Bad Casper Experience- tips for others / question I have

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Zosa

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Ok, so I just finished my casper, and I'm nervous so I came here.

These are my issues/things to watch out for:

-5 min was quicker than I expected and I didn't finish the last question a couple of times.
- I had several typos, and I couldn't exactly correct them as time was just speeding away. I tried to initially in the beginning and because of that I didn't get those sections completed in time.
- and there is no autocorrection, like right clicking for the correct spelling.
- all the tips saying follow certain steps in responding made it worse. So I literally just started answering in complete sentences.
- One tip is right though, there is no need to study, all the ethics you need to know is hopefully common sense.
- But practicing is something I wish I did more of. Practicing typing those responses concisely in 5 mins.

For anyone who took it in the past and had a similar experience, do you think its affected you in any way or did u find out your score and it was bad?
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It was a bit challenging I took it today as well but the good thing is spelling and grammar is not used against. I tried to put at least something down for all the answers as a blank answer is scored a 0. Also you never receive your score so it is hard to tell how you did.
 
I took it today and I can guarantee that my typing goes downhill when I'm nervous. I have hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating on my hands and feet), and despite my use of antiperspirant, my fingers were sweaty and stuck to the keys. I remember looking up some response ideas and couldn't imagine how anyone could write that much for those prompts in that little time. I was satisfied that I didn't look psychotic by the end, so I'll take it.
 
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Can anyone confirm that the spelling and grammar are still not counted? I know they were not considered when I took it. It seems like useful information to make sure test takers know that they wont be judged for grammar when they're asked to word-puke as fast as their fingers can move.

Do any of our wise adcoms have an explanation for how its actually helpful or how it is considered? To me it seems like schools are subcontracting their secondary application using an unethical and ambiguous tool.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
 
Zosa said:
Ok, so I just finished my casper, and I'm nervous so I came here.

These are my issues/things to watch out for:

-5 min was quicker than I expected and I didn't finish the last question a couple of times.
- I had several typos, and I couldn't exactly correct them as time was just speeding away. I tried to initially in the beginning and because of that I didn't get those sections completed in time.
- and there is no autocorrection, like right clicking for the correct spelling.
- all the tips saying follow certain steps in responding made it worse. So I literally just started answering in complete sentences.
- One tip is right though, there is no need to study, all the ethics you need to know is hopefully common sense.
- But practicing is something I wish I did more of. Practicing typing those responses concisely in 5 mins.

For anyone who took it in the past and had a similar experience, do you think its affected you in any way or did u find out your score and it was bad?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you never get your score. Only the programs see it.

Seems like this test is getting more difficult. I definitely agree that advance practice is needed to get your responses concisely in 5 mins. However, the other challenging aspect is to be able to come up with quality answers which will also come with practice.
 
21Rush12 said:
Can anyone confirm that the spelling and grammar are still not counted? I know they were not considered when I took it. It seems like useful information to make sure test takers know that they wont be judged for grammar when they're asked to word-puke as fast as their fingers can move.

Do any of our wise adcoms have an explanation for how its actually helpful or how it is considered? To me it seems like schools are subcontracting their secondary application using an unethical and ambiguous tool.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Spelling and grammar do not count but if there are a lot of spelling mistakes a grader might take that as sloppy and unconsciously it might result in a lower score.
 
Ugh, just finished mine. I got paralyzed on a couple of answers to the last questions on the page and it cut me off mid-sentence. I'm kind of relieved I don't have to wait for a score to come out like the MCAT, but also kind of super-annoyed that I don't get to know how it went.
 
joschar said:
If you download the Grammarly app for Chrome then it allows you to have spell check and all of that for the test and it also makes it easier to correct grammar.
Click to expand...

Does it work for the test? Also, be cautious because it might be viewed as getting "help" and I'm not sure if that would be allowed. I would not want anyone to be disqualified because they were running grammarly.
 
