The Princeton Review MCAT Subject Review Complete Box Set, 5th Edition Review

The Princeton Review MCAT Subject Review Complete Box Set costs $125.32 and gives you 2,976 pages across seven books, the deepest content review of any mainstream MCAT set. Buy it if you are chasing 515 or higher and your problem is content gaps, and skip it if what you actually need is practice volume.

That second half is the part most reviews leave out. The box set includes 3 online full-length tests. Princeton Review's own single-volume book includes 4, for $55.74. Every price and specification on this page was checked on 15 September 2026.

Summary Table

The publisher's product page at penguinrandomhouse.com, captured September 2026. The publisher will sell you the set directly at the full $259.99, which is the one place you should not buy it.

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Princeton Review MCAT Books Overview

The set is seven books covering every subject the MCAT tests: Biology, Biochemistry, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Math, Psychology and Sociology, and Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. That is 2,976 pages, and the 5th Edition was published on 4 November 2025.

One structural quirk shows up before you have even opened the box. The seven component books carry four different edition numbers: Biochemistry is a 3rd Edition, Biology and CARS are 4th Editions, and General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Math, and Psychology and Sociology are 5th Editions. The box itself says 5th Edition. That is not a packing error, it is how Princeton Review revises the line, one subject at a time, and it is the single most common reason buyers think they received the wrong product.

Here is what $125.32 includes, in the publisher's own terms:

• 7 print subject review books, 2,976 pages in total
• 3 full-length practice tests, accessible online
• Thousands of practice questions in end-of-chapter review sections and MCAT-style passages
• Full-color illustrations, diagrams and tables
• Chapter summaries for quick review
• An extensive glossary in each book
• Online student tools for late-breaking AAMC exam updates

And what it does not include:

• A question bank
• More than 3 full-length practice tests
• Any AAMC material, which is the practice that actually predicts your score
• Any published guarantee or refund promise beyond the retailer's standard returns
• Any stated access period for the online tests

Princeton Review MCAT Books Review For 2026

The depth is real, and it is the only reason to buy this set

Princeton Review keeps the detail other publishers cut. Where Kaplan's set flags high-yield content and moves on, Princeton Review explains the mechanism and then explains the exception to the mechanism. At 2,976 pages across seven books it is not the longest set on the market, but among the sets students actually consider it carries the most low-yield material per subject.

That matters at one specific point in your prep. Below about 505, your score is limited by concepts you have not learned yet, and any competent set will fix that. Above about 510, the questions you are missing tend to turn on a detail rather than a concept, and that is where a thinner set leaves you guessing. If you have plateaued in the low 510s, content depth is usually the binding constraint, and this is the set written for it.

The full-color illustrations and the per-book glossaries are the practical wins. Organic chemistry and psychology are the two subjects where a black and white diagram costs you real time, and both books here are in color.

Three online tests is thin, and Princeton Review sells four for less

The box set carries 3 online full-length tests and no question bank. That is the same full-length count as Kaplan's book set and Examkrackers' package, so it is not unusual for the category, but the arithmetic gets awkward when you look at what else is on Princeton Review's own MCAT books page.

The Princeton Review MCAT, 14th Edition is one book, 1,328 pages, and it includes 4 full-length online practice exams plus an online supplement of 6 medical journal articles, 3 CARS exercises and 107 comprehension questions. It costs $55.74. So Princeton Review's cheapest MCAT product gives you one more online full-length test than its most expensive one.

Practice is the one thing no book set solves, because none of this is AAMC material. Read how many MCAT practice tests you actually need before you build a schedule around three of them, and budget for a question bank separately.

CARS is the weak book, and nobody publishes a question count

Two honest gaps. The CARS book is a 4th Edition and it is the part of this set that draws the most consistent criticism: the strategy is generic where the science books are specific. If CARS is your weakest section, the set will not fix it, and the UWorld books are the only option in this category that ships two books dedicated to it.

The second gap is a number that does not exist. Both the publisher page and the Amazon listing say "thousands of practice questions" and neither gives a total anywhere in its copy or product details. If you see a specific practice-question figure attached to this box set, it did not come from Princeton Review, and you should not plan around it.

The same applies to online access. Kaplan states 12 months for its set. Princeton Review states nothing, on either page, so you cannot know how long your three tests stay available. Register the code when you are ready to use the tests, not when the box arrives.

Pricing

Princeton Review's three MCAT book products, priced on 15 September 2026. The cheapest one carries the most online tests.

The box set is $125.32 against a $259.99 list price, 52 percent off on the day we checked. Books have no subscription, so the useful rates are per page and per test. Per page it works out to 4.2 cents. Per online full-length test it works out to $41.77.

