Is your medical school secondary complete without CASPer, PREview, or Duet? Learn when scores are required, when schools review your file, and what to do while results are pending.
Your medical school secondary application may be submitted without a CASPer, AAMC PREview, or Duet score, but your overall application may not be considered complete or ready for review if the school requires that assessment. When a test is only recommended or optional, the school will usually be able to review your application without it, although you should always confirm the current policy on the school’s admissions website and inside your applicant portal.
This distinction causes a surprising amount of confusion during secondary season because applicants often use the words “submitted” and “complete” as though they mean the same thing. You can submit every secondary essay, pay the supplemental fee, and receive a submission confirmation while the school still considers your application incomplete because it is waiting for a CASPer score, PREview score, Duet assessment, recommendation letter, MCAT score, or another required component.
The safest way to think about the process is that submitting the secondary finishes your writing portion, while becoming complete means the school has received everything it requires before reviewing you.
I would not hold a polished secondary application simply because your situational judgment test score has not arrived yet, unless the medical school specifically instructs you to wait. In most cases, submitting the secondary now allows the school to receive and process that portion while the remaining score catches up. However, if the test is required, you should understand that your place in the review process may still depend on when the score is released and matched to your file.
When I went through the AMCAS application process, I made sure to have all of these situational judgement tests completed prior to secondary application and interview season. I scheduled them to be in May right before I finished my primary application in the first week of June. I felt that allowed the scores to come back before I started getting secondaries.
Submitted, Complete, and Under Review Do Not Mean the Same Thing
During medical school application season, there are usually three separate milestones that applicants accidentally blend together.
Your secondary is submitted when you finish the school’s supplemental application, pay the fee or receive a waiver, and send the application through the portal.
Your application is complete when the medical school has received every item it requires, which may include your verified primary application, secondary application, fee, recommendation letters, MCAT score, CASPer score, PREview score, Duet completion, residency documentation, photograph, prerequisite form, or other school-specific materials.
Your application is under review when the admissions office or admissions committee has actually moved your completed file into its screening process. A school may mark your file complete without reviewing it immediately, particularly during the busiest portions of the cycle.
This is why seeing “secondary submitted” should not automatically reassure you that the admissions committee can already evaluate the application. After every submission, return to the portal and look for language such as “complete,” “ready for review,” “all materials received,” or “application under review.”
Drexel University College of Medicine, for example, currently defines a complete application as including the AMCAS application, supplemental application and fee, recommendation letters, MCAT score, and a completed CASPer test. The Medical College of Wisconsin is even more explicit that an application will not be considered complete or reviewed for possible interview selection until its required CASPer score has been received.
Can You Submit a Secondary Before Taking CASPer, PREview, or Duet?
Yes, you can usually submit a medical school secondary before the required situational judgment test score has been released. The test and the secondary application are often processed through different systems, so schools do not necessarily expect them to arrive at exactly the same time.
The AAMC specifically states that applicants may submit their AMCAS applications before or after their PREview scores are released, and AMCAS does not require a PREview score to verify the primary application. When the score becomes available, it is automatically added to the AMCAS application for participating schools.
CASPer and Duet are administered through Acuity Insights rather than AMCAS. You select the programs that should receive your assessment results, and those programs update their own application portals after receiving and matching the information. Acuity emphasizes that each program decides how and when it uses CASPer in its admissions process.
Therefore, your secondary portal may allow you to submit everything even when the test score is still pending. The school may then hold the application in an incomplete status until the required result arrives.
Unless the school tells you otherwise, I would submit a polished secondary rather than allowing it to sit unfinished while you wait several more weeks for a score release. The secondary and the test can move through their separate processes at the same time.
Is Your Application Complete Without a CASPer Score?
Your application is generally not complete without a CASPer score when the medical school lists CASPer as required. You may still be able to submit the secondary, but the school may not review your file, select you for an interview, or move you into its completed queue until the score has arrived.
This policy is school-specific, which means the word “required” deserves more attention than whether the secondary portal technically allows you to press submit.
