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CASPer Guide 2019


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Hi. I'm an incoming med student, who got into McMaster despite having a weak GPA (3.45). My MCAT/CARS was good (129 CARS). People keep asking me how I managed to get in. In fact, when I had told people that I was going to apply with my GPA they told me:

  • I wouldn't get interviews
  • I would need to do a fifth year of undergrad
  • OR I would need to do a Master's and possibly a second undergrad.
  • And to be honest, they were completely right. With my GPA and MCAT, I wasn't really a good candidate for anything. But, I placed all my hope on the wildcard that is the "CASPer" test.

It's up to you whether or not you want to take it seriously, but I'll explain how to approach CASPer the best I can.

The CASPer is a 90 minute test of your ability to answer ethical problems... and realistically to just type fast. They want to see you see both sides of every issue they give you and how you'll solve the ethical dilemma without breaking the rules

So I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tackle the CASPer test. Here's what I did:

PRACTICE

It literally drives me nuts to hear people say "You can't practice/study, so I won't even try." For me, it was going to be as important as my GPA (which I poured my blood, sweat and tears into) and the CARS section of the MCAT (which also killed me inside as I studied). I practiced my ass off. For me, I used the CASPerfect tests. I paid for their evaluation, which gave me good advice and the tips I list below.

Even if you don't go through with paid evaluation, consider buying unevaluated practice tests. Take the time to analyze your responses and figure out how you can get better at this. Once again, it is entirely up to you to pay for prep - but it worked for me. You decide if you want to pay for prep - there are free services, and free official practice materials from the CASPer test makers too.

For me, practicing for CASPer meant:

Prepared by reading up on medical ethics.
This sounds silly, but I read [Doing Right](http://www.amazon.ca/Doing-Right-Practical-Trainees-Physicians/dp/0195428412) before even doing the test. It's a classic book for interview/MMI prep, so I figured I'd get a head start on it. By practicing for CASPer, you're really strengthening the skills that come in handy for the MMIs. For that reason, when you're done with your apps, working on CASPer is pretty much prepping early for interviews (which you can get! You've got this bro B) ) The UWashington Bioethics page is also great.

I reviewed my ECs and application

The CASPer has a personal statement every third question where you have to discuss yourself and your background. Here, they're looking for you to be thoughtful and self-reflective. Ultimately, I believe they want to see that you can take what you've learned from your experience and apply it to your future in medicine. For me, I ended my paragraphs with "I will take what I learned from this example into my future in medicine someday." or something like that.

Have a game plan and strategy

For me, I planned my responses like this:

  •     Discuss the issue from both sides (there are usually two parties involved).
  •     Discuss the issue in the context of "society." (How would cheating on a test affect the student cheating, other students, and then all of the future employers/patients/etc that will rely on the cheating student someday?)
  •     Answer with a decision that is ethical and doesn't break any rules.
  •     (If possible) Come up with a creative solution that minimizes punishment/harm/damage to any of the other people involved.

Improving my typing speed:

While the CASPer markers say that the amount of text isn't important, logically if one has more ideas down they'll likely score better, right? That seemed to be pretty basic to me. I practiced typing with the practice tests I mentioned at TenFastFingers. Note that this typing practice isn't as good as real CASPer practice tests because the time it takes to think and type >>> the time to type these random paragraphs quickly.

Getting better at thinking through the formula I devised quickly. This is where the practice tests were extremely useful for me. I recommend practice for this reason - you need to strengthen your ability to type fast and ethically.

How the CASPer is scored

Knowing how CASPer is scored is important as well. To begin with, CASPer markers mark a given question for a set of test-takers. For example, a marker may mark 1000 applicants answer to Question 1 and only that question. Why is this important? Because of two reasons:

  1. It means you can be repetitive with what you say, the style and phrasing of what you say
  2. And importantly, you need to stand out against other writers who are writing that same question. What this means is that showing that you think/reason more clearly, show more empathy, and/or come up with a creative solution will all push you higher up that bell curve.

The CASPer is scored using z-scores (a type of statistical measurement that is similar to a bell curve). You can check out the official CASPer marking guide from the people who made the CASPer here

Finally, realize that saying the wrong thing can get you and your exam red-flagged. That likely means a score of 0, or potentially having your application removed entirely. It's not clear what that means, but you can read about it in the official marking guide above. If CASPer is holding you back, you may be getting red-flagged.

Endnotes:

Unfortunately, regardless of how you feel about the test, it matters. Here's how much it matters, in Canada (I'll add US values if people know them):

image.thumb.png.63956625674028c8b705ef930752d24c.png

Feel free to DM me with questions, or ask here. :)

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58 minutes ago, stethoscope2019 said:

Hi. I'm an incoming med student, who got into McMaster despite having a weak GPA (3.45). My MCAT/CARS was good (129 CARS). People keep asking me how I managed to get in. In fact, when I had told people that I was going to apply with my GPA they told me:

  • I wouldn't get interviews
  • I would need to do a fifth year of undergrad
  • OR I would need to do a Master's and possibly a second undergrad.
  • And to be honest, they were completely right. With my GPA and MCAT, I wasn't really a good candidate for anything. But, I placed all my hope on the wildcard that is the "CASPer" test.

