Best Kaplan Test Prep Books 2026

Kaplan's MCAT Complete 7-Book Subject Review is the comprehensive prep system for pre-med students who want everything in one package. The seven volumes cover all four MCAT sections — biology, biochemistry, general and organic chemistry, physics, psychology, and critical analysis — so content review and practice are unified under one approach and test-format framework. Three full-length practice tests built into the set let students benchmark progress against realistic MCAT conditions. The multi-volume format is a 3-to-6-month commitment rather than a quick review. Students rebuilding content knowledge from scratch, or who want a single authoritative reference for the full MCAT scope, get full value from the 7-book system. For students who have already completed one full content pass and are targeting top-decile scores, the MCAT 528 Advanced Prep at rank 2 is the more efficient next step.

Kaplan's MCAT 528 Advanced Prep Book is the follow-on for students who have already built their content foundation and are targeting a 515+ score. The practice questions are calibrated above actual MCAT difficulty by design — students who can work through these consistently find the real exam more tractable. Detailed explanations focus on passage reasoning and argumentation rather than content recall, which is where the MCAT's upper score range is actually determined. The single-volume format is significantly more efficient than the 7-book set for students at this stage. The prerequisite is real: students who have not completed at least one full prep pass of MCAT content should start with the 7-book set at rank 1. The 528 assumes solid content knowledge and focuses on application and reasoning — not foundational review.

Kaplan's GRE Prep Plus 2023 is the most test-heavy GRE prep option on this page: six full-length practice tests in one volume, plus an online portal with adaptive drills for additional simulation hours after the book is complete. At $11, this is the lowest-cost path to a structured GRE prep system that includes more timed practice than most standalone prep books at three times the price. The online access portal has a time-limited activation window — activate it promptly rather than letting it sit idle after purchase. As a 2023 edition, some prompts may reflect pre-revision GRE content; supplement with free ETS official materials for any gap areas. For a student who wants maximum practice test volume at minimum cost, this is the practical answer on this page.

Kaplan's GRE Prep Plus 2020 is the budget path into the same prep structure as the 2023 edition. The core GRE content — quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, and analytical writing — has remained largely stable across editions, meaning the 2020 volume's content review and strategy chapters are still functionally valid for current test-takers. The lower price reflects the edition age, not a fundamental difference in approach or coverage depth. The key limitation: the online portal access code from a used copy is almost certainly expired. Use this as a print-only resource and supplement with free ETS practice materials or GRE Khan Academy content to cover any format updates since 2020. For students on a tight prep budget, the 2020 edition paired with free official ETS practice tests is a complete and cost-effective preparation path.

Kaplan's PSAT/NMSQT Prep 2022-2023 is the only book on this page specifically targeting high school students rather than college or graduate test-takers. It addresses the PSAT's National Merit Scholarship qualifying score cutoffs by section — a meaningfully different objective than general college admissions test prep. Two full-length practice tests mirror the actual PSAT length and question distribution. Skill-building exercises address math, reading, and writing weaknesses at an appropriate level for 10th and 11th graders. An important distinction: PSAT content differs enough from the full SAT that PSAT-specific prep is more useful than SAT prep for students focused on the National Merit threshold. Students aiming for the redesigned digital PSAT should verify this edition covers the updated test structure — the applicable edition matters more for a format-sensitive exam than for content-stable tests like the GRE.