On This Page:
- Advancing Holistic Review with the Premed Competencies
- About the PREview Exam
- 2024 Program Enhancements
- Frequently Asked Questions
- PREview Data
- PREview Recorded and Upcoming Presentations
- PREview Informational Articles
- Contact Us for Questions and Feedback
Advancing Holistic Review with the Premed Competencies
Aspiring physicians communicate their readiness for medical school by demonstrating their proficiency in the 17 premed competencies medical schools look for when evaluating applications. The AAMC and its member medical schools created these competencies. They include not only science as well as thinking and reasoning skills, but also professionalism and interpersonal skills, areas in which today’s medical students must be ready to receive advanced instruction.
Applicants demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and experience with the 17 premed competencies through the various components of their medical school application:
- Their coursework and grades provide insight into their academic achievements.
- Their Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) exam scores provide a standardized evaluation of their basic knowledge of the natural, behavioral, and social sciences.
- Other components of their application, including the AAMC PREview professional readiness exam, provide medical schools with insight into their readiness to develop their professional skills.
About the PREview Exam
The PREview exam is an opportunity for applicants to showcase their knowledge of competencies that go beyond academic readiness. The PREview exam is a reliable source for evaluating a student’s understanding of personal and professional competencies such as resilience and adaptability, service orientation, ethical responsibility to self and others, empathy and compassion, cultural awareness, cultural humility, and teamwork and collaboration, among others.
This knowledge serves as a foundation for further learning and development in these competency areas during medical school and is a necessary precursor to engaging in effective professional behavior as a physician. When combined with other parts of the medical school application process, PREview scores provide admissions officers with a more complete view of applicants and offer schools the opportunity to broaden the diversity of the applicant pool invited to interviews.
2024 Program Enhancements
Retesting within the Testing Season
In prior years, examinees were limited to one exam attempt per testing season. Beginning in 2024, examinees may take the exam twice within a testing season, up to a lifetime maximum of four attempts. At this time, a testing season is defined as a calendar year (January through December), and test dates will be offered from March through September in 2024.
Open to All Medical Schools
All medical schools are welcome to use PREview scores in their admissions process. The AAMC is no longer limiting participation to AMCAS® schools. Students will be able to identify participating schools in one of three ways. However, we recommend examinees consult directly with the schools to confirm their participation and to determine when and how in the application review process they will evaluate PREview scores. The three ways to determine participating schools:
- Referring to the PREview website.
- Consulting the AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements™ (MSAR®) online database – school participation can be found in the Situational Judgment Test section (formerly labeled Additional Tests Required).
- Selecting medical schools within the AMCAS application. Participating schools will display one of the following notation:
- PREview exam required — You must submit a PREview score for your application to be considered complete.
- PREview exam recommended — You may apply with or without a PREview score.
- PREview exam fulfills situational judgment test requirement — You must submit a SJT score for your application to be considered complete. This designation is for schools that will accept the PREview exam or another situational judgment test to fulfill its requirement.
- PREview exam for research only — You may apply with or without a PREview score. Schools using the PREview exam for research only will not use the scores until after the admissions cycle is complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for answers to your students' questions about the PREview exam? Find information about registering, preparing, taking the exam, and sending scores on the PREview FAQ webpage.
PREview Data
- Download the 2023 Percentile Ranks.
- Download the 2022 Percentile Ranks.
- Download the 2021 Percentile Ranks.
- Download the 2020 Percentile Ranks.
The Percentile Ranking Table (updated each May) is based on an examinees’ performance on the PREview exam during a two-year time frame. View a sample score report.
Using PREview Data in 2024 Medical Student Selection
The AAMC PREview team created this guide to support medical schools in incorporating PREview scores into their holistic review during the admissions process. The guide includes information about the design, interpretation, research evidence, and use of the PREview exam.
PREview Recorded and Upcoming Presentations
The PREview team delivers webinars and presents at professional meetings to keep the advisor and medical school communities up to date on the administration and ongoing research and evaluation of the PREview exam.
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NAAHP New Advisor Workshop Series - TESTS! from Nov. 10, 2023
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What’s New with PREview®: Preparing Your Students for the 2024 PREview Exam – from February 1, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET
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PREview® Nuts-N-Bolts: Scheduling & Taking the AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam – February 8, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET
The PREview team will also present at the NAAHP National Conference in June 2024, so be sure to connect with the PREview team. Following the national conference, our presentation will be featured on this page for your reference.
PREview Informational Articles
Learn more about the PREview exam by reading informational articles featured in the AAMC Premed Navigator newsletter and the Prehealth Advisor Email Series.
The AAMC Premed Navigator is a newsletter that includes information, resources, tips, and more to help premeds along their path to medical school. Subscribe to receive the Premed Navigator in your inbox each month.
Contact Us for Questions and Feedback
Please feel free to contact us with any questions at askpreview@aamc.org. Thank you for your ongoing support of the PREview program.