The CASPer is a 90 minute test of your ability to answer ethical problems... and realistically to just type fast. They want to see you see both sides of every issue they give you and how you'll solve the ethical dilemma without breaking the rules. In Canada, the CASPer counted for as much as my entire GPA at the med school I had the best chance at, McMaster.

So I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tackle the CASPer test. Here's what I did:

  • Prepared by reading up on medical ethics. This sounds silly, but I read Doing Right before even doing the test. It's a classic book for interview/MMI prep, so I figured I'd get a head start on it. By practicing for CASPer, you're really strengthening the skills that come in handy for the MMIs. For that reason, when you're done with your apps, working on CASPer is pretty much prepping early for interviews (which you can get! You've got this bro ;)B))
  • I reviewed my ECs and "autobiographical sketch." The CASPer has a personal statement every third question where you have to discuss yourself and your background. Here, they're looking for you to be thoughtful and self-reflective. Ultimately, I believe they want to see that you can take what you've learned from your experience and apply it to your future in medicine. For me, I ended my paragraphs with "I will take what I learned from this example into my future in medicine someday." or something like that.
  • Have a game plan.
  • For me, I planned it like this:
  1. Discuss the issue from both sides (there are usually two parties involved).
  2. Discuss the issue in the context of "society." (How would cheating on a test affect the student cheating, other students, and then all of the future employers/patients/etc that will rely on the cheating student someday?)
  3. Answer with a decision that is ethical and doesn't break any rules.
  4. (If possible) Come up with a creative solution that minimizes punishment/harm/damage to any of the other people involved.

PRACTICE - It literally drives me nuts to hear people say "You can't practice/study, so I won't even try." For me, it was going to be as important as my GPA (which I poured my blood, sweat and tears into) and the CARS section of the MCAT (which also killed me inside as I studied). I practiced my ass off. For me, I used the CASPerfect tests (I'm not affiliated with them). I paid for their evaluation, which gave me good advice and the tips I listed above. For their evaluation, they sent me documents like this. I also started with their free practice test, which I liked, so I decided to pay for their prep.

Even if you don't go through with paid evaluation, consider paid practice tests. Take the time to analyze your responses the same way they sent me an evaluation, and figure out how you can get better at this. Once again, it is entirely up to you to pay for prep - but it worked for me. For me this meant:

  • Improving my typing speed. While the CASPer markers say that the amount of text isn't important, logically if one has more ideas down they'll likely score better, right? That seemed to be pretty basic to me. I practiced typing with the practice tests I mentioned at TenFastFingers. Note that this typing practice isn't as good as real CASPer practice tests because the time it takes to think and type >>> the time to type these random paragraphs quickly.
  • Getting better at thinking through the formula I devised quickly. This is where the practice tests were extremely useful for me. I recommend practice for this reason - you need to strengthen your ability to type fast and ethically.

There are also excellent guides on CASPer on this site, like here, here, and here

Feel free to DM me with questions, or ask here :) 

Thank you so very much for taking the time to write this thorough explanation and share your wisdom! This will definitely come in handy to everyone who's ever preparing for CASper. Just a quick question, how long did your entire test prep take, and how many hours a day?

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51 minutes ago, Moonlight2 said:

Thank you so very much for taking the time to write this thorough explanation and share your wisdom! This will definitely come in handy to everyone who's ever preparing for CASper. Just a quick question, how long did your entire test prep take, and how many hours a day?

I didn't study for a given set of hours per day. But I spent my evenings reading Doing Right as much as possible, and getting it done about a week or two before the exam date. Then I spent my time dividing the 6 practice tests I bought over about 6 weeks. The marking would take about a day (they say 72 hours, but it was usually faster than that). I would write the test Monday evening, get the results usually Tuesday, and then analyze where I could improve based on their recommendations. Whenever I had a free chance, I also tried some practice typing tests, and tried to remember my strategy (look at both sides, pick one and explain it in depth).

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4 hours ago, stethoscope2019 said:

I didn't study for a given set of hours per day. But I spent my evenings reading Doing Right as much as possible, and getting it done about a week or two before the exam date. Then I spent my time dividing the 6 practice tests I bought over about 6 weeks. The marking would take about a day (they say 72 hours, but it was usually faster than that). I would write the test Monday evening, get the results usually Tuesday, and then analyze where I could improve based on their recommendations. Whenever I had a free chance, I also tried some practice typing tests, and tried to remember my strategy (look at both sides, pick one and explain it in depth).

