Between tackling practice questions, polishing up content review, and taking AAMC practice tests, all the while working on your content review, studying for the MCAT can be hectic, to say the least.
There is a ton of ground to cover, and with med schools being so competitive, you really do need a stellar score to secure your spot at a good school. Nothing less.
One way you can practice active recall is with the help of an MCAT memorization tool, which is why this article seeks to compare and contrast the two major options in the market: Memm Vs. Anki.
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Pros
Only features high-yield content to optimize your study time.
Facilitates both active recall and accelerated memorization.
Easy-to-use interface
Cons
Not as customizable as Anki
Memm Vs. Anki Comparison In 2024
Memm | Anki | |
Cost | From $125 (use discount here) | Free |
Flashcards | 2,600+ | 2,000+ |
Ease of Use | Minimal Learning Curve | Very Steep Learning Curve |
User Interface | Intuitive | Slightly Complicated |
MCAT Course Integration? | Yes | No |
Customizable Cards? | Yes | Yes |
Content Curation | Extremely Well Organized | Grouped by Subjects |
Personalized Scheduling? | Yes | No |
Efficiency | High-yield Content | Hit-or-Miss |
Similarities Between Memm & Anki
Memorization Tools
Both Memm and Anki are flashcard platforms, allowing you to hammer details once you have a clear understanding of the core concepts. As such, neither of these tools should be used solely for content review, no matter how comprehensive they may appear to be.
Using Memm or Anki as a solo studying tool puts you at risk of approaching content too passively. You’d just end up with superficial knowledge and not a solid understanding of the various concepts.
Instead, both Memm and Anki are really helpful when it comes to memorizing concepts in the shortest possible time. This applies to both recall problems and those which require the application of various concepts.
Either platform is guaranteed to save you a ton of study time and effort, accelerating knowledge acquisition for more efficient studying.
Spaced Repetition
Both Memm and Anki implement spaced repetition using flashcards as a way of helping you remember and master some more challenging MCAT concepts.
The most basic explanation behind spaced repetition is the idea that the more frequently you are exposed to information, the better you will remember it.
And in this regard, both Memm and Anki do a fine job at just that.
Card Customization & Multimedia Integration
Whether creating your own Anki cards or working with premade Anki decks, Anki allows you to add notes, which can be anything from audio clips and images to videos and markups. Better yet, you also have precise control over how these notes are shown.
You can customize a card layout, edit fonts, review the timing, etc., per your specific preferences.
Memm similarly allows for a variety of customization options on their pre-made decks. You can add notes, images, mnemonics, etc., all aimed at improving your studying as per your learning style to reinforce your weak areas.
Differences Between Memm & Anki
Price
The one significant difference between Memm and Anki is the price point.
Memm will cost you $125 for a one-month subscription, $375 for a 3-month subscription, and $339 for a 6-month subscription.
On the other hand, Anki is free to install on desktop and Android, but the iOS mobile App will require a one-time fee of $25.
All in all, Anki is far cheaper than Memm, and to be fair, it can be pretty challenging trying to justify the extremely high cost that comes with Memm.
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Pros
Only features high-yield content to optimize your study time.
Facilitates both active recall and accelerated memorization.
Easy-to-use interface
Cons
Not as customizable as Anki
User Interface
As far as the user interface goes, Memm is the better option seeing as it is simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate. Plenty of students actually prefer the platform for its user-friendliness.
Using Memm is relatively straightforward, whereby you simply sign up for the service and get studying right away.
With this online study tool, you can conveniently review the flashcards on whichever device you may be using, as long as it has a modern web browser.
On the other hand, though, using Anki isn’t as straightforward, and learners will need to have some degree of technical knowledge just to get started on this resource.
You will need to properly set up the Anki program on your device, which includes knowing which plugins to use and other such considerations.
Content Curation
Memm is by far much more organized and aesthetically pleasing compared to Anki.
The Memm platform is very elegant and nicely put together, while all the science subjects and topics are clearly organized so you can optimize your study sessions.
The flashcards are grouped together really well, so you can seamlessly access related topics.
While Anki groups their cards by the 7 MCAT subjects, Memm goes the extra mile by being super specific and grouping their cards by topics. So with Memm, you can jump to an exact topic, such as Oxidation, for instance, and get to review the flashcards related to that.
Better yet, Memm cards are a pre-made professional resource crafted by 99th percentile MCAT scorers and guaranteed to offer high-yield MCAT content.
Getting into the medical school of your dreams requires you to get a stellar MCAT score, and one way to do this is to hone in on the high-yield MCAT content, which is just what Memm guarantees its students.
By contrast, successfully using Anki will require you to thoroughly research which are the best pre-made decks to use, and this can be an entirely exhausting venture, demanding plenty of time and effort.
So as far as content curation goes, Memm once again has the upper hand over Anki.
Ease of Use & Learning Curve
Another major difference between Memm and Anki is the ease of use.
On the one hand, Anki is an open-source software tool, meaning you have the option of either using a pre-made deck or you can simply create cards relevant to the specific concept you need to reinforce.
