CASPer is one of the most misunderstood parts of the health-professional admissions process, mostly because it looks nothing like the other tests applicants prepare for. There's no syllabus, no formula sheet, and no content to memorize — it's a test of how you think through people-problems, not what you know. Here's what it actually is, who requires it, and how to prepare for something that has no fixed answers.
What CASPer Actually Is
CASPer stands for Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal characteristics. It's a situational judgment test (SJT) — you're shown short scenarios, most involving an ethical dilemma, an interpersonal conflict, or a professional gray area, and you respond to prompts about how you'd think through or handle the situation.
It was originally developed at McMaster University in Canada and is now administered through Acuity Insights (formerly known as Altus Assessments), on their Altus Suite platform — the same company that also runs related tools like Duet (used for some program-fit assessments) and Snapshot. When you register for CASPer, you'll be doing so through Acuity Insights' platform directly.
The core idea: GPA and standardized test scores predict academic ability, but they say very little about professionalism, ethical reasoning, empathy, or how someone behaves under pressure with real people. CASPer exists to add that signal to an application file.
Who Requires CASPer
CASPer (or increasingly, its expanded sibling assessments under the Altus Suite) is required by a wide range of North American health-professional programs, including many:
| Program Type | CASPer Use |
|---|---|
| Medical schools (MD and DO) in the US and Canada | Widely required, though not universal — check each school |
| Dental schools | Common requirement |
| Nursing programs (undergraduate and graduate) | Increasingly common |
| Physician assistant (PA) programs | Common requirement |
| Pharmacy, optometry, veterinary, and other health programs | Required by a growing number of programs |
| Some non-health graduate programs | A smaller number of law and other professional programs have also adopted it |
Requirements change from cycle to cycle — some schools add CASPer, others drop it, and some only require it for certain applicant pools (e.g., only for those invited to interview, or only for out-of-state/international applicants). Always confirm current requirements directly on each program's admissions page and on Acuity Insights' own list of participating schools before assuming you do or don't need it.
What the Test Actually Looks Like
CASPer is taken online, at a scheduled time, under proctored/monitored conditions (webcam required). The test is built from a series of scenario-based sections — the exact number varies by test version, but expect somewhere in the range of a dozen or so scenarios in a typical sitting.
Each scenario is followed by prompts in one of two response formats:
| Format | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Typed response | You read (or watch) a scenario, then type answers to a few follow-up questions in a short, strict time window (often just a few minutes per question) |
| Video response | You watch a scenario, then record a video response to the follow-up questions within a set time limit |
Most administrations use a mix of both formats within the same sitting. The scenarios themselves cover situations like: a coworker asking you to cover for a mistake, witnessing a friend cheat, disagreeing with a supervisor's decision, balancing competing obligations, or navigating a conflict between personal values and professional duty.
What it is not: There are no biology questions, no clinical knowledge questions, and no "right" factual answer. It is not a pass/fail knowledge test — it is an assessment of your reasoning process and communication under time pressure.
What CASPer Is Actually Assessing
CASPer scenarios are designed to surface a cluster of "non-cognitive" traits that programs care about but can't easily measure from a transcript:
- Professionalism and ethical reasoning — can you identify the competing considerations in a gray-area situation?
- Communication — can you express a reasoned position clearly and concisely under time pressure?
- Empathy and perspective-taking — do you consider multiple stakeholders' viewpoints, not just your own?
- Equity and self-awareness — do you recognize your own biases or limitations in a scenario?
- Motivation and resilience — how do you frame setbacks, conflict, or difficult collaborators?
There is deliberately no single "correct" answer to most scenarios. Raters are trained to assess the quality of your reasoning process, not whether you landed on a particular conclusion.
How CASPer Is Scored and Used
CASPer responses are scored by multiple independent raters (typically several different raters per section, none of whom see your identity or the rest of your application), each providing a rating based on the traits above. These individual ratings are aggregated into an overall score.
Key things to understand about scoring:
| Detail | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Score type | Not a raw score out of 100 — reported as a percentile or quartile ranking relative to other test-takers in the same testing cycle |
| Comparability | Your score is only meaningful relative to others who tested in the same window, not as an absolute number |
| Who sees it | Schools receive your percentile/quartile standing, not your actual raw responses (in most cases) |
| Weighting | Used alongside GPA, MCAT/other entrance exams, personal statements, and interviews — not as a standalone gatekeeper |
| Pass/fail? | No. There is no passing or failing score — it's one data point among several |
Because scores are cohort-relative and schools weight CASPer differently (some use it as a screening tool for interview invitations, others as one factor among many at the final decision stage), there's no universal "good score" to target. What matters is performing as strongly and consistently as you can across all sections.
How to Prepare — Since There's No Content to Study
This is the part applicants struggle with most: you cannot "study" for CASPer the way you study for the MCAT. There's no fact to memorize that will improve your score. Effective preparation instead focuses on three things:
1. Response Structure
Have a lightweight mental framework for approaching scenarios quickly — something like: identify the stakeholders and their competing interests, acknowledge multiple valid viewpoints before committing to a position, and explain why you'd act the way you would, not just what you'd do. Practicing this structure until it's automatic matters more than rehearsing specific scenarios, since the actual prompts will always be new.
2. Time Management Under Pressure
The time limits are genuinely tight — often just a few minutes to read a scenario and type a complete, coherent response to multiple follow-up questions. Practice writing (or speaking, for video sections) complete, well-organized answers within a hard time limit so the format itself doesn't cost you points. Timed mock scenarios — using publicly available practice materials or CASPer's own official practice test — are the highest-value preparation activity.
3. Comfort on Camera (for Video Sections)
If your test includes video-response sections, practice speaking clearly and confidently into a webcam under time pressure — this is a different skill from writing, and many strong writers freeze up or ramble when recording on the spot. A few timed mock video responses go a long way toward removing that friction.
What Doesn't Help
- Memorizing "model answers" to common ethical dilemmas — real scenarios are varied enough that canned answers read as generic and hurt more than help
- Trying to guess what raters "want to hear" — authentic, well-reasoned responses consistently score better than answers that feel performative
- Over-preparing content knowledge — CASPer does not test what you know about medicine, healthcare policy, or ethics theory
Prepare for TOEFL with Gabble — if your CASPer-requiring program is also part of a broader international application, a strong English proficiency score is often required alongside it. AI-powered speaking and writing feedback to help you communicate clearly and confidently under pressure — the same skill CASPer itself is testing.