Run the same two numbers on the 14th Edition and the picture sharpens. It is also 4.2 cents a page, so Princeton Review prices its content at an identical rate in both formats. But its cost per online full-length is $13.94, a third of the box set rate.

That sets up the comparison worth making. The 14th Edition plus MCAT Workout, 5th Edition comes to $85.22. For $40.10 less than the box set you get 4 online full-lengths instead of 3, and 830+ counted practice questions instead of an unstated number. What you give up is 1,648 pages of subject review, which is exactly the thing the box set is good at. So the choice is clean: buy the box for depth, buy the pair for practice, and do not buy the box expecting both.

Two more prices to know. The buy box on Amazon is a third-party marketplace seller with 7 units in stock, not Amazon itself, and no offer among the 18 listed undercuts it. Buy from the publisher instead and you pay the full $259.99, more than double. And if you are looking at used copies, remember that the online tests are unlocked by a code inside the box, so a used set is a bet that the previous owner never registered it.

Against the field, $125.32 makes this the cheapest of the three major box sets: $33.43 below the Examkrackers package at $158.75 and $71.44 below Kaplan's 7-book set at $196.76, both of which we checked in the week before this review. It is the most comprehensive of the three and now also the cheapest, which was not true a month ago.

Who Princeton Review MCAT Books Are Best For

• Students targeting 515 or higher, who are missing details rather than concepts
• Students stuck in the low 510s after a first round of content review with a thinner set
• Anyone who wants one set to be sufficient for content, so the only thing left to buy is practice
• Organic chemistry and psychology learners, because both books are in full color with per-book glossaries
• Students who already own a question bank and full-length tests, which is when 3 online tests stops mattering

When You Might Look Elsewhere

• If you are starting content review from zero, the Kaplan set is faster to finish and flags what to skip
• If you need reps more than reading, the Examkrackers package adds 44 mini-MCATs on top of its 3 full-lengths
• If CARS is your weakest section, the UWorld books are the only set with two books devoted to it
• If physics and chemistry are the problem, the Berkeley Review set has the strongest physical sciences books in print
• If budget is the constraint, the Mometrix guide is a single volume at about $52, and the full field is in our roundup, tested the way we describe in our review methodology

Final Verdict

The depth deserves its reputation. Seven books, 2,976 pages, full color throughout, a glossary in every volume, and the low-yield material that decides questions above the 90th percentile. At $125.32 it is the cheapest of the three major box sets while being the most comprehensive, which makes it easier to recommend now than it was at $170.

The honest weakness is the same one it has always had, and it is worse than the marketing suggests. Three online full-length tests, no question bank, no stated access period, and a CARS book that will not carry you. Princeton Review's own one-volume book gives you a fourth test for $55.74, which tells you where the company put its practice material.

Everything else about the exam, including how to build the schedule these books fit into, is on our MCAT hub, and the study plan generator will tell you how many weeks you actually have.

Princeton Review MCAT Books FAQs

Are the Princeton Review MCAT books good?

Yes, for content review specifically. The 5th Edition box set is the most comprehensive of the mainstream MCAT sets, covering all seven subjects across 2,976 pages in full color, and it keeps the low-yield detail that thinner sets cut. Its weaknesses are practice and CARS: 3 online full-length tests, no question bank, and a CARS book that draws consistent criticism. Pair it with a question bank and official AAMC practice.

How much do the Princeton Review MCAT books cost?

$125.32 on Amazon as of 15 September 2026, which is 52 percent off the $259.99 list price. Princeton Review runs no checkout for books, so the price moves with the retailer rather than with Princeton Review. Note that the current buy box is a third-party marketplace seller with limited stock, and that the publisher sells the same set direct at the full $259.99. Check the listing on the day you buy rather than trusting any quoted figure, this one included.

Kaplan or Princeton Review MCAT books?

Kaplan if you are starting content review and want the fastest readable path through all four sections, since its High-Yield Badges tell you what to skip. Princeton Review if you have already covered the content once and are missing details, since it carries more low-yield material. Kaplan's CARS book is the stronger of the two. On price the gap has flipped: Princeton Review was $125.32 and Kaplan's set was $196.76 when we checked them in mid-September 2026.

How many practice tests come with the Princeton Review MCAT box set?

Three, accessible online, and no question bank. Princeton Review does not publish a total practice-question count for the set, and it does not publish how long the online tests stay available. Its single-volume MCAT Prep, 14th Edition includes 4 online full-lengths for $55.74, so the box set is not the way to buy Princeton Review practice material.

Why do the books in the box have different edition numbers?

Because Princeton Review revises the line one subject at a time. The 5th Edition box contains a 3rd Edition Biochemistry book, 4th Edition Biology and CARS books, and 5th Edition General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Math, and Psychology and Sociology books. Both the publisher and the retailer list it that way, so a box with mixed edition numbers is the correct product, not a mispack.

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