MCAT Scores: High, Good and Average MCAT Scores across the US

Your MCAT score in each section is based on the numbers of questions that you answered correctly (note: there is no penalty for wrong answers). Your raw scores from each of the 4 sections of the exam will then be converted to scaled scores which are the only scores that interest medical school admissions committees.

Considering that each section of the exam has different sets of questions and level of difficulty, a student's performance on the MCAT is more likely to be accurately assessed by converting raw scores to scaled scores. The scaled score is reported on a 15-point scale.

There is no simplistic way to convert a percentage to a scaled score. It is a complex calculation that is dependent on the cohort and cannot be replicated with precision for any random practice exam. For example, a 50% raw score (i.e. the percent of correct answers) in a section does NOT represent 125 (a midpoint MCAT scaled score). Consider the table below.

Example of approximate percent correct MCAT score conversion for the Official AAMC MCAT Practice Exam (Scored) 1

Note: A score of 80% correct for each of the 4 exam subsections translates to an MCAT scaled score of 127, which further underlines the fact that the relationship between percent correct and scaled scores is not straightforward and the changes are not consistent across exam sections (there is a correlation, but they are not proportional). Again, the numbers above only apply to this one exam and cannot be blindly applied to other practice materials. As an example, Gold Standard practice exams required thousands of student submissions to develop an exam-specific scale score which continues to be adjusted as segments of the cohort's exam preparation improves over the years.

The AAMC's MCAT score report will reflect:
1. The scaled score for each of the 4 sections and the total score
2. Confidence bands that show the ranges where one's true MCAT scores lie
3. Percentile ranks to show how you fared compared to other exam takers (for example, the 80th percentile indicates that your score is better than 80% of other exam takers)
4. Score profile showing the MCAT score range - from 118 to 132 with a midpoint of 125

For example, a student will have a total MCAT score of 515 after scoring 131 on the Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems section; 127 on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section; 130 on the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section, and 127 on the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section. With a total score of 515, the student's percentile rank is 91%.

If you think that there is an error in your score, you may request the AAMC for a rescore.

Section	Score	Confidence Band	Percentile Rank of Score	Score Profile
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems	131	130 🔶 132	99%
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills	127	126 🔶 128	82%
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems	130	129 🔶 131	96%
Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior	127	126 🔶 128	68%
Total	515	513 🔶 517	91%

Yes, achieving the highest possible scaled MCAT score (528) is possible. It’s rare but achievable.

MCAT percentile rank records the percentage of students whose scores were lower than yours. Percentile ranks are not used as medical school admissions criteria. Only the scaled score matters for medical school admissions.

Percentile does not refer to the percent, which relates to the ratio of correct answers to the total number of questions.

How your 4 MCAT scores - as well as your overall MCAT score - breaks down to the broad range of question types are shown in the graphic below.

Of special note:

• the importance of Biology and Biochemistry;
• the importance of Psychology and Sociology (although, only time will tell to what degree medical schools will accept this new section with equal weight to the other three more established MCAT sections);
• the continued importance of 'Verbal Reasoning' (CARS);
• and finally, note that the 'non-science' aspect to your current MCAT score is not exactly 50% because one of the non-science sections also contains Biology (5%).

MCAT scores are released 30-35 days after the exam date and at 5 pm of the release date.

How do medical schools handle your multiple MCAT scores if you have taken the exam more than once? They may do any of the following:

• Evaluate the most recent score
• Evaluate only the highest individual and/or set of scores
• Evaluate an average of the sets of scores
• Consider all scores equally and note the improvements

Contact the medical schools to which you intend to apply to determine how they would handle your multiple MCAT scores. Also, please note that many medical schools do not accept scores that are more than three years old. Review the AAMC's guide in using MCAT data in the 2023 medical student selection.

In addition to your MCAT score, admissions committees consider other factors in your medical school application including your GPA, personal and academic experiences, demographics, medical school interview, letters of evaluation or recommendation, and personal statement.

The higher rates of admissions with higher MCAT scores are nothing new. However, it is of value to note that a score of 500 has a rate of admissions just over 20% and lesser scores may still result in admissions. Conversely, an exceptional score (above 517) does not guarantee medical school admissions.