*Official 2017-2018 Casper Thread*

[King of Casper]

The Casper exam for the 2017-2018 application cycle is around the corner. If you are applying to a school that requires Casper or are taking the assessment soon, please feel free to comment/discuss here. Good luck!

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[Chelsea FC]

dont waste anytime studying for this exam. Just go in cold and enjoy it as much as you can. Personally looking back at it the schools that require this exam aren't worth the extra trouble but its easier for me to say while on the other side of the application process. But seriously guys dont sweat the exam its a big deal

 

[King of Casper]

Were you interviewed at any of the Casper schools? I wonder how much weight they carry....

The Current US MD schools that uses it include:
East Tennessee
Central Michigan
Tulane
Rosalind Franklin
Florida Atlantic
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
UIC
Vermont
Medical College of Wisconsin
West Virginia

At McMaster in Canada, Casper carries 1/3 of the weight, as much as GPA and MCAT. I know that schools such as MCW and Vermont are JUST STARTING to use it this yr. I was wondering how much do they take that into consideration?

 

[King of Casper]

double post

 

[King of Casper]

The next Casper is on June 28th at 5PM. Who else would be taking it and how are you preparing? I am reading through some classic MMI questions and trying to answer them under standardized conditions (i.e. less than 3 min per video).

 

[Chelsea FC]

Were you interviewed at any of the Casper schools? I wonder how much weight they carry....

The Current US MD schools that uses it include:
East Tennessee
Central Michigan
Tulane
Rosalind Franklin
Florida Atlantic
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
UIC
Vermont
Medical College of Wisconsin
West Virginia

At McMaster in Canada, Casper carries 1/3 of the weight, as much as GPA and MCAT. I know that schools such as MCW and Vermont are JUST STARTING to use it this yr. I was wondering how much do they take that into consideration?

I took it for tulane and NYMC both schools which I turned down the interview . Sorry I couldnt be of mire help also I was unaware that so many schools uses it now.

 

[King of Casper]

Notice all the schools that use it are lower tier schools that gets a ton of applicants from all over the nation. Perhaps CASPER is used to dwindle the number of applicants? In addition, remember that it takes 3 weeks for CASPER to be scored and sent to the schools, and all the schools listed are rolling admission. This means that having a later CASPER date is NOT ideal.

 

[Chelsea FC]

Notice all the schools that use it are lower tier schools that gets a ton of applicants from all over the nation. Perhaps CASPER is used to dwindle the number of applicants? In addition, remember that it takes 3 weeks for CASPER to be scored and sent to the schools, and all the schools listed are rolling admission. This means that having a later CASPER date is NOT ideal.

I dont know if things changed but those schools reviewed your app and invited you to interview alt of times before even reviewing your Casper . Trust me its not a big deal of a exam just do it in a quite space one day and get it over with. Thats unless you have really poor social skills.

 

[kwu]

Not all schools require CASPER, some of them added it as an "optional" exam to include in your application. Also, it doesn't slow down your application since some of the schools will invite you to the interview despite not receiving the scores.

 

[King of Casper]

For medical college of Wisconsin, completion of Casper is a requirement for completion of secondary. It's also one of those schools that review your app based on your dates of completion.

 

[deleted853480]

Casper isn't that hard. Just throw in key words like autonomy, open dialogue, empathy and you will be fine. I also believe that quantity in answer>quality. You can make stuff up for the 4 questions that don't have videos in them. I wrote it and interviewed at Ottawa this year.

 

[King of Casper]

For some schools, CASPER is used as a screening tool. Just like on the CARS section of the mcat, some schools screens applicants who have less than a 125. Since CASPER is also graded on a percentile, you need to achieve a certain percentile to avoid being screened.

Here's the tricky part, since CASPER is an analysis of "what would you do in real ethical dilemmas", and is graded by human graders, what type of response would be considered let's say a 70th percentile? Some dilemmas have multiple solutions that would be considered "acceptable", how much leeway would a grader give you?

 

[King of Casper]

@Mr Donald Mouse , thank you for bring up the point of quantity > quality! Does that mean that the more you write the better chance you have of achieving a higher score? What about problems that has multiple solutions, do you then list all of them or pick one and elaborate on that particular one?

