Altus Suite: The Ultimate Prep Guide for CASPer & Duet

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What is the Altus Suite? 

The Altus Suite, distributed by Acuity Insights, is a multi-level assessment used by professional and graduate programs to evaluate applicants’ non-academic qualities. The suite is designed to assess attributes such as communication, ethics, empathy, and fairness to help programs select applicants who align with their values and mission.

Altus Suite currently includes two components:

• CASPer: a situational judgment test that measures professional and interpersonal competencies.
• Duet: a value-alignment assessment that compares your personal preferences with a program’s profile to determine fit.

Not every school requires every component of the Altus Suite. Many programs ask applicants to complete CASPer only, while others may also require Duet. The Altus Suite is used by a wide range of health-related programs, including medical, dental, nursing, PA, pharmacy, and veterinary schools in the US, Canada, and abroad.

Want to hear about how this CASPer test prep strategy increases your score by at least 23%?

How do I book my CASPer?

Applicants can book their CASPer and Duet online through their Acuity Insights account portal after creating an account through Acuity Insights, which distributes the assessment. Your payment and registration for the test cover all parts of the assessment. Once you book your CASPer test date, you can complete Duet at your convenience anytime before your program’s deadline. You must complete the CASPer test on a specific date you book, but you do not have to complete the Duet at any specific time. Don’t forget to keep in mind application deadlines and try to complete both components of the Altus Suite assessment in a timely manner. Keep your medical school application timeline in mind, and remember that it takes between 2-3 weeks for Altus Suite to release your scores to relevant programs.

Remember to check whether your undergraduate or graduate program is one of the programs or medical schools that require CASPer and which parts of the assessment are required. Not every school will list the full requirements, so you can always contact the admissions office to confirm what you need to complete for your application. If you’re applying to one of the medical schools that don’t require CASPer, you may still be asked to complete just Duet, so be aware of the full application requirements!

Components of the Altus Suite

Now let’s go over each part of the assessment in more detail.

#1 The CASPer Test

This is the most familiar part of the Altus Suite, yet it is the most intimidating. This situational judgment test is famous for its difficulty, prompting many students to ask how to prepare for CASPer. It doesn’t help that some suggest that it’s not possible to prepare for CASPer. At BeMo, we have found by using the right strategies and practice, students can in fact prepare for CASPer and feel confident in their completion of the assessment. We have found the coaching effect on CASPer for applicants can actually increase their score and better prepare them for the challenge. The key to scoring well on CASPer is to understand the test’s format, content, and the strategies you can use to answer the questions.

Let’s quickly recap what the CASPer test is:

What’s on the CASPer test?

The CASPer test, which stands for Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, claims to assess the suitability and qualities of professional school applicants for the programs they apply to.

CASPer claims to assess 9 attributes: 

The CASPer test is comprised of 11 scenarios dealing with real-life situations, broken into 2 sections: video-recorded and typed response. Each scenario prompt is followed by two open-ended questions. For the video-record section, you will have 1 minute to video record each of your 2 answers. For the typed response section, you will have 3.5 minutes per scenario to type your response to 2 questions.

There are 3 types of questions you will see on the CASPer test:

1. Scenario-based questions
2. Policy-based questions
3. Personal or quirky questions

We’ll explore strategies for each of these different CASPer test question types in the next section.

How is the CASPer test scored?

Your performance in each question is given a score between 1 (lowest) and 9 (highest). You will be evaluated on your ability to remain objective, non-judgmental, non-assumptive, diplomatic, and professional in your answers. You will receive a quartile score for your CASPer test, which means you are scored in comparison to how other applicants did on the same test on the same date as you. So, if you scored in the 4^th quartile for your CASPer test on your test date, this means you scored higher than 75% of your peers on that date. Your score will be released to you 2-3 weeks after you take your CASPer test. Acuity Insights will also release your score to the programs you’re applying to 2-3 weeks after you complete your test. Programs won’t receive your quartile score, but your raw z-score instead.

