Is 496 a Good MCAT Score?

496 is the 36th percentile. It sits below the DO national matriculant average and meaningfully below MD.

What 496 means in the applicant pool

Scores in the 490 to 496 range sit below the 40th percentile nationally, which means the large majority of applicants to US medical schools tested higher. AAMC Table A-23 shows acceptance rates in this range are in the single digits even paired with strong GPAs, and most MD adcoms use this band as a functional screening cutoff. This is not a career verdict. It is a data point that usually signals a prep approach that did not work, and a retake with a different approach is the standard path forward. Most matriculants who started in this range raised their score by 6 to 10 points on a second attempt with serious changes to their study method.

MD acceptance odds at this score

AAMC Table A-23 aggregates three application cycles of real MD applicant data to map MCAT and GPA combinations to acceptance rates. At 496, the realistic range is roughly Under 10 percent, even with a 3.8+ GPA. At a 3.6 GPA, this score is realistic only at a handful of DO programs and mission-driven MD schools. At a 3.8 GPA, the DO list widens but MD remains a reach.

For DO programs, the acceptance picture is different because the DO matriculant average is 503 and the applicant pool is smaller. Expect roughly Around 10 to 25 percent at the lower-bar DO programs.

MD schools to consider with a 496

MD admissions in this range are extremely difficult. The realistic list is limited to mission-driven schools with explicit low-stats consideration, and those still expect an otherwise exceptional application.

Schools are grouped by how a 496 compares to their matriculant interquartile range. Target schools place your score inside the middle 50% of admitted students (roughly 25th-75th percentile). Reach and safety are sorted by the gap. The 25th/75th MCAT values are estimated from published medians using typical published IQR spreads; most schools do not publish their exact percentile figures.

Reach schools (1)

Your 496 is below the 25th-percentile MCAT at these programs. Reachable if your application is strong elsewhere.

School Median 25th-75th Location

San Juan Bautista School of Medicine 502 499-505 Puerto Rico

DO schools to consider with a 496

Some DO programs do admit applicants with scores in the upper half of this band, especially with strong narratives and osteopathic shadowing. Expect to apply broadly and emphasize fit with the osteopathic philosophy.

Canadian MD programs

Canadian MD schools are effectively out of reach at this range. Western requires 127 in CARS, Toronto requires 125 per section, and McMaster requires 123 CARS minimum with competitive scores 127+. Ottawa, McGill, and all four Quebec medical schools (Laval, Sherbrooke, Montreal) do not require the MCAT, so they remain potential options if you meet the other requirements.

How the 496 realistic school list compares

The section-split edge cases

The MCAT total tells only part of the story. Adcoms also look at section balance, and two applicants with the same 496 total can have meaningfully different realistic school lists depending on how that score was distributed.

Low CARS with a 496 total

At this total score, CARS is rarely the driving problem, but if CARS is 118 or 119 it signals a reading or timing issue severe enough that even a retake may not fix it without tutoring. CARS improvement is the single slowest to gain back.

A 496 with a low CARS (121 or below) closes several Canadian options and some US MD schools that weight CARS heavily. CARS-only retake strategies exist but take longer than section retakes in the science sections.

Low C/P with a 496 total

C/P weakness in this band often reflects physics and general chemistry content gaps. That is actually the more fixable pattern, because C/P is the most coachable section through targeted formula work and problem-solving practice.

Balanced vs. split profile

Balanced sections at this range (all around 122 to 124) suggest a global study problem rather than a section-specific one. This is the pattern where a full study-plan overhaul, not more of the same, produces the largest gains.

Should you retake a 496?

A retake is almost always the right call at this score, because the score itself closes off most MD schools and limits DO options. The question is not whether to retake but whether your next attempt will actually reflect a different study approach. Without that, retakes in this range tend to stay flat or drop.

Before registering for a retake, run the numbers. Our MCAT Retake Calculator uses AAMC retake score-change data to estimate your realistic retake outcome based on your current score, practice average, and study time. It is free and takes under two minutes.

For a deeper framework on the retake decision, see the full Should You Retake the MCAT guide, and if your score is below your practice average, the MCAT Score Not Improving guide walks through the four error types that drive most plateaus.

Frequently asked questions

Related scores

See all score-by-score guides in the full MCAT Score Guide, or check the complete MCAT percentile chart.