Beginning in the EY2022 application cycle, many medical and allied-health programs now require applicants to complete the Altus Suite assessments: Casper, Duet, and Snapshot.

What is the Altus Suite?

The Altus Suite is a standardized, three-part online assessment of non-cognitive skills, interpersonal characteristics, and personal values. Many healthcare professional programs (e.g., medical school, physician assistant programs, etc.) are now requiring applicants to complete all or some of the Altus Suite as part of the application process. Programs are looking to make sure that students are not only academically capable but also possess suitable personal and professional qualities that make them more likely to succeed in the profession.

Altus Suite currently consists of three assessments:

CASPER

The Casper test comprises 12 sections of video (8-sections) and written (4-sections) scenarios. Following each scenario, you will be required to answer a set of 3 questions within 5-minutes. The test typically takes between 60-90 minutes to complete. Each response is scored by a different rater.

No studying is required for Casper, although you may want to familiarize yourself with the test structure and ensure you have a quiet environment to take the test. We strongly urge you to take advantage of the 12-section practice test, which will not only immerse you in the test environment but will also ensure you meet the technical requirements to access and complete the test.

Importantly, your Casper score is not provided to you. Instead, you will be notified of which quartile you fall into relative to other applicants (e.g., if you are in the 4^th quartile, then you scored higher than 75% of other applicants). The programs that you have indicated to receive your Casper results will receive both your score and your percentile rank.

Casper test results are only valid for one admissions cycle. Applicants who have already taken the test in previous years must re-take it for the current admissions cycle. For a more detailed look at the Casper test, click here.

SNAPSHOT

Snapshot is a one-way video interview tool that takes 10-15 minutes to complete. It is used to help programs get to know their applicants better by assessing verbal and non-verbal communication skills, as well as motivation for the profession.

Snapshot includes 2 mandatory practice questions to allow applicants to get familiar with the format and to test their audio and video capabilities. After you complete the practice portion, you will move on to record responses to 3 standardized interview-style questions. You will have 2 minutes to record each response. You will have time to read and consider each question during a 30-second reflection period before they begin recording. All recorded responses will be submitted to the program for review. 

DUET

Duet is a 15-minute value-alignment assessment that compares what you value in a program with what the program has to offer.

You will be shown a pair of characteristics within a given category and prompted to quickly select the one that is more important to you. After completing the comparisons within all categories, you’ll be asked to compare each of the categories in pairs. As you did for the characteristics, choose the category that is most important to you.

Which Texas programs currently require completion of the Altus Suite?

Adoption of these new assessments is not universal but you may encounter at least one or more programs that require applicants to complete them this application cycle. Therefore, it is important that you familiarize yourself with each and double-check the programs you hope to apply to for their specific requirements.

Medical:

• Baylor College of Medicine
• Long School of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio
• Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Texas A&M University College of Medicine
• Texas Tech University HSC School of Medicine
• Texas Tech University HSC, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
• The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
• UT Southwestern Medical School
• McGovern Medical School

Physician Assistant:

• UT Health – San Antonio
• The University of North Texas – Health Science Center
• The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

•  Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine

It is your responsibility to verify the specific requirements for the programs you wish to apply.

More information about these assessments (and how to register) can be found in the handout as well as at the Texas Health Education Service (TXHES) and the Altus websites.