Getting into medical school is tough these days. If you want to increase your chances, you will want a great MCAT score. A top 10% MCAT score can certainly do the job. To attain this score, you will need a total of 513 or higher on the new MCAT.
Top 10% MCAT Score
A top 10% MCAT score is essentially a 90th percentile MCAT score. In a previous post, we wrote about MCAT percentiles for the old and new exams. Below, you can see that a 90th percentile score on the new exam is a 513. If you want a top 10% MCAT score, you need a 513 or higher on the new MCAT. On the old exam, a 90th percentile score is a 31.
Is a Top 10% MCAT Score Enough?
A 90th percentile MCAT score is well within the range of the scores for matriculants of most medical schools. However, it’s actually below the average of some of the top schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and UC San Francisco. This does not mean that a 90th percentile score is not enough to get you into one of these schools. It’s just more challenging to get into these schools where most of the accepted students have a score higher than the 90th percentile. If your goal is to attend one of these top schools, you may want to aim for a higher score.
*NEW! Check out our data on MCAT scores and GPAs for the top 100 medical schools!*
More Than Numbers
Remember, getting an admissions offer to a medical school is more than just numbers. The medical school admissions committee will read your entire application, including your personal statement, description of activities and awards, letters of recommendation, and any additional essays required by the school. You will be evaluated based on your reasons for pursuing medicine as well as the quality and depth of your clinical, volunteer, research, and other extracurricular experiences. A good MCAT score will definitely help but it is also not everything!
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