Is 473 a Good MCAT Score?

473

<1st

percentile

A 473 is well below the test-taker average.

No school in our data publishes an MCAT class-profile score this low: all 150 schools with comparable data report a higher figure. These figures describe classes or accepted applicants, not admission requirements or your chance of acceptance.

Distribution of MCAT total scores, 472 to 528<1 percent of test takers scored 473 or lower. The shaded curve is a smoothed illustration, not exact test-taker counts.
Your score: 473

Approximate distribution, smoothed from rounded AAMC percentile ranks. Percentiles use the published AAMC table.

Choose a score

How a 473 splits across the four sections

A 473 is at the <1st percentile on the current AAMC table. A percentile is the share of test takers who scored the same or lower, so it compares you with other test takers, not with the students a school admits.

A 472 is four 118s and an even 489 is about 122 per section, so an even split here puts every section between 118 and 122. Those section scores sit from the 1st to the 25th percentile, and all of them fall below the 123 minimums at Baptist Health Sciences University, SFU, Dalhousie, and Saskatchewan. Check first whether any section reaches the University of Mississippi's 121, the lowest section minimum in our school data. As a next step, take one timed section of each type and rebuild content in the lowest one before you plan a retake.

All MCAT results from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 testing years (N = 305,494). In effect May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. AAMC, Summary of MCAT Total and Section Scores

Use plus and minus to move a point from one section to another. The total stays at 473.

Chem/Phys
4th percentile
CARS
1st percentile
Bio/Biochem
1st percentile
Psych/Soc
1st percentile
473<1st percentile

Balanced

1 point between your lowest and highest section

An even 473 splits about 119 / 118 / 118 / 118 across Chem/Phys, CARS, Bio/Biochem, and Psych/Soc. On the current AAMC table, those sections range from the 1st to the 4th percentile.

CARS, Bio/Biochem and Psych/Soc are 1 point below your highest section, at the 1st, 1st and 1st percentiles.

Does an uneven score hurt you?
  • A 118 is the lowest CARS score

    A CARS 118 is the bottom of the scale, at the 1st percentile. It is 6.6 points below the CARS mean of 124.6, the lowest mean of the four sections, and below every section minimum in our school data, starting with Mississippi's 121. A score this low usually means the passages themselves were hard to follow, so questions about the author's point or tone felt like guesses.

    More on CARS 118
  • A 118 is the lowest Bio/Biochem score

    A Bio/Biochem 118 is the bottom of the scale, at the 1st percentile. It is 7.1 points below the section mean of 125.1 and below every section minimum in our school data, including Mississippi's 121. Because introductory biology makes up 65% of this section, a score this low usually points to gaps in core biology before biochemistry even comes into play.

    More on Bio/Biochem 118
  • A 118 is the lowest Psych/Soc score

    A Psych/Soc 118 is the lowest score on the scale, at the 1st percentile. It is 7.9 points below the section mean of 125.9, the highest mean of the four sections, and below every section minimum in our school data, including Mississippi's 121. It usually means many of the section's terms, from sensation and memory to social structure, were not yet familiar on test day.

    More on Psych/Soc 118
  • A 119 in Chem/Phys is at the 4th percentile

    A Chem/Phys 119 is at the 4th percentile, which means 96 percent of test takers scored higher. It is 5.9 points under the 124.9 mean and 2 points short of Mississippi's 121, the lowest section minimum in our school data. At this level the misses are usually spread across all five course areas AAMC lists for the section, from general chemistry (30%) down to introductory biology (5%), rather than sitting in one topic.

    More on Chem/Phys 119

In this split, CARS is 118, at the 1st percentile; CARS needs no outside science knowledge, and WizePrep posts a free practice passage each week. Try this week's free CARS passage

Your CARS score of 118 is at or above 0 of the 9 published Canadian CARS minimums in our data. Several apply only to some applicants, such as the 128 Alberta and Calgary ask of non-Alberta applicants.

Sourced thresholds to review (8)

  • Emory University School of Medicine

    Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 124. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 124. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 124. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 124. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • University of Mississippi School of Medicine

    Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 121. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 121. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 121. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 121. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • Baptist Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine

    Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine

    Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • Queen's University School of Medicine

    Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • Western University Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry

    Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 126. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 126. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 126. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 126. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine

    Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 125. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source
  • University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine

    Your Chem/Phys score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your CARS score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Bio/Biochem score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions. Your Psych/Soc score is below the sourced threshold of 123. Check the linked requirements and applicant conditions.

    Source

Focus your preparation on CARS, Bio/Biochem and Psych/Soc

Use your section results to focus your preparation, and explore Wizeprep MCAT prep if you want structured support.

See Wizeprep MCAT prep

Compare a 473 with medical school MCAT profiles

Compare 473 with each school’s published MCAT profile. Your score meets or exceeds that figure at 0 schools, is up to three points below it at 0, and is further below it at 150. Schools without a published figure are excluded from these counts.

Published MCAT academic profilesEach dot is a school’s reported MCAT profile. 0 of 150 schools report a figure at or below 473.473US MD107 with dataUS DO39 with dataCanadian4 with data472480488496504512520528
  • Published class score at or below yours
  • School score is higher than yours
  • My list
One dot per school record with a published MCAT figure. Missing figures are excluded.

More than 3 points below the published class score

107

What to do with a 473

Should you retake a 473?

Consider preparing for a retake if this score is below the requirements or academic profiles of your target schools. Use several realistic practice exams to judge whether improvement is likely and whether the timing fits your application.

Explore Wizeprep MCAT prep

Pair your 473 with your GPA

Your GPA adds another academic comparison. Enter it in the calculator to compare both measures, filter programs, and build your school list.

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Nearby scores

Checking a different result? Every score from 472 to 528 has its own page.

FAQs

School-reported figures describe different cohorts or accepted applicant groups. Labels distinguish means, medians and other published summaries. Some DO figures are college-submitted through AACOM and omit the cohort year. Missing or non-comparable values are not estimated. Check each field’s linked source and current requirements.