MCAT Score Guide: Is Your Score Good?
Score-by-score analysis of every MCAT total from 490 to 528. Percentile, MD and DO school fit, acceptance odds, retake verdict, and the low-CARS edge case for each score. All analysis is grounded in AAMC Table A-23 acceptance data and AAMC percentile ranks in effect May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026.
Before you look up your score
Use the MCAT Retake Calculator to estimate your expected retake outcome in under two minutes. Then find your score below to see which schools match and whether retaking makes sense for your target list.
What drives score fit
- Percentile tells you how you rank among all test-takers.
- Matriculant medians tell you which schools treat your score as competitive.
- Section balance determines whether a split score reads differently than a balanced one.
- GPA pairing determines realistic acceptance odds at any given score.
Near-perfect (525 to 528)
525 to 528 is the 99th to 100th percentile. At this level the MCAT is no longer a meaningful selection signal for any US medical school, because such a small fraction of applicants reach this range. Admissions becomes entirely about narrative coherence, research depth, clinical exposure, and specific mission fit. A 525+ does not increase your chances at a T10 program materially more than a 520, because admissions committees at top programs are not selecting on MCAT above about 518.
Elite (521 to 524)
521 to 524 sits in the 98th to 99th percentile. At this range, the entire MD landscape including the top 10 is numerically in play. Schools at this level select heavily on the non-score dimensions: research depth, clinical insight, specific mission fit, essays, and interview. The MCAT becomes effectively irrelevant to selection differentiation among the candidates who make it to secondaries at top programs.
Very strong (518 to 520)
518 to 520 is the 95th to 97th percentile. The T20 opens up meaningfully here, and the full MD landscape is numerically realistic. At this range the MCAT is a clear strength on your application, and admissions outcomes are almost entirely driven by the non-score elements: activities, essays, research, clinical hours, letters, and school-specific fit. Retaking is almost never productive at this band.
Strong score (515 to 517)
515 to 517 puts you in the 91st to 94th percentile. This is the range where research-first MD programs and upper-mid-tier schools begin to treat your score as a clear positive. Your MCAT stops being a limiting factor at all but the most selective institutions. The T20 is a reach but no longer a long shot, and mid-tier MD becomes largely about fit, story, and essays rather than numbers.
Above MD median (512 to 514)
512 to 514 puts you in the 84th to 89th percentile, above the MD matriculant median. The MCAT becomes a clear positive on your application, and the full middle tier of MD programs treats you as academically competitive. Top 20 schools are still reaches, but mid-to-upper-tier MD programs open up, and the rest of your application becomes the primary driver.
Near or at MD median (508 to 511)
508 to 511 covers the 74th to 82nd percentile, straddling the MD matriculant median of 511 to 512. At this range, the MCAT shifts from a limiting factor to a neutral-or-slight-positive one, and the rest of the application (GPA, activities, narrative, essays, school fit) becomes the primary driver of outcomes. The realistic MD list here is wide, and adcoms typically stop treating the score itself as a concern in this band.
MD borderline, DO solid (505 to 507)
505 to 507 sits in the 65th to 72nd percentile, below the MD matriculant median of 511 to 512 but above the DO matriculant average of 503. MD admissions becomes genuinely possible here at low-median state schools and mission-driven private programs, especially with a 3.7+ GPA. For DO, this is at or above the typical DO matriculant average, which makes DO admissions solidly competitive rather than a stretch.
DO-competitive, MD stretch (502 to 504)
502 to 504 sits right at the DO national matriculant average. For DO applicants with a 3.5+ GPA, this is a solidly competitive score, and the numbers stop being the primary concern. For MD applicants, the score sits 7 to 10 points below the MD matriculant median, so MD becomes realistic only at specific low-median state schools and mission-driven programs.
Low borderline (497 to 501)
This range straddles the 40th to 52nd percentiles and sits at or slightly below the DO matriculant average of 503. AAMC Table A-23 puts MD acceptance below 15 percent at most GPA levels here, but DO matriculation is realistic, especially with a 3.6+ GPA and osteopathic shadowing. Many successful DO matriculants come from this range. For MD, this is usually a retake-if-you-can range, because the 3 to 5 point jump that typically comes with a second attempt changes which schools are realistic.
Critical range (490 to 496)
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.