MCAT Percentiles: Full Statistics | BestColleges (2024)

While the national average MCAT score is 501.3 for the 2023-2024 academic year, prospective students need a 511.9 — a score closer to the 85th percentile — to have a real shot at getting into medical school.

Medical schools use the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) to evaluate prospective medical students' readiness for graduate school. Schools use MCAT scores, along with GPAs, as a way to compare applicants.

This article focuses on test takers pursuing medical degrees (MDs) at medical school, but podiatry school, anesthesiology school, MD/PHD programs, and osteopathic schools also use the MCAT for admissions.

Read on to find out more about national MCAT percentiles, broken down by total scores and section scores.

MCAT Percentiles

The MCAT score ranges from 472-528. The average MCAT score is 501.3. Percentile rankings are based on MCAT results from the 2020, 2021, and 2022 testing years combined. The AAMC will use these scores to calculate percentile rankings through April 30, 2024, until the next update on May 1 of the following year.^{Note Reference [1]}

• To be in the 75th percentile, you must score a 509.^{Note Reference [1]}
• To be in the 50th percentile, you must score greater than a 501.^{Note Reference [1]}
• To score in or above the 25th percentile, you must achieve a result of 493.^{Note Reference [1]}
• Scoring below a 493 means you are in the bottom quarter of test takers.^{Note Reference [1]}

Note that you cannot score in the 100th or 0th percentiles, as these are just theoretical. They act as placeholders, however, and can be useful in better understanding the score range. Scores of 524-528 are in the 100th percentile, meaning no one has achieved them.

The average total MCAT score has increased since 2015 when a new version of the exam was released.^[2] This means that the 50th percentile, which reflects the median score of test takers, has gone up. In 2015, a score of 500.0 was the 50th percentile, whereas the number is now 501.3 in 2023-2024.

MCAT Percentiles Broken Down by Section

The MCAT exam has four sections, all scored on a scale of 118-132.

All section score averages have gone up since 2015, except for the critical analysis and reasoning skills (CARS) section.

MCAT Percentiles for the CPBS Section

• To score in the 50th percentile for the chemical and physical foundations of biological systems (CPBS) section, you must have scored 125.1 in 2023-2024, up from 125.0 in 2015.
• To score in the 90th percentile, you must have scored above 128.

MCAT Percentiles for the CARS Section

• The average MCAT score for the critical analysis and reasoning skills (CARS) section is 124.7 in 2023-2024, down from 124.9 in 2015.
• To score in the 90th percentile, you must have scored 128 or higher.

MCAT Percentiles for the BBLS Section

The average MCAT score for the biological and biochemical foundations of living systems (BBLS) section has increased by 0.4 points in the past eight years.

• To score in the 50th percentile for the BBLS section, you must have scored 125.4 in 2023-2024, up from 125.0 in 2015.
• To score in the 90th percentile, you must have scored at least 129.

Note the drastic percentile drop from getting a section score of 130 versus 129. Although just a one-point difference, the percentile drops from 95th to 90th. Another big drop occurs between a section score of 127, which puts you in the 72nd percentile, and a section score of 126, which puts you in the 61st percentile.

MCAT Percentiles for the PSBB Section

The average MCAT score for the psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior (PSBB) section has gone up the most.

• To score in the 50th percentile for the PSBB section, you must have scored 126.1 in 2023-2024, up from 126.0 in 2021-2202 and 125.1 in 2015.
• This is a 0.9 point increase in eight years.
• The PSBB section has the highest average score, meaning that test takers tend to score the highest in this section.
• To score in the 90th percentile, you must have scored higher than 129.

Frequently Asked Questions About the MCAT

How is the MCAT scored?

The MCAT has four sections, and each section is graded on a scale from 118-132.^[3] The sums of the four section scores are then added up to calculate the total score.

According to the AAMC, students who score about a 125 in each of the four sections and have a total score of 500 are strong contenders to succeed in medical school.^{Note Reference [3]} As past MCAT exam research shows, they will likely get accepted into medical school, graduate in four or five years, and pass their licensing exams on the first try.^{Note Reference [3]}

What will an MCAT score profile tell me?

Section scores highlight an applicant's strengths and weaknesses. Medical schools look at an applicant's reported scores for each section and compare them with their course grades and courses taken. This way, the institutions gain a better sense of what a prospective student might find to be more or less challenging during their graduate studies.^[4]

Section scores can also be compared with national percentiles to see how a student compares to other test takers of the same year. Are they in the top half of test takers? Are they in the 90th percentile?