What's a reasonable MCAT score?

lovetolie13

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I'm a high school student interested in BS/MD and BA/MD programs. Most of these programs require the MCAT, but some programs need a 30 while other programs require 35+. As a high school student, I'll be the first to admit that these numbers are pretty much meaningless to me. I've looked up the percentiles, but knowing that a score of 30 is around the 78th percentile doesn't really help me because it's difficult to gauge how competitive students who take the MCAT are. The only major test I've taken thus far is the SAT, and the level of competition for the SAT is probably much much lower than for the MCAT. Thus, I was hoping to hear from some people who have taken the MCAT as to its difficulty and what MCAT score would be reasonable for a combined program.

(https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf_)
 
I scored a >99.9% (2320) on the SAT with about 2 weeks of casual studying on my first try.

I scored 98% (37) on the MCAT with about 2 months of casual study + 1 month hardcore studying (40 hours a week studying).

My friend scored a 2150 on his SAT and got a 32 on his MCAT. Don't know how much studying he did for either.

Just 2 data points.

I don't think you can count on your MCAT being >35 when it comes time to take it. Anything <32 should be relatively safe though I feel. What did you get on your SAT?
 
The MCAT is just a test. If you're good at standardized tests, you will most likely score well on the MCAT as long as you take the time to learn the background material because managing time well and eliminating wrong answer choices and keeping calm is universal. I would say a 30 is possible to achieve and I believe that many of those programs allow you to retake your exam. I would say a 35 might happen or might not. I wouldn't pick a BS/MD program with a 35 MCAT requirement.
 
I think most people get in with a 29+.
If you google it, there is a chart which shows people who were accepted along with their gpa and mcat score.
 
I scored a >99.9% (2320) on the SAT with about 2 weeks of casual studying on my first try.

I scored 98% (37) on the MCAT with about 2 months of casual study + 1 month hardcore studying (40 hours a week studying).

My friend scored a 2150 on his SAT and got a 32 on his MCAT. Don't know how much studying he did for either.

Just 2 data points.

I don't think you can count on your MCAT being >35 when it comes time to take it. Anything <32 should be relatively safe though I feel. What did you get on your SAT?

I scored 2300+ on the SAT, but I struggled a little in the math section which worries me. I'm not saying that I'm weak at math--I have taken and passed Calc BC with a 5 and as one of the top students there, but I tend to make really stupid mistakes on math multiple choice. Thank you for your input by the way. Can you retake the MCAT if you don't score well on it the first time? In other words, is it like the SAT where it's offered periodically throughout the entire year?
 
I scored 2300+ on the SAT, but I struggled a little in the math section which worries me. I'm not saying that I'm weak at math--I have taken and passed Calc BC with a 5 and as one of the top students there, but I tend to make really stupid mistakes on math multiple choice. Thank you for your input by the way. Can you retake the MCAT if you don't score well on it the first time? In other words, is it like the SAT where it's offered periodically throughout the entire year?

It's offered around 20 times per year. You are allowed to take up to 3 times per year. Different programs will have different rules about the max times you are allowed to take to be accepted, or how they view multiple retakes. Usually it's either the average of all your scores, average of most recent scores, or your most recent one. Rarely will they composite your highest section scores.

There's not much math involved in the MCAT. Just learn how to add, divide multiply subtract numbers in scientific notation and you'll be fine.
 
I've looked up the percentiles, but knowing that a score of 30 is around the 78th percentile doesn't really help me because it's difficult to gauge how competitive students who take the MCAT are.

The bulk of the people that are taking the MCAT are usually college juniors and seniors. There is also a significant subset of test takers with previous careers and advanced degrees. However, the majority of your competition will be people with at least 3+ years of college learning. These college folks (at least the ones that planned well) have taken biology, biochemistry, physiology, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, psychology, and sociology by the time they enter the testing center. So how competitive are these students? Very. We are talking about 80,000 very dedicated people taking this test from around the country.

