MCAT®

Study Resources

AAMC MCAT Free Study Resources

Practice exams, guides, and other official resources

Khan Academy MCAT Course

Free lessons and practice questions in partnership with the AAMC

Jack Westin MCAT Prep

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Courses, questions, daily passages, and more

Reddit r/MCAT Resources

General community-created resources, FAQs, and discussions

Altius Free MCAT Course Trial

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Courses, classes, tutoring, practice exams, and more

Kaplan Free MCAT Resources

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Free full-length, lessons, questions, and calendar

ExamKrackers Free Half-MCAT

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Free Half-MCAT Exam, paid course, and more

The Princeton Review MCAT

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Free full-length, flash cards, and more

UWorld MCAT QBank Trial

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Practice questions, paid services, and more

Blueprint Free MCAT Resources

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Practice exams, flash cards, study planner, and more

Advising Bites

Taking the MCAT

  • Your MCAT should be taken a year before you start medical school. The latest ideal time would be during the summer you apply. Earlier is better, with Spring being a reasonably common time.

  • You can take it three times in a single year, four times in a two-year period, and seven times in total. Voided exams count towards your total.

  • Besides voided exams, admissions committees will see all of your scores.

  • Not necessarily. Some schools consider all scores, while most consider only your highest or most recent MCAT score. If you are able to improve your score over time, most schools will likely look favorably upon your upward trend. However, multiple attempts with little improvement may present as a red flag.

  • In general, you should not void your exam. Voiding your exam means you will not be able to see your score, reducing the potential for improvement. Doing so also counts towards your lifetime testing limit and costs money. Most schools will not care about one bad score, especially if you improve on the retake.

  • No, schools will not see your voided exams.

  • Assessing readiness is difficult for such an extensive test. Generally, almost everyone does not feel ready for the exam. It’s best to plan your test dates around when you want to apply. If you do not plan on applying for a year+, then waiting may be better.

Scoring the MCAT

  • The MCAT is comprised of 4 sections, with each section having a score range between 118-132. Your cumulative score will be between 472-528.

  • The mean score of all test takers is around 501, but this is generally not considered a competitive score. The average MD applicant has a score of 506, and the average MD matriculant has a score of 512.

    The average DO applicant has a score of 502, and the average DO matriculant has a score of 503.

  • Your percentile score doesn’t matter compared to your raw score. They only reflect how well you did compared to all test takers.

  • You should refer to each school’s policies for how far back they accept an MCAT score. Generally, scores within the past 2-3 years are accepted.

Preparing for the MCAT

  • Necessary study time varies from student to student. Most students study for several months and several hundred hours.

  • Refer to linked resources to find study plans that are best for you. Generally, MCAT studying should begin with basic content review before the focus shifts towards active recall and doing practice questions/exams.

  • It depends on the practice exam. The AAMC’s official practice exams are considered the closest matches to the real deal.

Interpreting the MCAT

  • Depending on how well you did, you may consider retaking the MCAT. Generally speaking, scoring a 510+ is a sufficient score for getting into medical school. The burden is on the rest of your application.

  • Different schools have different policies regarding section scores. Some schools may have minimum cutoffs for sections (e.g. no section score less than 124). Most schools are unlikely to care about section scores unless they are wildly unbalanced. Canadian schools tend to value your CARS score more heavily.

  • Higher is always better. Depending on the school, a higher GPA may partially offset a low MCAT. However, particularly low scores will not be compensated by a high GPA. Both hold a distinct part in your application.

  • Many schools have MCAT cutoffs, both formally and informally. However, these cutoffs are usually much lower than the average score for applicants.

  • Admissions committees are likely to view score jumps positively.

  • Potentially, but it is usually not a reliable way to overcome a bad MCAT score. At the end of the day, medical schools must ensure you can pass medical school. This means being able to perform on any given day, even bad days. A sufficient MCAT score is essential for demonstrating potential to a school.

  • Such difficulties can be mentioned in your personal statement but should generally take up a tiny portion of your personal statement. Such mentions are better kept for other parts of your application.

  • Yes. Accepted students have a range of scores, with many students being below a school’s median. A good rule of thumb is to look for the score ranges of accepted students at a school and see where your MCAT score falls in relation to them.

  • Having too high of a score will not hurt your application. Those who do not get in with a high score are likely lacking in other parts of their application.