Casper Test: Format, Scoring and Practice Questions

What the Casper test is and who runs it

Casper is an online, open-response situational judgment test: you watch or read short everyday scenarios and explain what you'd do and why. It's run by Acuity Insights, not the AAMC. You register and test through Acuity, and Acuity sends your results to the programs on your distribution list.

The mix-up is common because the AAMC does run a different test, the PREview professional readiness exam, where you rate how effective listed responses are instead of writing or recording your own. Schools choose which, if either, they want.

Acuity says Casper looks at collaboration, communication, empathy, fairness, ethics, self-awareness, resilience, problem solving and motivation, and that "there is no single correct answer to any question" (Acuity's Casper page). Confetto isn't affiliated with Acuity Insights. Facts about the real test below come from Acuity's own pages, read in September 2026.

The current Casper format

Acuity's applicant page, About Casper, doesn't name a cycle. As of September 2026 it describes this format:

Section	Scenarios	Questions	Time to answer
1. Video response	4	2 open-ended questions per scenario	1 minute per response, recorded on your webcam
2. Typed response	7	2 open-ended questions per scenario, shown on the same page	3.5 minutes total for both questions
Whole test	11	22	About 65 to 85 minutes, including two optional breaks

Acuity notes the format "may vary slightly for select programs," such as Australian teacher education programs, which use a shorter version.

Acuity's 2023 technical manual says Casper had 15 scenarios in the 2022-23 cycle (9 typed, 6 video) and 14 in 2023-24. A guide describing 14 or 15 scenarios is out of date.

Acuity also offers a free 11-scenario practice test inside your Acuity account (Casper Prep). Take it. Acuity says applicants who complete the practice test tend to perform better.

How Casper is scored

• Humans score every response. Acuity says plainly that Casper doesn't use AI for scoring (How are Casper tests rated?).
• Each scenario on your test goes to a different rater, and no rater scores you more than once. That rater reads or watches both of your answers for the scenario but scores each question separately (Acuity Help Centre).
• Responses are anonymized: raters see only your typed or video answers, with no personal information beyond what you put in them. They're told to judge the substance of what you say, not grammar or spelling.
• Ratings are averaged, then standardized against other applicants who took the same test instance.
• Programs get a single z-score and percentile. You get a quartile.

What your Casper quartile means

Your quartile tells you roughly where you landed relative to other applicants who took the same test type. It isn't a percentage of questions answered correctly. Acuity's advisor page puts it this way: 25% of applicants fall in each quartile, so the first quartile covers the 0 to 24th percentile and the fourth covers the 75th to 100th. Acuity doesn't give applicants the underlying score, and each program decides how to use it (Will I receive my Casper score?).

When results arrive

• Programs on your distribution list: about 2 to 3 weeks after your test, or within 1 business day for programs added later (Acuity Help Centre).
• You: an email when your quartile is ready, usually 4 to 5 weeks after your test date (Acuity Help Centre).

How to check if your schools require Casper

Start with Acuity's Dates and Fees search. Pick your country, admissions cycle and program type, and it shows the Casper test type your program needs, its test dates and distribution deadlines. Then confirm on each school's admissions page. Three examples for the 2026-27 cycle (students entering in 2027):

• Medical College of Wisconsin requires Casper and accepts tests taken March 19 through December 3, 2026. It won't review your application for interview selection until it has your score (MCW Admissions).
• New York Medical College requires all applicants, re-applicants included, to complete a 2026-27 Casper, and doesn't accept tests from earlier years (NYMC Supplemental Application). If NYMC is on your list, our NYMC interview guide covers its MMI.
• Temple's Lewis Katz School of Medicine requires Casper for all MD applicants and, for entering 2027, considers tests completed March 19, 2026 through January 5, 2027 (Temple MD How to Apply).

All three say a score is good for one cycle. If you're reapplying, you retake it.

8 Casper practice scenarios (written by us)

These are Confetto's own scenarios, written to match the current format. They aren't taken from the real Casper test. For the video ones, give yourself 1 minute per answer. For the typed ones, set a timer for 3.5 minutes and answer both questions inside it.

Video-style scenarios

1. The late teammate. You're leading a class project due tomorrow. One teammate hasn't sent their section and just messaged that their grandmother is in hospital.

1. What do you do tonight?
2. Tell us about a time you had to balance a deadline against someone else's personal situation.

What a strong answer does: acknowledges the teammate's situation, then offers a concrete plan (split the section, tell the instructor early).

2. The overheard comment. Volunteering at a clinic front desk, you hear a staff member make a mocking remark about a patient's weight after the patient walks away.