 

[deleted853480]

It is better to write something for all 3 questions than leave one blanck. All the questions hold equal wieght and leaving one blanck means max you can get in the section in 6.67. Each section is out of 10. The worst section and best section get dropped. Your final score is out of 100.

 

[hopefulmd2018]

dont waste anytime studying for this exam. Just go in cold and enjoy it as much as you can. Personally looking back at it the schools that require this exam aren't worth the extra trouble but its easier for me to say while on the other side of the application process. But seriously guys dont sweat the exam its a big deal

I love it seeing messages like this telling other applicants not to prepare for CASPer

It will just be that much easier for me at these CASPer requiring schools to score above all those students that are just taking the test COLD.

 

[Chelsea FC]

I love it seeing messages like this telling other applicants not to prepare for CASPer

It will just be that much easier for me at these CASPer requiring schools to score above all those students that are just taking the test COLD.

Attitude like this is what the Casper and interviews tries to sniff out. As someone who has been through the Casper and multiple MMI during this cycle I say with confidence that applicants shouldn't stress over this. Obviously you should know what you are getting yourself into but going in relax and fresh is much more beneficial than stressing over this.

 

[hopefulmd2018]

dont waste anytime studying for this exam. Just go in cold and enjoy it as much as you can. Personally looking back at it the schools that require this exam aren't worth the extra trouble but its easier for me to say while on the other side of the application process. But seriously guys dont sweat the exam its a big deal

Thank you Chelsea FC for encouraging other SDNers NOT TO PREP FOR CASPer!!!! Yes, please go in cold and just enjoy it.

I'm hoping comments like these are going to give me a huge advantage this cycle. I wish there were more premeds with the same attitude about MCAT too. That is just go in and take it cold. It would make life so much easier in getting in to medical school. Unfortunately, when those ppl with 520 MCATs do not get in at CASPer schools, then they'll start prepping for CASPer and make life more miserable for all of us.

 

[hopefulmd2018]

Attitude like this is what the Casper and interviews tries to sniff out. As someone who has been through the Casper and multiple MMI during this cycle I say with confidence that applicants shouldn't stress over this. Obviously you should know what you are getting yourself into but going in relax and fresh is much more beneficial than stressing over this.

What attitude? I'm dead serious. I'm so glad that there are SDNers telling other applicants NOT to prepare for this test because the more people go in and screw up their 5 minutes per station, the better it works out for those of us that have practiced!

 

[Chelsea FC]

Thank you Chelsea FC for encouraging other SDNers NOT TO PREP FOR CASPer!!!! Yes, please go in cold and just enjoy it.

I'm hoping comments like these are going to give me a huge advantage this cycle. I wish there were more premeds with the same attitude about MCAT too. That is just go in and take it cold. It would make life so much easier in getting in to medical school. Unfortunately, when those ppl with 520 MCATs do not get in at CASPer schools, then they'll start prepping for CASPer and make life more miserable for all of us.

You are equating the CASPER to the MCAT?? Okay won't waste my vacation arguing with a troll. Good luck interviewing with that attitude I wouldn't want you as a peer.

 

[hopefulmd2018]

You are equating the CASPER to the MCAT?? Okay won't waste my vacation arguing with a troll. Good luck interviewing with that attitude I wouldn't want you as a peer.

I'm not arguing ... I'm glad that you're telling ppl NOT to prepare for CASPer. Have I not made that clear in my previous posts?

 

[Chelsea FC]

I'm not arguing ... I'm glad that you're telling ppl NOT to prepare for CASPer. Have I not made that clear in my previous posts?

You are a troll with a horrible attitude did I not make that clear in my previous posts?. I apologize for derailing the thread OP good luck this cycle to you all.