So lets take a look at what these numbers mean. I'll start with your SAT score (congrats btw, you are much smarter than I was in high school 🙂), 2300+, this means you are about in the 99.9%. Quite simply, in a random room of 1000 people that took the SAT, you scored better than the other 999 people. But you probably already know this. Concept is the exact same for the MCAT. A score of 30 (78%), you need to score better than 78% of 80,000 people or 62,400 of the people I described above. Now here's where it gets interesting for those programs that require a 35+. At a MCAT score of 36 this correlates to about the 97%, so only about 2,400 people receive this score or score better every year. I am not even exaggerating to say that almost everyone in the 35+ category have been top of their class while in college. Don't even get me started on the people that can score >40. I personally know of one, he's currently at Penn doing MD/PhD...he will change the world someday.

However, BS/MD programs are good at prepping their students for the MCAT. I read your bio and I must say that should you attend a MS/MD program, I will bet on you scoring >30. But a >35?... I'll just go on and agree with a previous poster and say try to avoid those programs. Med school is stressful enough, why bother with more?

Thus, I was hoping to hear from some people who have taken the MCAT as to its difficulty and what MCAT score would be reasonable for a combined program.

Imagine taking the AP English, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Organic Chemistry (does this exist?) tests in a single day and I would say that MIGHT be a similar experience to the MCAT.

TL;DR Don't worry about it, BS/MD programs will prep you well for the MCAT so you will be able to achieve >30. Not so sure for >35.
 
I mean you won't be taking the MCATs for another couple years. BS/MD programs don't require high school students to take it in order to be eligible for admission and why would they? I mean you're supposed to be able to apply the stuff you learned in college on the MCATs not stuff from high school so I don't see why you are worrying about it now.
 
Agree with hippo. I've never heard of any program that expects someone to get a 35+ MCAT straight out of high school. That's just silly. As for scores, if you want to get into MD schools, 30 seems to be the magic number. Hit at least a 30 with solid GPA and ECs and if you're smart about your applications you should get in somewhere.

As for the test itself, it's very different from any high school test. It's not just about how you figure stuff out anymore, it's about all that plus knowing hard science information. I hit a 34 on the ACT twice, and a 1470 on the SAT (back when it was out of 1600) and my MCAT scores were 29Q, 28, 29 (33 composite).
 
Don't worry about the MCAT now.

I scored a 2150 on my SAT with a few weeks of moderate studying and a 38 on my MCAT with 1 month of significant studying.

I'm pulling these numbers out my ass, but I'd say if you get above a 2000 SAT, you can achieve high 30s on the MCAT. It comes down to how hard you work for it. If you got a 2300+ on the SAT, you're golden. Just remember to study hard for it. Taking it again is not to your advantage.
 
Don't worry about the MCAT now.

I scored a 2150 on my SAT with a few weeks of moderate studying and a 38 on my MCAT with 1 month of significant studying.

I'm pulling these numbers out my ass, but I'd say if you get above a 2000 SAT, you can achieve high 30s on the MCAT. It comes down to how hard you work for it. If you got a 2300+ on the SAT, you're golden. Just remember to study hard for it. Taking it again is not to your advantage.


The MCAT isn't graded on that scale anymore. The new MCAT is a range of 472-528. It's a bell curve, and 500 is supposed to be the top of the curve.
 
The MCAT isn't graded on that scale anymore. The new MCAT is a range of 472-528. It's a bell curve, and 500 is supposed to be the top of the curve.

The new MCAT scale is almost the same as the old, just add 468. Four sections, 15 points each. Minimum score of 1 per section. Therefore the scale is 4-60.

472 - 468 = 4
528 - 468 = 60
 
The new MCAT scale is almost the same as the old, just add 468. Four sections, 15 points each. Minimum score of 1 per section. Therefore the scale is 4-60.

472 - 468 = 4
528 - 468 = 60
AAMC stresses that the old and new scales aren't interconvertible and that adcoms shouldn't try to convert between them.
 
The new MCAT scale is almost the same as the old, just add 468. Four sections, 15 points each. Minimum score of 1 per section. Therefore the scale is 4-60.

