What an MCAT percentile rank means

The percentile rank on your MCAT score report is the percentage of scores at or below yours, across the three testing years the AAMC table is built on.

A percentile rank answers one question: what share of MCAT scores were at or below mine? On the 2026–27 table, a total of 508 is the 74th percentile, which means 74% of all MCAT totals from 2023 through 2025 were 508 or lower. It is not the percentage of questions you got right, and it is not a cutoff medical schools publish.

472480490500510520528025th50th75th100thMCAT total scorePercentile rankPercentile rank (2026–27)500 → 48th510 → 79th
Total score percentiles, 2026–27. The curve is steepest in the middle: each point between about 495 and 510 moves you roughly 3 percentiles. Source: AAMC percentile ranks in effect May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027.

MCAT total score percentiles (2026–2027)

Every total score from 472 to 528 and its percentile rank on the AAMC table in effect May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027.

ScorePercentileScorePercentileScorePercentile
472<149123rd51079th
473<149225th51182nd
474<149328th51284th
4751st49431st51386th
4761st49533rd51489th
4772nd49636th51591st
4782nd49739th51692nd
4793rd49842nd51794th
4804th49945th51895th
4815th50048th51996th
4826th50152nd52097th
4838th50255th52198th
4849th50358th52299th
48511th50461st52399th
48612th50564th52499th
48714th50667th525100th
48816th50771st526100th
48918th50874th527100th
49020th50976th528100th

MCAT total score percentile ranks, in effect May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027 (AAMC; 2023–2025 results, N = 305,494).

Higher score472–489Below the 20th percentile490–49920th to 45th percentile500–50948th to 76th percentile (the middle of the curve)510–51479th to 89th percentile515–51991st to 96th percentile520–52897th percentile and above
Score bands at a glance. Ranges read straight from the 2026–27 AAMC table.

MCAT section score percentiles (2026–2027)

Each of the four sections is scored 118 to 132, but the same section score sits at a different percentile in each section.

Section scoreChem/PhysCARSBio/BiochemPsych/Soc
1182nd1st1st1st
1194th3rd4th3rd
1209th8th8th6th
12116th15th15th10th
12225th25th23rd17th
12335th37th32nd25th
12446th50th43rd34th
12556th62nd53rd44th
12667th74th64th54th
12777th84th75th65th
12885th90th84th76th
12991st95th90th85th
13096th98th96th92nd
13199th99th98th97th
132100th100th100th100th

Section score percentile ranks, in effect May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027 (AAMC).

Section means on this table are 124.9 for Chemical and Physical Foundations, 124.6 for CARS, 125.1 for Biological and Biochemical Foundations, and 125.9 for Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations. That is why a 127 is the 84th percentile in CARS but the 65th in Psych/Soc: more people score high in Psych/Soc.

workspace_premium Use this

Compare your four section percentiles, not your four raw section scores. The section with the lowest percentile is usually where extra study moves your total most.

Reading your own score report

Look up your total and each section on the tables above, then compare the section percentiles.

functions From section scores to percentiles

A student scores 127 in Chem/Phys, 125 in CARS, 128 in Bio/Biochem and 127 in Psych/Soc. What are the total and the percentiles, and which section is weakest relative to other test takers?

  1. Add the four section scores: 127 + 125 + 128 + 127 = 507.
  2. Total 507 on the 2026–27 table: 71st percentile.
  3. Section percentiles: Chem/Phys 127 → 77th, CARS 125 → 62nd, Bio/Biochem 128 → 84th, Psych/Soc 127 → 65th.
  4. The lowest section percentile is CARS (62nd), so CARS has the most room to raise the total.
  5. Notice Chem/Phys and Psych/Soc are both 127, yet one is the 77th percentile and the other the 65th: compare percentiles, not raw section scores.

Answer. Total 507 (71st percentile). CARS (62nd percentile) is the weakest section, and Psych/Soc (65th) is next, even though its raw 127 matches Chem/Phys.

How the AAMC builds and updates the table

The ranks come from three years of results and change every May 1.

  • Which tests count: all MCAT results from the three most recent full testing years. The 2026–27 table uses 2023, 2024 and 2025 (305,494 exams).
  • When it changes: every May 1. A score you earned earlier can show a slightly different percentile on a newer table.
  • What stays the same: your scaled scores (472–528 total, 118–132 per section). Only the percentile beside them is recalculated.
  • How much it moves: usually a point or two at most, because each table shares two of its three years with the previous one.
error Check the dates

Many websites still show older percentile tables. Check that a chart says "in effect May 1, 2026 – April 30, 2027" before you rely on it, or use the AAMC PDF linked below.

From percentile to a study plan

A percentile tells you where you stand; a plan tells you how to move.

Start with the section that has the lowest percentile, then work through its content areas on the MCAT roadmap. For practice timing and full-length strategy, see the MCAT study timeline, and use AAMC full-length exams to check progress (see AAMC vs third-party practice tests).