkeley Review's separate course enrollment agreement is stricter still: it offers no warranty of any kind about your MCAT performance, and a student repeating the course pays a minimum of $975 in year one with materials not included.

None of this makes the books bad. It makes them a commitment, and you should treat the buy decision as final rather than as a trial.

Pricing

Every price above is from the home-study purchase page, read 16 September 2026.

Buying the six components separately comes to $419, so the full set saves you $24 and the free shipping. That is a thin bundle discount, and it is the reason the smarter purchase for many students is not the full set at all. If physics and chemistry are your problem, $222 buys the general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics pairs, which is where this publisher's advantage actually lives, and leaves $173 for CARS and psychology material from someone who does them better.

The bigger line item is the one that is not in the box.

Berkeley Review's computer-based tests are sold apart from the books, on a four-tier ladder. Buying all five is the only tier under $30 per exam.

The set includes no full-length MCATs. Berkeley Review's computer-based tests are a separate purchase at $49, $79, $99 or $149 for one, two, three or five exams, and every tier is active for 12 weeks from the day of activation rather than from purchase. Each exam is built to the real structure: 59 questions in 95 minutes, 53 in 90 minutes, then 59 and 59 in 95 minutes each.

So the honest all-in figure is $544 for the books plus all five full-lengths. That reframes the comparison. Kaplan's 7-book set included 3 full-lengths for $196.76 in September 2026, and Examkrackers bundled 48 online exams for $158.75. Berkeley Review is not competing on value and does not pretend to.

The 12-week activation clock is the trap to avoid. Do not activate a CBT bundle when the box arrives. Activate it when you are eight to ten weeks from test day, so the window covers the stretch when full-lengths do the most good. Our guide to how many MCAT practice tests you need will tell you whether five is even the right number for your timeline, and the MCAT practice tests roundup compares what else that $149 could buy.

Who The Berkeley Review Is Best For

• Students whose score is stuck in the physical sciences, because the general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics books are the best in print and this is the fastest way to fix that specific gap
• Retakers who already know the content and need volume passage practice rather than another explanation of the same material
• Long-timeline studiers with four months or more, since 4,000 pages of dense text needs room to breathe
• Students who learn by working problems rather than by reading summaries or watching video
• Anyone who only needs two or three subjects, buying the relevant $74 pairs instead of the full box

When You Might Look Elsewhere

• If you need one set to teach you the whole exam, the Kaplan 7-book set explains more clearly, flags high-yield content, and includes 3 full-lengths for less than half the price
• If you want practice volume for the lowest cost, Examkrackers bundles 48 online exams and its books are short enough to actually finish
• If CARS is your weak section, the UWorld books ship two dedicated CARS books and 4,000+ integrated illustrations, and UWorld's MCAT question bank is the strongest digital practice on the market
• If you want exhaustive coverage on a budget, compare the Princeton Review box set, or the single-volume Mometrix guide at around $52
• If you want Berkeley Review's teaching with support attached, their MCAT prep course includes the same books plus instruction and full-lengths
• If the no-refund policy is a dealbreaker, buy a set sold through a retailer with a return window instead, and see the full field in our MCAT prep books roundup and how we assess resources in our review methodology

Final Verdict

The Berkeley Review earns its reputation in exactly the place students say it does. For general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics, nothing else in print teaches through passages at this depth, and over 800 passages for $395 is under fifty cents a passage. If those sections are what is capping your score, this set will move it.

Everything else is a compromise you should make with open eyes. The CARS, psychology and biology books are the weakest in the box. No full-length exams are included, and adding all five pushes the real cost to $544 on a 12-week clock. The publisher's own two pages disagree about whether you are buying a 2021 or a 2026 printing. And the purchase is final, with no refund and no cover for a lost package.

If you are still working out how much prep you need, start with how hard the MCAT is, and see what you can get without spending anything on our free MCAT resources page. Everything else about the exam is on our MCAT hub.

Berkeley Review MCAT Books FAQs

How Much Do The Berkeley Review MCAT Books Cost?

The Full 10-Book MCAT Review Set is $395.00 direct from Berkeley Review with free shipping, verified 16 September 2026. Individual book pairs are $74.00 each for biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and CARS, and the psychology book is $49.00 on its own. Buying all six components separately costs $419, so the full set saves $24.

Do The Berkeley Review Books Include Full-Length Practice Tests?

No. The 10-book set includes over 40 sectional diagnostic exams, which are section-length rather than full-length. Berkeley Review's full-length computer-based tests are a separate purchase: $49 for one exam, $79 for two, $99 for three, and $149 for all five. Every tier is active for 12 weeks from the day you activate it, not from the day you buy, so hold off until you are inside your final testing stretch.

Can I Return The Berkeley Review Books?

No. Berkeley Review's published return and refund policy states that any purchase of its MCAT materials is final and non-refundable, and that the company is not responsible for lost or stolen packages. That is stricter than the competing sets sold through Amazon, which carry a standard return window. Treat the $395 as spent once you order.

Which Edition Of The Berkeley Review Books Ships Today?

Berkeley Review's own pages do not agree. The product page for the full set says 2021 Edition with over 6,600 questions, while the home-study purchase page for the same item says 2026 Edition with over 6,000 questions. The two pages add the identical product to your cart. Contact Berkeley Review and ask which print run is shipping before you order, because the purchase cannot be returned.

Are The Berkeley Review Books Worth It For Biology And CARS?

For most students, no. The physical sciences books are the reason to buy this set, and the CARS, psychology and biology books draw consistent criticism for being weaker. If biology or CARS is your weak section, put the money toward the UWorld books, which include two dedicated CARS books, or toward daily CARS passage practice, and buy only the Berkeley Review pairs covering chemistry and physics.

We may earn commissions from some links on this page, but this does not affect our reviews or your experience.