1. How would you respond?
2. Would your answer change if the staff member were your supervisor? Why?

What a strong answer does: talks to the staff member privately rather than publicly, explains why the remark matters for patient trust, and says who you'd go to if it keeps happening.

3. The free upgrade. A friend who works at a coffee shop keeps giving you free drinks. You've just noticed their manager watching.

1. What would you say to your friend?
2. Describe a time you had to tell a friend something they didn't want to hear.

What a strong answer does: protects your friend's job and turns down the freebies without lecturing.

4. Two job offers. You accepted a summer research position. A week later a better-paid clinical job offers you a spot.

1. What factors would you weigh?
2. What does keeping a commitment mean to you?

What a strong answer does: names what each side loses, talks to the research supervisor before deciding, and doesn't pretend money is irrelevant.

Typed-style scenarios

5. The group chat answers. Someone posts answers to a take-home quiz in your class group chat. Most classmates have seen them. You haven't opened the message yet.

1. What do you do, and why?
2. Should the instructor treat everyone in the chat the same way? Explain.

What a strong answer does: doesn't open the file, tells the instructor without naming names first, and separates the poster from people who just received the message.

6. The one travel grant. Your student club has one travel grant. One candidate has the strongest record. Another has less experience but couldn't attend otherwise.

1. How should the club decide?
2. What would you say to the person who doesn't get it?

What a strong answer does: proposes criteria set before looking at names, admits the tradeoff between merit and need, and offers the other candidate something concrete.

7. The online review. A small local business owner asks you, a regular customer, to post a five-star review. You've had mixed experiences there.

1. How do you respond?
2. Is it ever acceptable to write a review that isn't fully honest? Explain.

What a strong answer does: stays honest without being unkind and finds another way to help the owner.

8. The roommate's drinking. Your roommate has missed several classes after nights out and just asked you to sign in for them at a lab.

1. What do you do?
2. When is it your place to raise a concern about a friend's behavior?

What a strong answer does: declines to sign in, raises the pattern privately and without judgment, and mentions campus support if it continues.

Weak vs strong answer: a fictional example

Both answers below are made up by us for scenario 5, question 1, to show the difference Acuity's guidance points to. Acuity tells applicants to explain why they'd do something, not only what they'd do (Casper Prep).

Weak (fictional): "I would report it to the professor because cheating is wrong and academic integrity is important."

Strong (fictional): "I wouldn't open the file, so I can honestly say I haven't used it. I'd message the instructor that answers are circulating, without naming who posted, so they can decide whether to change the quiz. The person who posted may not have thought about the risk to everyone, so I'd also tell them directly that I'd flagged it. That way they don't hear it secondhand."

The weak answer reaches a reasonable decision and stops. The strong one does four things: it takes an action, gives a reason, thinks about another person's view, and suggests a next step. It's about 65 words, which fits easily in the time.

Video vs typed tactics

For the video section, 1 minute goes fast. Lead with what you'd do in your first sentence, then give one reason and one consideration for the other person. Look at the camera, not your own preview. Acuity recommends a private, well-lit room, an uncovered webcam and a microphone close to your mouth. A long pause or "um" at the start eats time you need.

For the typed section, 3.5 minutes covers both questions, so budget about 1 minute 40 seconds each and keep a few seconds spare. Acuity says you can use bullets and don't need polished paragraphs, and that raters don't count typos or grammar against you. Don't script answers in advance; memorized paragraphs usually miss the actual question.

For more scenarios to talk through, see our MMI interview questions and medical school interview questions.

A 2-week Casper practice plan

Days	What to do
1	Register with Acuity, book your date and add your programs to your distribution list. Run the system requirements check in your Acuity account.
2	Take Acuity's free practice test cold. Note which questions you ran out of time on.
3 to 5	Typed drills: 2 scenarios a day at 3.5 minutes each. Afterward, check each answer for a decision, a reason and a next step.
6 to 8	Video drills: record 2 scenarios a day at 1 minute per answer. Watch them back once and fix only your opening line.
9	Rest.
10 to 12	Mixed sets: 1 video and 2 typed scenarios back to back, timed, with no pauses.
13	One full timed run in the real order: 4 video, then 7 typed.
14	Light review only. Check your camera, mic and room. Sleep.

For days 6 to 13, Confetto's Casper practice runs a full timed test in the current format, 4 video scenarios then 7 typed. It scores every answer out of 9 (our own scale, not Acuity's) with notes on the competency behind it, and gives an estimated quartile for the session. The scenarios are written by Confetto, not taken from the real test, and the quartile is our estimate, not an Acuity score. The 7-day trial includes one quick Casper practice set, fully scored, and full timed practice tests come with every paid plan.