Stanfordgrad said:
Does it work for the test? Also, be cautious because it might be viewed as getting "help" and I'm not sure if that would be allowed. I would not want anyone to be disqualified because they were running grammarly.
Click to expand...
I used it on the test and it was very convenient because I could correct a lot of what I had written in only 10-15 seconds. I don't think it would be against the rules because all you are really correcting is something that's not supposed to affect your score anyway. I think when they mention receiving help they mean help with what to say to a question or advice on ethics mid-test.
 
joschar said:
If you download the Grammarly app for Chrome then it allows you to have spell check and all of that for the test and it also makes it easier to correct grammar.
Click to expand...

Oh wow that must have been incredibly beneficial
 
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21Rush12 said:
Can anyone confirm that the spelling and grammar are still not counted? I know they were not considered when I took it. It seems like useful information to make sure test takers know that they wont be judged for grammar when they're asked to word-puke as fast as their fingers can move.

Do any of our wise adcoms have an explanation for how its actually helpful or how it is considered? To me it seems like schools are subcontracting their secondary application using an unethical and ambiguous tool.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

They keep telling us that they tell their graders to ignore those mistakes. But isn't there a psychology term for that? It will be something akin to the halo effect. "Just make sure you don't take off points for spelling and grammar." Oh, ok. If they tell them that, I feel like they will be subconsciously taking it into account.
 
Eleithyia said:
Ugh, just finished mine. I got paralyzed on a couple of answers to the last questions on the page and it cut me off mid-sentence. I'm kind of relieved I don't have to wait for a score to come out like the MCAT, but also kind of super-annoyed that I don't get to know how it went.
Click to expand...

I would get through most of my thought. Then think of something else and not notice that I had, oh, 11 seconds left. And I'd be halfway through a word when *poof* next page. I figure they know that's going to happen. It's clear that I'm not a psychopath, so I guess there's that.

And I didn't make any mistakes like I would have made on the practice exam (like telling the lady who wants to return the $80 item that maybe she should return it for store credit, purchase four small items for $20 or less, then bring each one in and get cash. I'm a great problem solver, but I kept reminding myself that they don't care about solving the problem, they care about how you think through it ethically).
 
DBC03 said:
They keep telling us that they tell their graders to ignore those mistakes. But isn't there a psychology term for that? It will be something akin to the halo effect. "Just make sure you don't take off points for spelling and grammar." Oh, ok. If they tell them that, I feel like they will be subconsciously taking it into account.
Click to expand...

+1
 
DBC03 said:
like telling the lady who wants to return the $80 item that maybe she should return it for store credit, purchase four small items for $20 or less, then bring each one in and get cash.
Click to expand...

Wait, can you do that? If so, that's brilliant.
 
DBC03 said:
(like telling the lady who wants to return the $80 item that maybe she should return it for store credit, purchase four small items for $20 or less, then bring each one in and get cash. I'm a great problem solver, but I kept reminding myself that they don't care about solving the problem, they care about how you think through it ethically).
Click to expand...

Thats a really insightful way to get around that question lol
 
21Rush12 said:
Subconscious or not, if its done to everyone then it doesn't matter. The whole thing seems like a racket to me.


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Click to expand...

So I was reminded today that my cousin flies north to grade the AP US History exams each summer. He said that they have a very rigorous grading method that leaves little room for personal grader error. Based on his experience, I imagine that highly seasoned and well trained graders may be able to ignore the grammar and spelling errors if they are told to, and really just focus on the content of the answers. At least, I feel a little better about it.
 
I'm assuming the webcam is on the whole time just so they know you're taking the test and nobody is with you, but do you think body language could be taken into account?

I noticed that when I disagreed with videos I shook my head or if I thought something was dumb I may have laughed haha I'm curious if they ever thought of doing that
 
boogiecousins94 said:
I'm assuming the webcam is on the whole time just so they know you're taking the test and nobody is with you, but do you think body language could be taken into account?

I noticed that when I disagreed with videos I shook my head or if I thought something was dumb I may have laughed haha I'm curious if they ever thought of doing that
Click to expand...

My guess is maybe they don't even look at the camera footage unless something like key strokes or answers are off. But that's just my guess. I was more concerned with picking at something on my face or the like. I tutor online, so I'm used to having the camera on and having to think about what I'm doing. I'm also aware of what behaviors are somewhat distracting. But I can only imagine the footage they have of me giving side eye or raising one eyebrow in disbelief.
 
