What Is CASPer? A Complete Guide
Note: Which schools require CASPer, registration fees, test dates, and prerequisites all change periodically, and the University of Notre Dame has been in the process of merging its Sydney and Fremantle medical schools into a single national program, which may affect how CASPer requirements apply there going forward. Always confirm current details directly through the CASPer website and each university before relying on the specifics below.
To answer "what is CASPer?", let's start by unpacking the acronym: Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics. It sounds a little clinical, but at its core, CASPer is a Situational Judgment Test. Rather than testing technical knowledge like the GAMSAT, or achievements and communication like a traditional interview, CASPer is designed to assess how well you make effective, ethical decisions in workplace-style situations. Many of the scenarios you'll encounter feel similar in spirit to certain MMI questions.
A typical CASPer scenario might involve resolving conflict between a colleague and a supervisor, or working through a moral dilemma relevant to future medical practice. The range of content is genuinely broad.
This guide walks through what to expect from the test, along with some general logistics to help you prepare.
Which Australian Medical Schools Require CASPer?
As of writing, CASPer has been used by:
- University of Notre Dame Sydney (UNDS)
- University of Notre Dame Fremantle (UNDF)
- University of Wollongong (UOW)
If you're applying to any of these, Fraser's Interview Learning Academy offers a free CASPer practice test worth checking out. That said, always confirm current requirements directly with each university, particularly given Notre Dame's ongoing transition toward a single, unified medical program across its campuses.
Who Actually Takes the CASPer Test?
Unlike the GAMSAT, CASPer isn't unique to Australian medical admissions. It's used by a range of universities both locally and internationally, across a variety of courses, and is a fairly common additional admissions criterion for medical schools in the United States. As medical school entry continues to grow more competitive, it wouldn't be surprising to see broader adoption across Australian universities over time, though that remains speculative rather than confirmed.
Where it is required, CASPer is often the primary interview ranking criterion, meaning a satisfactory score can be a genuine prerequisite for receiving an interview offer at all.
What Is CASPer Actually Assessing?
If there's one word that captures what CASPer tips ultimately reduce to, it's professionalism.
CASPer is designed to evaluate how you'd conduct yourself in the genuinely high-stakes environment of a medical workplace. Healthcare is highly sensitive to error, and most catastrophic mistakes in medicine come down to miscommunication and poor management rather than a gap in technical knowledge. Medical students are thrown into this environment early, largely because medical training is built around an apprenticeship-style model. There's simply no substitute for learning patient communication and clinical skills under the guidance of a qualified professional.
When we say CASPer tests professionalism, we mean it's trying to determine whether you'll be a dependable, responsible medical student who integrates well into a hospital environment, and whether your judgment holds up under pressure and genuine ambiguity.
Test Format
CASPer uses two main question formats:
Video-based scenarios. You'll watch a short video, roughly a minute long, then respond to questions evaluating the characters' conduct and justifying your own position on what unfolded.
Written scenarios. These tend to be more open-ended, sometimes resembling a standard interview question that asks you to draw on your own past experiences. Written scenarios are generally more reflective in tone compared to the more analytical style of video-based questions.
CASPer Practice Questions
Preparation genuinely matters here. Getting familiar with the style of question you'll face makes a real difference on test day.
Note: the following examples are adapted from past CASPer-style questions available publicly online.
Example 1 (Video-Based): A man wants to take paternity leave to spend time with his children but feels conflicted about the potential career impact.
- Would you recommend he take the leave? Why or why not?
- What strategies could help him make a decision he feels genuinely comfortable with?
- Why do you think people often struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Example 2 (Video-Based): A customer requests a refund without a receipt, explaining he needs the money to afford medication for his daughter's illness. You're the store manager.
- Would you offer the refund? Why or why not?
- If you decide to follow store policy instead, how would you decline the refund while still showing genuine empathy?
- What's the single most important quality in a customer service role, and why?
Example 3 (Written): Think of a time you had to make a real sacrifice to achieve a goal.
- Briefly describe the situation and what you gave up.
- Do you regret that decision? Why or why not?
- What did you learn from it that applies to the career you're pursuing now?
How Long Does CASPer Take?
CASPer is structured across 12 sections, and the full computer-based exam generally takes 60 to 90 minutes, with an optional 10-minute break partway through. Unlike the GAMSAT, you can't work through the sections at your own pace. Once you open a scenario, a timer (typically around five minutes) begins, and once it runs out, the software automatically moves you on. Each section has a fixed number of typed responses required, generally three per scenario.
When Should You Sit CASPer?
As with most admissions tests, CASPer has registration deadlines worth tracking closely. Exact dates are published on the official CASPer website and vary by intake, but sittings have historically clustered somewhere between early May and early July.
A couple of prerequisites to keep in mind: you'll typically need a valid GAMSAT ID to register, so sitting CASPer purely for practice in a year you don't have a current GAMSAT score usually isn't possible. There's also a registration fee, generally quite a bit lower than the GAMSAT's, though the exact amount changes periodically, so check the current fee directly on the CASPer website before registering.
How to Prepare for CASPer
A good starting point is the official CASPer website itself. Similar to ACER's approach with the GAMSAT, no model answers are provided, but the available sample scenarios (a mix of video and written prompts) are genuinely useful for getting a feel for the exam's content and structure. As with GAMSAT prep, working through practice scenarios with a study group tends to sharpen your answers considerably, since talking through your reasoning with peers helps surface blind spots you wouldn't catch alone.
From there, it's worth looking into more structured CASPer prep resources, including a proper mock exam. Simulating the real test environment under genuine time pressure helps you understand the format, identify weak spots, and refine your approach before the real thing. Fraser's Interview Learning Academy offers free CASPer mock exams for exactly this purpose.
CASPer Preparation Courses
For more structured, guided preparation, a dedicated CASPer course can help in a few specific ways:
Understanding core CASPer competencies. Knowing exactly which qualities the test is assessing, empathy, professionalism, ethical reasoning, and communication among them, helps you tailor your responses to genuinely resonate with evaluators rather than answering generically.
Mock exams with model solutions. There's no single "correct" answer in CASPer, but practising against realistic scenarios and reviewing strong sample responses builds real familiarity with the format and sharpens your overall approach.
Private tutorials. One-on-one guidance can help pinpoint specific question types or scenario styles you're less confident with, and gives you tailored feedback that's harder to get from generic practice alone.
Related Articles
- The University of Notre Dame Doctor of Medicine Guide — A detailed look at Notre Dame's MD program, including its ongoing campus restructuring.
- University of Wollongong Doctor of Medicine Program Guide — Entry requirements and program details for UOW Medicine.
- Medical School Applications Process: A Comprehensive Guide — A full walkthrough of the GEMSAS system and current application changes across Australian medical schools.
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