The Medical College of Wisconsin currently tells applicants that their applications will not be complete or reviewed for interview selection until the school receives the CASPer score. MCW also advises applicants to allow approximately four weeks for the score to reach the school, which shows why waiting until the last available testing date can create a meaningful delay even when the secondary essays were submitted much earlier.
Drexel similarly includes CASPer among the components of a complete application. By contrast, some schools use CASPer later in the process or apply a different deadline. UT Southwestern currently requires the score to be delivered before the applicant’s interview date rather than necessarily treating it as a prerequisite for the initial secondary submission.
That difference matters because you should not assume that one school’s policy applies to every program on your list.
My medical school situational judgment test guide and school requirements database can help you identify which schools use CASPer, PREview, or Duet, but policies can change between cycles, so I would still verify every requirement directly through the school and the official testing platform before choosing a date.
Is Your Application Complete Without an AAMC PREview Score?
The answer depends on how the medical school classifies its PREview policy.
For the 2026–2027 application cycle, the AAMC separates participating schools into several categories. At schools requiring PREview, the application may not be considered complete until the score has been received. At schools recommending PREview, applicants may submit and generally proceed with or without a score. Some schools require a situational judgment test but allow PREview to satisfy that broader requirement, while others are only studying PREview for possible use in future cycles and do not use the score in the current admissions decision.
Therefore, a missing PREview score can have very different consequences depending on the school:
At a school that requires PREview, your file may remain incomplete.
At a school that requires any accepted situational judgment test, your file may remain incomplete until it receives PREview or another specifically approved alternative.
At a school that recommends PREview, your application can generally be complete without it, although submitting a score may provide another piece of information for holistic review.
At a school that lists PREview as optional, exploratory, or not used, the missing score should not prevent completion.
The AAMC maintains an official list of schools participating in the PREview exam, including each program’s current level of participation. Because that list is updated as schools finalize their requirements, I would use it alongside the school’s own admissions website rather than relying on an old social media post or spreadsheet from a previous cycle.
Is Your Application Complete Without Duet?
Your application can usually be complete without Duet unless the individual medical school specifically requires it. Duet is not automatically required just because a school requires CASPer, and completing CASPer does not automatically mean that you have completed Duet.
Duet is a separate Acuity Insights assessment focused on how your values and preferences align with characteristics identified by a participating program. Acuity states that there is no additional charge to complete Duet when one of your selected programs requires it, but you must still complete the assessment separately by the relevant program deadline.
This is one of the easiest requirements to overlook because applicants may register for CASPer, see that their test is scheduled, and assume the entire Acuity portion of the application has been handled. If a school asks for both CASPer and Duet, finishing only CASPer may leave the application incomplete.
On the other hand, many CASPer-requiring schools explicitly state that they do not require Duet. McGovern Medical School, for example, requires CASPer but says that it does not require Duet.
The wording on the school’s admissions website matters. Look for language such as:
“CASPer required”
“CASPer and Duet required”
“Acuity Insights assessments required”
“Duet optional”
“Duet not required”
When the instructions seem unclear, check the program listing inside your Acuity account because the available assessments and distribution deadlines should reflect the school’s current participation.
Does a Recommended Test Prevent Your Application From Being Complete?
Usually, a test described as recommended does not prevent your application from being marked complete, although the school may still prefer to receive it.
The AAMC states that applicants may submit to PREview-recommending schools with or without a score. The organization also explains that a recommendation reflects genuine interest from the school, even though not submitting a recommended PREview score should not automatically count against the applicant.
This creates a more nuanced decision than a simple required-versus-not-required checklist. When a school recommends the exam and you are already taking it for several other programs, sending the score usually makes sense because it requires little additional work. When PREview is recommended by only one school and taking it would add substantial cost, preparation, or scheduling difficulty, you may decide differently.
However, do not assume that “recommended” secretly means “required” unless the school’s instructions suggest that the score is necessary before review. If your portal is marked complete without it, the school has generally allowed your file to move forward.
What If the School Accepts Either CASPer or PREview?
Some medical schools require a situational judgment test but accept more than one option. In that situation, your application may remain incomplete until the school receives one of the specifically accepted scores, but you usually do not need to complete every accepted exam.
