University and College Partnership FAQ
Top 20 Questions About a Customized Post-Bacc MCAT Partnership
Answers for post-bac program directors, premed advisors, faculty, and institutional decision-makers considering a flexible and affordable MCAT preparation partnership with Testing Solutions.
What does a Testing Solutions partnership with a post-bacc or premed program look like?
A partnership can be built around the needs of your program rather than forcing every cohort into the same package. Testing Solutions can support a complete MCAT preparation program, a CARS-focused intervention, an assessment-based study plan, or a combination of these resources.
The starting point is a conversation about your students, current curriculum, academic calendar, faculty capacity, desired outcomes, and budget. From there, Testing Solutions can recommend a practical structure for your program.
Why is it worth having a conversation directly with Dr. Nick Zehner?
Dr. Nick Zehner brings both an educator's perspective and firsthand experience as a 99th-percentile MCAT scorer and Stanford-trained physician. He understands the difference between simply giving students more material and helping them build a repeatable way to reason through the exam.
A direct conversation lets your staff discuss the actual students you serve, the patterns you are seeing, and the support already in place. That makes the discussion more useful than a standard sales presentation and helps identify whether Testing Solutions is a good fit.
What should our staff expect during an introductory consultation?
The conversation is designed to understand your program before recommending a solution. Topics may include cohort size, student readiness, retaker needs, average MCAT performance, CARS challenges, current vendors, faculty involvement, timelines, and budget parameters.
Your staff should leave with a clearer view of the available options, what information would be needed for a proposal, and whether a pilot or broader implementation makes sense.
Can Testing Solutions customize the program for our curriculum and academic calendar?
Yes. The platform can be discussed in the context of your existing courses, advising model, summer schedule, bridge program, or yearlong post-bac curriculum. Your institution may need a full preparation structure, a targeted supplement, or resources assigned at specific points in the term.
Customization can focus on timing, selected products, student groups, pacing expectations, and how your staff will use performance information. The final scope should be documented in the institutional proposal.
Do we have to purchase the complete MCAT course for every student?
No. One advantage of a customized partnership is the ability to discuss the level of support your students actually need. Some programs may want the complete MCAT course for a full cohort, while others may need only specialized CARS preparation or the MCAT Weakness Finder for targeted intervention.
This flexible approach can reduce unnecessary spending by avoiding a one-size-fits-all package that includes resources your program or students may not use.
Can Testing Solutions support both first-time test takers and MCAT retakers?
Yes. First-time test takers often benefit from a structured preparation path that prevents weak habits from becoming established. Retakers usually need a more diagnostic approach that identifies why the previous plan did not produce the expected score.
A program can assign different resources to different student groups. This allows staff to support a mixed cohort without treating every student as though they have the same starting point.
How can the MCAT Weakness Finder support our advising staff?
The MCAT Weakness Finder helps turn official AAMC practice results into a clearer view of the content, passage, reasoning, and pacing areas costing a student points. Its heatmap and targeted study planning can give advisors a more specific starting point for conversations with students.
Instead of relying only on a total practice score or a student's perception of what feels difficult, staff can use repeated performance patterns to help prioritize the next phase of preparation.
Can the program be used as a targeted intervention for students whose scores have plateaued?
Yes. A plateau may come from missing content, ineffective passage analysis, inconsistent reasoning, poor pacing, or a study plan that repeats familiar work. Testing Solutions can help your program narrow the cause instead of simply asking the student to study more.
A targeted intervention may combine the Weakness Finder with selected MCAT or CARS resources, depending on the student's performance pattern and remaining preparation time.
How does Testing Solutions address CARS within a broader MCAT program?
CARS is treated as a trainable reasoning skill, not an afterthought. Testing Solutions provides structured instruction in passage analysis, author perspective, evidence, timing, and answer-choice evaluation, along with a large bank of practice passages and detailed explanations.
Programs can use this specialized training inside a complete MCAT partnership or as a separate intervention for students whose science performance is stronger than their CARS performance.
Can Testing Solutions complement an MCAT vendor or curriculum we already use?
Potentially, yes. Your institution may not need to replace everything already in place. Testing Solutions can be discussed as a supplement for CARS, a diagnostic layer through the Weakness Finder, or an additional option for students who need more focused support.
