A good MCAT score is a vital component of any competitive medical school application because your performance is ranked against your peers’, making it a key differentiator for admissions departments. To help you determine what a “good” MCAT score is for your goals, we’ll discuss score ranges, how scores are calculated, score percentiles, acceptance rates by score, and related information.
MCAT scores range from 472 to 528. This final score is determined by adding your four MCAT section scores, which range from 118 to 132. This means that the 50th percentile (where approximately 50% of students achieve this score or less) is usually around 125 per section, or 500 total.
All questions in each section are weighed equally, and there is no penalty for guessing incorrectly. Your raw score is determined only by the number of correct answers you submit in each section. As a result, you should submit your best guess if you don’t know the answer to a question, and select an answer for all remaining questions if you find yourself short on time.
Your MCAT score is determined using the AAMC’s scaled score system. This method converts your raw score into a scaled score that takes into account any differences in difficulty between administered exam forms. The purpose is to create a more stable, accurate assessment of your performance compared to strictly raw scores.
Unfortunately, there is no official MCAT raw score conversion chart. Any such charts available online are estimates. The AAMC only offers scaled scores because of the difficulty variations between exam forms. At UWorld, we offer percentile rank indicators that display your level of preparedness compared to other UWorld MCAT users.
After you complete the MCAT, you will receive a report consisting of scores, confidence bands, percentile ranks, and score profiles for each section of the exam, as well as your total results. Your percentile ranks are simply based on your scores. The confidence bands, however, estimate your performance by taking into account the margin of error in score accuracy between exam forms. Section score bands vary by ±1 point, while the total score band varies by ±2 points. Your score profiles display your confidence bands over each section’s score range.
Every year on May 1, the AAMC updates their MCAT percentile ranks based on scores over the past 3 years. This technique balances long-term scoring trends with year-to-year fluctuations for stable results.
| Total Score | Percentile Rank | Total Score | Percentile Rank | Total Score | Percentile Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 472 | < 1 | 491 | 19 | 510 | 77 |
| 473 | < 1 | 492 | 21 | 511 | 80 |
| 474 | < 1 | 493 | 24 | 512 | 83 |
| 475 | < 1 | 494 | 26 | 513 | 86 |
| 476 | 1 | 495 | 29 | 514 | 88 |
| 477 | 1 | 496 | 32 | 515 | 90 |
| 478 | 2 | 497 | 35 | 516 | 92 |
| 479 | 2 | 498 | 38 | 517 | 94 |
| 480 | 3 | 499 | 41 | 518 | 95 |
| 481 | 4 | 500 | 45 | 519 | 96 |
| 482 | 5 | 501 | 48 | 520 | 97 |
| 483 | 6 | 502 | 51 | 521 | 98 |
| 484 | 7 | 503 | 55 | 522 | 99 |
| 485 | 8 | 504 | 58 | 523 | 99 |
| 486 | 10 | 505 | 61 | 524 | 100 |
| 487 | 11 | 506 | 65 | 525 | 100 |
| 488 | 13 | 507 | 68 | 526 | 100 |
| 489 | 15 | 508 | 71 | 527 | 100 |
| 490 | 17 | 509 | 74 | 528 | 100 |
| Section Score | Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems | Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills | Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems | Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 118 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 119 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 120 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 121 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 |
| 122 | 21 | 23 | 18 | 15 |
| 123 | 30 | 35 | 27 | 22 |
| 124 | 42 | 48 | 37 | 31 |
| 125 | 52 | 60 | 48 | 41 |
| 126 | 64 | 72 | 60 | 52 |
| 127 | 75 | 82 | 71 | 64 |
| 128 | 84 | 90 | 82 | 75 |
| 129 | 91 | 95 | 89 | 84 |
| 130 | 96 | 98 | 95 | 93 |
| 131 | 99 | 99 | 98 | 97 |
| 132 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Generally speaking, a good MCAT score is about 510 or higher. However, “good” in this case is relative. You should always check the average MCAT scores of the students accepted to your preferred medical schools. For example, the average MCAT score among Harvard Medical School’s Class of 2026 was 520.
To help you determine the MCAT score you need to get accepted into medical school, the AAMC keeps a chart of acceptance rates to U.S. MD-granting medical schools by GPA and MCAT score. Below, we’ve parsed out GPA data and provided a quick look at acceptance rates by MCAT score.
| MCAT Score | Acceptance Rate for All Applicants |
|---|---|
| < 486 | 0.7% |
| 486-489 | 1.1% |
| 490-493 | 3.1% |
| 494-497 | 10.7% |
| 498-501 | 20.1% |
| 502-505 | 30.0% |
| 506-509 | 41.0% |
| 510-513 | 56.6% |
| 514-517 | 68.2% |
| > 517 | 78.0% |
When you receive your MCAT score, it is automatically released to the American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®). This eliminates a step in your application process, but means you cannot withhold your score. You can also send your MCAT score to other centralized application services (e.g., AACOMAS, CASPA, SOPHAS, etc.) or individual institutions through the AAMC’s Score Reporting System, or by mailing your official score report.
The AAMC’s scoring verification measures are rigorous, meaning errors in the scoring process are very rare; however, you may submit a rescore request within 30 calendar days of your score release date for a fee of $65. Your answers will then be independently rescored by hand to verify accuracy. You will receive a confirmation of your scaled score within three weeks.
The MCAT is not scored on a curve, but it is graded using scaled scoring. Scaled scoring is a process by which your raw score (total correct answers) is weighted based on your specific exam form’s difficulty. This results in more accurate examinee performance comparisons.
The highest possible MCAT score is 528. To achieve a perfect score, you need to score 132 on each of the exam’s four sections.
Based on 2022 to 2023 data, the average MCAT score is 511. By exam section, the average scores for applicants are: CPBS – 126, CARS – 126, BBLS – 127, and PSBB – 127.
MCAT scores are released approximately 30 to 35 days after your test date, and will be available by 5:00 p.m. EST on your exam date’s listed score release date.
MCAT scores are typically valid for 2-3 years depending on which medical schools you intend to apply to. It’s recommended to check with your preferred schools’ admissions requirements in advance.
