What Is a Good MCAT^® Score?

You get five scores. Each of the four sections is scored from 118 to 132, with 125 as the midpoint, and the four section scores add up to a total between 472 and 528.

Your percentile rank is the share of test takers who scored the same as you or lower. The AAMC rebuilds the table every May 1 from the three most recent testing years. The current table runs from May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, and draws on 305,494 scores from 2023, 2024 and 2025. Those test takers averaged 500.6.

The climb is steepest in the middle. Going from 500 to 505 moves you past 16 percent of test takers, while going from 520 to 525 moves you past 3 percent.

Every score also comes with a confidence band, the range that probably contains your true score. On the AAMC's sample score report, a section score of 124 carries a band from 123 to 125. The AAMC says the bands are there to discourage schools from separating applicants with similar scores, so a 509 and a 510 are the same score for practical purposes.

People quote four different averages as "the average MCAT^® score," and each one describes a different group. Everyone who tests averages about 501. People who applied to MD schools in 2025 averaged 506.3, and the ones who enrolled averaged 512.1. Students who started at DO schools that fall averaged 502.95.

So does a 505 count as good? It's ahead of 64 percent of test takers, about a point behind the average MD applicant and two points above the average DO matriculant. For DO schools, it's competitive. For MD schools, it's below the typical admit, though plenty of people get in from there.

The six-point gap between MD applicants and MD matriculants tells you who you're competing with. The people who apply already outscore two-thirds of test takers, so measuring yourself against the 500 midpoint flatters anyone in the low 500s.

Averages hide the spread. The AAMC's MCAT and GPA grid (FACTS Table A-23) counts every applicant to MD schools over the last three cycles: 155,940 applicants and 70,289 acceptances. Sorted by MCAT^® band, the acceptances break down like this.

About a third of accepted MD applicants scored below 510, and about one in six scored below 506. The band above 517 is a smaller slice than 510 to 513, because far fewer people score that high in the first place.

Your odds still climb steeply with the score. Across all GPAs, 22.2 percent of applicants in the 498 to 501 band were accepted, 47.1 percent at 506 to 509 and 62.4 percent at 510 to 513. Above 517, the rate reached 79.9 percent, which means about one applicant in five with a top score still didn't get in.

GPA shifts all of those numbers. The 3.5 GPA and 510 MCAT breakdown walks through one cell of the same grid.

The same section score means different things in different sections. On the current table, a 126 beats 74 percent of test takers in CARS and 54 percent in Psych/Soc, because Psych/Soc scores run higher across the board.

The averages follow the same pattern. MD matriculants in 2025 averaged 128.0 in Chem/Phys, 127.0 in CARS, 128.2 in Bio/Biochem and 129.0 in Psych/Soc, according to AAMC FACTS Table A-16. DO matriculants averaged 125.44, 124.98, 125.77 and 126.75 in the same four sections. In both groups, CARS has the lowest average and Psych/Soc the highest.

Schools also see your score profile, which plots each section with its band. According to the AAMC's notes on the score report, bands that don't overlap point to a real strength or weakness. A 130 in Bio/Biochem next to a 122 in CARS shows up plainly, even when the total looks fine.

Mostly not. In the AAMC's validity research, 95 percent of students who entered with scores in the middle third of the scale (495 to 504) moved from first year to second year on time. For students who scored 505 or higher, it was 98 percent.

The MCAT^® does predict how students perform in med school. Still, the gap between a 500 and a 512 is much smaller in the classroom than in the admissions office. A middle score mainly makes getting in harder.

Compare it with the schools on your list rather than the national numbers. Most schools publish a median or average MCAT^® for their entering class, and the AAMC's MSAR database collects them for MD programs. A school whose median is within two points of your score is a realistic target; one that's five or more points above it is a reach.

• 510 or higher: Your MCAT^® is competitive at most MD programs, so your GPA, experiences and timing shape the rest of your list.
• 503 to 509: Apply broadly to MD schools and add DO schools. The MD vs DO breakdown covers how admissions and residency outcomes differ between the two.
• Below 503: You're under both the MD and DO matriculant averages. A broad list with DO schools at its center comes first. A retake makes sense when you can name what went wrong, and the retake data puts the median gain at 1 to 3 points.

If your number came from a practice exam, check where it came from. Third-party full-lengths tend to score low, so AAMC practice exams give you the better estimate. If you're still waiting on the real score, the score release guide covers the day itself.

• What's the highest MCAT score? A 528, which takes a 132 in every section. Every total from 525 up rounds to the 100th percentile.
• What's the lowest? A 472, or 118 in every section. A 485 is the 11th percentile.
• Is a 500 a good score? It's the 48th percentile, which puts it below both the DO and MD matriculant averages. Some DO schools set their minimum right there (Touro University Nevada asks for at least a 500), and at MD schools 22.2 percent of applicants in the 498 to 501 band were accepted.

To look up the percentile for any total or section score, use the PurpleCAT MCAT score guide.

Last verified October 29, 2026. Percentile ranks come from the AAMC table in effect May 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027, which the AAMC replaces each May 1. Applicant and matriculant averages are from the 2025 cycle.