We recommend taking a CASPer practice test, similar to an MCAT diagnostic test, to gauge how well you perform under CASPer’s time constraints and get familiar with the test content and question types. Acuity Insights offers an official CASPer practice test on their website for applicants to familiarize themselves with the platform and timing. 

#2 The Duet

This is one of the two current components of the Altus Suite assessment. Essentially, the Duet is designed to assess your suitability for your chosen programs. At the same time, the Duet also claims to assess which programs are the best fit for your academic and professional goals. According to Acuity Insights (formerly Altus Suite), representatives or stakeholders of professional programs, such as medical schools, complete an evaluation that generates a Program Profile. The applicants to these programs then complete the same assessment in which they choose the elements from several categories they most value in programs. The schools’ program profiles are then compared to the applicants’ rankings of values, goals, and priorities, resulting in “fit” scores for each applicant. The programs then receive the “fit” score of applicants for each category as well as the overall applicant rankings. Currently, the Duet is available for U.S. medical and selected health-related programs, and programs decide individually whether to require it. 

While the Duet sounds like an objective and standardized way to assess the fit between applicants and schools, it’s early to say whether this evaluation is truly non-biased. Considering that the Duet is designed to help schools find applicants whose values and goals align with their own, there may be an inherent partiality towards the schools. 

You will not receive a score for your Duet submission, and you will not be able to view the results. Your choices will be sent to the programs you indicate, and only they will be able to view the results of your evaluation.

How to Prepare for the Altus Suite Components

How long does it take to prepare for CASPer?

Notorious for its unpredictability, the CASPer test is difficult to prepare for, but not impossible. The key to a successful CASPer answer is having answer strategies for CASPer question types. You must design a CASPer prep approach to tackle any question category you may face. We recommend at least 6-8 weeks to prepare for CASPer. This prep includes taking CASPer practice tests, developing your answer strategies with sample CASPer questions and working on your timing, if need be. You may also choose to enroll in a CASPer test prep course, so it’s best to give yourself enough time to complete the course, too.

Completing the CASPer test takes between 65-85 minutes, and you’ll be given two optional breaks during the test. It’s a good idea to take advantage of these breaks to gather your thoughts and get ready for the next scenario.

Read on for our CASPer prep tips and question strategies!

Watch this video for our ultimate CASPer prep strategy and sample passages!

Situational or scenario questions

After witnessing a scenario, you will be presented with questions that ask for your personal reaction and assessment of the situation. Questions of this category may include “What would you do in this scenario?”, “What is going on in your mind right now?”, “How would you handle X situation?”, and so on. When you’re faced with a CASPer scenario follow-up question, it is important to identify these 3 things:

1. The most pressing or urgent issue presented in the scenario
2. Your role in the scenario
3. All the players who are affected directly or indirectly by the situation, including the most vulnerable parties or the person who will be most affected by any decision or action you take

Lastly, remember not to make any assumptions and remain as non-judgmental as possible in your answer. When you’re typing up or recording your answer, follow this response structure to hit all the key points:

1. State the most pressing issue in the scenario and how you can ensure the well-being of the vulnerable party.
2. Gather information missing from the prompt by having private conversations with the parties involved.
3. Using if/then statements, outline 2 or 3 possible outcomes from best to worst case scenario. Then, identify the most ethical and rational solution to the problem, which causes the least amount of harm to all those involved.

Scenario question themes

Scenario-based questions on the CASPer test will typically involve a theme, and many will involve multiple themes. These themes may be more general, such as a scenario depicting a conflict of interest or current events awareness, or they may be specific to the profession you are pursuing, such as rural vs. city practice in medicine or social awareness in nursing. Knowing what type of question themes are on the CASPer test will help you quickly identify the most pressing issue and help you to organize your thoughts around the main theme or themes. This can also identify which traits you can highlight in your response. For instance, an ethical or moral dilemma theme provides opportunity to showcase your empathy, non-judgmental approach and communication.

