AAMC PREview Exam: What to Expect (2026 Guide)

What is the AAMC PREview exam?

The AAMC PREview professional readiness exam is a situational judgment test. Its current framework focuses on personal accountability and relational skills: how people handle responsibilities, respond to feedback, work with others, and recognize effective professional behavior.

You receive short written situations followed by possible actions. Your job is to assess each action. A clinical setting does not turn the question into a medical-knowledge test. AAMC’s preparation guide says that prior medical knowledge and hospital-protocol knowledge are not needed.

For an applicant, the practical difference from the MCAT is the task you prepare for. Reviewing a biology chapter will not teach you how the effectiveness scale works. Spend your preparation time understanding the instructions and evaluating behavior in the scenario you are given.

Format: what will you actually do?

Sources: AAMC test format, test time, and score information.

Rate responses independently. Several can receive the same rating, and a scenario need not use all four categories. Think of each response as its own next step unless the instructions say otherwise. You do not rank them or assemble them into one combined plan. The Examinee Preparation Guide is the authority for these instructions.

Some items are unscored field-test questions, and AAMC does not identify them during the exam. Give each item your attention rather than trying to guess which ones count. See AAMC’s format explanation.

PREview vs. Casper: do you need both?

They are separate assessments with separate school requirements. PREview asks you to rate supplied responses. Casper, administered by Acuity Insights, uses open-ended questions answered through typed and video responses. Practice for one does not fully rehearse the other.

Read each program’s wording. “Requires PREview” is different from “accepts PREview or Casper.” An acceptance by one school does not transfer to another. Use our school requirements guide to compare the categories and the policy conflict we identified for Long School of Medicine.

If your list contains a PREview-only requirement and a separate Casper-only requirement, you may need both exams. If every relevant program accepts the same one, verify that you can satisfy the full list without paying for a second assessment unnecessarily.

Dates, fees, and registration for 2026

AAMC’s 2026 testing calendar lists eight windows. The calendar below is a reference to this testing year; a listed date does not mean registration is still open.

Current as of October 11, 2026: registration for the final listed window has already closed. Do not assume you can still sign up for October 14–15. Ask your schools how a missing score affects your application if you have not tested.

The standard 2026 fee is $105, with a $25 rescheduling fee. Approved AAMC Fee Assistance recipients receive their first registration free and a 50% discount on subsequent registrations and rescheduling. Benefits are not retroactive; seek approval before paying if you intend to use them. Consult the fee policy and Essentials for taxes, refund conditions, and deadlines.

For an available future appointment, use your existing AAMC account in the PREview portal, verify your name against your ID, and check the selected time zone before payment. Save the confirmation. PREview appointments do not appear in the MCAT registration system, even when you use the same AAMC account. These instructions are on AAMC’s registration page.

Build your calendar around the score release date as well as test day. A November result cannot satisfy a school that requires an earlier exam. “About a month” is useful for orientation; the published release date is the one to use for planning.

What to expect on PREview test day

AAMC estimates a 95–115 minute session including check-in and check-out, plus an optional survey. Its test-time page recommends logging in 15 minutes early to check equipment. Give the appointment room in your schedule instead of booking another obligation immediately after the 75-minute test.

1. Check in. Follow your appointment instructions to enter the PREview portal and start the exam. Expect identity, equipment, and room checks.
2. Confirm the conditions. The proctor helps secure the testing environment. Review the examinee agreement in advance so this step is familiar.
3. Complete the ratings. Read the scenario, evaluate each action, and manage the available time.
4. Choose score or void. Read the end-of-exam choice carefully and complete check-out as instructed.

AAMC gives a maximum of 10 minutes for the score-or-void selection. If you do not submit a choice before time expires, the exam is scored. Voiding counts as an attempt, and a decision to score cannot be undone later. See the score-or-void instructions.

Technical preparation deserves its own rehearsal. Check the actual computer, connection, camera, microphone, secure browser, and room you will use. A successful equipment check on another laptop or network does not test your planned setup. Follow AAMC’s test-day resources and the current vendor requirements linked there.

Your ID, workspace, and accommodations

Bring a physical, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that meets all AAMC criteria. Your registered first and last names must match the ID exactly. Digital images and temporary IDs do not meet the standard requirements. Check the official ID requirements before exam week, especially if your name changed or your ID is near expiration.

The 2026 Essentials requires a private workstation on a hard surface, free of prohibited materials; phones and tablets cannot be used to take the exam. Expect a room scan. Do not plan to use scratch paper, consult notes, or leave the workstation during standard testing.

If a disability or medical condition requires a change to the standard conditions, use the AAMC PREview accommodations process early. An accommodation approved for another test should not be assumed to carry over. Confirm your approved arrangements rather than trying to negotiate them for the first time at check-in.

Tell housemates when you need the room and use the actual setup during advance practice. These are small tasks, but they remove avoidable distractions from a test that depends on careful reading.

Scores and percentiles: what does your result mean?

Your reported total is on a 1–9 scale. AAMC compares your ratings with consensus ratings from medical educators; the score report also includes a confidence band and percentile information. Use AAMC’s scoring resources to interpret the report rather than treating it as a percentage correct.

Source: AAMC’s 2026 percentile table, based on 76,265 results from 2023–2025. The percentile gives the share of results equal to or below that score. It is not a percentage of questions answered correctly, and it is not an admissions probability. AAMC updates the table annually.

There is no universal “good enough” score for every school. A 7 is above most scores in the current reference group, but that fact cannot tell you whether a particular admissions committee will invite you to interview. Read each school’s policy and assess the result in the context of the rest of your application.

Similarly, a small score difference should not become a sweeping judgment about your ability to become a physician. Read the confidence band and the school’s stated use of PREview. The exam supplies one kind of information; it does not replace the rest of the application.

Score reporting and retakes

AAMC uploads PREview results to AMCAS. For participating programs outside AMCAS, applicants may need to release scores through the Testing Services Score Reporting System. Reports contain all scored attempts, so a new result does not erase an earlier one. The school table identifies reporting exceptions; the Essentials score-reporting section explains the process.

The 2026 retesting policy allows two attempts in a testing year and four lifetime attempts counted from the 2024 administration. A started but unfinished or voided exam uses an attempt. Check the current eligibility rules before scheduling another sitting.

Before retaking, answer three questions: Will the new result arrive in time? What did you identify that you can prepare differently? How does each school consider multiple scores? A retake is a decision about your application, available time, and specific learning needs—not a guarantee that the next score will be higher.

Your next step

1. Check the requirements for your schools and record each program’s deadline and accepted score years.
2. Make a PREview preparation plan using official materials, review sessions, and a technology rehearsal.
3. Recheck the current AAMC calendar before scheduling or changing an appointment.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and scope

This guide was checked October 11, 2026, against the AAMC sources linked throughout: format, timing, registration, 2026 Essentials, and 2026 percentiles. The short comparison with Casper uses Acuity Insights’ description. Recheck policies for a later testing year or for an approved accommodation.