Good CASPer test preparation starts with understanding exactly what you’re walking into — this guide covers the current format, how scoring works, and how to build the emotional intelligence that gets you a top score. Writing Casper as part of your OMSAS application? Check out our full OMSAS guide here.

TLDR

Casper (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) is an online situational-judgment test that measures soft skills — empathy, ethics, collaboration, and communication — rather than academic knowledge. The current format has 11 scenarios (4 video-response, 7 typed-response), each with 2 questions, and takes about 65–85 minutes including optional breaks. Results come back as a quartile (4th quartile = top 25% of test-takers), and yes, you can prepare for it: the highest-value prep is free — the official Acuity Insights practice test, timed scenario practice on PrepMatch, and a bank of personal stories built before test day.

Table of contents

• What is the Casper test?
• What is the current Casper test format?
• How is the Casper test scored?
• Can you prepare for the Casper test?
• How to build emotional intelligence for Casper
• Casper test FAQ

What is the CASPer test?

Casper is a situational-judgment test (SJT) that presents short scenarios and asks you to respond, in writing or on video, to gauge how you reason through interpersonal and ethical situations. It was developed by Acuity Insights (formerly Altus Assessments) and adopted first by Canadian medical schools — including McMaster, Queen’s, and the University of Ottawa through OMSAS — before spreading to dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, and admissions programs across the US and internationally.

Unlike an entrance exam, Casper is an open-response test with no right-or-wrong content to memorize. It scores nine core people skills: collaboration, communication, empathy, ethics, fairness, motivation, problem-solving, resilience, and self-awareness. Rather than testing what you know, it evaluates how you think through the kind of tricky, ambiguous situations you’ll face while caring for real patients.

Want feedback from someone who hit the 4th quartile? Browse hundreds of AcceptedTogether consultants here — many have taken Casper themselves and can review your practice answers.

What is the current CASPer test format?

The current Casper test has 11 scenarios — 4 video-response and 7 typed-response — with 2 questions each, and takes about 65–85 minutes including optional breaks. Casper was streamlined a couple of admissions cycles ago; this is the format you’ll sit for now.

A few details worth knowing:

• The video section comes first: you watch a short clip of a situation, then record two spoken answers, one minute each.
• The typed section follows: you read a prompt and type answers to two questions shown together, with 3.5 minutes for the pair.
• Each typed question is scored individually, so treat the two questions in a scenario as separate mini-prompts — don’t let your answer to one bleed into the other.
• There’s an optional 10-minute break after the video section, and an optional 5-minute break partway through the typed section.
• The test advances from one scenario to the next automatically — there’s no clicking between pages.

Why this matters for your strategy: with fewer scenarios and per-question scoring, every answer carries more weight, and the tighter timing rewards getting straight to the point. Open each typed answer with a direct sentence that names the core issue and who’s affected, rather than restating the prompt. Confirm the exact current format on the official Acuity Insights format page before test day, since details can shift between cycles.

How is the CASPer test scored?

Casper scores you on a quartile system: you never see a raw score, only which quartile you landed in relative to everyone else who took that version of the test. The 4th quartile is the top tier and the one you’re aiming for.

Each scenario is scored independently by a different trained human rater, and your score reflects how your answer compared with other test-takers’ answers to that same scenario. One detail worth knowing: raters are instructed not to penalize spelling or grammar on the typed section, given the tight timing, so spend your effort on clear reasoning rather than polished prose.

How do you do CASPer Test Preparation?

You can prepare for Casper, just not by memorizing answers. Because Casper measures personal and professional reasoning, people often assume it’s impossible to study for. In practice, effective prep means understanding what the test is assessing, getting comfortable with the format, and practicing under real time pressure.

Understand what Casper is assessing

Casper is a psychological assessment of your interpersonal skills, ethical judgment, critical thinking, and communication — the personal characteristics, like emotional and social intelligence, that matter in medicine and other health professions. This makes it the opposite of an MCAT-style exam: the MCAT measures knowledge, while Casper measures non-academic qualities. So prep looks different — there’s no content to cram, just judgment and communication to sharpen.

For example, Casper presents ethical dilemmas to see whether you can approach hard situations with integrity while weighing everyone’s interests. It looks at how clearly you express your thinking, since clinicians need to communicate well with patients and colleagues. And it weighs emotional intelligence heavily — your ability to read, understand, and respond to your own emotions and other people’s — which is the foundation of empathetic care. According to Acuity Insights, these are the non-academic qualities Casper is designed to evaluate.

