Admissions
Applying to Medical School
AAMC PREview® Exam Requirement
To enhance our holistic review process during the application cycle, we require all M.D. Program applicants to complete the Association of American Medical Colleges Professional Readiness Exam (AAMC PREview®). This allows us to assess core pre-professional competencies that we believe are essential for success at our medical school and are increasingly important in meeting the needs of patients and improving health for all people.
Why This Matters
Future doctors need more than academic knowledge. They also need to:
- Provide compassionate care that nurtures their patients’ mind and body
- Collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary medical teams
- Navigate emotional, cultural, and ethical challenges with resiliency
The exam provides an opportunity for applicants to showcase personal and professional characteristics — beyond classroom learning — that will make them a great fit at UC Davis School of Medicine. We consider the exam scores as one part of our admissions evaluation to better understand and evaluate the whole applicant.
Who needs to take the PREview® exam?
All M.D. applicants are required to complete the AAMC PREview® Professional Readiness Exam.
The PREview® exam is NOT required for:
- M.D./Ph.D. program applicants
- Huwighurruk scholars
Key Exam Details
- Registration opens: January 31
- Test window: April – September*
- Format: Online, remote proctoring
- Cost: $105
- Free for students who qualify for the Fee Assistance Program
*Important note: UC Davis School of Medicine exam deadline is September 30 even though AAMC PREview exam® is available through October.
How to Prepare
Free preparation resources are available, including:
- Practice materials
- A full-length sample exam
Learn more about the exam, eligibility and testing dates at AAMC PREview® site
Frequently Asked Questions
Our school is dedicated to improving public health by training students who are skilled, compassionate, and socially responsible. The AAMC PREview® exam offers a way to evaluate crucial pre-professional skills and identify applicants ready to engage professionally in medical school and address future health care challenges.
Our school uses the AAMC PREview® exam instead of computer-based assessment for sampling personal characteristics (CASPER) because we believe AAMC PREview® exam enhances our holistic admissions process and assessment of pre-professional competencies essential for success.
The exam is required for M.D. program eligibility and your score will be reviewed as part of the admissions evaluation.
CASPER is not accepted as a substitute for the AAMC PREview®.
Applicants are advised to complete the AAMC PREview® exam by the end of September in the application year, similar to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
There is no disadvantage for scores received through October. All applicants, regardless of test date, will receive the same holistic admissions review.
Yes, all M.D. program applicants are required to take the AAMC PREview® exam and scores received through October will be accepted. Applications submitted without an AAMC PREview® score will be considered incomplete.
Important Notes:
- M.D./Ph.D. applicants and Huwighurruk Scholars are exempt from this requirement.
- Applicants who have previously completed the AAMC Situational Judgment Test and are satisfied with their score do not need to retake the AAMC PREview®.
Yes, all M.D. program applicants must take the AAMC PREview® exam. This requirement allows applicants to show their grasp of effective and ineffective behaviors within eight core competencies for future medical students:
- Service orientation
- Social skills
- Cultural competence
- Teamwork
- Ethical responsibility to self and others
- Reliability and dependability
- Resilience and adaptability
- Capacity for improvement
Yes, AAMC PREview® scores will be released to examinees between July and October, depending on their exam date.
AAMC PREview® scores will be available to examinees and the UC Davis School of Medicine from July through October, depending on the exam date. These scores will be automatically uploaded into the AMCAS application; no extra steps are required to include your PREview® score.
Similar to the MCAT, we can access all prior attempts of the AAMC Situational Judgment Test (SJT) from 2020 onward. If you have already taken the AAMC SJT in a previous cycle and are happy with your score, you do not need to retake the AAMC PREview®.
AAMC PREview® results provide a total score that reflects your understanding of pre-professionalism and your potential to learn and develop pre-professional skills. Higher scores indicate a greater level of understanding.
The AAMC collaborated with medical educators, including faculty, admissions officers, and student affairs officers, to develop the scoring key for the PREview® exam, which evaluates the effectiveness of each response. Scores are calculated based on how closely your effectiveness rating for each response matches the medical educators’ ratings. Full credit is awarded for an item if your response matches the medical educators’ rating. Partial credit is awarded if your rating is close to the medical educators’ rating.
Learn more about the AAMC PREview® exam including registration, preparing, taking the exam, and receiving your scores at their site.
No, application decisions are final.