Importance of CASPer for US schools

[LightsOut308]

Hi everyone! Im a Texas Resident and will be applying in the coming cycle. I just realized today that many TX schools in addition to OOS schools now require a CASPer score. How important is this in terms of the whole application process? I know in Canada it can make up to a third of an applicants overall "score".

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[Cornfed101]

1/3 is honestly insane because CASPer doesn't explain how they score the test and they don't release the scores to students. Some schools value it a little, but I think most are just trying to make sure you aren't a sociopath.

 

[yogglo]

1/3 is honestly insane because CASPer doesn't explain how they score the test and they don't release the scores to students. Some schools value it a little, but I think most are just trying to make sure you aren't a sociopath.

Nah bro im a sociopath and still got accepted to casper schools

 

[Cornfed101]

Nah bro im a sociopath and still got accepted to casper schools

hence why CASPer is bogus haha

 

[gyngyn]

I loathe CASPer.

 

[KnightDoc]

1/3 is honestly insane because CASPer doesn't explain how they score the test and they don't release the scores to students. Some schools value it a little, but I think most are just trying to make sure you aren't a sociopath.

Actually, most don't require it at all!

 

[TheDataKing]

Actually, most don't require it at all!

I sent it to 15 of the schools I applied to this year so ymmv. More and more schools are starting to require it.

 

[Cornfed101]

Actually, most don't require it at all!

I didn’t mean 1/3 required it, I was commenting on OP saying that Canadian schools value it as 1/3 of the app

 

[KnightDoc]

I didn’t mean 1/3 required it, I was commenting on OP saying that Canadian schools value it as 1/3 of the app

I know, maybe I was being dense (and trying to be a little funny), but I was responding to "most are just trying to make sure you aren't a sociopath" by replying that most actually don't require it.

 

[KnightDoc]

I sent it to 15 of the schools I applied to this year so ymmv. More and more schools are starting to require it.

You are correct. I recently looked, and while only two of the schools I am looking at require it, 46 MD and 11 DO schools, plus one Caribbean currently require it, which is a lot more than I thought!!

 

[SweetBurger]

at one school i interviewed at they heavily stressed that our casper percentile score was one of the cutoffs for receiving a II.

 

[KnightDoc]

at one school i interviewed at they heavily stressed that our casper percentile score was one of the cutoffs for receiving a II.

And you have no way to know what it was, do you??

 

[SweetBurger]

And you have no way to know what it was, do you??

well i know it was at or above a certain percentile due to the school lol but otherwise no

 

[KnightDoc]

Which caribbean school?

American University of the Caribbean, according to the CASPer website.

 

[KnightDoc]

Adtalem has been trying to increase profits ... I mean enrollment at Ross and especially AUC. Their nursing school is driving revenue in the their medical educational division.

So why create another hoop to jump through by making applicants take CASPer?? It doesn't matter to me, but I was SHOCKED to see a Caribbean school on the list.

 

[KnightDoc]

It doesnt appear on AUC website
I would guess it was administration of AUC trying push their school to look better to the corporate bosses as Ross is doing better.

Or maybe CASPer is advertising it but it isn't actually required?

 

[hopefulFutureDoctor2020]

well i know it was at or above a certain percentile due to the school lol but otherwise no

Do you happen to know the "certain percentile"? Am I about to hear a single numerical data point related to CASPer??

 

[KnightDoc]

Maybe, it would seem the two main admissions metrics of credit rating and pulse greater than zero still are the factors of highest importance

When did they go to pulse greater than zero??

 

[deleted962722]

at one school i interviewed at they heavily stressed that our casper percentile score was one of the cutoffs for receiving a II.

Would you mind sharing how/if at all you prepared lol

 

[deleted965528]

Rejected from all casper schools I applied to

 

[wysdoc]

Hi everyone! Im a Texas Resident and will be applying in the coming cycle. I just realized today that many TX schools in addition to OOS schools now require a CASPer score. How important is this in terms of the whole application process? I know in Canada it can make up to a third of an applicants overall "score".

