Casper Snapshot

That said, we recommend that you register for Casper in the spring of your application year (April or May) so that you can take the test—and have enough time to complete Duet—by the time that you submit your AMCAS application in May, or shortly thereafter.

Casper Snapshot

NAME

casper-snapshot - a simple script to ease persistence usage.

SYNOPSIS

casper-snapshot [-c|--cow DIRECTORY] [-d|--device DEVICE] [-e|--exclude-list FILE] [-o|--output FILE] [-t|--type TYPE] casper-snapshot -r|--resync-string STRING casper-snapshot -h|--help casper-snapshot -u|--usage casper-snapshot -v|--version

DESCRIPTION

Casper-snapshot is a script which can be used to build the right types of persistent image files supported by casper. It is also used on exit by the casper init script to resync the boot-found snapshots devices.

OPTIONS

-c, --cow DIRECTORY specifies the input directory to be cloned in the image file. Its default value "/cow" should be right for most uses. However it could be handy to specify "/home" and type ext2 for the type to prepare an image file suited to be directly mounted by casper as home. -d, --device DEVICE sets the device where the media which the snapshot/persistence file/partition will be put. If it is not specified, a tmpfs will be used and linked to the user's desktop to move it where it is needed. If the device has no filesystem, an ext2 fs will be automatically created and labelled according to the values specified after the "--output" value or with a sane default. -e, --exclude-list FILE a file containing a list of filenames/paths that should not be saved. This exclude list will be remebered on the target snapshot media for reuse. -o, --output FILE the filename/label used for the output file/partition. If left blank, casper- snapshot will search for a proper file on the device or use the whole partition. -r, --resync-string STRING internally used on resyncs. -t, --type TYPE Type could be one of "cpio", "squashfs" or "ext2".

BUGS

casper-snapshot Time (and BTS) will tell.

HOMEPAGE

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR

casper-snapshot was written Marco Amadori [email protected]>. This manual page was written by Marco Amadori [email protected]>, for the Debian project (but may be used by others).

© 2019 Canonical Ltd. Ubuntu and Canonical are registered trademarks of Canonical Ltd.

Casper, Snapshot, and Duet: Everything You Need to Know (2023)

What to know and how to prep for the newest Casper exams

Part 1: Introduction to Casper, Snapshot, and Duet

Part 2: What you need to know about Snapshot

Part 3: What you need to know about Duet

Part 4: Which medical schools require Snapshot and Duet?

Part 1: Introduction to Casper, Snapshot, and Duet

As a prospective medical school applicant, you’re probably familiar with Casper, the computerized admissions test that evaluates situational judgment and personal characteristics. Casper has been around for several years and is increasingly widely used in the medical school admissions process, so you’ve likely known about it for some time and know to prepare for it.

However, at the start of the 2021–2022 application cycle, word got out about needing to take not one but three Casper tests. In addition to the main Casper test, there are two additional assessments: Snapshot and Duet.

While some schools required Snapshot during the 2022-2023 cycle, there was an announcement in 2023 that Snapshot will no longer be required by any programs starting with the 2023-2024 cycle.

With little information out there, you’re probably wondering things like:

• What is Duet?
• Do the medical schools I’m applying to require it?
• How do I know if I need to take this test?

In this guide, we’ll address these uncertainties and more. Below, we’ll cover all of the logistical information you need and discuss preparation strategies, plus provide a list of schools that require Duet.

What are Casper, Snapshot, and Duet?

Let’s begin by briefly outlining each test to get a sense of how they differ:

• Casper: A 90–110 minute situational judgment test that measures in writing and through recorded video responses your professionalism and other personal traits like ethics, communication, empathy, and more.
• Snapshot: A 10–15 minute, one-way video response tool (i.e., a recorded interview) that allows you to demonstrate your communication skills and provide insight into your motivations for entering medicine.
• Duet: An untimed assessment of what you value in a medical school and how that aligns with what a program offers.

The three tests are administered by Acuity Insights. Each test aims to evaluate different aspects of who you are as an applicant in order to provide medical schools with as complete a picture of you as possible.

Casper and Duet logistics

Here’s how the tests work, logistically: you’ll first register on the Acuity Insights website, at which time you’ll reserve a specific date on which you’ll take Casper.

After this, you’ll be able to complete Duet at your leisure, beginning as soon as you register. Acuity recommends that you take it within two weeks of taking Casper so that the assessment results can be sent to medical schools at once. Nevertheless, it is possible to complete Duet up until your earliest program distribution date (available on the test dates page).

Your $85 registration fee covers sending results for Casper and Duet to eight programs. There are no separate registration fees for Duet. Beyond those eight schools, distributing your test results costs $15 per school.

