What Is a Good MCAT Score? Percentiles and Med-School Benchmarks

What Is a Good MCAT Score?

A good MCAT score is generally 511 or higher, which is the approximate average for students admitted to MD medical schools and sits near the 82nd percentile on the 472-528 scale. Competitive programs typically expect 515-520 (roughly the 91st to 97th percentile), while around 504-505 is a common average for osteopathic (DO) matriculants.

Those are directional benchmarks. Because the MCAT has no pass or fail, the only definition that matters in practice is the score that clears the median of the schools you actually plan to apply to - so treat the numbers below as a map, then check each program's current data.

How Is the MCAT Scored?

The MCAT has four multiple-choice sections, and each one is scored on a scale from 118 to 132. Add the four together and you get a total between 472 and 528, with 500 sitting at the exact midpoint. There is no pass or fail - the MCAT is an admissions metric, not a licensure exam, so whether a score is 'good' is defined entirely by how your number compares to other test takers and to the schools you are targeting.

Because the four section scores are simply summed, the exam has no built-in weighting: a point gained in Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills counts exactly as much as a point gained in Chem/Phys. That also means a single weak section pulls your total down one point for every point it trails the others, and admissions committees see the section breakdown, not just the headline total. A balanced profile across all four sections generally reads better than a spiky one at the same total.

The number that turns a raw total into 'good' or 'not good' is the percentile rank, which AAMC publishes and refreshes every year. For a full walkthrough of how raw answers become scaled scores, see our MCAT scoring explained guide, and for the four-section layout and timing, read the MCAT format and sections breakdown.

What Score Falls at Each MCAT Percentile?

A raw total means little until you translate it into a percentile - the percent of test takers who scored at or below your number. AAMC publishes an official percentile table and updates it every May 1 using the three most recent testing years. The version below is in effect from May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, drawn from roughly 305,000 exams taken across 2023 to 2025. Use it to see exactly where any total sits in the national field before you judge whether it is good for your list of schools.

Read the middle of the table closely. Scores cluster tightly around 500, so a handful of points near the center moves your percentile far more than the same points do at the top or bottom of the scale.

What Is a Good MCAT Score by Med-School Tier?

'Good' only means something against a target, so the most useful benchmark is the score profile of students who actually get in where you want to go. As a rough rule of thumb, the average MCAT for students admitted to MD (allopathic) programs lands around 511 to 512, competitive and top-20 MD schools tend to sit near 518 to 521, more accessible MD programs often cluster around 508 to 511, and osteopathic (DO) matriculants average roughly 504 to 505.

Treat every number in the table below as directional, not gospel. These tier ranges are widely cited across admissions resources but are not published in a single AAMC source, and individual schools vary enormously - a strong application can get in below a school's average, and a high score does not guarantee an interview. Always confirm the current figures for each program in the AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) database before you set your target, because medians shift from year to year.

Notice how compressed the top of the scale is: the gap between an 'average' MD score and a top-20 score is only about six or seven points, but on the percentile curve that gap spans roughly the 82nd to the 98th percentile. Near the top, every single point does a lot of work. If you are also weighing graduate programs outside medicine, our GRE score requirements for grad schools guide shows how a similar tier logic plays out on a different scale.

How Do MCAT Percentiles Actually Work?

A percentile rank tells you the percent of test takers who scored at or below your total. A 508, for example, sits at the 74th percentile, which means about 74 percent of examinees scored 508 or lower and about 26 percent scored higher. The scaled midpoint of 500 is not quite the average - the actual mean total across the 2023 to 2025 testing years was 500.6, with a standard deviation of 11.2 points, so scores bunch tightly around the middle.

That tight clustering is why small point gains move your percentile so much near the center of the scale and so little at the extremes. Going from 500 to 505 lifts you from the 48th to the 64th percentile - sixteen points of percentile for five points of score. Going from 520 to 522 barely moves you, because you are already past almost everyone. The four section means sit close together too, all within about a point and a half of each other.

One consequence for planning: because AAMC recomputes the table every May 1 from a rolling three-year window, the percentile attached to a given score can drift slightly from one year to the next even though the 472 to 528 scale itself never changes. When you compare your score to a school's data, make sure both are read against a current percentile table.

• •Chem/Phys section mean: 124.6 (standard deviation 2.9).
• •CARS section mean: 125.1 (standard deviation 3.2).
• •Bio/Biochem section mean: 125.9 (standard deviation 3.3).
• •Psych/Soc section mean: 124.9 (standard deviation 3.2).

Is a Good MCAT Score Enough to Get In?

No single MCAT score guarantees admission, because medical schools read applications holistically. Your GPA, clinical and research experience, letters, personal statement, and interview all sit alongside the score, and a total that looks good on paper can still be turned down at a school where the rest of the file is thin. Conversely, applicants are admitted every cycle with below-average scores when the surrounding application is strong. The MCAT screens; it rarely decides on its own.

This is why chasing a round number in isolation is a trap. A 515 that clears every school on your list is good enough; a 520 aimed at programs that would have taken 512 is points spent where they buy nothing. The practical definition of a good MCAT score is the lowest total that comfortably clears the median of the schools you actually intend to apply to, with a small cushion for the section minimums some programs enforce.

It also means your time budget matters. Before you commit months to squeezing out two more points, weigh what those points change on your specific school list against what the same weeks could add to your clinical hours or research. Our guide on how long to study for the MCAT helps you size that trade-off realistically.

Should You Retake the MCAT to Raise Your Score?

Sometimes yes - but retaking has real limits and real risks. Under AAMC's long-standing policy, you are capped at three attempts in a single testing year, four across two consecutive years, and seven in a lifetime, and a voided 'no score' still counts as an attempt. Verify the current wording before you plan around these numbers, since policy details can be updated. Scores release roughly 30 to 35 days after test day, so a retake is not a quick fix late in an application cycle.

Unlike the SAT, the MCAT does not superscore. Medical schools see every score from roughly the past three years - retakes are shown alongside your earlier attempts, not replaced by your best - so a second sitting that lands flat or lower is visible too. That makes retaking a strategic decision: it is usually worth it when a single section dragged down an otherwise strong total, or when your total sits clearly below your target schools' medians. It is rarely worth it to nudge an already-competitive score up by a point or two.

If test-day performance, timing, or nerves are the gap between your practice scores and your real score, Exam Assist supports MCAT candidates on pay-after-pass terms - you pay only after you hit your target, not upfront for tutoring hours. Message us with your test date, your current and target totals, and which sections are weakest, and we will lay out your options confidentially. Exam Assist is independent and is not affiliated with AAMC.

• •Retake when one weak section pulled down an otherwise strong total.
• •Retake when your total sits clearly below your target schools' medians.
• •Think twice about retaking an already-competitive score to chase one or two points.