The ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance) holds medal tests for amateurs. If you are in the US, ask around. They don't tend to be well-publicized, but there's probably one studio somewhere in your area with a program for preparing for the tests. For example, the Pick School of Dance in San Francisco hold the medal tests every so often.

I don't know the answer to what the tests are like, because I've never taken one.

You can start competing at any time, regardless of tests or not. There are competitions for newcomers, for each medal grade, and for advanced and out-of-syllabus dancers. In the US at least, you don't ever have to take a test to participate.

[This message was edited by Laura on 12-19-03 at 09:56 AM.]