The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination assessing knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts prerequisite to the study of medicine. A common question is how long the score remains usable for medical school applications. MCAT scores do not have a universal expiration date, but they become unusable after a period determined by two separate entities: the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reporting policy and the stricter requirements set by individual medical schools.
The AAMC’s Official Score Reporting Window
The AAMC, which administers the MCAT, maintains a score reporting window that dictates the maximum period a score can be officially released to institutions. The AAMC retains and reports results for a defined duration, often cited as five years from the date the exam was taken. The AAMC’s internal systems maintain the electronic record of the score for this length of time. Once a score falls outside this five-year window, the AAMC can no longer transmit the official results to medical schools.
This reporting window serves as the absolute upper limit for a score’s usability. If a score is older than the AAMC’s maximum reporting period, the applicant must retake the exam before applying. The AAMC’s policy ensures that the data being reported is still relevant and accessible within their administrative framework. However, this maximum reporting limit is often less important than the policies set by the schools themselves.
Individual Medical School Requirements
While the AAMC sets the maximum reporting limit, individual medical schools impose their own, often much stricter, requirements on the age of an acceptable MCAT score. Most MD and DO programs accept scores that are two to three years old at the time of application or matriculation. This policy ensures applicants have a recent command of the foundational scientific knowledge tested by the exam. Highly selective schools frequently prefer scores no older than two years.
The specific cutoff date can vary significantly, with some schools requiring the score to be valid by the application deadline, while others use the date the student would begin classes. Because of this wide variability, applicants must check the specific admissions requirements on the website of every school they intend to apply to. Relying solely on the AAMC’s maximum reporting window will likely result in an application being rejected by schools with a shorter acceptance period.
Implications of an Unusable Score
The primary consequence of having an MCAT score that falls outside a school’s acceptable window is the necessity of retaking the examination. An applicant cannot simply submit an older score and hope for an exception, as the admissions process is highly standardized. Planning for a retake requires significant time for preparation, which must be factored into the overall application timeline. Applicants with an older score must register for a new test date early enough to ensure the results are available before the application deadlines, which typically means testing no later than May or June of the application year. If an applicant is unsure whether their score meets a specific school’s requirement, the most prudent action is to contact that school’s admissions office directly for clarification.