TL;DR: The average MCAT score for medical school matriculants at the twelve most selective programs runs from 513 at Georgetown to 523 at NYU Grossman, and GPA medians cluster between 3.89 and 3.98 – against national matriculant averages near a 3.8 GPA and an MCAT in the low 510s (AAMC reported data). No school in the tier publishes a minimum except Duke, whose official floor of 500 sits twenty points below its 520 median. The full table, school by school and source by source, is below. To discuss your target scores and school list, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
What Are the GPA and MCAT Medians at Top Medical Schools?
| School | GPA | MCAT | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYU Grossman | 3.98 median | 523 median | Official profile |
| Yale School of Medicine | 3.96 median | 522 median | MSAR reported |
| Columbia VP&S | 3.95 median | 522 median | MSAR reported |
| Vanderbilt | 3.96 median | 521 median | MSAR reported; official ranges published |
| Johns Hopkins | 3.94 average | 521 average | School published profile |
| Northwestern Feinberg | 3.93 median | 521 median | Official profile |
| Harvard Medical School | 3.9 average | 520.5 average | Official profile |
| Duke School of Medicine | Near 3.9 reported | 520 median | MSAR reported; official 500 floor |
| Stanford Medicine | Near 3.9 reported | 518 to 520 reported | MSAR reported |
| Weill Cornell | Near 3.9 reported | 518 median | Reported matriculant data |
| UCSF | Not published | Near 517 reported | Reported matriculant data |
| Georgetown | 3.89 average reported | 513 average reported | Reported matriculant data |
Sources: official class profiles where published (NYU Grossman, Harvard Medical School, Feinberg, Johns Hopkins); AAMC MSAR and reported matriculant data elsewhere. Most recent published cycles.
Two features of the table deserve attention before target setting. First, the spread is only ten MCAT points and a tenth of a GPA point from top to bottom – the tier is academically homogeneous, and every school on it sits far above the national field. Second, the lowest medians do not signal the easiest admits: Georgetown pairs the most accessible averages with a 1.4% matriculant ratio, and UCSF pairs a reported 517 with the tightest interview screen in the tier at 5.7%, because both trade score points for demonstrated mission depth.
How Do These Medians Compare With National Averages?
AAMC reported data place national matriculant averages near a 3.8 GPA and an MCAT in the low 510s, which means the elite tier runs roughly eight to twelve MCAT points and a tenth to two tenths of a GPA point above the typical successful applicant nationwide. A score of 520 or higher sits in the top few percent of all test takers, so the medians in the table describe classes assembled almost entirely from the far right tail of the distribution. The practical translation: a 512 with a 3.8 is a nationally competitive profile that is simultaneously below range at every school in the table.
Do Medical Schools Have GPA or MCAT Cutoffs?
Almost none in the tier publish one, and the exceptions are instructive. Duke is the only school with an official numerical floor – a 500 MCAT, a full twenty points below its median, published to signal holistic review rather than to describe the class. Vanderbilt publishes ranges instead of minimums: an official GPA band of 3.5 to 4.0 and MCAT scores from the 74th to the 100th percentile among recent matriculants. Georgetown describes bands in its materials, treating a 3.6 and above as highly competitive and a GPA below 3.0 as effectively non competitive. The absence of cutoffs cuts both ways: nothing disqualifies a file automatically, and nothing protects an application submitted far below range. Harvard sharpens the stakes with its two lifetime application limit – applying below range does not just risk a rejection, it spends one of two chances.
What Do MCAT Section Scores Look Like at the Top?
Harvard Medical School is the only program in the tier that publishes a section level breakdown, and it is worth studying because the shape repeats across selective admissions. The official entering class averages: 130.38 in Biological and Biochemical Foundations, 130.28 in Chemical and Physical Foundations, 130.99 in Psychological and Social Foundations, and 128.82 in Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills – a 520.48 total. CARS runs a point and a half below every science section even at Harvard, which is the national pattern and the reason a balanced 520 with a strong CARS score reads differently from the same total built on science sections alone. Admissions readers know exactly which section resists preparation the most.
What GPA and MCAT Should You Target?
If your list is built around the table above, the working targets are a 3.9 GPA and a 520 MCAT – at those numbers your academics match the class at every school in the tier and the decision moves entirely to research depth, clinical narrative, and mission fit. A 517 keeps you in credible range at the mission weighted end of the table, provided the rest of the file carries the argument. Below those bands, the honest play is trajectory and evidence rather than retakes chasing two points: a rising GPA arc, graduate coursework, or a research record can outweigh a static number, and the MSTP route shows how far a distinctive file stretches – Feinberg reports MD-PhD matriculant GPAs averaging 3.86 with admitted scores reaching well below the MD median. Score targets, in other words, are entry conditions, not the competition itself. For the percentile arithmetic behind those targets, see what counts as a good MCAT score.
For where these numbers meet the funnel, see the medical school acceptance rates overview. If your profile sits below the tier, the honest guide to the easiest medical schools maps the accessible end. The same medians logic for law is in our law school GPA and LSAT medians table.
Frequently Asked Questions About Medical School GPA and MCAT Medians
Nationally, matriculant averages sit in the low 510s per AAMC reported data. At the twelve most selective programs, medians run from 513 at Georgetown to 523 at NYU Grossman.
National matriculant averages sit near 3.8. The elite tier clusters between 3.89 and 3.98, with NYU Grossman at the top at a 3.98 median.
Duke is the only one with an official published floor, a 500 – twenty points below its 520 median. Vanderbilt publishes ranges, and most others state no minimums at all.
It is a nationally strong score that sits below median at every school in the elite table. It remains workable at mission weighted programs when the rest of the file is exceptional.
Georgetown, at a reported 513 average – paired with the largest applicant pool in the tier at 14,953, which keeps its matriculant ratio at 1.4%.
Balance matters, and CARS carries outsized signal: even Harvard reports an official 128.82 CARS average against science sections above 130, so a strong CARS score differentiates.
Partially. A 520 plus score with a 3.6 GPA reads as capability with an academic question mark, and trajectory – a strong upward arc or graduate work – usually decides how it lands.
Usually not for those three points alone. Committees see all scores, and the marginal gain rarely outweighs the risk and time cost compared with strengthening research or clinical depth.
Sources: Harvard Medical School Admissions at a Glance, NYU Grossman By the Numbers, Feinberg Entering Class Profile, Vanderbilt MD Admissions, AAMC Data and Reports.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families and candidates nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, from undergraduate through MBA and graduate programs. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning positioning, testing strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your medical school strategy, schedule a consultation.
