MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSIONS: The Casper Test
Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics.
SHUT OUT OF MEDICAL SCHOOL, HE BLAMES CONTROVERSIAL ADMISSIONS TEST
An online article from CBC GO PUBLIC (Posted: Apr 14, 2025)
Critics say claims that Casper predicts student performance are unsubstantiated. Erik Soby thought he had a shot at getting into medical school last year. The Torontonian scored high on the standard Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and had an impressive grade point average.
But most medical schools in Canada now require another admissions test — called the Casper — and Soby believes that hurdle was his downfall.
“That was the one aspect where I was below the average,” he said. “So I ended up getting screened out.”
Medical schools are under a lot of pressure to sort through thousands of applications each year — people vying for a coveted spot and the chance to become a physician.
To help narrow down candidates, many medical schools use the Casper.
The company behind the test, Acuity Insights, claims the Casper helps schools predict which students will have career success by assessing “soft skills” — from empathy and ethics to judgment and communication.
The test poses video and typed scenario-based questions that ask the applicant to weigh in on a moral dilemma.
The questions change every year, but Soby gives an example of what one might look like.
“They’d say, ‘This company that we’re looking to invest in has a reputation of [not believing in] climate change,'” he said. “You’re supposed to weigh both sides of the scenario.”
Twelve of Canada’s 17 medical schools rely on the Casper test as part of the initial admissions process, many putting a lot of weight on an applicant’s score — up to 30 per cent in some cases.
Although Casper was originally designed to screen medical school applicants, the company has successfully marketed it to other programs across Canada — from nursing, dentistry and physical therapy to undergraduate programs such as the University of Alberta’s bachelor of education program and the University of Western Ontario’s engineering school.