So, to be truly competitive with the students most likely to be accepted, this is the beginning of the genuinely competitive range. This is, unsurprisingly, higher than the applicant mean-511.5 to be exact, which is the 80th percentile for overall test-takers. However, the AAMC also provides data based on matriculant scores, aka successful applicants. Based on current data, the mean score for all applicants is approximately 506, so in essence any score above 506 would be “above average.” Why? The mean measures the overall average, and in this context would be the average of every student who has taken the MCAT and applied to a medical school. What is a Competitive MCAT Score?Ī score at or above the mean-or 50th percentile-for all applicants could be considered competitive. With that kind of score, it will be difficult for med schools to reject your application! There will still be some ultra-elite programs that have higher score thresholds for admission, but these are truly few and far between. Anything above the score of 517 is considered as outstanding. To get an excellent MCAT score means to score in the overall 90th percentile, which currently means a score of 515 or greater. Nevertheless, to put things into perspective, it’s good to understand how scores and percentile ranks fit together in the big picture. But you want to do better than good! Try not to focus on just one number, and seek to score as highly as possible regardless of cutoffs or matriculant averages. Each school has its own MCAT expectations: some schools will not consider an applicant with a score lower than 511, while others may be happy to accept students with lower scores. The simple answer is that a good MCAT score is a score equal to or higher than the average accepted MCAT score at your chosen schools, or a score that surpasses their MCAT score cutoff or threshold. Conversion simply ensures that different raw scores have the same meaning, no matter when you test or who else is taking the test with you.Īre you looking for failproof MCAT tips? Check out the video below: This does not mean that the MCAT score is graded on a curve. This would mean that two equally prepared students answering two sets of test forms with different questions are expected to get similar scores, even if there is some discrepancy between the number of correct answers. This conversion is not constant because each conversion is customized to the specific set of questions included on a test form. The conversion of your correct answers to scale is done through a process called equating, which compensates for small variations in difficulty between test forms. However, some test forms may be slightly more difficult than others.
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All tests are designed to examine the same knowledge and skills and the administration claims to make sure that all test forms are equal in difficulty. They tend to include questions of various difficulty levels.
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There are several different test forms in a given year. The conversion is administered to ensure scoring fairness to all students taking the MCAT. This means that the lowest possible MCAT score you can get is 472 and the highest is 528. The scores for all four sections are added together. Your correct answers in each section are converted to a scaled score ranging from 118 (lowest possible score) to 132 (highest possible score). Make sure to answer all questions when you take the test even if you are unsure of the answer, it's best to make an educated guess! Wrong answers do not affect your score, so you are not penalized for answering incorrectly. Your score is based on the number of questions you answer correctly.