 

[King of Casper]

Guys, chill out! The purpose of this Thread is to help out future applicant! Please post something encouraging and productive

 

[Chelsea FC]

Guys, chill out! The purpose of this Thread is to help out future applicant! Please post something encouraging and productive

My apologies OP bUT I was serious when I said I feel that this exam shouldn't be studied or practice extensively. The questions are so random and normally test common sense/social skills. For example
You are a student and some during office hours you realize that on the teachers screen there is a question for the upcoming exam would you say something to the professor?
Then a follow up would be like the professor said that she worked all night on the question and don't want to change it so count that as a freebee because she won't change the question. If that is the case would you share the questions with your friends and why?

Or another question would be like your a principal and overhead a argument between a substitute teacher and full time professor during recess . The full time professor is complaining that the substitute teacher is allowing the students to slack off in class and be loud so when it's time for her to teach the class is too rowdy and it interfere with her teaching. As the principal what would you say to them?

It's simple stuff like these that you can't really study for you will be tested on. This is similar to MMI interviews. I find being yourself and trusting your gUT is very beneficial rather than spending hours studying.

 

[King of Casper]

My apologies OP bUT I was serious when I said I feel that this exam shouldn't be studied or practice extensively. The questions are so random and normally test common sense/social skills. For example
You are a student and some during office hours you realize that on the teachers screen there is a question for the upcoming exam would you say something to the professor?
Then a follow up would be like the professor said that she worked all night on the question and don't want to change it so count that as a freebee because she won't change the question. If that is the case would you share the questions with your friends and why?

Or another question would be like your a principal and overhead a argument between a substitute teacher and full time professor during recess . The full time professor is complaining that the substitute teacher is allowing the students to slack off in class and be loud so when it's time for her to teach the class is too rowdy and it interfere with her teaching. As the principal what would you say to them?

It's simple stuff like these that you can't really study for you will be tested on. This is similar to MMI interviews. I find being yourself and trusting your gUT is very beneficial rather than spending hours studying.

The answer to the first question would be yes, I would point it out to the professor because by not saying anything, students could gain an unfair advantage on the exam. Notify it to the professor, and let him/her make the decision would be the ethical thing to do.

For question number two, I would share it to my fellow students because if the professor has given the permission, it would be the nice thing to do to let everyone in the class know about it. In addition, to keep things as fair as possible, I do want to share it with my fellow students.

For number three, I would nicely tell the professor to speak with the substitute nicely, because arguing does not solve problems and it's not nice to speak with someone in an accusatory manner. In addition, I would also nicely speak with the substitute to make sure the students follow the rules and be more strict with them, so that things don't get out of hand. In both cases, I want both sides to maintain open dialogue so that they both understand what the expectations are and things would go smoothly.

Done! All typed out with in 5 mins!

 

[Chelsea FC]

The answer to the first question would be yes, I would point it out to the professor because by not saying anything, students could gain an unfair advantage on the exam. Notify it to the professor, and let him/her make the decision would be the ethical thing to do.

For question number two, I would share it to my fellow students because if the professor has given the permission, it would be the nice thing to do to let everyone in the class know about it. In addition, to keep things as fair as possible, I do want to share it with my fellow students.

For number three, I would nicely tell the professor to speak with the substitute nicely, because arguing does not solve problems and it's not nice to speak with someone in an accusatory manner. In addition, I would also nicely speak with the substitute to make sure the students follow the rules and be more strict with them, so that things don't get out of hand. In both cases, I want both sides to maintain open dialogue so that they both understand what the expectations are and things would go smoothly.

Done! All typed out with in 5 mins!

I disagree slightly with some of your answers but how these questions are normally worded in such a way in that there is normally multiple acceptable ways of answering. But the point I was trying to make is that u didnt have to study 20 hours a week in order to answer these

 

[King of Casper]

I disagree slightly with some of your answers but how these questions are normally worded in such a way in that there is normally multiple acceptable ways of answering. But the point I was trying to make is that u didnt have to study 20 hours a week in order to answer these

how would you change my answers?

 

[Chelsea FC]

how would you change my answers?

PMed you to avoid the clutter

 

[DubZteR]

My apologies OP bUT I was serious when I said I feel that this exam shouldn't be studied or practice extensively. The questions are so random and normally test common sense/social skills. For example
You are a student and some during office hours you realize that on the teachers screen there is a question for the upcoming exam would you say something to the professor?
Then a follow up would be like the professor said that she worked all night on the question and don't want to change it so count that as a freebee because she won't change the question. If that is the case would you share the questions with your friends and why?

