AAMC Resources Explained: Which Ones Are Free and Which Ones Cost Money?

Post By

Ryan Brownlee

– Founder of AspiringMD

Which AAMC resources are free, and which cost money? Compare MSAR, MCAT Official Prep, AMCAS, PREview, Fee Assistance, FIRST, Premed Navigator, and more.

Many AAMC resources for premed students are completely free, but several of the services applicants use most often require payment.

Creating an AAMC account, subscribing to Premed Navigator, using FIRST financial resources, reading the Premed Competencies, exploring Anatomy of an Applicant, accessing basic MSAR profiles and public reports, and eventually using the Choose Your Medical School tool do not require separate purchases. However, full MSAR access, most AAMC MCAT Official Prep products, the MCAT exam, the PREview exam, and submitting an AMCAS application all cost money unless you qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program.

The confusing part is that these resources often live in the same AAMC account and appear beside one another on the same website, so it is not always obvious which pages are educational resources, which tools are free with limited access, and which services require payment before you can use them fully.

I remember reaching the point in my own premed journey when I seemed to have an AAMC tab open for everything. There was one for the MCAT, another for official practice materials, another for AMCAS, and another for researching medical schools, and it was not always clear whether clicking the next button was going to open a free guide or take me to a checkout page.

This guide walks through the major AAMC resources premed students encounter, explains what each one is actually for, and separates the genuinely free tools from the products and application services that cost money.

Pricing note: The prices below are current as of July 2026 and reflect the 2026 testing year or 2027 AMCAS application cycle where applicable. AAMC fees and products can change between years, so confirm the latest amount before building your application budget.

Quick Comparison of Free and Paid AAMC Resources

The table gives you the quick answer, but some of these resources include both free and paid levels, so it is worth understanding what you actually receive before deciding whether to spend money.

Can I get a discount on AAMC, MCAT, and AMCAS materials?

The answer is partly yes! You can get a steep discount for AAMC application materials and AAMC MCAT exam prep materials through your college! You need to email your pre-health advisor or pre-health advising department about whether they have a discount code or a special deal worked out with AAMC. For my university, my pre-health advisor had a deal worked out with AAMC where we got huge discounts. I don’t remember the exact percent off, but I believe it was about 30-50% off on AAMC practice exams, MSAR, question packs, section banks, and more. It saved me hundreds, especially when I bundled all of them at once. Check before you buy and you can save lots of money potentially!

Is an AAMC Account Free?

Creating an AAMC account does not require a purchase. Your AAMC account provides the username, password, and AAMC ID you will use across many services, including MCAT registration, the MCAT Official Prep Hub, MSAR, PREview, the Fee Assistance Program, and AMCAS.

You should create only one AAMC account and continue using it throughout your premed and medical education journey. The AAMC specifically instructs applicants who have previously used an AAMC service to sign in with the same account rather than creating a new ID, since duplicate accounts can cause problems matching scores, applications, purchases, and benefits. I’m very much in favor of just one account! I made two, one with personal email and one with school email and it was hard to keep track.

The account itself is best thought of as your free doorway into the AAMC ecosystem. Creating it does not automatically give you full access to every product inside the system, just as creating an account with an online store does not mean every item in that store is free.

You can use the same account to access free MCAT resources, read AAMC guidance, apply for Fee Assistance, purchase MSAR, schedule PREview, register for the MCAT, and eventually submit AMCAS. Keeping one account also helps ensure that your MCAT and PREview scores are connected with the correct medical school application.

Is MSAR Free?

MSAR is partly free, but full access requires a paid subscription.

The Medical School Admission Requirements database, usually shortened to MSAR, is the AAMC’s official source of information about accredited MD-granting medical schools in the United States and Canada. Basic school profiles are available without purchasing a subscription, and the AAMC also publishes several free MSAR reports covering topics such as prerequisite policies, secondary application requirements, deadlines, transfer policies, and combined-degree programs.

However, the most useful school-specific data is generally behind the paid subscription. Full MSAR access includes detailed MCAT and GPA distributions, in-state and out-of-state applicant information, matriculant experiences, waitlist data, coursework requirements, tuition, financial aid, deadlines, class demographics, research opportunities, and several years of school-level data.

For me, buying this was the most worthwhile resource for my application. It told me everything I needed to know about the schools including whether they were in-state vs out-of-state friendly. I look back and am very happy I bought it and it actually caused me to remove 3-5 schools from my original list as I saw they weren’t a fit for me.

For the 2026 edition, the AAMC charges:

The two-year subscription costs only eight dollars more than the one-year option, so it may be the better value when you are beginning your school research well before applying or believe you might need MSAR across two cycles.