Have marked casper in previous cycles. You are trained and explicitly told not to account for spelling or grammar. Point form is ok. I know there is the theoretical risk of bias but when you see a sloppy completed thought compared to a perfectly written half finished idea that's overwritten pretty quickly.
 
Does anyone know if we can prepare a note on the desk which includes my guiding map with summary note for medical ethics, health care system facts, personal experience during Casper test??
 
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I actually liked Casper, but it is odd that we can never get feedback on our performance.
 
The test seems to be trying to measure whether or not you're thoughtful/don't jump to conclusions/compassionate or whatever. But the kinds of problems they present aren't often things you'll only have 5 minutes to sort through! Like it goes from "deal with unruly customer" where you'll have less than 5 minutes to reach a reasonable conclusion to "dysfunctional group project where you can take a day." Its kind of ludicrous to say this has any real life-validity beyond weeding out the kinds of people who would bomb an interview anyway. But maybe that' the point. It would be a shame for it to bar slow typists from medical school though.

The tricky part is definitely condensing your answer. I tried practicing that but still had to leave some blank. Apparently if you have a good answer elsewhere it evens out, but really who knows?

The BeMo academic consulting CASPer samples are worth a laugh at least. Given


gyngyn said:
Casper stinks.
Click to expand...

Kind of curious. Do the schools who use it take it seriously, or at this stage are they just trying to correlate scores with other metrics?
 
ReapPremed said:
Kind of curious. Do the schools who use it take it seriously, or at this stage are they just trying to correlate scores with other metrics?
Click to expand...
They're trying to identify people who are likely to interview well, thus increasing the number of acceptable candidates interviewed.
 
Nanami said:
Does anyone know if we can prepare a note on the desk which includes my guiding map with summary note for medical ethics, health care system facts, personal experience during Casper test??
Click to expand...
Theoretically, its open book/internet/whatever, but realistically you won't have time to refer to resources, and the questions don't ask specific factoid-type information.
 
I don’t like CASPers. In my two app cycles, all schools that required a CASPer rejected me/remain dead silent. Probably I made some lethal ,stakes during the process, but I’ll never know now...
 
i just googled this. what the actual fck is this garbage they're forcing the premeds through??
 
Nanami said:
Does anyone know if we can prepare a note on the desk which includes my guiding map with summary note for medical ethics, health care system facts, personal experience during Casper test??
Click to expand...

well, you are video taped and it is unclear whether these tapes are reviewed. i do not know if someone who is constantly looking down would be judged unfavorably, but i am just now thinking that you could probably just tape a note sheet to the computer monitor and get away with it. its not likely to help you much though, im afraid. the 5 minutes per prompt, while annoying, is definitely designed to capture your ability to think on your feet and whether or not your gut reaction is one of level headedness, compromise and compassion, or whether your responses are akin to those of a callous monster. i had no questions related to medical ethics or health care system facts. i think the only thing you would benefit from is your personal experience, though the examples i used were in my head at the time

RogueUnicorn said:
i just googled this. what the actual fck is this garbage they're forcing the premeds through??
Click to expand...

i actually chuckled at some of the prompts during the test. what bothers me the most about the test is that no one knows how it is utilized by schools and we will never know how we performed on it.
 
I am currently developing the Professional Aptitude Yield from Medical Experiences test, and I will lobby it to AMCAS once fully functional. Providing a metric for the insights gained from applicants' clinical experiences, PAYME will be a powerful tool for comparing applicants based on their clinical exposure.
 
•Syzygy• said:
i actually chuckled at some of the prompts during the test. what bothers me the most about the test is that no one knows how it is utilized by schools and we will never know how we performed on it.
Click to expand...
i'm genuinely disturbed about yet another thing medical schools are subjecting premeds through, of extremely dubious validity and no doubt stressful to the applicant

151 others said:
I am currently developing the Professional Aptitude Yield from Medical Experiences test, and I will lobby it to AMCAS once fully functional. Providing a metric for the insights gained from applicants' clinical experiences, PAYME will be a powerful tool for comparing applicants based on their clinical exposure.
Click to expand...
it'll have to compete with my new product Future Understandings in Clinical Knowledge, Medical Edition
 
I took Casper when I applied to NYMC. One of the questions was something like "why do you want to be a doctor?" I figured I would answer it by discussing the difficulties faced along the way, but then finish by explaining why those sacrifices are worth it to me. I ran out of time before I got to that point though, so I basically just ripped on the field of medicine for my answer. Somehow I still got an interview though lol.
 
