AAMC, investigations and score validity
MCAT Score on Hold, Cancelled, or Under Investigation
The AAMC runs two different enquiries that can cost you an MCAT score, and it gives you something most testing organisations do not: a draft report to review and an opportunity to respond before anything is finalised. That draft stage is the most useful opening on this page, and it is easy to waste.
The draft report is the opening
The AAMC's published procedures provide that you will be given a draft investigative report to review and an opportunity to respond. That is your chance to correct the characterisation of events while it is still a draft, in a process whose only onward route is arbitration under a standard limited to whether the AAMC acted reasonably and in good faith. Answering the draft well is worth more than anything that happens afterwards.
The deadlines, before anything else
Every process on this page can be lost on a date rather than on the evidence. Put these in a calendar before you start drafting anything.
Test Center Concern
5 calendar days
Submitted through the MCAT Registration System. Concerns received later, or sent through other channels, are not investigated. The most commonly missed deadline on this exam.
Rescore request
30 days
From your score release date, through the MCAT Registration System, where you believe the score was calculated incorrectly. The AAMC does not accept appeals to that process.
Response to the draft report
As stated in the AAMC's communication
The published procedures describe the opportunity without fixing a public deadline, so the date in your email governs.
Testing rules are revised regularly, and the version in force on your test date is the one that governs your case. The notice you received controls. Read it against the rules as they stood when you tested.
What triggers a review on the MCAT
- •Discrepancies, or attempts to subvert eligibility requirements
- •Violations of Test Center or Proctor Rules
- •Irregular behavior in connection with the administration of an AAMC exam
- •A score validity inquiry by the MCAT or PREview programmes, which is a separate track
How the process actually runs
Taken from AAMC’s own published rules. Stages shown in grey are past the point where we assist, and are included so you can see the whole route rather than only our part of it.
Two tracks, and they are not the same enquiry
An AAMC investigation looks at conduct: discrepancies, eligibility, Test Center or Proctor Rules, irregular behavior. A Score Validity Inquiry by the MCAT or PREview programme asks whether scores are an accurate representation of your performance level. The AAMC states expressly that an investigation is distinct from a Score Validity Inquiry, so establish which notice you have.
Notice, by email, before a report issues
Where the AAMC initiates an investigation it notifies you before issuing an investigation report, and investigation-related communications are sent by email. It is your responsibility to keep an active email address on file and to check it, which in practice means a notice can be sitting unread while the process moves.
Cooperate, in writing, and sit the interview if asked
You must cooperate and produce all documents and materials requested, and submit to an in-person interview if the AAMC requests one. All responses to the AAMC must be submitted in writing. Written responses are an advantage if they are prepared and a liability if they are not, because they become the record.
Review the draft report and respond
You are provided with a draft investigative report to review and an opportunity to respond. This is where a mischaracterisation can still be corrected and where documentary evidence can still change what the final report says. The AAMC may, at its sole discretion, send a fact-based investigation report documenting a violation to legitimately interested parties, now and in the future.
Arbitration, on a narrow questionWe stop before this
If you conclude that the draft report unfairly characterises the matter, or the parties cannot agree on the report's content and language, you may request arbitration, conducted through written submission to the American Arbitration Association in Washington, D.C. The sole issue for arbitration is whether the AAMC acted reasonably and in good faith in making its decision.
What we do, and where we stop
We assist with the investigation and validity stages: identifying which enquiry you are in, preparing the written responses the AAMC requires, organising documentation, and answering the draft investigative report. We do not handle AAA arbitration, which is the route if the draft report cannot be resolved. Where the AAMC raises the possibility of a civil suit or a criminal referral, that is a matter for a lawyer and we will say so immediately.
AdvocatED is an education advising practice, not a law firm. We do not provide legal representation or legal advice. When you need an attorney instead.
How AdvocatED Helps With a MCAT Score Review
The AAMC's process is more generous than most and less forgiving of a careless answer, because everything you send is in writing and ends up in the file.
Where guidance pays off most:If something went wrong at the test centre, the five-day Test Center Concern window matters more than anything else on this page, and the AAMC states it will not investigate your concern based solely on the administrator's own case report.
- Establish whether you have an investigation, a score validity inquiry, or a test centre problem, since each has a different route and clock
- Protect the five-day Test Center Concern window, which closes faster than people expect and cannot be reopened
- Prepare the written responses the AAMC requires, knowing they become the record
- Build the documentary record around the specific allegation rather than around your application
- Work through the draft investigative report line by line and draft a response that addresses characterisation and fact separately
- Prepare you for an in-person interview if one is requested
- Flag immediately where the AAMC's stated remedies put this beyond advising
Mistakes that cost people the case
- ×Letting the five-day Test Center Concern window pass, or raising the problem by email instead of through the registration system. Both close the route.
- ×Assuming the test administrator's report covers it. The AAMC states it will not investigate based solely on that report.
- ×Writing a fast, unconsidered response. Everything goes in writing and becomes the record.
- ×Treating the draft report as a formality. It is the last stage where the characterisation can change on the merits.
- ×Requesting a rescore in response to a conduct investigation. They are unrelated, and the rescore process accepts no appeals.
Questions we get about MCAT score reviews
Can the AAMC cancel my MCAT score?
Yes. The published procedures list the actions available to the AAMC, which include terminating an exam administration, issuing a warning letter, placing MCAT scores on hold, cancelling an existing MCAT registration or score, and suspending registration eligibility for a limited period or permanently. The procedures also reserve the possibility of a civil lawsuit for material breaches of the Examinee Agreement and a referral for criminal investigation and prosecution.
What is the difference between an AAMC investigation and a Score Validity Inquiry?
An investigation looks at conduct: discrepancies, eligibility, Test Center or Proctor Rules, irregular behavior. A Score Validity Inquiry is run by the MCAT or PREview programme and asks whether scores are an accurate representation of your actual performance level. The AAMC states expressly that the two are distinct, and the first thing to do with a notice is work out which one you have, because the arguments are different.
Something went wrong at my test center. What do I do?
Submit a Test Center Concern through the MCAT Registration System no later than five calendar days after your exam. The AAMC states that concerns received after five calendar days, or sent through channels other than the service request form in the registration system, will not be investigated. It also states that it will not investigate your concern based solely on the case report filed by the test administrator, so your own account matters. In rare situations and at its sole discretion the AAMC may offer to void the exam or provide a refund.
Can I appeal an MCAT rescore result?
No. If you believe your score was calculated incorrectly you may submit a rescore request through the MCAT Registration System within 30 days of your score release date, and the response either confirms the original scores or provides corrected ones. The AAMC states that it will not accept appeals to this process. A rescore is also not a route to challenge a cancellation or an investigation finding.
Does AdvocatED handle AAMC arbitration?
No. We work the investigation and validity stages, including the response to the draft investigative report, which is the point at which evidence and characterisation can still change the outcome. Arbitration is conducted by written submission to the American Arbitration Association, and the sole issue is whether the AAMC acted reasonably and in good faith, which is a legal argument rather than an evidentiary one.
Where this comes from
Every stage, deadline and standard on this page was read against AAMC’s own published rules in October 2026. We link them so you can check us, and so you can compare them against the version in force on your test date.
- AAMC, Investigation Procedures, Final Report, Arbitration, and Additional Actions
Notice, written responses, the draft report, arbitration, and available actions.
- AAMC, requesting a rescore
The 30-day window, and that appeals are not accepted.
Other exams we handle
Got a letter about your MCAT score?
Send us the notice. The case review is free, and the first thing we will tell you is which deadline you are working against.