I consider MSAR one of the more worthwhile paid AAMC resources because choosing even one poorly matched school can cost more than the entire subscription once you include the AMCAS designation and secondary fee. A realistic school list can save money while also helping you focus your energy on programs that fit your academic profile, residency, experiences, and goals.

My full MSAR guide for premeds explains how to use the paid database and also collects the free official reports you can access without subscribing.

One important limitation is that MSAR covers MD-granting schools rather than osteopathic medical schools. You will need to use AACOM resources and individual school websites when researching DO programs.

Is the AAMC Fee Assistance Program Free?

The AAMC Fee Assistance Program is not a product you purchase. It is an eligibility-based program that can reduce or eliminate several of the largest expenses associated with taking the MCAT and applying to medical school.

For approved applicants in 2026, the benefits include the full MCAT Official Prep Online-Only Bundle, a PREview scored practice exam, a reduced MCAT registration fee, a complimentary two-year MSAR subscription, waived AMCAS fees for one submission covering up to 20 schools, and a waived first PREview registration. The benefits are valuable enough that anyone who believes they may qualify should review the requirements before paying for the MCAT or submitting AMCAS.

The current benefits include:

The timing is extremely important because Fee Assistance benefits are not retroactive. If you pay for the MCAT, purchase MSAR, or submit AMCAS before approval, the AAMC will not reimburse those earlier expenses.

That is why I would look into Fee Assistance early, even when you are uncertain whether you qualify. It is much better to review the income guidelines and application requirements ahead of time than to discover after spending more than a thousand dollars that you might have received many of the same services for free or at a significant discount.

You can find my Fee Assistance walkthrough through the AspiringMD free premed and MCAT resources hub, where I also link the official application, Essentials guide, and related AAMC documents.

Are AAMC MCAT Official Prep Resources Free?

Some AAMC MCAT preparation resources are free, but most of the major question banks and scored practice exams cost money.

The AAMC currently provides two free full-length resources: Practice Exam 1, which gives a scaled score and percentile, and the Unscored Sample Test. The AAMC also provides a free MCAT content outline, a content outline course containing 120 practice questions, the Khan Academy MCAT collection, a test-interface practice tool, sample questions, planning guidance, webinars, and student study stories.

These free resources are more substantial than many applicants realize. The Khan Academy collection alone contains approximately 1,100 videos and 3,000 review questions covering the four MCAT sections, while the free content outline course connects test topics with open-access textbooks, Khan Academy lessons, and retired official questions.

You can find these materials alongside other free tools on my Free Premed and MCAT Resources page, and I have also collected additional no-cost exams in my free MCAT practice exam master document.

However, the AAMC’s remaining official practice exams, Section Banks, Question Packs, CARS Diagnostic Tool, and Independent Question Bank require payment unless you receive them through Fee Assistance.

Current individual prices include:

Purchased MCAT Official Prep resources currently include one year of access, and the AAMC offers shorter extensions for eligible active or recently expired products.

You do not necessarily need to purchase every product on the first day of studying. Many students begin with content review, Anki, Khan Academy, and third-party materials, then save the official AAMC questions and full-length exams for the later part of their study schedule when they are closer to test day.

I personally used the question packs, section banks, and most of the practice exams. I did not buy the independent question bank and did not have time to use 1 or 2 of the practice exams. I would even venture to say the question packs were much easier than the real MCAT and don’t actually teach you all that much. If I had to eliminate one resource, it would be that one to save on costs.

Remember, email your advisor to see if there is a university discount you can get on all of these!

The official material is especially valuable because it comes directly from the organization that writes the MCAT, but purchasing it too early can lead to using the most representative questions before you are ready to learn as much as possible from them. I saved all of these for the last month of studying prior to the MCAT and I stopped all 3rd party resources at that point. It’s important to transition so you can get ready for the way the real MCAT is going to present questions! Also, they are usually much more straightforward, so it takes some getting used to.

My MCAT section of AspiringMD includes free study schedules, Anki decks, full-length review spreadsheets, score calculators, and guides to help you decide when to incorporate each official resource.

Is the MCAT Exam Free?

The preparation resources and the exam itself are separate expenses.

For the 2026 testing year, standard MCAT registration costs $355. Applicants approved for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program pay $145. Rescheduling and cancellation rules can create additional costs depending on how close you are to your testing date.

The registration fee includes the exam and distribution of the resulting MCAT score through the AAMC system. It does not include the full collection of paid MCAT Official Prep products, although Fee Assistance recipients receive the online prep bundle as part of their benefits.

This separation surprises some students because they assume that paying several hundred dollars for the test should automatically include the practice exams and question banks. In reality, the exam registration and preparation products are purchased separately unless you qualify for assistance.

