CASPer® Requirement for Admission Into the Medical Programs

About the CASPer® Test

The Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, in short the CASPer® assessment for medical school, is an admissions test that was developed by two researchers, Dr. Harold Reiter and Dr. Kelly Dore of McMaster University. CASPer® is developed to assess the non-cognitive or non-academic attributes of an applicant in an online format during the pre-screening stage of the application process. The CASPer® exam was first used at McMaster University Medical School since 2010 and has since then spread to various medical schools that are now requiring the CASPer® exam as mandatory to their admission process.

In 2014, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine piloted the test in their application cycle. Thereafter, the test was adopted by three medical schools: the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New York Medical College. Several nursing schools also adopted the CASPer® assessment in 2015. These include the nursing schools at McMaster, York University, Mohawk College and Conestoga College.

In 2016, Tulane University School of Medicine, East Tennessee State University and Central Michigan University’s Schools of Medicine adopted the CASPer® exam as well.

CASPer® is currently developed and delivered by Altus Assessments Inc. and delivered through the online site takeCASPer.com. The following schools currently require you to take the CASPer® assessment before you can be admitted as a student in their professional programs:

In Canada

  • McMaster University Medical School which since 2010
  • University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, since 2015
  • Dalhousie University
  • McGill University
  • University of Alberta
  • Universite de Montreal

In the United States

  • Albany Medical College
  • Augusta University
  • Central Michigan University
  • Drexel University
  • East Tennessee State University
  • Florida Atlantic University
  • Hofstra University
  • Howard University
  • Indiana University
  • Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
  • Medical College of Wisconsin
  • Meharry Medical College
  • Mercer University
  • Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, since 2015
  • New York Medical College, since 2015
  • Tulane University School of Medicine, since 2016
  • East Tennessee State University, since 2016
  • Central Michigan University, since 2016
  • University of Illinois College of Medicine, since 2016
  • Stony Brook University
  • Temple University
  • Texas A&M University
  • Texas Tech University El Paso
  • Tulan University
  • University of Colorado Denver
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
  • University of Miami
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Mississippi
  • University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
  • University of North Carolina
  • University of North Dakota
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Texas Health Science Centre and Medical Branch
  • University of Vermonth
  • University of Washington
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • West Virgina
Schools that Require CASPER
McMaster University Campus in Ontario, Canada, where the CASPER test was created.

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Nursing Schools and CASPer®:

  • McMaster University which has been using CASPer®, since 2015
  • York University, since 2015
  • Mohawk College, since 2015
  • Conestoga College, since 2015
  • Trent University, since 2016
  • Nipissing University, since 2016
  • University of British Columbia, since 2016

Optometry Schools and CASPer®:

  • University of Waterloo and University of Montreal adopted the test in 2016.

Veterinary Schools and CASPer®

  • University of Montreal

Dentistry Schools and CASPer®

  • University of Montreal which adopted the test into their dentistry school admission process in 2016.

The CASPer® assessment is structured into 12 sections, which contain video-based or word-based scenarios that you should judge and respond to. The questions are open ended and are based on the scenarios created by the videos or paragraphs shared with the applicant. Candidates usually have 5 minutes to respond to each scenario. It is important to note that the video cannot be replayed. As such, quick but sound judgement is of paramount importance.

CASPer® assessors are trained to gauge the suitability of your responses based on certain criteria. Each applicant’s test is scored by 12 different assessors, who score each of the 12 sections separately. A response can fall between 1 and 9 on a scale provided, where 1 is unsatisfactory while 9 is superb.

For more information, see the MedApplications.com learning centre.

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