For example, if a school says that applicants may submit either CASPer or PREview, completing CASPer should satisfy that particular requirement once the score is received and matched. Taking PREview as well would not normally be necessary for completion unless another school on your list separately requires it.
Do not assume the tests are interchangeable without confirmation, though. A school that requires CASPer may not accept PREview as a substitute, while a PREview-requiring school may not accept CASPer.
This is why I recommend building your school list first and then mapping the test requirements across the entire list. My CASPer vs. AAMC PREview vs. Duet guide was created for exactly this purpose, since it is much easier to schedule strategically when you can see which exams cover the greatest number of your selected programs.
How Long Does It Take for a CASPer Score to Reach Medical Schools?
You should allow several weeks between taking CASPer and expecting every school portal to show the result.
Acuity Insights sends the score directly to the programs selected for distribution, but the medical school must still receive, match, and update the result in its own system. Acuity explains that programs control how they use the score and that applicants should rely on the individual program portals for status updates.
The exact processing time can vary. The Medical College of Wisconsin currently advises applicants that it may take approximately four weeks for the school to receive a CASPer score. Other programs may update their portals sooner, but I would not plan an application strategy around the assumption that the score will appear immediately.
This is one reason I would avoid choosing the final possible CASPer date when you have earlier options. A test may technically occur before the school’s deadline while still delaying the date your file becomes complete.
You should also confirm that every required school appears on your CASPer distribution list. Taking the exam alone does not guarantee that the result will be sent to a program you forgot to select.
How Long Does It Take for a PREview Score to Be Released?
AAMC PREview scores are generally released approximately 30 days after the testing window.
For the 2026 testing year, PREview is offered from April through October, with a published score-release date for each testing window. For example, applicants testing on July 22 or 23 receive scores on August 25, while applicants testing on August 12 or 13 receive scores on September 15.
When you apply through AMCAS, the score is automatically uploaded after it becomes available, including when you take PREview after submitting your primary application. You do not need to delay AMCAS submission or verification while waiting for it.
However, a required PREview school may still wait to mark your application complete until that release date. Therefore, taking PREview in August can create a September complete date even when your secondary essays were finished in July.
This does not mean you should give up on the application, but it does mean the exam date should be treated as part of your overall medical school application timeline rather than an isolated requirement.
Should You Wait for Your Score Before Submitting the Secondary?
In most cases, no. I would submit the secondary once it is polished rather than waiting for the CASPer or PREview score to appear.
Waiting rarely improves the score-processing timeline, and it can create an unnecessary additional delay. When the secondary is submitted first, the school can process your fee, essays, demographic information, and other supplemental materials while the test result is pending.
The main exception would be a school that specifically instructs applicants not to submit until a particular requirement is satisfied. You should always follow the individual school’s directions, even when another medical school handles the same assessment differently.
You should also avoid rushing weak essays simply because you know your score has already arrived. Becoming complete a few days earlier does not help much when the application you submit is generic, poorly proofread, or fails to explain your fit with the school.
My guide to writing medical school secondary essays can help you work through the most common questions, while my free secondary essay self-review rubric gives you a structured way to review an essay before pressing submit.
Does Your Complete Date Matter for Rolling Admissions?
Yes, the date your entire application becomes complete can matter more than the date you submitted the secondary by itself.
Suppose two applicants submit their secondary essays on July 20. The first applicant’s required CASPer score is already available, while the second applicant does not take CASPer until August and is not marked complete until September. Even though the secondary submission dates are identical, the two files may enter the completed review queue at very different times.
This is why applicants sometimes feel confused when they submitted their essays early but hear nothing from a school for months. The secondary may have been finished, but the complete application was delayed by an outstanding test, letter, MCAT score, fee, or other requirement.
At schools using rolling review or rolling admissions, an earlier complete date generally gives your application more opportunity to be reviewed while a greater number of interview positions remain available. That does not mean a later complete application cannot receive an interview, but it is a good reason to schedule required assessments early enough that they do not quietly erase the timing advantage of an early secondary.
For more guidance on late-cycle timing, you can read my articles on whether August is too late to submit medical school secondaries and whether September is too late to submit medical school secondaries.