Or another question would be like your a principal and overhead a argument between a substitute teacher and full time professor during recess . The full time professor is complaining that the substitute teacher is allowing the students to slack off in class and be loud so when it's time for her to teach the class is too rowdy and it interfere with her teaching. As the principal what would you say to them?

It's simple stuff like these that you can't really study for you will be tested on. This is similar to MMI interviews. I find being yourself and trusting your gUT is very beneficial rather than spending hours studying.

There's a lot of misinformation about CASPer on SDN. The test questions are NOT random and do NOT test common sense or social skills. The test is much more than that. If you believe that it is similar to the Multiple Mini Interview, which one can prepare for, the same should be true for CASPer.

US schools are still in the piloting stages of CASPer, hence why many applicants who normally would not receive interviews based on their CASPer results are still receiving interviews, but this will change as it already has at schools that have been using CASPer for 5+ years.

*Source* I've worked directly with the CASPer test creator and have extensive experience with the CASPer test.

 

[shaokahn]

There's a lot of misinformation about CASPer on SDN. The test questions are NOT random and do NOT test common sense or social skills. The test is much more than that. If you believe that it is similar to the Multiple Mini Interview, which one can prepare for, the same should be true for CASPer.

US schools are still in the piloting stages of CASPer, hence why many applicants who normally would not receive interviews based on their CASPer results are still receiving interviews, but this will change as it already has at schools that have been using CASPer for 5+ years.

*Source* I've worked directly with the CASPer test creator and have extensive experience with the CASPer test.

So what would you say the CASPer mainly tests? I have not done any extensive studying, but I have gone through sample questions to get the feel for the exam format. From what I gather, these tests assess:
- (indirectly) your ability to type quickly (a useful skill anywhere)
- your ability to reason out tough / uncomfortable situations quickly (since physicians encounter MANY uncomfortable situations, often which need to be resolved quickly, depending on how critical the situation is)
- your tendency to judge vs. to be impartial before all facts are known (I've noticed that the sample questions give very limited information, so it is easy to draw quick conclusions, such as "oh this guy is a drug addict!" vs. thinking out all possibilities)

I am not too worried about the test - I take it June 28th, but I'd still like to hear what someone who has worked with CASPer so extensively has to say.

I personally feel that if you demonstrate that you can suggest multiple reasons behind someone's behavior (rather than jumping to conclusions), demonstrate an attempt at being non-judgmental, and being definitive in what your course of action is, that you would score pretty well. Thoughts?

 

[shaokahn]

I know there is a lot of debate here about whether or not to study for the CASPer and how it should be done, but whether studying for CASPer or preparing for MMI, I feel that it would be helpful for people to post scenarios and type responses / have discussions on why you would agree or disagree with someone's course of action. I agree that you should just have fun with the CASPer questions, but it is also interesting to talk about these scenarios anyway If anyone is up for it, this is one of the scenarios that CASPer offers as a sample question:

You play the role of the "more experienced" employee at a toy store. Your less-experienced co-worker encounters a customer who would like to return a stuffed animal that she bought with cash for $80 last week. Your co-worker explains that she can make the return if she can see the receipt, but the customer says she does not have the receipt and asks if my co-worker can give her the refund anyway. Your co-worker says she can only give cash refunds of up to $20, but could exchange the toy for store credit. The customer explains that she had bought the toy for her daughter's birthday, but now she needs the money to pay for a prescription for her daughter. Your co-worker turns to you, the more experienced employee, and asks what you would do.
(1) What do you tell the other employee - go ahead and give the refund or abide by store policy? Justify your answer.
(2) Assume you advise the newer employee not to give the refund, but she does anyway. Do you report this to your supervisor? Why or why not?
(3) If you were asked to establish a policy for a new store around refunds, what aspects would you take into consideration?

 

[King of Casper]

@shaokahn Nice copy from official casper questions!

 

[cke11]

So how was the test for the June 28 test takers and should we honestly prepare for this thing?