On the other hand, however, Memm is a continuously updated web App purely consisting of pre-made decks, so you don’t need to make your own cards.
This means that Anki comes with a steep learning curve whereby you need to know how to make good flashcards by yourself, which is the biggest challenge that comes with using the platform.
Furthermore, when making their own cards, Anki users will constantly have to battle the question of “Is this high yield” whenever they come across a piece of content.
The entire experience can be somewhat confusing, and you only waste energy deciding on these matters rather than using that precious MCAT prep time to drill some content home.
Making decent Anki cards is a skill not many have mastered. Furthermore, the effort spent creating cards really isn’t worth it if you can instead study using readily available, high-quality, pre-made decks featuring high-yield information.
In this regard, Memm is an absolute godsend owing to its minimal learning curve and ease of use.
Material Coverage & Content Review
Memm is a well-curated study tool that covers plenty of essential material, condensing it into nice sheets that allow for quick content reviews. Keep in mind that these review sheets are separate from the flashcards.
These comprehensive review sheets are free of fluff, only including what you need to know for the exam. Better yet, these interactive sheets come with toggleable key facts to facilitate active recall.
Both the Memm review sheets and flashcards are integrated with other content review resources. So in case you need further clarification on a particular topic, you’ll easily find interactive links to Med School Insiders, Kaplan, and Khan Academy videos.
This way, Memm isn’t just about reinforcing pattern recognition by going through dozens of flashcards.
Rather, the accompanying content review resources actually allow you to understand core concepts so you can easily tackle any type of MCAT question, regardless of whether it requires active recall or application of concepts.
So for content review, Memm is a better resource, as opposed to Anki, which is purely focused on content memorization.
Personalized Scheduling
Memm allows for the creation of personalized personal schedules that suit your study needs and enable you to plan out what subjects you want to study and when.
This will enable you to have complete day-by-day control of how often you review your flashcards. The sophisticated spaced repetition algorithm automatically adjusts your review schedule so you can still stay on track even if you skip a day.
This convenient scheduling feature is exclusive to Memm, and you won’t find it on Anki.
Quality of Flashcards
Memm flashcards are concise and fluff-free, focusing on high-yield information, so when reviewing these cards, you have the assurance that you are putting your study time to the best possible use.
On the other hand, Anki can be a hit-or-miss when it comes to its efficiency as an MCAT study tool.
For starters, Anki largely relies on creating your own flashcards, so you need to be adept at making good Anki cards, and the problem is that this is a skill that takes plenty of time and effort to master.
On the other hand, even if you were to opt for premade Anki decks instead, you’d need to spend a ton of time researching the best decks, and this is time that would be best spent tackling MCAT questions and practice tests.
So when it comes to the quality of flashcards and efficiency, Memm wins, hands down.
Memm Vs. Anki: Which Is Best For The MCAT?
Memm and Anki are both flashcard tools that leverage spaced repetition to make memorization more efficient.
That being said, there are some notable differences between both tools, and these differences often leave students confused as to which would be a better option when studying for the MCAT.
On the one hand, Anki is free, and the option to create your own cards means that you can use this platform for so many other things other than just MCAT memorization.
On the other hand, though, the well-crafted Memm cards are made using best practices, and you simply can’t put a price on the value you get from Memm compared to Anki.
With Memm, everything has been done for you, and to perfection, if I may add. Ensuring that you focus more on studying high-yield content rather than trying to figure out how to make good Anki cards, researching the best pre-made Anki decks etc.
Memm guarantees you high-quality flashcards that focus heavily on high-yield content and isn’t this just every pre-meds dream?
Besides, Memm is also very easy to use in contrast to Anki’s slightly confusing interface, therefore guaranteeing you a more enjoyable learning experience.
So with regards to which of the two is best for the MCAT, we are inclined to lean towards Memm.
Sure, Anki is a cheaper alternative. But this is one instance where you cannot put a price on quality MCAT study materials, and opting to save a pretty penny instead could cost you an excellent score and your dream school too.
So would that even be worth it?
Overall, Memm is a far superior option to Anki. The quality of the cards is undeniable, only high-yield content is covered, and the platform does a decent job at incorporating content review to give you a more wholesome flashcard studying experience.
You can check out the other comparisons we did on other MCAT prep resources below:
Memm Vs. Anki FAQs
Is Memm Better Than Anki?
Yes, Memm is better than Anki in a couple of aspects, such as its simplicity, user-friendliness, its interactivity, and its particular focus on high-yield content. Not to mention that it has excellent customer service.
Is Anki A Good Way To Memorize?
Yes, Anki is a good way to memorize, as long as you find good pre-made decks or are proficient in making decent Anki cards.
Is Memm Enough For MCAT Content Review?
No, Memm is not enough for MCAT content review by itself.
The tool does come with comprehensive, well-made review sheets that are a concise way to refresh what you’ve learned before you embark on the cards.
However, if you are in the early stages of your MCAT content review, you would still need to complement your content review with MCAT books and other such material for a more in-depth understanding of all the various concepts.
