How many times do most people take the MCAT?

Your goal with the MCAT then is to take it as few times as possible. Three times is considered reasonable by most medical school admissions committees.

Do most people take the MCAT multiple times?

In fact, over a quarter of medical school applicants have taken the MCAT more than once. But do not make this decision lightly. Retaking the MCAT is a draining process that will take place when premeds have very little time to spare.

How many times do most medical students take the MCAT?

Although you can take the MCAT up to seven times in your lifetime, that number certainly doesn't reflect how many times you should be taking the MCAT. Taking the MCAT twice is fine; even three times shouldn't impact your admissions too much. However, any more tries can begin to damage your application.

What percentage of people retake the MCAT?

On average, 38 percent of all MCAT test takers retake the MCAT. It should be noted that there is no shame in retaking the MCAT. There are thousands of doctors who took the MCAT two and even three times.

Has anyone taken the MCAT 7 times?

As someone who took the MCAT seven times, whose medical school application was rejected 129 times before finally earning an acceptance, I know firsthand how hard the road is to becoming a doctor. But through the difficult and frustrating times, I ask candidates to have faith in themselves.

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How rare is a 528 MCAT?

According to the AAMC, out of the approximately two hundred thousand students who take the exam each year, between 30 and 70 achieve the highest score of 528 on the MCAT.

Does it look bad to take MCAT 3 times?

The more attempts you have on your application, the worse it will look to admissions committees, especially if you are not making significant progress in increasing your score. Failing to achieve an adequate MCAT score after three attempts calls into question a potential applicant's test-taking abilities.

What is a bad first MCAT score?

So, technically speaking, a bad MCAT score would be anything below 500. However, in order to be a competitive applicant, you should aim to score much higher than 500. A good MCAT score largely depends on the schools you are applying to.

Has anyone ever gotten 100% on the MCAT?

Since this method is not perfect, we'll leave you with a range; between 30 and 70 students every year achieve a perfect 528 MCAT. This is out of the nearly three hundred thousand students who take the exam. Thus, achieving a perfect MCAT score is quite difficult, but it is not impossible.

What is the lowest MCAT score accepted?

Medical institutions in the U.S. and Canada that necessitate the MCAT typically accept scores ranging from 490-495 at the minimum. Scores below 490 are rarely if ever, accepted. Interestingly, a vast majority of individuals score above this range. Recent data suggests that the average score hovers around 506.5.

Do med schools care if you take the MCAT more than once?

That's not the message you want to send to medical schools that you keep making mistakes over and over again. Again, medical schools don't care if you have multiple MCAT tests on your application.

Can schools see how many times you took MCAT?

Also keep in mind, medical schools will be able to see all of your scored exams, and there are limits on the number of times you can take the exam. See the MCAT Essentials for more information about viewing your scores, releasing your scores to programs and lifetime limits.

Do medical schools see all your MCAT attempts?

Bryan adds that when it comes to the MCAT, all of your scores are reported to the med schools. This means every single time you've taken the MCAT except if you void your score.

Does it look bad if you take the MCAT twice?

Does retaking the MCAT look bad? Like reapplying to medical school, retaking the MCAT does not inherently look bad. That said, you should strive to take the MCAT as few times as possible.

What is the average MCAT score on the first attempt?

Average MCAT Scores

MCAT scores range from 472-528. Between 2016-2017 and 2023-2024, the average MCAT score jumped over 1.5 points, from 499.6 to 501.3. The average appears to be increasing overall, with 2022-2023 holding the record-high score of 501.6.

Should I retake a 507 MCAT?

If you want to maximize your chances of achieving medical school acceptance, and if your overall application is not strong, we recommend you retake the MCAT if your score is 507.

Has anyone got a 528 on MCAT?

A 528 on the MCAT is incredibly rare. It is in fact so rare that probably less than 3 or 4 people in the US score that high each year. (This is not the ACT where multiple people ace it each month).

Does a 528 MCAT guarantee admission?

And we'll tell you now, no med-school has a 528 MCAT score requirement. Not even the best Ivy leagues. Your only reason to really NEED to score above 520 might be because your application/GPA is lacking significantly. For most med-schools, you just need to be above average.

What is the MCAT score for Harvard?

But every school varies in what they consider a “strong” score. The top schools will have high average MCAT scores: for example, Harvard and Stanford have average scores of 520 and 518, respectively.

Should I retake a 515 MCAT?

Should I Retake The MCAT If My Score Is 515? Generally, we recommend retaking the MCAT if the MCAT score is not balanced among the four sections of the MCAT or your target med-school has a higher cut-off. For example, if you scored 126/130/130/129, the 126 sticks out and can be a red flag to med-schools.

Should I retake a 508 MCAT?

If you want to maximize your chances of achieving medical school acceptance, and if your overall application is not strong, we recommend you retake the MCAT if your score is 508.

Can I get into med-school with a 502 MCAT?

With a score of 504–506 or lower, you are not going to be a very competitive candidate. But this score range does not mean you are out of the race! A score of 501 or lower is typically considered too low to be competitive, so you might want to retake the exam or apply to medical schools that do not require the MCAT.

Should I retake a 502 MCAT?

If you want to maximize your chances of achieving medical school acceptance, and if your overall application is not strong, we recommend you retake the MCAT if your score is 502.

Should I retake a 517 MCAT?

Should I Retake The MCAT If My Score Is 517? Generally, we recommend retaking the MCAT if the MCAT score is not balanced among the four sections of the MCAT.

Should I retake a 511 MCAT?

Is 511 a Bad MCAT Score? According to recent AAMC stats, a 511 on the MCAT is not a bad score because it's an above-average MCAT score, and it is competitive for med-school admission: A 511 is 82 percentile rank on the MCAT. *