Note again that raters are asked not to evaluate grammar or spelling on the typed section, given the time constraints, so don’t burn prep time polishing sentence structure — spend it on the substance of your reasoning.

Get familiar with the format

Knowing the mechanics cold removes a major source of test-day stress. The video scenarios show actors playing out a real-life situation, after which you answer two open-ended questions out loud; the typed scenarios give you a written prompt describing a situation or dilemma, and you type answers to two questions shown together.

Since the test auto-advances and the timing is tight, the more familiar the platform feels going in, the more of your attention you can spend on actually reasoning through each scenario. That familiarity alone can meaningfully lift your performance.

Practice, practice, practice

The single best way to prepare is to practice full scenarios under real time pressure:

Take the official practice test. Your Acuity Insights account includes a free, full 11-scenario practice test that mirrors the real thing exactly — same format, same timing, the same experience of being on camera. Acuity notes that applicants who take it tend to do better than those who don’t, and you can repeat it as many times as you like, so use it to get comfortable in front of the webcam.

Use PrepMatch (free). PrepMatch is a free, peer-to-peer platform with a large library of sample Casper questions. What makes it powerful is the rater community: other users give feedback on your answers, and you rate their answers in turn, which trains you to think like a reviewer. It covers both the typed and video sections. We’ve also put together a list of free Casper scenarios you can practice with directly.

Simulate real test conditions. Set a timer and practice under the actual limits. For the video section, record yourself and watch it back — it’s uncomfortable, but it’s the fastest way to spot habits (rambling, filler words, running out of time) worth fixing before test day.

Brainstorm your stories ahead of time. Casper often asks things like “describe a time you worked with someone you didn’t get along with,” and there’s rarely time to dig up an example on the spot. Build a bank of experiences in advance: a good rule of thumb is at least two stories for each of the CanMEDS roles — Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar, Professional — that Canadian medical schools use. Include both positive experiences (a time you worked well with someone) and tougher ones (a conflict, a mistake, a hard call), so you’re not searching for an example under the clock.

Work on your typing. With only 3.5 minutes per typed scenario, typing speed and accuracy directly affect how much you can say. If typing slows you down, a few weeks of practice frees up mental space for the actual reasoning.

Want feedback from someone who hit the 4th quartile? Browse hundreds of AcceptedTogether consultants here — many have taken Casper and can review your practice answers.

How to build emotional intelligence for CASPer

Emotional intelligence is the throughline of a strong Casper performance — and of a career in medicine. Medicine is constant interaction with patients, colleagues, and families, so understanding people, empathizing with them, and building trust is the real job. Developing this over a few weeks helps on test day and well beyond it.

Reflect on the dynamics in your own life

When you read a scenario, think about similar situations you’ve actually lived through. If a scenario involves an employee who needs to challenge their manager, recall your own experiences with a boss. Remembering how hard it genuinely is to speak up to someone with authority helps you write a more grounded, realistic answer.

Show emotional intelligence — don’t just name it

The goal isn’t to sprinkle in buzzwords; it’s to make your reasoning visibly empathetic and fair. Raters can tell the difference between someone reciting “I’ll be non-judgmental” and someone whose answer actually weighs everyone’s feelings and situation. Use phrasing like the examples below as a natural way to show your thinking, not as boxes to tick:

• Empathy — “I understand the challenges Bill is facing may make it hard for him to confront his friend, so I’d approach him gently.”
• Support without judgment — “I’d want Priya to know I support her whatever she decides, and that I’m listening rather than judging.”
• Respect for diversity and inclusion — “I’d consider everyone involved and make sure any care or advice is culturally sensitive.”

The difference: each of these is tied to the specific people in the scenario and leads to an action. That’s what reads as real emotional intelligence — the empathy is doing work in your answer, not just decorating it.

Practice with feedback from strong performers

Role-play and practice scenarios, then get feedback on how well your emotional intelligence comes through. PrepMatch is useful for this, and you can also share answers with people who’ve scored well on Casper — like AcceptedTogether consultants — and ask them specifically whether your empathy and reasoning land the way you intended.

Whether you’re writing Casper for Canadian medical schools, US programs, nursing, or anything else that requires it, we’re rooting for you to hit that 4th quartile. If you’d like coaching, reach out to any of the AcceptedTogether consultants here. Good luck!