My guide on how much the MCAT and medical school application cycle cost provides a broader budget that includes registration, preparation materials, primary applications, secondaries, and interview-related expenses.

Is AMCAS Free?

Learning how to use AMCAS is free, but submitting the AMCAS application costs money.

The AAMC provides the AMCAS Applicant Guide, application workbook, tutorials, FAQs, school deadline information, and instructional webinars without an additional charge. You can create an account, open the application when the cycle begins, review the sections, and begin entering information before paying.

Payment is required when you certify and submit the application.

For the 2027 AMCAS cycle, the application fee is $180 and includes one medical school. Each additional school designation costs $48.

That means the primary application cost changes substantially depending on the size of your school list:

These totals cover only AMCAS. They do not include medical school secondary application fees, which are paid directly to individual schools and may add another substantial amount to your cycle.

Approved Fee Assistance recipients receive one AMCAS submission covering up to 20 medical schools. Additional schools beyond those 20 still require payment, and the benefit must be active before AMCAS is submitted.

This is where a well-built medical school list becomes financially important. Applying to more schools is not automatically better when several of those programs do not accept many out-of-state applicants, have priorities that do not fit your experiences, or sit far outside a realistic academic range.

You can use my free AMCAS medical school application checklist and cost calculator to calculate your primary and secondary expenses before committing to the final list. My broader medical school application tracker also helps you follow submissions, fees, interview invitations, and decisions across the cycle.

Is AAMC PREview Free?

The PREview exam costs money, although the AAMC provides both free and paid preparation options.

For the 2026 testing year, registering for PREview costs $105. Rescheduling costs $25, and cancelling more than 48 hours before the appointment provides a 50% refund. The first registration is waived for approved Fee Assistance recipients, who also receive a 50% discount on later registrations and rescheduling.

PREview preparation includes two free unscored PDF practice exams with scoring keys and explanations. The AAMC also sells a scored online practice exam for $20 that provides a scaled score and percentile rank.

Therefore, you do not need to buy a practice exam simply to understand the format or prepare for the assessment. The free practice materials are enough to learn how the effectiveness ratings work, review representative scenarios, and become comfortable with the style of judgment the exam expects.

Before registering, check whether any medical schools on your list require or recommend PREview. Not every school uses it, and the list of participating schools can change between cycles.

My CASPer vs. AAMC PREview vs. Duet guide and school database can help you organize the different situational judgment test requirements, although you should always confirm the final policy on the school’s admissions website and the official testing platform.

Is Premed Navigator Free?

Premed Navigator is free.

Premed Navigator is the AAMC’s monthly email newsletter for students interested in becoming physicians. It includes updates, application advice, financial guidance, deadline reminders, personal stories, and links to new AAMC resources.

This is one of those resources that may not transform your application by itself, but it can help you notice policy changes, new tools, testing updates, and deadlines that would otherwise be easy to miss.

Because it comes directly from the AAMC, I would treat it differently from the enormous number of promotional premed newsletters that mainly exist to sell advising packages or test-preparation courses. You may not need to read every article immediately, but keeping the updates in your inbox gives you an official reference when something changes.

Is AAMC FIRST Free?

AAMC FIRST resources are free.

FIRST stands for Financial Information, Resources, Services, and Tools. It provides financial guidance for applicants, medical students, and residents, including budgeting information, loan education, repayment resources, articles, calculators, videos, and other tools designed to help students understand the cost of medical education.

Premed students sometimes ignore FIRST because the name sounds like something meant only for current medical students carrying large loan balances. However, it can also help you understand financial aid, compare costs, prepare a budget, and think realistically about how medical school borrowing may affect you later.

This becomes particularly useful when you begin comparing acceptances. Tuition is only one portion of the cost because rent, health insurance, transportation, fees, and local living expenses can make two schools with similar tuition look very different financially.

Even when finances are not the deciding factor in your school selection, understanding the full cost before committing is much better than discovering it during orientation.

Is Anatomy of an Applicant Free?

Anatomy of an Applicant is a free AAMC resource.

The resource uses stories from real applicants, medical students, advisors, and admissions officers to show how students demonstrated the qualities medical schools seek across their experiences and applications.

The collection includes applicant profiles, discussions of the different application components, a self-assessment guide, competency worksheets, and examples of how experiences may demonstrate multiple premed competencies.

I find this especially helpful for students who worry that they need to participate in one perfect activity for each competency. Real applicants rarely develop that neatly. One sustained clinical, service, research, employment, or leadership experience may show communication, teamwork, reliability, empathy, growth, and critical thinking at the same time.