@LightsOut308 Eight of the TMDSAS schools require it as part of your application. I recommend you work on filling out the TMDSAS app first and get it submitted in June or early July. Register for CASPer online, but pick a date after June/ July. The schools don't wait for you to have it complete before deciding on interviews. (except for UTMB with says it will look at CASPer before inviting for interviews)

**Edited my post as the # of TX schools requiring it has gone up, and I stand by my timeline: submit TMDSAS first, then do CASPer.**

 

[SweetBurger]

Would you mind sharing how/if at all you prepared lol

I utilized this:
but upon analysis it looks like a lot of the strategy that was posted has been deleted by the user.
I had a method written up on my home pc that followed what this guy had i just dont have access to it atm. Can post later.
also have >105 wpm typing speed which helped

 

[deleted962722]

I utilized this:
but upon analysis it looks like a lot of the strategy that was posted has been deleted by the user.
I had a method written up on my home pc that followed what this guy had i just dont have access to it atm. Can post later.
also have >105 wpm typing speed which helped

Ugh yes I recognize this post! Didn't think to save it and was hoping someone out there had saved the information. Would love the write-up if you get the chance! And lol I type with my index fingers so looks like I need to work on that before June.

 

[Dr_hello_world]

It really seems like a virtual MMI session.

Obviously I have no information on The actual process behind CASPer itself, nor how adcoms might use it, but this is what I assume:

(1) it likely has some value, and is likely either converted to a point system (= percentile * max points for CASPer section of scoring scale) OR its is used as a cutoff (cutoff percentile, but no bearing on the rest of the app). I find some combination the most likely at most schools.

(2) the test is likely graded by graders that aren’t professionals in medical ethics (that would be too resource intensive), but instead, is graded on a rubrics written by medical ethics professionals. This would mean that somewhat correct courses of action, key words, and things you should absolutely avoid are the keys to performance.

(3) because of point #2, reading a ton of MMI situations and good responses (written by medical ethics professionals) is likely the key to doing really well.


I found my MMI preparation very useful for the test.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Full disclosure: I know the founder who likely edited most of the book. I get no money from him nor am I endorsing his product or company, but he and his crew (paid admissions consultants) know what they're talking about it seems.

I would seek insight and feedback on the BeMo book on CASPer
Amazon product

 

[Jungkookie]

i am also skeptical of how effective casper is really at assessing the things they claim to assess ... but nonetheless yes important to prepare and learn about all the question types and practice etc. mmi strategies are good for casper as well.

 

[MoTheGreatish]

1/3 is honestly insane because CASPer doesn't explain how they score the test and they don't release the scores to students. Some schools value it a little, but I think most are just trying to make sure you aren't a sociopath.

Sorry if this thread is a bit old but for people who were wondering, that Canadian university that bases 1/3 of the pre-II score on CASPer is McMaster University, the inventor of CASPer, MMI’s, and PBL. After interviews, CASPer ends up being a tiny sliver of the decision method for acceptance. However, McMaster also happens to be the university that decided to chose half of this year’s incoming class through a lottery on the people invited for an interview. So technically, this year is the year where CASPer truly did serve as 1/3rd of the decision for acceptances. Pretty crazy eh?

 

[hopefulFutureDoctor2020]

Sorry if this thread is a bit old but for people who were wondering, that Canadian university that bases 1/3 of the pre-II score on CASPer is McMaster University, the inventor of CASPer, MMI’s, and PBL. After interviews, CASPer ends up being a tiny sliver of the decision method for acceptance. However, McMaster also happens to be the university that decided to chose half of this year’s incoming class through a lottery on the people invited for an interview. So technically, this year is the year where CASPer truly did serve as 1/3rd of the decision for acceptances. Pretty crazy eh?

I'm in the U.S. so note that I have a significant bias that McMaster to me is some no name school I've never heard of besides CASPer and MMI.

But literally everything that has come out of McMaster seems completely asinine to me. And the random lottery is just icing on the cake. I really do not understand why so many U.S. schools are basing their admissions programs on the research of an admissions committee that thinks a random lottery is a viable admission tool.

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm in the U.S. so note that I have a significant bias that McMaster to me is some no name school I've never heard of besides CASPer and MMI.

But literally everything that has come out of McMaster seems completely asinine to me. And the random lottery is just icing on the cake. I really do not understand why so many U.S. schools are basing their admissions programs on the research of an admissions committee that thinks a random lottery is a viable admission tool.

I'll bite! I have no familiarity with McMaster, and am not impressed at all with CASPer, but, for everyone who complains about how random and unfair the process is, a lottery (not entirely random --you apparently have to be prescreened and have received an II to be eligible) does not seem entirely crazy.

After all, what makes a subjective determination by a random interviewer who might just be having a bad day, or just might not hit it off with a candidate, inherently more reliable than a random lottery among well qualified candidates who have passed a screen? How many people on a WL instead of having an A are there for no particular reason, other than luck of the draw, as opposed to being measurably less well suited for a school than the people with the As?