Note that your Casper results will still be sent to medical schools even if you don’t complete Duet.

When should you take Casper and Duet?

In the 2022–2023 application cycle, Casper test dates are offered at least once per month, with even greater numbers of dates available in the summer and early fall months. However, each medical school sets its own deadline, so the latest date by which you can take Casper depends on where you’re applying.

That said, we recommend that you register for Casper in the spring of your application year (April or May) so that you can take the test—and have enough time to complete Duet—by the time that you submit your AMCAS application in May, or shortly thereafter.

Keep in mind that test results are transmitted to medical schools 2–3 weeks after completion. Ideally, you want your scores to reach schools by the time you submit your secondary applications in July so that your entire application can be considered at once.

How are Snapshot and Duet scored?

When Snapshot was required by medical schools, results were provided without a score. Individual programs reviewed and assessed your responses for themselves.

Duet scores are created automatically (i.e., not by a human) by comparing your assessment with each medical school’s assessment of values and preferences.

Is Duet required?

Acuity recommends, though does not require, that all applicants who register for Casper complete Duet as well.

That said, as noted earlier, your Casper results will be sent to medical schools regardless of whether or not you complete Duet. On top of this, many medical schools that require Casper have stated explicitly that they do not require Duet.

So, should you take Duet? Our general recommendation is that you do. Even if none of the schools you’re applying to currently require the tests, medical school requirements can and do change. You might also decide to tack on additional schools as the application season goes on, so it’s a good idea to be prepared for any future application requirement.

Given that the tests require you to invest relatively little time, there’s virtually no downside to ensuring that you have test results to share.

That said, if you are positive that your school list is set in stone, and you’ve confirmed with each of these schools that they are not requiring Duet, you’re probably fine to go ahead and skip it.

Part 2: What you need to know about Snapshot

(Note: As of May 2023, Snapshot is not required by any medical schools for the 2023-2024 cycle. However, we have left this section up on our site in case things changes during the cycle.)

We’ve covered how to prepare for Casper extensively in a separate guide, which includes numerous practice questions and sample responses.

In the next two sections, we’ll go over the formats of Snapshot and Duet and provide tips on how to best navigate each test.

Snapshot format

The format of Snapshot is as follows:

1. When you log in to Acuity to take Snapshot, you’ll first undergo a systems requirement check.
2. Next, you’ll complete a mandatory practice session with two questions. You can repeat the practice session as many times as you want until you feel that you’re ready for the real thing.
3. Once you begin your Snapshot test, you’ll face three interview-style questions. You’ll read the question, have 30 seconds to reflect on what you want to say, and then two minutes to record a response. If you finish your response before the two minutes are up, you can stop the timer and move on to the next question.
4. Once you complete all three questions, you’ll submit your responses.

Snapshot is fairly straightforward, not to mention brief, but there are a few key points to keep in mind:

• Your responses are automatically saved, so you can’t go back and redo an answer.
• Since you’ll be on camera, it’s critical that you dress appropriately for an interview and take the test in an environment that’s clean, quiet, well lit, and free of distraction.
• It’s a good idea to test your internet connection, webcam, and microphone before taking the test so you can ensure that everything’s working well ahead of time.

What kinds of questions does Snapshot ask?

According to Acuity, Snapshot allows you to “bring your personal statement to life.” So, you can expect questions that aim to get a sense of who you are as a person and why you want to become a physician—the same kinds of questions that you would face in a standard medical school interview.

Below we’ll review common types of questions that you might find in your Snapshot test.

Medicine-related questions: These questions will invite you to share your career goals as well as the motivations and experiences that shaped your decision to pursue medicine. For instance, you might be asked:

• What made you decide to become a physician?
• What aspect of medicine most interests you?
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Personal reflection questions: These sorts of questions help medical schools learn more about who you are, including your abilities to self-reflect, handle obstacles, and respond to difficult situations. They typically draw out your capacity for the skills and knowledge described in the AAMC’s Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students. Sample questions include:

• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• Tell me about a time when you failed.
• Describe a time when you displayed leadership.

Values questions: While these questions don’t ask for anecdotes and direct self-reflection, they nonetheless reveal aspects of who you are and what you value. For example:

• Who is someone you admire and why?
• What is your favorite book?
• What was your favorite class in college?

How to prepare for Snapshot

To ensure that you are prepared for Snapshot, plan to review common medical school interview questions. Our guide to medical school interviews includes several standard questions with example responses, plus appendices with 50+ practice questions and virtual interview tips. Having compelling answers and anecdotes ready to go for common questions will aid you greatly when taking the test, especially given the limited time you have to respond.