Fission Chips said:
I took Casper when I applied to NYMC. One of the questions was something like "why do you want to be a doctor?" I figured I would answer it by discussing the difficulties faced along the way, but then finish by explaining why those sacrifices are worth it to me. I ran out of time before I got to that point though, so I basically just ripped on the field of medicine for my answer. Somehow I still got an interview though lol.
Click to expand...

i dont think schools see your responses, only overall score. so you must have done okay overall even if that answer was graded poorly lol
 
Zosa said:
Ok, so I just finished my casper, and I'm nervous so I came here.

These are my issues/things to watch out for:

-5 min was quicker than I expected and I didn't finish the last question a couple of times.
- I had several typos, and I couldn't exactly correct them as time was just speeding away. I tried to initially in the beginning and because of that I didn't get those sections completed in time.
- and there is no autocorrection, like right clicking for the correct spelling.
- all the tips saying follow certain steps in responding made it worse. So I literally just started answering in complete sentences.
- One tip is right though, there is no need to study, all the ethics you need to know is hopefully common sense.
- But practicing is something I wish I did more of. Practicing typing those responses concisely in 5 mins.

For anyone who took it in the past and had a similar experience, do you think its affected you in any way or did u find out your score and it was bad?
Click to expand...

21Rush12 said:
Can anyone confirm that the spelling and grammar are still not counted? I know they were not considered when I took it. It seems like useful information to make sure test takers know that they wont be judged for grammar when they're asked to word-puke as fast as their fingers can move.

Do any of our wise adcoms have an explanation for how its actually helpful or how it is considered? To me it seems like schools are subcontracting their secondary application using an unethical and ambiguous tool.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Even if spelling/grammar DOES count, you've already taken the CASPer exam and submitted it, there's nothing you can do now. This wasn't your question at all OP, but once something's done, its done.

I'm no adcom at all, but who knows how much of an impact CASPer makes? Yes, doing well on it is a necessity, but will a perfect CASPer save a 504 and 3.25gpa? Most likely no. My own conspiracy theory is schools started doing this CASPer thing to distinguish themselves from other medical schools and show how "progressive they are" and don't use it for ****.
 
joschar said:
I used it on the test and it was very convenient because I could correct a lot of what I had written in only 10-15 seconds. I don't think it would be against the rules because all you are really correcting is something that's not supposed to affect your score anyway. I think when they mention receiving help they mean help with what to say to a question or advice on ethics mid-test.
Click to expand...

Wait, using Grammarly isn't considered cheating then? Did they flag you for this later?
 
I personally find the whole Casper process to be so annoying... even the verification process for me has been a total mess
 
Honestly I signed up for the Casper like a week before I had to take it and only watched a few videos to get an idea of what it was like. Two of the II i've gotten this cycle are from Casper schools so I'm assuming I did well.
I agree the 5 minutes seem pretty fast, but as long as you're a fast typer you should be fine. 100+ WPM from me so I was able to write 1-2 short paragraphs per scenario.
I feel like most of it is common sense questions where you need to answer in the middle or slightly lean towards one side.
 
JugglesMed said:
Honestly I signed up for the Casper like a week before I had to take it and only watched a few videos to get an idea of what it was like. Two of the II i've gotten this cycle are from Casper schools so I'm assuming I did well.
I agree the 5 minutes seem pretty fast, but as long as you're a fast typer you should be fine. 100+ WPM from me so I was able to write 1-2 short paragraphs per scenario.
I feel like most of it is common sense questions where you need to answer in the middle or slightly lean towards one side.
Click to expand...
I agree, most of its common sense. It's just the timing lol. Usually, if there is someone of high authority, I would always refer to them for any assistance that I may not have knowledge of. Either that, or I would provide my perspective and support it, then discuss about talking with higher authority to ensure that something is reported.
 
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