Getting into a good medical school is one of the first steps you need to take if you want to become a doctor. However, one of the primary requirements of medical schools is the MCAT or Medical College Admission Test.

Through this, medical schools can assess specific skills and determine whether you’re a good fit for their institution.

They assess things like the extent of your knowledge about various concepts in behavioral, natural, and social sciences, your critical thinking skills, and problem-solving abilities. Getting a good score on the MCAT can increase your chances of being admitted to the med school of your choice.

However, it can be tough to get a good score, especially if you don’t know how they evaluate the exam. With that said, this article will delve deeper into how they grade the MCAT, which can allow you to improve your own scores.

What we will cover?

Overview of the MCAT

As mentioned, the MCAT is an exam used by many medical schools to gauge an applicant’s abilities and whether they’ll be a good fit in their institution. It evaluates several aspects of an applicant’s knowledge and skills, giving them an objective reference for their decisions.

The MCAT typically lasts for 7 ½ hours and consists of four sections, each designed to measure specific aspects of an applicant’s preparedness for medical school. Each section is given a time limit, during which applicants must answer all the questions.

MCAT Sections	Duration
Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems	95 minutes
Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior	95 minutes
Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems	95 minutes
Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills	90 minutes

Each section consists of 59 multiple choice questions, except for the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills part, which has 53 multiple-choice questions.

Product	Features	Price
UWorld MCAT	Concise, engaging high-yield MCAT questions with detailed explanations. Included flash cards and mobile app. One of the most popular and highly recommended MCAT question banks. Notebook feature to store learning from the questions in a virtual notebook. No live class option.	Check Price
Blueprint MCAT Prep (Formerly Next Step)	Great video lessons with visual animations. Live Online, Online Self-Study, Books and Question banks. 4000+ Practice questions with detailed explanations. Free 5 days trial available. Tutoring is available at an extra price. Option to access Full-length practice tests without buying the full course	Get Best Price Full Review
Kaplan MCAT	3000+ practice questions (with a good filter) with detailed solutions. High-quality video lessons with good graphics. In-person, On-demand, and live online courses options. You can have a practice exam-only option with Kaplan. Free 7-day trial. Price range from $1,799 to $2,999.	Get Best Price Full Review
Princeton Review MCAT	Good MCAT prep books for text-based learners. Live Online, Self Paced, In-Person Tutoring options are available. 16 Full-length practice tests and 3000+ practice questions. Price range $1499-6699	Get Deals Full Review
Prep101	8500+ practice questions with detailed solutions. 200+ Hours of high-quality video lessons with good graphics. 130+ Hours in-person, on-demand, and live online classes. 20 full-length exams with cutting-edge Analytics. Focus on the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) section, offering 32 hours of dedicated class time, more than their competitors combined, which includes mapping and analyzing passages, dissecting question stems, and choosing answers through 4 lessons, 4 exams, and 12 workshops.	Get Best Price Full Review
Magoosh MCAT	One of the most popular MCAT programs in the budget category. Customizable practice questions and study plan. Helpful video explanations for hundreds of questions. Good for visual learners. 7-day free trial. Score improvement guarantee. Email Support from tutors. $279-$299	Get Deals

MCAT Scoring System Overview

The MCAT is typically scored on a scale ranging from 472 to 528, with the average score being around 500 to 501. Your score is based on the number of correct answers, with wrong answers being treated the same as unanswered questions.

This means only correct answers are counted, and wrong answers or no answers aren’t deducted from your total score. However, your final score is gauged based on your correct answers for each section. The total is then converted into a scaled score.

This ranges from 118, considered the lowest, to 132, the highest. For example, if you have 44 correct answers, your raw score for that section is 44. However, its corresponding scaled version would depend on how difficult or easy the section is.

That score of 44 can mean a scaled score of 129 on a more difficult section like Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. In comparison, it could correspond to a 127 scaled score on the less challenging sections.

Another thing you need to take note of is that MCAT percentiles are updated annually every May 1st. This means that your score for this year may be considered better or worse than the next year.

For example, if your score was 509 in 2016, this was categorized under the 82nd percentile. Now, it’s considered the 77th percentile, meaning a 509 score is regarded as a better score in 2016 than it is now.

MCAT Scaling for Each Section

As mentioned, you don’t get raw scores in the MCAT; it’s scaled to account for any small variations in terms of difficulty present in the exam. This ensures that each section is more or less equal when it comes to difficulty, allowing for a more accurate reflection of an applicant’s abilities.

With that said, here’s how each section is scaled, effective from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021.

*Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems*
Percentile Rank	Section Score
1	118
2	119
6	120
11	121
18	122
28	123
39	124
50	125
62	126
73	127
83	128
90	129
96	130
99	131
100	132

*Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior*
Percentile Rank	Section Score
1	118
2	119
5	120
10	121
17	122
25	123
35	124
45	125
57	126
68	127
79	128
87	129
94	130
98	131
100	132

*Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems*
Percentile Rank	Section Score
1	118
3	119
6	120
12	121
21	122
31	123
43	124
53	125
65	126
76	127
85	128
91	129
97	130
99	131
100	132

*Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills*
Percentile Rank	Section Score
1	118
3	119
7	120
13	121
23	122
35	123
48	124
60	125
72	126
82	127
90	128
95	129
98	130
99	131
100	132

Each section’s percentile varies from section to section, which means even if you have the same numerical score on every section, its equivalent percentile will differ.

Referring to the tables, Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills is the most difficult out of the four to score well on. Meanwhile, the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section offers the lowest percentiles, making it relatively easy to score well on this section.

Other Things to Take Note Of

Now that you know how MCAT scores are calculated, you should now check out the other information you need to consider.

It’s not graded on a curve.

While the percentiles change every year for the MCAT, this doesn’t mean it’s graded on a curve. As mentioned, the scores are scaled and equated, allowing each score to mean the same.

This means that regardless of the time you take the test or who takes the exam at the same time, it will mean the same.

It takes a month to receive scores.

It takes 30 to 35 days to scale and equate each exam; a process started immediately after each exam day. Aside from ensuring that small differences in each exam are accounted for, this extended period also gives students time to raise their concerns about any exam questions or conditions while taking the exam.

The long period after the exam allows the examiners to analyze and review each circumstance, ensuring they consider these in final scaled scores.

Final Thoughts

The MCAT is a crucial exam for aspiring doctors because scoring well on this test can increase the likelihood of getting into an excellent medical school. Knowing how the exam is scored can help you make sense of your grade.

With this, you can gauge whether the score you received is in line with your med school goals or not.