What does my MCAT score mean?

This question is also commonly phrased as, "What is a good MCAT score?"

According to the AAMC [1], the mean score (from a possible 45) was 25.1 for all 2011 administrations. The standard deviation was 6.4 for the same year. Below you can see a graph that depicts the score distribution versus the percentage of test takers achieving that score. Note that the scores below is a total sum of three individual scores representing the whole of the test. For this post, the writing sample will not be discussed as it usually has only minimal or circumstantial bearing on admissions.

From the table below, we can see where each score stands. For a score of 25, this puts the applicant in the 43.7-49.7th percentile of all test takers. The score is scaled such that very few test takers are able to achieve the upper range of scores: a score of 30 is in the 73.9-79.1th percentile, a 35 in the 93.9-95.8th percentile, and a 40 in the 99.6-99.8th percentile. The percentile rank assigned for each score has slight variations from year to year, but for the most part they change very little due to the way the MCAT is scaled.

Scaled Score	Percentile	Scaled Score	Percentile	Scaled Score	Percentile
45	99.9–99.9	30	73.9–79.1	15	6.3–8.1
44	99.9–99.9	29	68.1–73.8	14	4.8–6.2
43	99.9–99.9	28	62.2–68.0	13	3.6–4.7
42	99.9–99.9	27	55.9–62.1	12	2.6–3.5
41	99.9–99.9	26	49.8–55.8	11	1.9–2.5
40	99.6–99.8	25	43.7–49.7	10	1.2–1.8
39	99.2–99.5	24	38.0–43.6	9	0.8–1.1
38	98.5–99.1	23	32.6–37.9	8	0.5–0.7
37	97.4–98.4	22	27.7–32.5	7	0.3–0.4
36	95.9–97.3	21	23.1–27.6	6	0.2–0.2
35	93.9–95.8	20	19.2–23.0	5	0.0–0.1
34	91.2–93.8	19	15.8–19.1	4	0.0–0.0
33	88.0–91.1	18	12.8–15.7	3	0.0–0.0
32	83.9–87.9	17	10.2–12.7
31	79.2–83.8	16	8.2–10.1

So what kind of MCAT score should you aim for? This is highly dependent on your individual application, GPA, and the schools you are applying to. You can read a previous discussion on acceptance rates given a certain GPA and MCAT score here at How important is the MCAT?  Still, we can assess general admissions trends from data provided by the AAMC [2]. For 2011, medical school applicants had a mean test score of 28.2, with a standard deviation of 5.5. However, the mean score for matriculants was 31.1, with a standard deviation of 4.4. Thus students accepted to at least one medical school had an average MCAT score of 31, representative of being in the 79.2-83.8th percentile of all test takers. This figure is mostly unchanged year to year, though a small increase has been noted in more recent years. Generally, admissions committee members at most medical schools consider a score of 30 or above to be competitive. A score of 35 and above is considered to be in the competitive range for the highest ranked schools.

1. Percentages of MCAT Examinees Achieving Scaled Score Levels and Associated Percentile Rank Ranges by Area of Assessment
2. MCAT Scores and GPAs for Applicants and Matriculants to U.S. Medical Schools by Race and Ethnicity, 2011