During the consultation, your staff can identify where the current program is working and where gaps remain. The goal is to solve the unmet need rather than duplicate resources without a clear purpose.
How much work will implementation require from our faculty and staff?
The implementation plan should match the level of involvement your program wants. Some institutions may use Testing Solutions as a student-directed online resource, while others may incorporate schedules, assignments, assessment reviews, or advising checkpoints.
Testing Solutions can discuss onboarding, recommended sequencing, student communication, and how staff can use available performance information. The goal is to add useful structure without creating an unnecessary administrative burden.
Can the solution work for a small cohort as well as a large program?
That is an important topic for the initial conversation. A smaller program may need a simple cohort license or a targeted package, while a larger institution may need phased implementation, multiple student groups, or different levels of access.
Because the solution is primarily online and modular, the discussion can focus on matching scope and cost to the size and structure of your program rather than assuming every institution needs the same arrangement.
Can our program begin with a pilot before making a larger commitment?
A pilot may be a practical way to evaluate fit, student engagement, implementation needs, and the type of support that creates the most value. For example, a program might begin with a targeted group of retakers, students with lower CARS scores, or students preparing during a specific term.
Pilot availability, scope, pricing, and success measures should be discussed with Dr. Nick and documented before launch.
What kinds of student progress information may be available to program staff?
Testing Solutions includes online learning and analytics capabilities that can help identify progress, engagement, completion, and areas needing additional attention. The exact reporting available to administrators may depend on the products selected and the partnership structure.
Your staff should discuss desired reporting, student privacy requirements, and how the information will be used during the consultation so expectations are clear before implementation.
Why is Testing Solutions positioned as an affordable alternative?
Testing Solutions is a focused MCAT company rather than a large national test-preparation organization with extensive overhead and a fixed institutional package. Its online platform and modular products make it possible to discuss a solution based on the resources your students actually need.
Affordability is not only the purchase price. It also means avoiding unused content, selecting targeted interventions when appropriate, and reducing the need to assemble multiple unrelated tools.
How is institutional pricing determined?
Institutional pricing should be based on the size of the cohort, the products selected, the length and type of access, implementation support, reporting needs, and whether the program is beginning with a pilot or broader rollout.
Because the goal is customization, the most useful next step is a brief conversation rather than applying a generic retail price to every institution. Testing Solutions can then prepare a proposal that explains scope and cost.
How should we compare the cost with a large national MCAT provider?
Compare the complete value of the proposal, not only the headline price. Consider what students will actually receive, whether specialized CARS support is included, how much practice is available, whether performance data can guide intervention, the length of access, and what implementation support is provided.
A lower-cost solution is only valuable when students use it and it addresses the right problem. A conversation with Dr. Nick can help your staff determine which components are necessary and which would add cost without adding meaningful value.
Does Testing Solutions offer a performance or money-back guarantee?
Testing Solutions currently advertises money-back guarantees on its student-facing MCAT and CARS offerings. Institutional agreements may have different terms depending on the products, pricing, cohort structure, and implementation plan.
Your staff should ask how any guarantee would apply to the proposed partnership and make sure the final terms are included in the written agreement.
What makes Testing Solutions different from simply giving students another question bank?
A question bank provides practice, but practice alone does not ensure that students understand why they are missing questions or what they should change. Testing Solutions combines content review, strategy, passage analysis, detailed explanations, full-length practice, CARS specialization, and assessment tools.
The focus is on helping students develop a repeatable process and helping program staff direct attention toward the areas most likely to improve performance.
What is the next step if our university or college wants to explore a partnership?
Start with a brief consultation with Dr. Nick Zehner. Before the call, it is helpful to gather your approximate cohort size, current MCAT support, the student groups you are most concerned about, your academic timeline, and any budget range or procurement requirements.
Use the Testing Solutions contact form and mention Post-Bac Partnership. The initial goal is to understand your program and decide whether a customized proposal or pilot would be useful.
A Useful Partnership Starts With a Conversation About Your Program
Speak with Dr. Nick Zehner about your students, current MCAT support, academic calendar, desired outcomes, and budget. The goal is to determine whether a customized Testing Solutions approach would add value.
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