Oh, I see. So if you wanted to estimate, how many hours would you say you've spent on CASPer overall?

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On 8/20/2019 at 6:39 AM, stethoscope2019 said:

Hi. I'm an incoming med student, who got into McMaster despite having a weak GPA (3.45). My MCAT/CARS was good (129 CARS). People keep asking me how I managed to get in. In fact, when I had told people that I was going to apply with my GPA they told me:

  • I wouldn't get interviews
  • I would need to do a fifth year of undergrad
  • OR I would need to do a Master's and possibly a second undergrad.
  • And to be honest, they were completely right. With my GPA and MCAT, I wasn't really a good candidate for anything. But, I placed all my hope on the wildcard that is the "CASPer" test.

The CASPer is a 90 minute test of your ability to answer ethical problems... and realistically to just type fast. They want to see you see both sides of every issue they give you and how you'll solve the ethical dilemma without breaking the rules. In Canada, the CASPer counted for as much as my entire GPA at the med school I had the best chance at, McMaster.

So I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tackle the CASPer test. Here's what I did:

  • Prepared by reading up on medical ethics. This sounds silly, but I read Doing Right before even doing the test. It's a classic book for interview/MMI prep, so I figured I'd get a head start on it. By practicing for CASPer, you're really strengthening the skills that come in handy for the MMIs. For that reason, when you're done with your apps, working on CASPer is pretty much prepping early for interviews (which you can get! You've got this bro ;)B))
  • I reviewed my ECs and "autobiographical sketch." The CASPer has a personal statement every third question where you have to discuss yourself and your background. Here, they're looking for you to be thoughtful and self-reflective. Ultimately, I believe they want to see that you can take what you've learned from your experience and apply it to your future in medicine. For me, I ended my paragraphs with "I will take what I learned from this example into my future in medicine someday." or something like that.
  • Have a game plan.
  • For me, I planned it like this:
  1. Discuss the issue from both sides (there are usually two parties involved).
  2. Discuss the issue in the context of "society." (How would cheating on a test affect the student cheating, other students, and then all of the future employers/patients/etc that will rely on the cheating student someday?)
  3. Answer with a decision that is ethical and doesn't break any rules.
  4. (If possible) Come up with a creative solution that minimizes punishment/harm/damage to any of the other people involved.

PRACTICE - It literally drives me nuts to hear people say "You can't practice/study, so I won't even try." For me, it was going to be as important as my GPA (which I poured my blood, sweat and tears into) and the CARS section of the MCAT (which also killed me inside as I studied). I practiced my ass off. For me, I used the CASPerfect tests (I'm not affiliated with them). I paid for their evaluation, which gave me good advice and the tips I listed above. For their evaluation, they sent me documents like this. I also started with their free practice test, which I liked, so I decided to pay for their prep.

Even if you don't go through with paid evaluation, consider paid practice tests. Take the time to analyze your responses the same way they sent me an evaluation, and figure out how you can get better at this. Once again, it is entirely up to you to pay for prep - but it worked for me. For me this meant:

  • Improving my typing speed. While the CASPer markers say that the amount of text isn't important, logically if one has more ideas down they'll likely score better, right? That seemed to be pretty basic to me. I practiced typing with the practice tests I mentioned at TenFastFingers. Note that this typing practice isn't as good as real CASPer practice tests because the time it takes to think and type >>> the time to type these random paragraphs quickly.
  • Getting better at thinking through the formula I devised quickly. This is where the practice tests were extremely useful for me. I recommend practice for this reason - you need to strengthen your ability to type fast and ethically.

There are also excellent guides on CASPer on this site, like here, here, and here

Feel free to DM me with questions, or ask here :) 

Congratulations on getting into Mac Med.

I just want to point out a few things. Firstly, I agree with the way you approach the ethical questions, which follows the Doing Right Format, however I would argue that for CASPer you might want to put your answer to the question first if you are confident about your position. Many times, people will spend so much time exploring the scenario but run out of time to commit to an answer, which essentially means you failed the question.

Another consideration is that although you spent a lot of time practicing for Casper, there is no evidence that this actually helped you perform well. I would suggest people find the papers about CASPer that are published and read them. They conclude that practice and typing speed had no impact on how well an applicant performed.

Just for context, I’ve written casper twice and was granted interviews both times (Accepted to Mac Med, wrote Casper for Residency applications as well). Aside from familiarizing yourself with the test and doing a few practice questions to figure out the timing, I do not think practice will improve your performance.

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On 8/25/2019 at 7:35 PM, Aetherus said:

Congratulations on getting into Mac Med.

I just want to point out a few things. Firstly, I agree with the way you approach the ethical questions, which follows the Doing Right Format, however I would argue that for CASPer you might want to put your answer to the question first if you are confident about your position. Many times, people will spend so much time exploring the scenario but run out of time to commit to an answer, which essentially means you failed the question.

