Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to this simple question. A good MCAT score depends on a multitude of factors that we’ll discuss below.
A Good MCAT Score is Competitive
First, “good” should be replaced by “competitive”. What really matters is whether a given MCAT score is competitive, in other words, whether it will help or hurt your chances of admission to your target medical schools. And “score” should be changed to “scores” to convey the importance of section scores in addition to total score. Your MCAT performance is sometimes only as strong as your weakest section score.
Second, the MCAT is only one of many factors considered by admission committees. Whether a given set of scores is competitive depends on the strength or weakness of the entirety of your application.
Third, there is tremendous variation in how medical schools use MCAT scores. Some medical schools only use MCAT scores at the first stage of the admission process as a cut-off to reduce the pool of applicants. Other medical schools use MCAT scores at every stage of the admission process: who to consider, who to interview and, ultimately, who to accept.
Fourth, medical schools have very different standards when it comes to MCAT scores deemed worthy of admission. Scores that don’t even meet the minimum for consideration at one medical school may be highly competitive at another medical school.
MCAT Score Ranges
Recall that the MCAT scores range from 472 to 528, with a mean score of 500. In 2019-20 the average score of applicants to medical school was 506.1 (61st percentile). The average score of applicants accepted by medical schools was 511.5 (83rd percentile) [source]. In terms of test sections, the average scores of accepted applicants in 2019-20 was 127.8 (83rd percentile) for Physical Sciences, 127 (82nd percentile) for CARS, 128.1 (83rd percentile) for Biological Sciences and 128.6 (84th percentile) for Behavioral Sciences.
However, these global numbers obscure a LOT of underlying variability among medical schools. The AAMC helpfully publishes a correlation between scaled scores and percentile ranks that can be used to divide scores into tiers of competitiveness:
Top 10% = Competitive at all medical schools
- Total Score: 515-528
- Physical Sciences: 129-132
- CARS: 128-132
- Biological Sciences: 129-132
- Behavioral Sciences: 129-132ETTER MCAT SCORES: 75th Percentile
Top 25% = Competitive at most medical schools
- Total Score: 509-514
- Physical Sciences: 127-128
- CARS: 127-128
- Biological Sciences: 127-128
- Behavioral Sciences: 128D MCAT SCORES: 50th Percentile
Top 50% = Competitive at some medical schools
- Total Score: 501-508
- Physical Sciences: 125-126
- CARS:124-126
- Biological Sciences:125-126
- Behavioral Sciences:126-127
Balanced MCAT Section Scores
It’s not just about total score. Medical schools look much more favourably on balanced section scores than on lopsided section scores. For example, a 508 comprised of 127/127/127/127 is more competitive than a 508 comprised of 131/123/130/124 – especially if a low section score is on the wrong side of a cut-off and eliminates you from consideration. The Score Report even includes a Score Profile graph that displays the pattern of your section scores in relation to the midpoint of 125. In the example below, the CARS score on the second row is conspicuously low and might be a red flag for some admissions committees.
Know Your Target Schools
Before even beginning to prep for the MCAT, you should thoroughly research medical schools and select your targets for application. The best sources of information are the AAMC’s Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) and the section of each medical school’s website that provides information for applicants. For each of your target medical schools, construct a profile of its admission criteria including:
- What are the average MCAT scores and GPA of accepted students?
- Are there any GPA adjustments (e.g., worst year dropped)?
- What is the average MCAT scores of accepted students with your GPA?
- Are there cut-offs (minimum for consideration) for MCAT scores?
- Is more weight given to any MCAT section(s) (e.g., CARS)?
- Are MCAT scores used assess who to consider, who to interview and who to accept?
- What non-academic credentials are assessed?
- Are there different admission standards for state/provincial residents than for everyone else?
Do I have to get every question correct get a good MCAT score?
No. Perfection is NOT required to obtain a competitive score in any MCAT section. In fact, striving to get the correct answer for every question is counter-productive. Perfectionists get repeatedly bogged down by difficult questions and run out of time. Top-scoring MCAT test-takers are not perfectionists. They are adroit tacticians who recognize when to make an educated guess and move on to the easier questions.
In the Science sections with 59 questions, you can usually get:
- 5 wrong answers (92% accuracy) and score 130-131 (top 5%)
- 10 wrong answers (83% accuracy) and score 129-130 (top 10%)
- 15 wrong answers (75% accuracy) and score 126-128 (126 = top 50%, 127-128 = top 25%)
In the CARS section with 53 questions, you can usually get:
- 5 wrong answers (90% accuracy) and score 130 (top 5%)
- 10 wrong answers (83% accuracy) and score 127-128 (top 25%)
- 15 wrong answers (72% accuracy) and score 125 (top 50%)
Note the emphasis on “usually”. Variations in difficulty between test versions make it tricky to say anything definitive about raw scores. On the other hand, the AAMC says the variations are slight. And we are using raw scores only to make the general point that you shouldn’t aim for perfection to accomplish competitive scores.
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