Is 489 a Good MCAT Score?
489
18th
percentile
A 489 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.
Approximate distribution, smoothed from rounded AAMC percentile ranks. Percentiles use the published AAMC table.
Choose a score
How a 489 splits across the four sections
A 489 is at the 18th 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 ScoresUse plus and minus to move a point from one section to another. The total stays at 489.
Balanced
1 point between your lowest and highest section
An even 489 splits about 123 / 122 / 122 / 122 across Chem/Phys, CARS, Bio/Biochem, and Psych/Soc. On the current AAMC table, those sections range from the 17th to the 35th percentile.
CARS, Bio/Biochem and Psych/Soc are 1 point below your highest section, at the 25th, 23rd and 17th percentiles.
Does an uneven score hurt you?- More on CARS 122
A CARS 122 is at the 25th percentile, 2.6 points below the 124.6 mean. It clears Mississippi's 121, and Saskatchewan allows one section at 122 for 2027 entry, but it misses Baptist Health's 123 and Emory's 124. Readers at 122 can often follow a passage sentence by sentence but struggle to hold the author's argument together across 500 to 600 words of dense text.
- More on Bio/Biochem 122
A Bio/Biochem 122 is at the 23rd percentile, 3.1 points below the mean. It clears Mississippi's 121, and Saskatchewan allows one section at 122 for 2027 entry, but it falls short of Baptist Health's 123 and Emory's 124. Often the gap at 122 is less about memory than application: reading an experiment's figure and linking it to biology you already know.
- More on Psych/Soc 122
A Psych/Soc 122 is at the 17th percentile, 3.9 points below the 125.9 mean. It clears Mississippi's 121, and Saskatchewan allows one section at 122 for 2027 entry, but it misses Baptist Health's 123 and Emory's 124. The same score reads differently here: a 122 is at the 17th percentile in Psych/Soc but the 25th in Chem/Phys and CARS. At this level, study-design questions often cost as many points as unfamiliar terms.
- More on Chem/Phys 123
A Chem/Phys 123 is at the 35th percentile and 1.9 points below the 124.9 mean. It meets the 123 minimums at Baptist Health, SFU, Dalhousie, and Saskatchewan, but not the 124 at Emory and Alberta, and Toronto asks for 125 with only one section at 124. The content base is usually in place at this score, and points tend to leak on research design and statistics questions, which make up about 20% of the section's skills.
In this split, CARS is 122, at the 25th 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 122 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 (7)
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.
SourceBaptist 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 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.
SourceSFU Stephens Family School of Medicine
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.
SourceQueen'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.
SourceWestern 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.
SourceUniversity 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.
SourceUniversity of Saskatchewan College of Medicine
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 prepCompare a 489 with medical school MCAT profiles
Compare 489 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 class score at or below yours
- School score is higher than yours
- My list
More than 3 points below the published class score
107Mercer University School of Medicine
- Mean GPA
- 3.69
- Mean MCAT
- 503
- Class size
- Not published
University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine
- Mean GPA
- 3.81
- Mean MCAT
- 503
- Class size
- Not published
Howard University College of Medicine
- GPA
- Not published
- Mean MCAT
- 505
- Published Class size
- 130
No published comparable 4.0-scale GPA available. Check the school’s grading and applicant rules.
Morehouse School of Medicine
- Mean GPA
- 3.64
- Mean MCAT
- 505.6
- Published Class size
- 110
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
- Mean GPA
- 3.80
- Mean MCAT
- 506
- Class size
- Not published
All applicants: section minimums Chem/Phys 121, CARS 121, Bio/Biochem 121, Psych/Soc 121, total MCAT 496.
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
- Mean GPA
- 3.77
- Mean MCAT
- 506
- Class size
- Not published
Current New Mexico residents may apply through the Early Decision Program, and WICHE applicants must apply through it.
What to do with a 489
Should you retake a 489?
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 prepPair your 489 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.