How to Check Whether Your Medical School Application Is Complete
After submitting the secondary, sign back into the school’s portal rather than relying only on the confirmation email.
Look for a checklist showing your primary application, secondary application, payment or fee waiver, recommendation letters, MCAT score, CASPer, PREview, Duet, and any other required materials. A green checkmark beside the secondary does not necessarily mean the entire application is complete.
I would also maintain your own record outside the portals because school systems use different labels and can become difficult to compare. My free medical school secondary essay organizer and application tracker allows you to track prompts, deadlines, submissions, fees, and school requirements, while my free AMCAS medical school application checklist and cost calculator can help you monitor the broader process and total application expenses.
For each school, I would include separate columns for:
Secondary submitted
Fee paid or waived
Letters received
MCAT received
CASPer required and received
PREview required and received
Duet required and completed
Application marked complete
Application under review
Keeping those milestones separate makes it much easier to identify a missing requirement before several weeks pass.
What If the Portal Still Says Incomplete After Your Score Was Released?
Do not panic immediately because score transmission and portal updates are not always simultaneous.
First, confirm that the school was selected for distribution. For CASPer and Duet, check your Acuity Insights account. For PREview, confirm that the exam and score appear correctly through your AAMC account and that the school participates in PREview or has been authorized to receive the score through the appropriate reporting process.
Next, review the school’s stated processing timeline. A score may be available from the testing organization while the admissions office still needs several business days to import and match it.
When a reasonable processing period has passed, send a brief email to the admissions office. You do not need to sound frustrated or ask whether the score affected your admission chances. You are simply confirming that a required document has been matched correctly.
A message could read:
Subject: Application Completion Status — AMCAS ID [Your ID]
Dear Office of Admissions,
I hope you are doing well. I completed my required [CASPer/PREview/Duet] assessment on [date], and the score or completion status was released to your program on [date, if known]. My applicant portal still lists this requirement as outstanding, so I wanted to confirm that the result has been received and matched to my application.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Best,
[Your name]
AMCAS ID: [number]
I would not send this email the day after a score release, but I would follow up when the school’s normal processing period has clearly passed or when an upcoming completion deadline is approaching.
What If You Forgot to Add a School to Your CASPer Distribution List?
Log into your Acuity Insights account and determine whether you can add the program to your distribution list before its stated deadline.
Your score is sent only to the programs you have selected, so completing CASPer for one group of schools does not automatically provide the result to every school you later add to AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TMDSAS.
After adding the program, monitor the medical school portal for an updated status. When the school’s deadline is close, it may also be helpful to contact the admissions office and confirm whether adding the program by the distribution deadline satisfies its requirement.
The important thing is to act as soon as you notice the omission rather than assuming the school will find the score elsewhere.
What If You Took CASPer but Forgot Duet?
If a school requires Duet, return to your Acuity account and complete it before the program’s deadline.
Duet is separate from CASPer, even when both appear inside the same Acuity Insights account. Acuity explains that an applicant who has not completed required Duet must do so by the applicable program distribution deadline.
Because Duet is untimed and generally takes much less time than CASPer, this is often a fixable problem when noticed early. Still, do not assume that your CASPer result alone will make the application complete at a school requiring both assessments.
After completing Duet, continue monitoring the school’s portal until the requirement is marked as received.
Can a Medical School Review You While Your Score Is Pending?
Some schools may begin processing portions of the file, but a program that defines the test as part of a complete application may not conduct its formal admissions review until the result arrives.
Other programs may review the application and simply require the score before an interview or final decision. UT Southwestern’s current policy, for example, requires the CASPer score to be delivered before the interview date, demonstrating that schools can incorporate these assessments at different stages.
You should not guess which approach your school uses. Look for wording such as:
“Required for a complete application”
“Required before review”
“Required before interview”
“Required before the deadline”
“Recommended but not required”
Those phrases may sound similar, but they can lead to very different timelines.
Do You Need to Take CASPer, PREview, and Duet?
Most applicants do not need all three assessments, although your specific school list may require more than one.