The value is not in copying another applicant’s path or essay language. Instead, the profiles can help you recognize qualities that are already present in your experiences and reflect on them more deeply before writing AMCAS descriptions, secondary essays, or interview responses.

Are the AAMC Premed Competencies Free?

Yes, the AAMC Premed Competencies and related worksheets are free.

The current model includes professional, thinking and reasoning, and science competencies that medical schools may consider when evaluating whether an applicant is prepared to develop into an effective physician. The AAMC updated parts of the model again in 2026, including the names and definitions of competencies now called self-awareness and understanding others.

These competencies should not be treated as a checklist where you force one sentence about teamwork, another about resilience, and another about service into every application. They are more useful as a reflection framework.

You can look across your clinical work, volunteering, research, employment, leadership, personal responsibilities, and academic experiences and ask which qualities you actually developed, how you demonstrated them, and what evidence supports that conclusion.

The AAMC provides competency definitions, experience worksheets, a self-assessment, and Anatomy of an Applicant examples at no cost.

You can also find the current list through my Free Premed and MCAT Resources page, along with other official resources that are surprisingly easy to overlook.

Is the Choose Your Medical School Tool Free?

The Choose Your Medical School tool does not require a separate purchase, but you will not use it until later in the application cycle.

The tool appears inside AMCAS for applicants who hold at least one current acceptance. It allows accepted applicants to communicate their enrollment intentions through the “Plan to Enroll” and “Commit to Enroll” selections.

Beginning in February, accepted applicants can generally select “Plan to Enroll.” Starting April 30, “Commit to Enroll” becomes available, although every applicant must also follow the deadlines and instructions established by the individual medical schools.

Using the tool does not automatically withdraw you from other schools. Applicants remain responsible for communicating directly with programs and following school-specific rules about acceptances and waitlists.

My AMCAS Choose Your Medical School tool tutorial explains how the two choices work and includes my personal experience using the tool during my own application cycle.

You do not need to worry about this resource while studying for the MCAT or completing your primary application. It becomes relevant after acceptances begin arriving, so save it for the stage when you are actually comparing offers and planning where to enroll.

Which AAMC Resources Are Worth Paying For?

The answer depends on where you are in the premed process, but you do not need to purchase every paid AAMC resource at once.

For most applicants, full MSAR access is worth considering once you are seriously building a school list. The cost is relatively small compared with primary and secondary application fees, and it can help you eliminate schools that do not fit your residency, academic profile, prerequisites, or goals.

The official MCAT materials are also worth using, although you can decide whether buying individual products or the complete bundle makes more sense. Students who plan to use nearly every exam, Section Bank, and Question Pack may find the bundle easier, while someone studying on a tighter budget can begin with the free resources and purchase the most important paid materials later.

AMCAS and PREview are not really optional purchases when they are required for the schools to which you are applying. They are application expenses rather than educational upgrades, so they should be built into your budget early.

The paid PREview scored practice exam is more optional because two free practice exams are already available. I would become familiar with the free materials before deciding that you need another product.

Looking back on it now that I’m in medical school, I have gotten to see a lot more resources out there and saw what really didn’t matter in the long run. The Preview and Casper related resources were not worthwhile and really, those scores didn’t make much difference. I would, however invest in MSAR, the official MCAT materials, and into the AMCAS through increasing your school #. All of those were very worthwhile and I’d do it again.

Which Free AAMC Resources Should Every Premed Use?

At minimum, I would become familiar with the Premed Competencies, free MCAT planning materials, public MSAR reports, Fee Assistance Program requirements, Anatomy of an Applicant, and the official AMCAS guides before applying.

These resources do not replace mentorship, but they provide a reliable foundation. Premed advice can spread quickly online, and sometimes an outdated forum answer gets repeated so often that it begins to sound like an official rule. Going back to the AAMC source helps you separate application policy from general applicant opinion.

The free resources are particularly valuable for students who do not have regular access to a prehealth advisor or physicians in their families. Much of the basic information that applicants pay advising companies to explain is already available through official guides, webinars, reports, and worksheets.

I created my Free Premed and MCAT Resources hub for the same reason. There is already an enormous amount of valuable material available, but it only helps when students know what exists and can find it without searching through dozens of disconnected pages.

How Much Could AAMC Resources Cost Without Fee Assistance?

A student purchasing a two-year MSAR subscription, the complete online MCAT prep bundle, registering for the MCAT and PREview, and applying to 20 AMCAS schools would currently spend approximately:

That estimate still does not include third-party MCAT materials, secondary application fees, transcripts, interview clothing, travel, or other school-specific expenses.

