Applying for Accommodations

Disclosure and Legal Requirements

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a person with a disability as someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, or learning. The purpose of documentation is to demonstrate that the individual who is requesting accommodations has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

Requests for test accommodations are inherently individualized and need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Consequently, no single type of accommodation (i.e., extra time) would be appropriate for all individuals with disabilities. Moreover, simply demonstrating that an individual has a disability does not mean that the person is automatically entitled to any particular accommodation such as extra time.

Specific accommodations should be related to the identified functional limitations so that the impairment is mitigated by the requested auxiliary aid or adjustment to the testing format. "Functional limitation" refers to the behavioral manifestations of the disability that impede the individual’s ability to function, i.e., what someone cannot do on a regular and continuing basis as a result of the disability. For example, a functional limitation might be impaired vision which prevents the individual from viewing the examination in the standard font size. An appropriate accommodation might be text enlargement. It is essential that the documentation provide a clear explanation of the current functional impairment and a rationale for the requested accommodation.

MCAT exam test scores obtained under nonstandard conditions will be noted as such when those scores are reported to you and your score recipients. Nonstandard testing conditions include, but are not limited to, timing modifications, use of a scribe, and the use of a device or aid typically not permitted to the general testing population.

While the use of accommodations in the test activity is intended to enable the individual to better demonstrate his/her knowledge mastery, accommodations are not a guarantee of improved performance or test completion.

More legal requirements for ADA can be found in the Documentation Requirements

• Documenting Learning Disabilities (PDF)
• Documenting ADD/ADHD (PDF)
• Documenting Psychiatric Disabilities (PDF)
• Documenting Physical Disabilities (PDF)

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