We’ll look at the different themes you can expect to see on CASPer below. And remember that questions will usually involve multiple themes for you to consider in your response:

Policy questions  

Policy questions are designed to evaluate your professional awareness and decision-making abilities. The questions are typically phrased in the following way: "What are your opinions on X in the medical field?", "How would you address the X issue in your professional field?", and so on. With policy questions, the test also assesses your ability to remain objective and non-critical of all sides of an issue. Again, consider the themes that the policy question is asking about, i.e. scope and current social events awareness, rural vs. city practice, ethical/moral dilemma, etc. Follow this general structure to answer CASPer policy questions: 

To prepare for questions in the policy category, research current events, social and political issues, and challenges facing the profession you are trying to join. You can start by visiting websites of your provincial/state and federal/national medical associations to read about the latest policies and news. You can learn about local and global health issues by reading the newspaper, watching the news, and visiting websites of institutions like the World Health Organization. To practice answering policy questions, you can write down a list of the most important and interesting policies you encounter, write down their pros and cons, and try to formulate your own informed opinion. Practice this strategy and know how to implement it in answering different policy questions you might face in the real test.  

Personal questions 

Many follow-up CASPer questions will ask you questions about times when you had to deal with similar issues or situations that are presented in the scenario you are faced with, such as “Have you ever experienced X? What was your reaction?” or “Have you ever been faced with X issue? How did you deal with it?”. Personal questions are meant to assess how you react in certain situations. The question may deal with professional boundaries, ethical/moral dilemmas, conflict resolutions, and other issues. Your answer should demonstrate to the evaluator that you know how to handle yourself in a situation. 

When you answer personal questions remember these steps:

Quirky questions

These are a subtopic of the personal question type, but they are designed to throw you off or catch you off guard. They are designed to test how well you think on your feet and if you can provide an interesting or well-thought-out answer to a random question. A quirky question might seem innocuous, i.e. “what kind of fruit would you be?”, but you should take it as seriously as other questions.

The structure to answering these types of questions are exactly the same as personal questions: provide a personal example, discuss what you learned and how you will implement those lessons moving forward. Don’t be afraid to show a little creativity in your answer, as your responses to quirky questions might end up being the most memorable for their uniqueness.

Are there right and wrong answers on the CASPer test? Watch this video to find out:

The Duet

It is difficult to prepare for this part of the Altus Suite assessment because it is not your abilities and experiences that are being assessed here. However, we are here to give you some tips for how you can ensure that you fill out the assessment to your advantage.

Before you sit down to fill out which qualities and characteristics you value most in the programs to which you are applying, visit the official websites of these schools. Read up on their mission statement, goals, and values. These are all important to assess what kind of applicants the programs are looking for. Based on your research, you will know which characteristics to put in your Duet assessment to target specific schools or programs.

If you are applying to an MD program in the US, learn how to use MSAR to choose the right school for you. This online database provides you with more than just the schools’ mission statement to help you gauge whether you are the right fit for your programs. MSAR also outlines the history of premedical experiences of each school’s matriculants. This means that you can assess what kind of experiences and skills these schools value in their students and highlight these in your Duet assessment! For example, over 90% of matriculants to Ivy League medical schools have extensive research experience, which indicates that you should emphasize your research skills and experiences in your AMCAS work and activities section if you are planning to apply to Columbia or Yale. In your Duet assessment, you can indicate that you value programs emphasizing research opportunities. 

Did you know that 90% of Ivy League matriculants have research experience?

On the other hand, if you are applying to the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, you might want to emphasize that the qualities you value in medical school programs include community involvement, diversity, providing healthcare for underserved communities, and so on. Why? Because based on the premedical experiences of their matriculants, those are the qualities the University of Mississippi is looking for in its students.   

Remember, it is important to do this research before you start preparing your application components! This way you will be able to emphasize the qualities and characteristics especially valued by the schools of your choice. This will help increase your Duet "fit" score since your application will include the qualities and experiences cherished by the schools of your choice. When the time comes, you will be able to fill out the Duet assessment with the knowledge of what kind of characteristics you should include based on what the schools value in their students. 

