Updated
How to Reschedule or Cancel the MCAT: Fees and Deadlines
You can reschedule or cancel the MCAT in the AAMC's MCAT Registration System up to 10 days before your test. In 2027, moving costs $55, $110 or $210 depending on how close to the test you change, and canceling refunds $180 only if you are 30 or more days out, per the AAMC. Inside 10 days, no changes are allowed.
Below: how to make the change, what it really costs at each deadline (our math from the AAMC fees), how to decide and a worked example. Facts checked October 30, 2026. Your date's exact deadlines are on our 2027 test dates page.
How do you reschedule or cancel the MCAT?
- Sign in to the MCAT Registration System and open your appointment.
- Choose a new date, a new test center or both, or choose to cancel. The fee is the same for a new date or a new center.
- Pay the reschedule fee by card. A cancellation refund goes back to the card you first paid with.
- Watch for the confirmation email. The AAMC says no email within 24 hours means the change didn't go through.
You can also cancel by calling Pearson, the AAMC's test vendor, up to 10 days before. Each deadline is at 11:59 p.m. local test center time. The Essentials give an example: an April 30, 2027 test in Los Angeles has a 10-day deadline of 11:59 p.m. PT on April 20. If you tested with accommodations, call Pearson VUE to make changes, since they can't be made online.
What does moving or canceling actually cost?
The fee depends on the deadline you beat. Canceling looks cheaper than it is, because you then pay to register again. Our comparison for a standard $360 registration:
| When you change | Move your date | Cancel: you lose | Canceling costs more by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 or more days before the test | Move your date: $55 | Cancel: you lose: $180 | Canceling costs more by: $125 |
| 30 to 59 days before the test | Move your date: $110 | Cancel: you lose: $180 | Canceling costs more by: $70 |
| 10 to 29 days before the test | Move your date: $210 | Cancel: you lose: $360 | Canceling costs more by: $150 |
The same comparison with Fee Assistance
| When you change | Move your date | Cancel: you lose |
|---|---|---|
| 60 or more days before the test | Move your date: $25 | Cancel: you lose: $70 |
| 30 to 59 days before the test | Move your date: $45 | Cancel: you lose: $70 |
| 10 to 29 days before the test | Move your date: $85 | Cancel: you lose: $145 |
So if you will still test this testing year, moving beats canceling at every deadline. Cancel when you won't test at all. The international fee of $130 and any reschedule fees you paid are never refunded.
Should you postpone the MCAT?
The AAMC's registration tips say to schedule for a date when you know you will be ready. If you are no longer sure, work through these four checks. They are ours, not AAMC rules.
Compare your practice exams with your goal
Use your last two scored AAMC full-length exams. Our rule of thumb, not an AAMC rule: if you are within about 2 points of your goal, keep the date. If you are 3 or more points under and can name what you will fix, consider moving. If your scores are low and you don't know why, find the cause before you pay to move.
Check what the new date does to your application
Look up the new date's score release. If you need the score before a school's deadline or before you pick schools, a later test can cost more than the fee. Our test dates guide shows which 2027 dates fit which cycle.
Ask what more time will change
More weeks help when you can name the sections you will work on and the hours you have. If your schedule stays just as full, a later date may only delay the same result.
If you are going to move, move early
The fee steps up after the 60-day and 30-day deadlines, and the dates you want may fill. Once you have decided, change it that day.
A worked example
Ours, with an invented applicant. Maya holds the May 1 test. From the 2027 calendar, its deadlines are March 2 (60 days), April 1 (30 days) and April 21 (10 days), and its scores come out June 2.
- On March 20, 42 days out, her last two practice exams are 4 points under her goal, mostly in CARS.
- Moving now costs $110. If she waits until April 5, 26 days out, it costs $210, $100 more for the same change.
- She moves to June 26. Her score now comes out July 27 instead of June 2. She plans to submit AMCAS in early June and list the pending date, so the later score still fits her plan.
If the new date had pushed her score past a school's cutoff, keeping the May test and planning a possible retake would have been the better call. How to use the extra weeks is in our MCAT study schedule, and CARS strategy is in MCAT CARS.
What happens if you miss the MCAT?
If you don't cancel and don't sit for the exam, the Essentials count you as a no-show. You lose the fee and a testing attempt, and you pay the full registration fee to book again. It may take up to 24 hours after your appointment time before you can schedule. Being late counts too. Test centers stay open in bad weather unless you are told otherwise by email.
If the AAMC cancels your exam, or you can't finish because of a delivery problem, it refunds your base registration fee and returns your attempt. You then book a new date, subject to seats.
How do MCAT emergency refunds work?
For a hardship that stops you from testing, the Essentials describe an Emergency Refund Request. Qualifying events include an acute medical emergency within 30 days of the exam, a death in your immediate family, caring for someone who is suddenly ill, an unexpected call to active military service and being displaced by a natural disaster, each with documents.
- Submit it in the Registration System no later than 10 days after your exam date.
- The most you can get back is the 30-day cancellation refund, $180 on a standard registration. Your exam goes to no-show status, and if approved, the attempt is returned.
- The AAMC emails a decision within two weeks of receiving your documents and approves one per calendar year.
- Requests can't be reversed, so don't go to the test center after submitting one.
Once you have a date you are sure of, see when its score lands in our MCAT score release dates guide. Booking a fresh date is covered in MCAT registration.
Practice the question about changing plans
A moved test date can be a good interview story if the reasoning was sound. More questions like it are in our medical school interview questions guide.
“Tell me about a time you changed a plan because you weren't ready.”
This tests honesty and judgment. Say what you saw, what you decided and what happened, without apologizing for it. A moved exam date works well if your reasoning was sound.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I had booked the MCAT for May, and six weeks out my practice scores were three points under my goal, nearly all of it from the reading section.
I talked it through with my advisor, moved to late June that same week and blocked out time every morning for timed passages. My last two practice exams reached my goal. What I took from it is to check my progress early enough that I still have choices.
Sources: the AAMC's MCAT scheduling fees page, accommodations scheduling page and the MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2027, linked throughout and checked October 30, 2026. Cost comparisons and the example are ours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to reschedule the MCAT?
$55 at 60 or more days out, $110 at 30 to 59 days and $210 at 10 to 29 days. With Fee Assistance it is $25, $45 and $85. The same fee covers a new date, a new test center or both. See the AAMC's fees.
Can I reschedule the MCAT within 10 days?
No. The AAMC allows no changes less than 10 days before the exam and does not grant deadline extensions. If something serious stops you from testing, the emergency refund request is the route to part of your fee back. Read the MCAT Essentials.
Do you get money back if you cancel the MCAT?
Canceling 30 or more days out refunds $180 of the $360 fee ($75 of $145 with Fee Assistance). At 10 to 29 days there is no refund, and the international fee is never refunded. See the AAMC's fees.
What happens if I miss the MCAT?
You are a no-show. You lose your fee and a testing attempt, and you pay the full registration fee to book again. The AAMC says it may take up to 24 hours before you can schedule a new date. Read the no-show rule.
Is it better to reschedule or cancel the MCAT?
If you will still test this year, moving costs less at every deadline. By our math, for a standard registration, canceling and then registering again costs $70 to $150 more than paying to move. Canceling makes sense when you won't test at all.
How does the MCAT emergency refund work?
Submit the form in the Registration System, with documents, no later than 10 days after your exam date. Qualifying events include an acute medical emergency and a death in your immediate family. If approved, you get up to the 30-day cancellation refund and your attempt back. The AAMC approves only one per calendar year. Read the emergency refund rules.
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