An applicant approved for Fee Assistance could receive the MCAT bundle and MSAR subscription, pay the reduced MCAT fee, have the first PREview registration waived, and submit AMCAS to as many as 20 schools without AMCAS fees. Based on current pricing, that can reduce this portion of the application budget by well over a thousand dollars.

This is why I encourage students to investigate Fee Assistance early rather than treating it as an afterthought. The program is not only about reducing the MCAT registration fee; it touches nearly every major paid AAMC service an applicant is likely to use.

How to Avoid Paying for an AAMC Resource You Already Have

Before purchasing anything, sign into your existing AAMC account and check the MCAT Official Prep Hub, MSAR access, and Fee Assistance status.

Students sometimes receive prep products through a university, scholarship, advisor, pipeline program, access code, or Fee Assistance award and forget that those products are already attached to the account. Other applicants accidentally create a second account and then cannot see resources purchased under the original AAMC ID.

You should also check the expiration period. Current paid MCAT Official Prep products generally provide one year of access, while the PREview scored practice exam provides six months. MSAR lasts for the subscription period you purchase.

When you are not yet ready to use a product, purchasing it months too early can waste part of the access period. Planning your study and application timeline first allows you to buy resources when they will actually be useful.

Final Thoughts: You Do Not Need to Pay for Every AAMC Resource

The AAMC provides a mixture of free educational resources, limited-access tools, paid preparation products, examinations, and application services.

Your AAMC account, Premed Navigator, FIRST, Anatomy of an Applicant, Premed Competencies, public MSAR reports, AMCAS instructional materials, and the Choose Your Medical School tool are free to access at the appropriate stage. Basic MSAR profiles and several official MCAT and PREview practice resources are also available without payment.

Full MSAR access, most MCAT Official Prep products, MCAT registration, PREview registration, and AMCAS submission cost money, although the Fee Assistance Program can make several of those services free or substantially less expensive for eligible applicants.

The biggest lesson is that you do not need to buy everything simply because it is official. Start with the free resources, understand what each paid product adds, check whether you qualify for Fee Assistance, and purchase only what fits your current stage and application plan.

The premed journey already carries enough costs, and a little organization can prevent you from paying for resources you did not need, buying products too early, or missing free official tools that were available all along.

Frequently Asked Questions About Free and Paid AAMC Resources

Is creating an AAMC account free?

Yes. You can create an AAMC account and receive an AAMC ID without purchasing a product. The account is then used to access free and paid AAMC services.

Can you use MSAR for free?

Basic medical school profiles and public MSAR reports are free, but the detailed school-level admissions data requires a paid subscription. The current price is $33 for one year or $41 for two years.

Is AAMC MCAT Official Prep free?

Some materials are free, including Practice Exam 1, the Unscored Sample Test, the content outline course, Khan Academy resources, and sample questions. Most additional full-length exams and question banks require payment.

How many free AAMC MCAT practice exams are there?

The AAMC currently lists two free full-length resources: Practice Exam 1, which provides a scaled score, and the Unscored Sample Test.

How much is the complete AAMC MCAT prep bundle?

The AAMC MCAT Official Prep Online-Only Bundle currently costs $323.70 and includes the online products in the bundle for one year.

Is the AMCAS application free?

Opening AMCAS and using the guides and workbook are free, but submitting the application costs $180 for the first school and $48 for every additional medical school during the 2027 cycle.

Is the AAMC PREview exam free?

Standard PREview registration costs $105 in 2026. The first registration is waived for approved Fee Assistance recipients.

Are PREview practice exams free?

The AAMC provides two free unscored PREview practice exams. A separate scored online practice exam costs $20.

Is Premed Navigator free?

Yes. Premed Navigator is a free monthly AAMC newsletter for aspiring physicians.

Is AAMC FIRST free?

Yes. FIRST provides free financial articles, videos, calculators, and guidance for applicants, medical students, and residents.

Is Anatomy of an Applicant free?

Yes. The applicant stories, competency examples, self-assessment materials, and worksheets are available for free.

Does Fee Assistance make MSAR free?

Approved Fee Assistance recipients receive a complimentary two-year MSAR subscription.

Does Fee Assistance cover all AAMC MCAT practice materials?

The current Fee Assistance benefits include the MCAT Official Prep Online-Only Bundle, which contains all online MCAT Official Prep products included in that bundle.

Does Fee Assistance cover AMCAS?

Approved applicants receive one AMCAS submission covering up to 20 medical schools. Schools beyond the first 20 require additional designation fees.

Is the Choose Your Medical School tool free?

Yes. There is no separate fee, but the tool becomes available inside AMCAS only after an applicant holds at least one acceptance.