5 Tips for CASPer and Duet Success

Whether you’re completing just the CASPer test or both components of the Altus Suite assessment, good preparation and strategy is key. Aside from knowing how to answer the questions, there are some other tips and tricks you can implement so that come test day, you’ll be confident and self-assured for any part of the assessment. Below are our top 5 tips for acing the CASPerand Duet!

#1 Practice your video responses

It’s a good idea to practice your video responses and record yourself so you can play it back. This will reveal any adjustments you need to make to your answersand anything distracting in the background of your shot or any nervous tics you need to fix. Practice recording yourself with the timer on as well, so you can start shaping concise, confident answers within the 1-minute time limit and manage your stress over being timed and recoded.

#2 Practice your typed answers

Many students find that 5 minutes is not enough to answer both questions for the CASPer scenarios in the second section. This is why it’s important to take a mock CASPer test and work on both your typing speed and your answers. Again, use a timer so you can use stress management techniques and gauge how fast you can type quality answers. If your answers are too wordy, work on being concise and to the point. Keep in mind that the real CASPer test does NOT require you to write complete sentences. You may use bullet points, so long as you include the important and relevant information. If you’re a slow reader or slow typist, there are many resources you can use to improve your typing speed or improve your reading comprehension.

#3 Test your technology

It’s always important to test your technology to make sure it functions correctly and that you know how to use it. Technical issues on the day of your assessment do happen, but it’s up to you to mitigate these and plan to have a back-up option . Review the CASPer Systems Requirements checklist on the Acuity Insights website to ensure you have the proper equipment you need to take the test. Before you book your test, get your technology prepped, make sure you have a quiet, distraction-free space to take the test and complete the systems check on the day of your test.

#4 Consider your presentation

Since you’ll be recorded during your CASPer video responses, and evaluators will be able to see your recorded responses, it’s important to consider how you present yourself on camera and when answering questions. Your posture, body language, dress, and tone of voice are all going to factor into your presentation, just as they would in a real professional interview. Be aware of these things during your practice sessions and make adjustments as need be. If you fidget out of nervousness, practice some calming breathing techniques before you record your answers. Practice speaking calmly and confidently, and remember to speak loud enough for your microphone to pick up. If an evaluator can’t understand or hear your answer, you won’t receive a good score! Remember to dress professionally and keep a neutral background in your video so you can minimize distractions to yourself and the evaluator viewing your video.

#5 Do your research

As we’ve mentioned, doing your research is critical to completing your Duet assessment, since you’ll need to evaluate program values and qualifications to determine not only where you would be a great fit but how to choose a medical school or professional program. Researching programs can inform your answers to personal or quirky questions, too, since you can start brainstorming which personal anecdotes or experiences will showcase the qualities or attributes schools are looking for in their applicants. For example, a story about your volunteer work in a rural community will appeal to a medical school that prizes working in underserved areas.

The second thing you should spend time researching is the hot topic issues, current or proposed policies in your profession and current events. Knowledge of these will inform your answers to policy questions but may also help you formulate answers to scenario questions on CASPer, too. If you know there are gaps in your knowledge or experiences, such as a lack of experience working in rural areas, it is a great idea to at the very least research the current issues facing rural communities when it comes to health care or seek out some volunteer opportunities in rural areas to get firsthand experience.

Want help preparing for your CASPer or Duet? Here’s what our students have to say about us:

Conclusion

There is no denying that preparing for the Altus Suite assessment is a massive undertaking. Getting ready to ace each component of this assessment will take months. To accommodate appropriate preparations, you must carefully plan your application components, standardized tests, extracurriculars, and other commitments. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed in this situation. Instead of making the application process easier on students, the assessment adds more stress and anxiety. If you ever feel that you need assistance, you should reach out to professionals like a medical school admissions consultant to help you prepare for this obstacle. Appropriate and objective help can truly alleviate the fear of the new and unknown features of the CASPer test or Altus Suite assessment.  

FAQs 

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting 

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