CASPer and PREview are different situational judgment tests administered by different organizations, and Duet is an additional Acuity assessment used by a smaller number of programs. One medical school may require CASPer, another may require PREview, and a third may require CASPer plus Duet.
The most efficient strategy is to build your school list first, identify every requirement, and then schedule the smallest combination of exams that satisfies all of your programs. Do not register for all three simply because you are afraid that a school might eventually request them.
At the same time, do not wait until secondaries begin arriving to investigate. PREview scores take approximately 30 days to be released, and CASPer distribution can require several weeks, so late testing can delay the completion of an otherwise early application.
When Should You Take CASPer or PREview?
Ideally, schedule required situational judgment tests early enough that the scores are available around the time your secondary applications are being completed.
For many applicants, this means taking the tests during late spring or early summer after the school list is reasonably established. You do not necessarily need every score before submitting AMCAS, but you should work backward from the schools’ final accepted testing dates and expected release timelines.
The AAMC currently offers PREview testing windows from April through October, with scores released approximately 30 days later. Casper dates are tied to the programs on your distribution list, so the available schedule and final distribution deadlines should be checked through Acuity Insights.
I would avoid the last available date unless you truly have no alternative. A last-minute test may satisfy the technical deadline while still causing the application to become complete much later than you intended.
Final Thoughts: Your Secondary Can Be Submitted but Still Incomplete
A medical school secondary application can usually be submitted without a CASPer, PREview, or Duet score, but that does not automatically mean the medical school considers your full application complete.
When the assessment is required, the school may wait to mark your file complete, review the application, offer an interview, or move you forward until the score or completion status has been received. When the assessment is recommended or optional, the missing score usually will not prevent completion, although the school may still consider it valuable.
The most important habit is to stop treating “secondary submitted” as the final checkpoint. Submit your essays once they are polished, confirm that every required school has been selected for score distribution, and then watch the individual medical school portal until it clearly states that your application is complete.
There are already enough moving pieces in this process without discovering in September that a secondary submitted in July never entered review because one assessment was missing. A simple tracker, an early testing plan, and a final portal check after every submission can prevent that from happening.
Frequently Asked Questions About CASPer, PREview, Duet, and Application Completion
Can I submit my secondary before my CASPer score is released?
Yes, most schools allow you to submit the secondary before the CASPer score arrives. However, a school requiring CASPer may not mark the overall application complete or review it until the score is received.
Can I submit AMCAS without a PREview score?
Yes. The AAMC states that PREview is not required for AMCAS verification, and you may submit your AMCAS application before or after the score is released.
Will a medical school review my application without CASPer?
It depends on the school. Some schools explicitly require CASPer before the application is complete or reviewed, while others require it later, such as before an interview.
Will a medical school review my application without PREview?
A school requiring PREview may hold the application until the score arrives. A school recommending or optionally accepting PREview can generally review the application without it.
Does taking CASPer automatically complete Duet?
No. Duet is a separate assessment. When a program requires both, you must complete each requirement.
Does every CASPer school require Duet?
No. Some schools require CASPer but explicitly do not require Duet, while a smaller number require both.
How long does it take for PREview scores to be released?
The AAMC releases PREview scores approximately 30 days after each testing window.
How long does it take for CASPer to reach medical schools?
Processing varies by program, so applicants should allow several weeks. The Medical College of Wisconsin currently advises applicants that it can take approximately four weeks for the school to receive the score.
Should I wait for my test score before submitting my secondary?
Usually, no. Submit the secondary once it is polished unless the school specifically instructs you to wait. The score can be processed separately while the school receives the rest of your application.
Is my application complete if the portal says my secondary was received?
Not necessarily. “Secondary received” confirms only that portion of the application. Look for a separate overall status indicating that the full application is complete or ready for review.
What should I do when the portal does not show my score?
Confirm that you selected the school for distribution, allow time for processing, and contact the admissions office politely if the requirement remains missing beyond the school’s expected processing period.
Can a late CASPer or PREview score delay my interview?
Yes. When the score is required for completion or review, a late result can delay the date your application enters the review queue, even when your secondary essays were submitted early.