A great method for preparing these responses in advance is to go over your personal statement, secondary essays, and AMCAS Work & Activities section. Ideally, the examples you bring up during Snapshot should come from or align with experiences you’ve already described in these materials. Applicants often worry that repeating information will make them seem boring or limited, but doing so actually helps solidify a cohesive portrait of who you are. It’s fine to expand on an anecdote beyond what you’ve already described in writing, but presenting, say, a totally new reason for why medicine interests you may create confusion and raise red flags.

You should also review the AAMC Core Competencies mentioned earlier. Go through each competency (excluding the science competencies) and make sure you can describe an experience that demonstrates that skill or quality. These anecdotes can but don’t need to come directly from medical experiences.

Applicants we’ve worked with who have taken Snapshot have reported that the most difficult aspect of the test is its fast pace. So, when preparing, make sure to time yourself so you can practice thinking quickly on your feet.

An effective way to do this is to virtually participate in a mock Snapshot interview with a friend, advisor, or admissions consultant, mimicking the format as exactly as possible. Not only will this help you get used to the time constraint, it’ll also allow you to practice delivering your answers to a screen and help you work out any technological kinks, environmental issues, or distracting mannerisms ahead of time. Similarly, you can make use of the two-question, official practice section that precedes Snapshot.

Sample Snapshot questions and responses

To give you a sense of how to put it all together, let’s take a look at a sample response for each type of question outlined above. You can use these examples as guidance when preparing your own practice responses.

Medicine-related question: What made you decide to become a physician?

You can extract the answer to this question straight from your personal statement. Select three brief anecdotes that lay out your path towards medicine: the experience that first interested you in medicine, a situation in which you explored the field, and the time when you knew that medicine was for you.

In high school, I worked in the dining room of an assisted living retirement facility. I got to know the residents pretty well, and although my role was essentially being a waiter, being able to provide small moments of service to the residents planted a seed in me. I knew I wanted to keep making a difference in people’s lives, and witnessing the work of the medical staff at the retirement home inspired me. When I got to college, I sought out shadowing opportunities at the university hospital. Because it was the only major hospital for hundreds of miles, many patients came in with already advanced conditions due to a lack of access to adequate primary care. This sparked an interest for me in addressing the social and economic determinants of health. After my freshman year, I spent the summer volunteering at a rural health clinic about a hundred miles away from my school. Seeing the difference that even basic preventative care made in the lives of our patients, and getting to connect with them through this care, reminded me of working at the retirement home. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to become a physician in order to help improve the lives of the most vulnerable.

Personal reflection question: Tell me about a time when you failed.

What this question is asking is, essentially, “How resilient are you?” Med schools aren’t really that interested in knowing what you failed at; rather, they want to know how you met a challenge and grew from it. So, explain your failure, provide some self-reflection, and then talk about what you did to address the problem and what you learned.

When I was thirteen, my grandmother came from Korea to live with my family. She didn’t speak English well, so certain errands or tasks outside of the house required a family member to accompany her so one of us could translate. One time during junior year, my mom called me before soccer practice and asked if I could come home to take my grandma to the dentist. Because I was captain of the team, I felt I couldn’t leave practice. I told my mom I’d be home in a few hours and would take my grandma then. By the time I got home, the dentist had closed and we had to wait until the next day to address the pain in my grandma’s teeth. Witnessing this pain devastated me, and I felt a great deal of guilt and shame at having prioritized soccer over a family member. I apologized to my grandma and tried my best to care for her that night, which felt woefully inadequate. After this, I made a point to be more thoughtful and to proactively offer my help and care—I was offering to accompany her to so many places that it became a running joke in my family. When I got to college, I was inspired to start a medical translators club to provide free medical appointment translation to non-English speakers in the Atlanta area. The incident really drove home for me the reality that language can be a huge barrier to healthcare access and that being able to communicate with your healthcare provider should be a basic right for all.

Values question: Who is someone you admire and why?

In answering this question, you can again refer to the AAMC Core Competencies. Pick a person who exemplifies one or more of the personal qualities listed there and discuss how they inspire or have made an impact on you.

One person who I greatly admire is my aunt Penelope. She’s been a talented painter all her life but had to put an art career on pause when her husband unexpectedly passed away at a young age. This tragedy led her to seek out more lucrative work so she could support herself and my cousins. She went back to school and became an RN, but she never quit painting simply because she loved and enjoyed it. In recent years, as she’s been able to afford to work less, she’s spent more of her time focusing on art and has actually been able to exhibit her paintings in several galleries in the Denver area. To me, Penelope exemplifies many qualities that I value: she always puts others first, she’s resilient and adaptable, and she never gives up on her goals. Whenever I feel discouraged because I didn’t accomplish something I set out to do, I always think of Aunt Penelope, and I remember that persistence and passion pay off.