How Important is CASPER for Screening?

[drhealer]

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This cycle, applicants are able to view their scores from the CASPER exam. I, unfortunately scored in the 2nd percentile (25-49%ile) and am quite horrified with this result. I am applying to schools like Baylor, Michigan, and UAB (as OOS) and have stats that align with their median MCAT/cGPA/sGPA. However, I am now worried that I will be screened out of receiving an interview simply because of my Casper score. I personally don't think the CASPER exam was a true reflection of my "morals" and "value system" - I literally could not answer half the questions they asked because I was a slow typer. I have strong letters of rec from people who know me well and have worked with me for a long duration. Can this potentially offset my Casper score and still keep me in the running for competitive schools like Baylor and Michigan?

I wanted to hear others' thoughts on this and welcome conversation on this topic. Thanks!

 

[KnightDoc]

This cycle, applicants are able to view their scores from the CASPER exam. I, unfortunately scored in the 2nd percentile (25-49%ile) and am quite horrified with this result. I am applying to schools like Baylor, Michigan, and UAB (as OOS) and have stats that align with their median MCAT/cGPA/sGPA. However, I am now worried that I will be screened out of receiving an interview simply because of my Casper score. I personally don't think the CASPER exam was a true reflection of my "morals" and "value system" - I literally could not answer half the questions they asked because I was a slow typer. I have strong letters of rec from people who know me well and have worked with me for a long duration. Can this potentially offset my Casper score and still keep me in the running for competitive schools like Baylor and Michigan?

I wanted to hear others' thoughts on this and welcome conversation on this topic. Thanks!

From the CASPer folks themselves:

"Whichever quartile your Casper score is placed, it should not dissuade you from applying to any program. Many programs consider all quartiles and use Casper as an additional piece of information among many metrics to make admissions decisions."

 

[Riven_1KV]

This cycle, applicants are able to view their scores from the CASPER exam. I, unfortunately scored in the 2nd percentile (25-49%ile) and am quite horrified with this result. I am applying to schools like Baylor, Michigan, and UAB (as OOS) and have stats that align with their median MCAT/cGPA/sGPA. However, I am now worried that I will be screened out of receiving an interview simply because of my Casper score. I personally don't think the CASPER exam was a true reflection of my "morals" and "value system" - I literally could not answer half the questions they asked because I was a slow typer. I have strong letters of rec from people who know me well and have worked with me for a long duration. Can this potentially offset my Casper score and still keep me in the running for competitive schools like Baylor and Michigan?

I wanted to hear others' thoughts on this and welcome conversation on this topic. Thanks!

Nobody knows. There isn't even any data on it as far as I'm aware. It is what it is, not much you can do now.

The CASPer test does not measure morality, or preparedness for medical school. No study has been able to show that is the case.

Ad-Conned: A Critical Look At CASPer

Medical schools are facing a flood of applicants, and have started using for-profit tests alleged to assess people skills as a way to distinguish candidates. The evidence is weak, and lacks transparen

sciencebasedmedicine.org

 

[KnightDoc]

Nobody knows. There isn't even any data on it as far as I'm aware. It is what it is, not much you can do now.

The CASPer test does not measure morality, or preparedness for medical school. No study has been able to show that is the case.

Ad-Conned: A Critical Look At CASPer

Medical schools are facing a flood of applicants, and have started using for-profit tests alleged to assess people skills as a way to distinguish candidates. The evidence is weak, and lacks transparen

sciencebasedmedicine.org

To be fair, I think the test is garbage, but I don't think there is any reason to beat them up for not being something they never claimed to be.

THIS is what they say:

"What is the Casper test used for?​

Casper is used by academic programs to obtain a more reliable and meaningful assessment of applicants’ personal competencies. It is meant to be a way for programs to get a better sense of their applicant pool.

For programs, this means not only selecting applicants with the highest potential for success, but also ensuring that they are selecting a diverse group of students to reflect the increasing diversity of the patient population.

Academic programs incorporate Casper in different ways to guide their admissions process. Most programs use Casper alongside other metrics like GPA and MCAT scores as a prescreening tool to decide who they would like to invite to the interview process. Some programs use Casper in a more impressionistic approach, to help facilitate decisions on candidates who are on the cusp of whether they are admitted to the program. Some programs implement a conservative cut-off score for Casper to screen out applicants, while others take a closer look at candidates who have exceptionally high Casper scores.

Please contact your academic program(s) for the most up to date information regarding the admission process, requirements, and deadlines."

I personally think the key word there is diversity. They are looking for a non-academic silver bullet that correlates to something meaningful that will allow them to increase the diversity of their classes. It's got nothing to do with morality or preparedness for anything.