472 - 468 = 4
528 - 468 = 60

Hmm, makes sense. I thought the new MCAT would just be 4-60. Seems like they made it excessively complicated by adding 468....
 
Seems like they made it excessively complicated by adding 468....

I heard it's to allow adcoms to immediately discern which applicants took the new MCAT.

AAMC stresses that the old and new scales aren't interconvertible and that adcoms shouldn't try to convert between them.

Eh, I suppose. What really matters is the standard deviation and mean. If it ends up being 500 +/- 6 it really won't be that much different from the old scale.

What really matters is what percentile you fall into and hence the STD and mean. Since a 90th percentile on the old MCAT will be effectively the same as 90th percentile on the new one.
 
Fwiw, AAMC's official reasoning for the new MCAT is to get the adcoms to look at those who score in the middle range on the old MCAT. AAMC claims that over 90% of those people who do end up accepted pass boards the first time and graduate on time.
 
Fwiw, AAMC's official reasoning for the new MCAT is to get the adcoms to look at those who score in the middle range on the old MCAT. AAMC claims that over 90% of those people who do end up accepted pass boards the first time and graduate on time.

That's very interesting. Can you provide a link? I'm curious to take a look at the data.
 
Not sure of the page, but it's in here somewhere: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/378098/data/mcat2015scorescaleguide.pdf

edit: Found it! (page 12 of the actual document, or my PDF reader says page 16)

Additionally, the score scales give special attention to scores in the center of the scales. This makes
sense because history shows that the vast majority of students who enter medical school with scores in the center of the current scales graduate on time and pass their USMLE Step exams on the first attempt.
I thought it gave a specific percentage, but I guess it didn't.
 
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Their reasoning is a little flawed though. Adcoms aren't that uninformed, they know that anything above mid 20's on the MCAT predicts successfully passing steps and graduating with a degree - I think I've heard it thrown around by adcoms on here that anything 26+ is statistically safe as far as the person surviving the process.

But at the majority of schools, the MCAT isn't being assessed as a "will they likely pass/graduate" metric - it is really only at DO or the very lowest-stat MD schools that it would need to function that way. It's being assessed as a "will they dominate the step1 with a competitive percentile to go for selective specialties/residencies" which in turn makes for good match lists/reputation. I mean seriously, I doubt anybody on the Wustl adcom thinks you need your class to have a median MCAT of the top percentile to get people who will pass boards and be good doctors - but it probably helps churn out people with killer apps for residency
 
The average score for matriculants is a 31. That would be a reasonable score. Since it is more of a test of knowledge than the SAT, some do better, others worse. I'd equate a 31 roughly with a 2000 but ymmv
 
The average score for matriculants is a 31. That would be a reasonable score. Since it is more of a test of knowledge than the SAT, some do better, others worse. I'd equate a 31 roughly with a 2000 but ymmv

2000? The highest score on the new MCAT is a 528. Is Chuck Norris at it again?
 
2000? The highest score on the new MCAT is a 528. Is Chuck Norris at it again?

2000 on the SAT, 31 on the old MCAT.

Chuck norris broke the MCAT which is why there is a new MCAT
 
The average score for matriculants is a 31. That would be a reasonable score. Since it is more of a test of knowledge than the SAT, some do better, others worse. I'd equate a 31 roughly with a 2000 but ymmv
Exactly. Just to add another data point, I was ~1800 SAT (1230 math and verbal) which isn't too hot but ended up with a 38 (99th%) on MCAT. As others have mentioned, I think the MCAT is all about prep.

To the OP, don't worry about it until you're in college. Be a good student, and take the MCAT seriously. Good students who take it seriously do well in my experience. Good luck.
 
By ~ percentiles, a 31 MCAT = 1800 SAT = 80th percentile or so

Damn dude, if you're capable of top 1% MCAT then you must have half-assed the SATs, since the exact same critical reading / reasoning / math ability is tested but on steroids and with tons of background knowledge now required as well
 
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