Another consideration is that although you spent a lot of time practicing for Casper, there is no evidence that this actually helped you perform well. I would suggest people find the papers about CASPer that are published and read them. They conclude that practice and typing speed had no impact on how well an applicant performed.

Just for context, I’ve written casper twice and was granted interviews both times (Accepted to Mac Med, wrote Casper for Residency applications as well). Aside from familiarizing yourself with the test and doing a few practice questions to figure out the timing, I do not think practice will improve your performance.

Also good points. My experience is just one anecdote, and my opinion. But if you were able to do it differently (less practice, more analysis of the system) then that makes sense too. :) 

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This is pretty good advice. I've written it for med school and residency as well as scored it for a couple of years, and the only comment I would make is to your second bullet point. It's good to be aware of your history, but markers are blind to the rest of your application. I would review your history and identify a couple things that would fit well in multiple scenarios, then ahead of time think of how you could work them into potential "describe a time when you" questions.

For instance, say you were a camp councillor. Kind of think about this experience ahead of time, and then use it as your example for every scenario. A time when you had a conflict with a team member? A time when you had a personal failure? A time when you felt great personal success? An experience that informed you about societal disparities? Just riff on the same experience.

 

[Markers have no way of verifying what you say, so we grade the discussion and thought process. You get the same score for thoughtfully overcoming the differences between you and your Bio 101 group member as you do between you and the co-president of your NGO saving the world. We can't tell if its completely made up either...]

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 months later...
On 12/29/2019 at 12:16 PM, bellelurette said:

Hi, 

I am practicing for Casper and I was wondering if there were any online tutors (other than Astroff, **DELETED** and all the big ones) who could check my answers and give me feedback?

It could be former medical students or something like that...

Thanks for the help!

 

 

CASPerfect does that! Sorry for the late response lol

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Can applicants who are applying in a few years use the actual CASPer as practice? Like pay the fee, take the test to get a feel for the questions and then know how to prepare for the actual one down the road? I'm not sure if you have to release your scores to the schools unless CASPer specifically prohibits this? Thoughts?

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On 3/20/2020 at 2:48 PM, VivaColombia said:

Can applicants who are applying in a few years use the actual CASPer as practice? Like pay the fee, take the test to get a feel for the questions and then know how to prepare for the actual one down the road? I'm not sure if you have to release your scores to the schools unless CASPer specifically prohibits this? Thoughts?

From what I remember you had to put in your OMSAS number to be able to even register. A way to prevent people from using it for practice or seeing the questions beforehand or something.

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On 3/21/2020 at 8:12 PM, canada747 said:

From what I remember you had to put in your OMSAS number to be able to even register. A way to prevent people from using it for practice or seeing the questions beforehand or something.

I don't think that's right - a lot of places use casper now, some for residency even.

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On 3/21/2020 at 9:12 PM, canada747 said:

From what I remember you had to put in your OMSAS number to be able to even register. A way to prevent people from using it for practice or seeing the questions beforehand or something.

Just made an account today and tried to go through the process. Although you don't require an OMSAS number or anything to register, the disclaimer does state anyone found to use the test for fraudulent practice (such as practicing for a admission cycle), they reserve the right to forward personal information to schools. So the answer is you cannot legally use the casper test to practice and it must be used to apply for admission. But I can see students still using it for practice by throwing an app to OT/PT with a low application fee and pay the CASPer fee to practice for a future med/dent interview. No way to avoid that though...

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/25/2019 at 7:35 PM, Aetherus said:

Congratulations on getting into Mac Med.

I just want to point out a few things. Firstly, I agree with the way you approach the ethical questions, which follows the Doing Right Format, however I would argue that for CASPer you might want to put your answer to the question first if you are confident about your position. Many times, people will spend so much time exploring the scenario but run out of time to commit to an answer, which essentially means you failed the question.

Another consideration is that although you spent a lot of time practicing for Casper, there is no evidence that this actually helped you perform well. I would suggest people find the papers about CASPer that are published and read them. They conclude that practice and typing speed had no impact on how well an applicant performed.

Just for context, I’ve written casper twice and was granted interviews both times (Accepted to Mac Med, wrote Casper for Residency applications as well). Aside from familiarizing yourself with the test and doing a few practice questions to figure out the timing, I do not think practice will improve your performance.

 I believe that some applicants like myself whose English is their 2nd language and for them, practicing CASPer is also a way to practice how they form coherent ideas and thoughts quickly in English and I suppose it would be very beneficial in that sense. Also, for some people, it might not be intuitive for them to think on the spot with an ethical decision, and practicing a lot would help them to at least be familiar with a stringent structure or formula that they could follow during the test so that they would have more time to think about the content rather than how they would form their responses. 

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