 

[audiguy64]

Is july 26th test date too late?

 

[Gutsy]

I'm having a difficult time writing out my response to 3 questions in 5 minutes... Does anyone have tips and where can we find practice tests?

 

[SheraSkn]

I was trying to register for CASPer and saw that they have a list of schools to send the score to.
Are we supposed to check off a school even if we havent gotten a secondary from them yet?
And if not, can we add a school after taking the test as well?

 

[BurntFlower]

I took a mini practice exam today. Registered to take Casper tomorrow

 

[WinnDi]

I'm having a difficult time writing out my response to 3 questions in 5 minutes... Does anyone have tips and where can we find practice tests?

Look at this thread on SDN. IT has some free timed practice tests for CASPer. Timed CASPer Practice Resources

 

[WinnDi]

I took a mini practice exam today. Registered to take Casper tomorrow

Good luck and please share how it went.

 

[bengirlxD]

I took a mini practice exam today. Registered to take Casper tomorrow

Taking it as well. Good luck!

 

[tiramisucheese]

I'm having a difficult time writing out my response to 3 questions in 5 minutes... Does anyone have tips and where can we find practice tests?

Mavis Beacon

 

[Gutsy]

Just finished taking the exam! It wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be but I didn't write them a novel. My answers were really short and to the point (1-3 sentences). Is this way too short?!

Also, I watched the intro video and found out that there is a different grader for each section (there are 12 sections total). So I ended up using similar language for each section since there is only so much you can say.

 

[BurntFlower]

Finished Casper! Will we get a notification when the schools get our results?

 

[Gutsy]

Also, I was wondering how important CASPer is for admission? Did someone NOT gain admissions because of CASPer??

Finished Casper! Will we get a notification when the schools get our results?

Unfortunately, CASPer doesn't post results so we will never know how we did. Or did someone who has applied in the past and taken the exam have a different experience?

 

[BurntFlower]

Also, I was wondering how important CASPer is for admission? Did someone NOT gain admissions because of CASPer??


Unfortunately, CASPer doesn't post results so we will never know how we did. Or did someone who has applied in the past and taken the exam have a different experience?

I know we'll never get our results back, but I was wondering if the schools will tell us that they have received our results successfully.

 

[shaokahn]

So how was the test for the June 28 test takers and should we honestly prepare for this thing?

Lol! It honestly wasn't bad. I finished every question with just enough time. However, I am glad that I did a little bit of prep. And by prep, I mean just going through CASPer's sample videos and taking the time to think about them in detail. Having thought ahead of time on a few "difficult scenarios" helped me get into the swing of how to organize my responses.

I personally think that what they want to see is, can you consider all sides of the story before jumping to a conclusion? What is your thought process? What would the consequences be of choosing one side vs. the other? However, I think they still like to see that you can be decisive. Go through your thought process, but choose a side and back it up. Integrate ethics or prior experiences with medical ethics if possible.

 

[shaokahn]

Mavis Beacon

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 9 is seriously the reason I was able to say everything I wanted to say on that damn test. #tymb

 

[shaokahn]

I was trying to register for CASPer and saw that they have a list of schools to send the score to.
Are we supposed to check off a school even if we havent gotten a secondary from them yet?
And if not, can we add a school after taking the test as well?

I went ahead and checked off all relevant boxes, even for schools who hadn't send me a secondary yet. I figured I would just have to go back and do it anyway. However, I made sure that before I did this, that these schools do not screen their secondaries! Make sure it is a school that simply sends secondaries to all verified AMCAS applicants. You know, just so that you don't potentially waste $10

 

[tiramisucheese]

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 9 is seriously the reason I was able to say everything I wanted to say on that damn test. #tymb

She's my homegirl. That penguin game was always my favorite.

 

[MintMonkey]

Hi everyone,

Does anybody know if you can use the same CASPER test for U.S. and Canadian schools? I am applying to schools in both countries and would prefer to not have to take it twice. Thanks in advance!

 

[Pylorii]

Anyone know how long it takes for CASPer to grade/transmit scores? I took it on July 26th.