Is It Hard to Get a 520 on the MCAT? Here’s How You Can Do It Too
Is It Hard to Get a 520 on the MCAT? Here’s How You Can Do It Too
Is It Hard to Get a 520 on the MCAT? Here’s How You Can Do It Too
A score of 520 on the MCAT transforms the way that medical schools assess your application. To put it simply, it basically indicates that you are capable of absorbing complicated topics and being logical under stress. For a lot of students, this score is only just a dream. But, zooming out, the truth is far less dramatic. A 520 is very tough, yet it’s not impossible to achieve.
To have a clue of how hard is it to get a 520 on the MCAT, you first need to know what the score symbolizes. Most important of all, it reflects consistency across all four sections and that majorly comes from a study plan strengthening reasoning, pacing, and endurance just as much as content knowledge. Those who attain this peak of performance usually pass through a clear and careful procedure. They know exactly how to get a 520 on the MCAT, which tools back up their thinking, and how to change when their scores stagnate.
Let’s now go and find out.
What a 520 Score Represents?
A 520 score, in general, corresponds to top percentile performance. And if you look closely at students who reach this level, they most likely did not depend on the fate of ‘memorization’ alone. More often than not, you see someone who understood the foundations, practiced with intention, and reviewed their results with indisputable discipline.
Real-time ExampleBridger Rodoni is a student from rural Montana who balanced college football, a demanding science course load, and his path toward medicine. His story shows that strong MCAT performance does not require a perfect situation, but a disciplined approach to time and effort. What he did differently:
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Now, let’s take a peak at how you can get a 520 and more on your upcoming MCAT exam:
Understand What the MCAT Actually Tests
In order for students to know how to reach a score of 520 on the MCAT, they need to start with a foundational understanding of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, psychology, and sociology. High scorers always consider these their #1 priority and get to the point of understanding these subjects so well that they can discuss extended contexts around it.
This is why many students use structured resources that go on to break down core concepts clearly and connect them to passage style reasoning. And if you prefer a guided approach, MCAT classes online (and in-person) by MCAT King can help you revisit foundational material in a steady, organized progression.
Practice That Mirrors the Exam
Should you be unaware, one of the most important steps in how to score 520 on MCAT is practicing the right way! And that’s partially why students of this level do not restrict themselves to small quizzes or chapter summaries. They practice using complete exams, long passages, and reasoning-testing questions instead of mere recall.
A consistent system might include:
- Full-length practice exams every one to two weeks
- Daily passage-based practice in all sections
- Detailed review sessions that take longer than the practice itself
- Timed problem solving to improve pacing
- Strategy improvement based on repeated error patterns
With this structure, your brain just gets wired to processing complex passages at test speed. This is also where some students seek MCAT tutoring. Personalized guidance is the way to go if you want to identify problems early rather than letting them grow into habits.
Master CARS Through Consistent Exposure
Students often ask how hard is it to get a 520 on the MCAT if their CARS scores are inconsistent. CARS is one of the biggest reasons students fall short of elite scores, because it tests pure reasoning. There is no set of formulas to memorize and no list of facts to rehearse.
High scorers work on CARS several times per week. They read difficult passages, analyze arguments, and learn to recognize patterns within question stems. They do this steadily so that comprehension improves without forcing or overthinking.
With time, students develop the calm focus needed to maintain accuracy even when passages feel unfamiliar.
Review Problems With an Analytical Mindset
The way you review your mistakes determines how much progress you will make. Many students look at wrong answers and move on quickly. High scorers will always slow down. They study each problem from multiple angles so they can understand why an error happened and how to prevent it next time around.
An effective review system includes:
- Identifying whether the mistake came from content, reasoning, timing, or misreading
- Reviewing the passage to see what clues were missed the first time
- Rewriting a correct explanation in your own words
- Tracking mistakes by category so patterns become clear
Students who want to know how to get a 520 on the MCAT must practice this kind of reflection.
Use Full-Length Exams to Build Endurance
Endurance is every bit as important as knowing the material. The MCAT is a total marathon, which means, by the time you hit those last sections, your brain can feel like mush, and that fatigue will tank your score if you’re not ready for it.
The people who crush it start full-length practice tests weeks (or months) ahead, under exactly the same conditions they’ll face on test day. They get used to pushing through that mental fog so when section seven or eight rolls around on the actual exam, they’re still sharp. That’s the difference between a good score and a great one.
With each practice exam, students build:
- Mental endurance
- Focus through discomfort
- Confidence in timing
- Familiarity with exam structure
Strengthen Weak Areas
If you want a 520, you have to be strong across the board. One great section won’t save you if another one is typically bad. The people who actually hit that score don’t pretend their weak spots don’t exist. They hunt them down early, such as the topics they always skip, the question styles that eat up all their time, the little thinking habits that keep costing them points over and over.
Then they attack those exact events with focused practice until the weak sections aren’t weak anymore. And as time goes by, your score stops bouncing around depending on whether you got lucky with the passage topics that day. It just sits there, rock-solid, because you fixed the issues.
Final Thoughts
If you are aiming for a 520, it’s going to be difficult. But it’s absolutely doable when you start training the exact way the test wants you to think.
The people who get there always put up their best, like rock-solid foundation, deliberate practice that fixes their weak spots, and reviews that force them to figure out why they got answers wrong.
So if you’re serious about a 520, start with a comprehensive plan. Put in steady work, stick to the process, and that “dream score” will not feel impossible any longer. It just becomes the next step!
