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AAMC PREview Score: Scale, Percentiles and Release Dates
AAMC PREview scores run from 1 to 9. The AAMC sets no cutoff for a good score, but its current percentile table puts a 6 at the 63rd percentile and a 7 at the 84th. Scores come out about 30 days after each testing window, and the last 2026 release is November 13.
What does a PREview score report show?
Three things, and the AAMC says schools receive the same information: a total score from 1 to 9, a percentile rank and a confidence band. Higher means your ratings lined up more closely with those of medical educators.
What the confidence band and the score skills mean
A confidence band is the range around your score that accounts for measurement error in any test. The AAMC pages we read list the band but do not state its width, so look at your own report. The exam covers 9 competencies in two areas, personal accountability and relational skills, and you get one total score, not a score for each. The format itself is in our PREview exam guide.
What is a good AAMC PREview score?
A 6 or above puts you at or past the middle, and a 7 or above is strong. A percentile rank is the “percentage of scores equal to or less than each total score point”, so a 7 means 84 percent of results were 7 or lower. The median is 6, by our arithmetic from the table. The current table covers May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027 and rests on 76,265 results from 2023 to 2025. We link to the AAMC table instead of copying it, since “Updates to the percentile ranks will be made by early May each year.”
Schools decide what the number means. Kaiser Permanente says “There is no minimum PREview exam score requirement.” Utah says “There is no minimum required score.”
Our plain reading of each score (ours, not the AAMC's)
- 7 to 9: A strong result. A 7 sits at the 84th percentile.
- 6: The median, at the 63rd percentile.
- 5: Close to the middle. Check how your schools use the score before you decide on a retake.
- 1 to 4: Below the middle. A retake is worth considering if a school you care about uses the score in review.
To see your likely number before test day, the AAMC's $20 Scored Practice Exam “provides a scaled score and percentile rank” See the AAMC prep page and our practice test guide.
How is the AAMC PREview scored?
You rate each of 186 responses from very ineffective to very effective, and each rating is compared with a key built from a consensus of medical educators. Per the AAMC scoring page: “Full credit is awarded for an item if your rating matches a consensus of medical educators’ ratings.” “Half credit is awarded if your rating is one rating away from the medical educators’ consensus rating but still on the same side of the scale”. A rating on the opposite side of the scale earns nothing. So being on the right side matters most, and a near miss still counts.
You are on a four-person class project. One teammate has missed two meetings and has not answered messages. The presentation is in two days.
| Response | Key / yours | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Message the teammate privately, ask if they are okay and offer to split what is left. | Very effective / Very effective | 1 |
| Tell the group you will redivide the remaining work, and let the teammate know. | Effective / Very effective | 0.5 |
| Email the instructor right away to report the teammate. | Ineffective / Very ineffective | 0.5 |
| Quietly do the teammate's share and say nothing to anyone. | Ineffective / Effective | 0 |
That is 2 of 4 possible points, even though only one rating was exact. Then the raw score is scaled through equating, so “a score of 6, for example, has the same meaning” on every form. The pages we read do not publish how many raw points make each scaled score, or how many items are unscored, so be wary of anyone who offers a raw-to-scaled chart.
When are AAMC PREview scores released?
The AAMC register page says “score reports will be released approximately 30 days following each testing window”. In practice the 2026 wait ran 28 to 34 days from the last test day. You get an email when it is ready, and “AAMC staff will not provide scores over the phone.” The AAMC had not posted a 2027 calendar when we checked on October 30, 2026.
All eight 2026 windows and release dates
| Window | Test dates | Scores out | Wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 15 and 16 | May 19 | 33 days |
| 2 | May 5 and 6 | June 9 | 34 days |
| 3 | June 3 and 4 | July 7 | 33 days |
| 4 | June 24 and 25 | July 28 | 33 days |
| 5 | July 22 and 23 | Aug. 25 | 33 days |
| 6 | Aug. 12 and 13 | Sept. 15 | 33 days |
| 7 | Sept. 16 and 17 | Oct. 15 | 28 days |
| 8 | Oct. 14 and 15 | Nov. 13 | 29 days |
Do medical schools see your PREview score?
If you use AMCAS, your scores upload automatically and stay on file. “The AMCAS program does not need your scores to verify your application.” You can submit AMCAS before or after your score comes out, and it does not hold up AMCAS verification. AMCAS schools not using PREview “do not have access to scores until all admissions decisions are complete”. Schools outside AMCAS need you to release the score with Share Scores in the AAMC Testing Services Score Reporting System.
Schools may require, recommend or just be exploring the exam. Our list of medical schools that require PREview names each one and shows how their deadlines fit the windows, or check the AAMC list itself. Plan your dates with the application timeline.
Can you retake or void PREview?
You can test “no more than two times in the same testing year and no more than 4 times in their lifetime” (from the 2024 testing year). Every exam you chose to score since 2020 goes into AMCAS, including the AAMC SJT years, and “The AAMC will retain your PREview score report indefinitely.” Some schools still look to your best: Utah says “only the highest score will be considered”, and of your attempts Saint Louis University says “it will focus on your highest performance”.
If you void, “the exam will count as an attempt and will not be scored”. No score appears in AMCAS, but you have used an attempt.
How does this show up in your interview?
PREview asks what you would do. Interviewers ask what you did. Try this one, then see medical school interview questions.
“Tell me about a time a teammate was not pulling their weight. What did you do?”
PREview tests your judgment on paper, and interviews test it out loud, often with this very kind of situation. The rating logic from the example above works for both.
Our example answer (we wrote it, not a real applicant)
In my organic chemistry lab group, one partner stopped showing up the week before our final report. I messaged him first and asked if he was okay, and he told me a family member was in the hospital.
We agreed he would take the data tables, which he could do from home, and I told our other partner what had changed without sharing his private details.
We turned it in on time. I learned to ask before I assume, and to make the plan clear to everyone who depends on it.
Sources: AAMC PREview pages linked above, the Kaiser Permanente, Utah and Saint Louis University admissions pages. PREview is a trademark of the AAMC, which is not affiliated with Confetto. All checked October 30, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good AAMC PREview score?
The AAMC does not set a cutoff. Its current percentile table puts a 6 at the 63rd percentile and a 7 at the 84th, so a 6 is about the median and a 7 or higher is a strong result. Kaiser Permanente and Utah both say they have no minimum score.
What is the AAMC PREview score range?
Total scores run from 1 to 9. Your report shows the total score, a percentile rank and a confidence band, and schools receive the same information.
How long does it take to get AAMC PREview scores?
The AAMC says about 30 days after each testing window. By our count from the 2026 calendar, the wait from the last test day to release day runs 28 to 34 days. The last 2026 release is November 13. You get an email when the score is ready, and the AAMC will not give it by phone.
Do you get partial credit on AAMC PREview?
Yes. A rating that matches the medical educators' consensus earns full credit. One step away on the same side of the scale earns half credit. A rating on the opposite side earns none.
Do medical schools see all my PREview attempts?
Every exam you chose to score since 2020 goes into AMCAS, including exams from when it was called the AAMC SJT. Voided exams do not appear, but they still count as attempts.
Does AMCAS wait for my PREview score?
No. The AAMC says AMCAS does not need your score to verify your application, and you can submit before or after your score comes out. A school that requires PREview may still hold your file as incomplete until the score arrives.
Should I retake the AAMC PREview?
You can test twice in a testing year and four times in your lifetime, counted from the 2024 testing year. Schools can see every scored attempt, though Utah and Saint Louis University say they look to your highest. Look at how your own schools use the score, and whether a later window still meets their deadline.