An MCAT score converter is what every pre-med student needs to know how likely they could be accepted to their dream medical school.
In this post, I will present to you the exact equivalent of your old MCAT score to the new one, discuss MCAT scores—giving you information about what’s good, what’s just lying within the average, and the highest score in history according to statistics.
MCAT Score Converter: Old MCAT Score Versus New
Old MCAT Score |
New MCAT Score |
MCAT Percentiles |
45 | 528 | >99 |
44 | 527 | >99 |
43 | 527 | >99 |
42 | 526 | >99 |
41 | 525 | >99 |
40 | 524 | >99 |
39 | 523 | 99 |
38 | 522 | 99 |
37 | 520 | 98 |
36 | 518 | 96 |
35 | 517 | 95 |
34 | 515 | 92 |
33 | 514 | 90 |
32 | 512 | 85 |
31 | 510 | 80 |
30 | 508 | 74 |
29 | 506 | 68 |
28 | 504 | 61 |
27 | 503 | 58 |
26 | 501 | 51 |
25 | 499 | 44 |
24 | 498 | 41 |
23 | 496 | 34 |
22 | 494 | 28 |
21 | 493 | 25 |
20 | 491 | 20 |
19 | 490 | 18 |
18 | 488 | 14 |
17 | 486 | 10 |
16 | 485 | 8 |
15 | 484 | 7 |
14 | 483 | 6 |
13 | 482 | 5 |
12 | 480 | 3 |
11 | 479 | 2 |
10 | 478 | 2 |
9 | 477 | 1 |
8 | 477 | 1 |
7 | 476 | 1 |
6 | 475 | <1 |
5 | 474 | <1 |
4 | 473 | <1 |
3 | 472 | <1 |
Table 1. Old Vs New MCAT Scores With Their Corresponding MCAT Percentiles
What Is A Good MCAT Score?
You could stop worrying and be confident if your MCAT score lies within the “good” category. You could say that your MCAT score is good if it’s close to or above the average percentile for matriculants at your aspired medical school.
In 2019-2020, the average MCAT scores were 510 and 511, with an average GPA of 3.71.
But of course, the higher the better. Remember that in my article on the best pre-med majors, I emphasized how your MCAT score could be a huge factor to get accepted to med school.
If you want to have a competitive score that will make your admissions application more impressive, your MCAT score should be around 508-513. At this level, you are already part of the top 25% of all examinees.
As for each component, you might want to target the following scores:
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems: 127-128
- Critical Analysis and Reading Skills: 127-128
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems: 127-128
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior: 127-128
If you aim for an MCAT score that will not just guarantee the acceptance of your application to high ranking medical schools but also take you to the top 10% spot of all examinees, your MCAT Total Score should be playing around 514 to 528.
As for each component, you might want to target the following scores:
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems: 129-132
- Critical Analysis and Reading Skills: 129-132
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems: 129-132
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior: 129-132
Also, if there are scores you must aim, there are also scores wherein you need to improve some more as they are found to be less competitive. These scores are below the average. You’ll become less advantageous when you try to apply to competitive programs.
MCAT Total Score: 500-507
- Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems: 125-126
- Critical Analysis and Reading Skills: 125-126
- Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems: 125-126
- Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior: 125-126
If your MCAT score is within the low ranges, try checking this article on how to get into med school with a low MCAT score.
Check your score in our MCAT score converter to know how competitive your application is.
Average MCAT Score
In 2019-2020, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ report revealed that the average MCAT score for all applicants is 505 to 506. Whereas for matriculants or applicants who were already accepted and have registered to a medical school is 511.
Here are the average MCAT scores by section:
- MCAT CBPS: 127-128
- MCAT CARS: 127
- MCAT BBLS: 128
- MCAT PSBB: 128-129
Highest MCAT Score
528 is the highest possible MCAT score one could achieve. Interestingly less than 1% of the takers have gotten perfect scores according to data.
If you aim for a medical school with the highest-ranking scores, you should aim at least an average of 517 to get accepted. To date, 46 schools have students who scored the highest on the MCAT exam.
Out of these schools, the University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) and New York University (Grossman) goes on top of the list as their students have median scores of 522.
University of Pennsylvania (Perelman)
- U.S. News research rank: 3
- U.S. News primary care rank: 14
- Percentage of students who submitted a new MCAT score: 85
New York University (Grossman)
- U.S. News research rank: 4
- U.S. News primary care rank: 35
- Percentage of students who submitted a new MCAT score: 100
If you want to boost your MCAT score and attain the highest possible score, you can try engaging on prep courses for MCAT here.
Old MCAT Vs New MCAT Difficulty
There has been a debate on which between the old and new MCAT is more difficult. Since opinions and experiences vary from one examinee to another, I could say that the degree of difficulty of the two depends and is incomparable.
To those who took both, they think that the new MCAT is harder. The new MCAT seems to test the quality of your knowledge whereas the old one is rich in unfamiliar passages that you hardly know of. The new MCAT requires more critical thinking and reading comprehension.
Also, the older exam is formulated as if it is made especially for physical science or engineering majors, and questions are not necessarily focused on health. Whereas, the new one is concentrated on biology concepts and has bits of health-related concepts.
Here are also additional differences between the two:
- You’ll have more time per question on the CARs/Verbal section of the new MCAT.
- As I mentioned earlier, the new MCAT focuses more on Biology which makes it harder. It has more biochemistry concepts, research incorporation, and experimental techniques.
- The new MCAT CBP is oriented more on chemistry concepts than physics. But, intro-level physics on MCAT is not your average basic physics in college. They usually put hard-to-decipher physics questions on the exam.
- Psych/Soc section is quite easier. Anyone can do well on that part as long as you’re familiar with various psych/soc related terms and concepts.
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Regardless of which is difficult, your score depends on how prepared you are to be fully equipped on answering every item correctly. Practice more questions and read more especially on areas that you think you still need to improve.
Hopefully, my MCAT score converter would be your useful guide to assess your chance to get into your preferred medical school.
MCAT is one of your golden keys to enter med school. Prepare well so you could have an MCAT score that’s not just good, but also competitive among your co-applicants.
If you have found this post helpful, how about you check out some of our other blog posts?
- 10 Most Competitive Residencies (2021 Guide)
- Best Prep Course For MCAT: Top Courses in 2021
- Best Medical Podcast to Listen to In 2021
- The Best Review Books For MCAT 2023
- All You Need To Know About MCAT Diagnostic Tests
- What Is A Competitive MCAT Score?
- Lowest MCAT Score Accepted In Med School
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