What Is a Good Score on the MCAT?
By
30 Day MCAT Team
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Published
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Updated
A good MCAT score is one that fits the medical schools you're aiming for. On the AAMC's 472 to 528 scale, a 500 is about the 48th percentile, and students who start medical school have averaged around 511 to 512. Your own target depends on your schools, your GPA, and the rest of your application. This guide shows you how to read your score and choose a target.
Key Takeaways
The scale runs from 472 to 528. Each of the four sections is scored from 118 to 132, and the midpoint of the total scale is 500.
Percentiles show where you stand. In the AAMC's percentile table, a 500 is the 48th percentile, a 510 is the 79th, and a 515 is the 91st.
Medical school averages sit higher. Students who start medical school have averaged around 511 to 512 in AAMC data.
"Good" depends on your goals. Your target schools, your GPA and your timeline shape your target more than any single number does.
There's no curve. The AAMC scales and equates the exam, so a score means the same thing whenever you test.
What Is a Good Score on the MCAT?
The honest answer is that a good MCAT score depends on where you want to apply. Three reference points can help you place a score, and none of them is a pass or fail line.
The midpoint is 500. The AAMC's score scale runs from 472 to 528 with a midpoint of 500. In the AAMC's percentile table, a 500 is the 48th percentile, and the average total score across test takers is about 500.6.
Students who start medical school average about 511 to 512. That's what the AAMC's FACTS data on applicants and matriculants report. In the percentile table, a 511 is the 82nd percentile and a 512 is the 84th.
The top of the scale is rare. A 520 is the 97th percentile, and a 522 is the 99th.
A percentile tells you how you compare with other test takers. It doesn't tell you whether a particular school will accept you, so use it as a guide rather than a verdict.
How the MCAT Is Scored and What the Score Range Means
You get five scores from your exam: one for each of the four sections and one total. The AAMC explains that each section is scored from 118 to 132, with a midpoint of 125, and that the four section scores add up to your total.
For example, an examinee who scores 128, 125, 129 and 127 on the four sections has a total score of 509. Because each section tops out at 132, the highest possible total is 528.
There's no curve either. According to the AAMC's score information, the exam is scaled and equated so that scores have the same meaning no matter when you test. The AAMC also releases official scores 30 to 35 days after your exam date.
MCAT Score Percentiles: What Is a High Score?
A percentile rank is the percentage of scores that are equal to or less than your score. Here are some landmark totals from the AAMC's percentile table:
500: 48th percentile
505: 64th percentile
508: 74th percentile
510: 79th percentile
512: 84th percentile
515: 91st percentile
518: 95th percentile
520: 97th percentile
The AAMC updates its percentile ranks every year and builds them from the results of recent testing years combined, so a score can move up or down by a point or so from one year to the next. Check the AAMC's current table before you make any decision that depends on a single percentile.
How to Set Your Own Target Score
Instead of chasing a number you saw online, build your target from your own situation. Here's a simple way to do it.
List your schools. Look up the MCAT data your target schools publish for their entering classes, and note the range they report.
Find your starting score. Take a full-length practice exam before you study anything. The AAMC recommends this in its study-plan guide to see where you stand in each section.
Look at the gap. Compare your starting score with your target, and look at your section scores too, not just the total.
Match the gap to your calendar. A bigger gap usually needs more weeks or more hours each week. Our guide on how long to study for the MCAT walks through how to work that out.
Re-check as you go. Take another full-length practice exam after a few weeks and adjust your target and your plan if you need to.
Your target can also change as your application takes shape. Your GPA, your experiences and the schools on your list all matter, so treat the number as one input, not the whole decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest possible MCAT score?
The highest possible total score is 528. The total scale runs from 472 to 528, and each of the four sections tops out at 132.
What is the average MCAT score?
The average total score across test takers is about 500.6, close to the scale's midpoint of 500. Students who start medical school have averaged higher, at around 511 to 512.
What percentile is a 500 on the MCAT?
A 500 is about the 48th percentile. That means about 48% of scores were equal to or less than 500.
Is the MCAT curved?
No. The AAMC says the MCAT has no curve. The exam is scaled and equated so that scores mean the same thing no matter when you test.
How long does it take to get your MCAT score?
The AAMC releases official scores 30 to 35 days after your exam date.
How do you know what score to aim for?
Start with the schools on your list and the MCAT data they publish for their entering classes. Then take a practice exam to find your starting point, and set a target you can reach with the weeks and hours you can protect.
Put It Into Practice
Start with a full-length practice exam, look up the scores your target schools report, and set a target that fits your calendar. If you'd like help turning that target into a day-by-day schedule, that's what our MCAT preparation course is built around. It was created by doctors who scored in the 90th percentile and above, and it includes a personalized study schedule based on your start date and test date.
Not sure what score to aim for or how long you need? Take our qualification quiz to see if you're a fit. Qualified students can book a free strategy call with one of our MCAT instructors to talk through their goals, timeline and next steps.
