Our students have often asked us:
If you’ve scored 526 on a practice or real MCAT exam, or are thinking of making 526 your goal MCAT score, below is an objective analysis and recommendation on how to move forward.
Is 526 a Bad MCAT Score?
According to recent AAMC stats, a 526 on the MCAT is not a bad score because it’s an above-average MCAT score, and it is competitive for med-school admission:
If you started with a below-501 score on the MCAT and have scored a 526, congratulations, you are no longer in the bottom 50th percentile on the MCAT!
If you’ve been scoring below 501 on the MCAT, and have scored a 526 with a balanced distribution among the 4 sections, congratulations, you are now officially a competitive applicant for most med schools in North America!*2024 AAMC MCAT Score Statistics Data:
MCAT Score Percentile Conversion
For your reference, below is a chart converting MCAT scores to percentiles.
Consider the Distribution of 526 MCAT Score | How Does MCAT Scoring Work?
Another factor in determining if 526 is a good MCAT score is the score’s distribution among the four sections:
Each section has a score range from 118 to 132.
A balanced MCAT score is always preferred.
For a 526, a balanced distribution would be 132 , 132, 131, and 131. Or individual section scores very close to those numbers.
Any section score that is much lower than the other sections acts as a red flag for medical school admission committees.
Also, the MCAT uses a scaled scoring system. It is not graded on a curve, so it doesn’t matter when you take the exam and who takes it with you.
More details are in the following articles:
Is 526 a Good MCAT Score?
If you scored a 526 on the MCAT, this means you performed in the 100th percentile according to most recent AAMC statistics, and you now have a competitive score for med-school admission.
Can I Get Into Medical School With A 526 MCAT Score?
Medical schools have different minimum score requirements for students based on being in-state, out-of-state, in particular programs, socioeconomic backgrounds, and more.
Considering that a 526 is a near-perfect MCAT score, it’s one of the most competitive scores you can get for med-school admission.
With a 526, you have surpassed all med-school score cutoffs, and the rest of your application doesn’t need to be highly competitive to get your foot in the door for med-school interviews.
Some of the top medical schools in the US have an average MCAT score of 522. If you’re aiming to get into those schools, you now have a solid chance, depending on the quality of your application.
Remember that we have seen students who scored 520+ on the MCAT not get into medical school because the rest of their application was lacking (this includes interviewing skills).
It’s why we’ve been helping students through med-school application coaching.
It’s painful for us to see students who achieved excellent scores on the MCAT not get into med-school because they didn’t get personal statements reviewed by a med-student or didn’t get help with med-school interviews.
We recommend visiting your target medical school’s website and seeing their MCAT score cutoffs and average MCAT scores for matriculants.
To make your search a little easier, in the articles below, you’ll find lists of the top medical schools in the US and Canada and their average MCAT scores:
What Is A Good MCAT Score?
According to recent AAMC data, a score above 501 will put you in the above-average category of testers.
A score above 511 will make your application competitive, as that is the average MCAT score of matriculants over the last few years.
That said, a good MCAT score depends on several factors, including your target med-school and the score distribution among the MCAT sections.
For example, some medical schools automatically accept students from specific programs if they hit certain scores.
Additional reading:
Should I Retake The MCAT If My Score Is 526?
No, we don’t recommend retaking a 526 score because it is just 2 points away from the highest MCAT score you can get.
Generally, we recommend retaking the MCAT if the MCAT score is not balanced among the four sections of the MCAT. But with a 526 MCAT score, none of your section scores will be abnormally out of balance.
Therefore, a 526 is competitive for any and every med school.
In fact, if you scored a 526, we’d love to have you share your story on our podcast
Additional Reading:
Additional FAQ - Is 526 a Good MCAT Score?
Can You Score Lower than 526 on the MCAT?
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To help you increase your MCAT score to the competitive mark quickly, we have collaboratively created these 
