Which Dental Schools Require CASPer? Verified 2026-27 List

The verified list of dental schools requiring CASPer in 2026-27 — only 8 programs, which four dropped it, and the schools whose own pages do not say.

The first dental-school-specific CASPer guide — confirmed list of requiring programs, how the 2025–2026 format changed, and the preparation strategy that actually works. return ( Most CASPer guides are written for medical school applicants. This one is specifically for dental school applicants — covering which programs require it, what the updated 2025–2026 format looks like, what dental admissions committees are actually evaluating, and how to prepare without wasting time on the wrong things. CASPer is one of the most misunderstood requirements in dental school admissions. Applicants who don't have it on their list often discover a required school too late to schedule it. Applicants who do know about it often over-prepare using medical school prep materials that don't reflect the dental context. And a cottage industry of expensive prep courses has grown up around a test that, done right, requires neither significant time nor

significant money to prepare for. This guide cuts through the noise. What CASPer is, which dental schools actually require it for the 2026 cycle, what changed in the 2025–2026 format update, and how to prepare effectively — with strategies specific to the dental professional context, not repurposed from medical school prep. What CASPer Is — and What It Isn't CASPer (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) is a situational judgment test (SJT) developed by Acuity Insights (formerly Altus Suite), now based on research originally from McMaster University. It is administered online, takes approximately 60–85 minutes, and presents applicants with a series of scenarios followed by open-ended response questions. What CASPer measures: Non-cognitive skills — empathy, ethical reasoning, communication, collaboration, problem-solving under pressure, and professionalism. The qualities that GPA and DAT scores cannot assess and

that dental school interviews assess incompletely. What CASPer does not measure: Clinical knowledge, science content, academic aptitude, or anything that would appear on the DAT. There are no right or wrong answers in the conventional sense. Responses are evaluated by trained human raters who score your reasoning process and communication rather than checking answers against a key. How it fits into dental admissions: CASPer functions as a supplementary screening tool. It doesn't replace the interview or override strong academic credentials. At programs that require it, an incomplete CASPer submission means an incomplete application — the program will not review you until the score is on file. The 2025–2026 CASPer Format Update CASPer changed its format for the 2025–2026 cycle. If you've seen older prep materials, they may reflect the previous format. Here's what's current: Number of scenarios: Reduced from 14 to 11 scenarios. Scenario

types: Four video-response scenarios and seven typed-response scenarios. Questions per scenario: Each scenario now has two associated questions (previously typed responses had three). Each question is scored individually. Time limits: Typed responses: 3.5 minutes per response window Video responses: 1 minute per question Total test time: Approximately 60–85 minutes depending on pacing. Scoring: Each question is scored individually by a trained human rater. The individual scores are aggregated into an overall band that is sent to your designated programs. You do not see your score — programs receive a percentile quartile report. Key Format Change. The reduction from three questions to two per typed scenario changes pacing strategy. Each response now carries more weight — the premium on getting to a clear position quickly and supporting it specifically in two responses is higher than under the old format. Which Dental Schools Require

CASPer in 2026-27 We rebuilt this list in August 2026 from two primary sources: Acuity Insights' own program directory — Acuity makes CASPer, so its directory is the closest thing to an authoritative list — and each school's own admissions pages, read individually. Where the two disagree, we say so rather than picking one. The headline finding is that this list is much shorter than most guides claim , and that several well-known schools have quietly dropped CASPer. Confirmed: 8 programs require CASPer for 2026-27 These are every US entry-level dental program listed in Acuity's 2026-27 dentistry directory. Note the third column: two of them are the international advanced standing track only, and their deadlines have already passed for this cycle. Program. Which applicants. CASPer deadline (2026-27). University of Utah. Domestic DDS. November 2, 2026. Western University of Health Sciences. Domestic DDS/DMD. November 26, 2026. University

of Louisville. Track not specified by Acuity — confirm with the school. January 18, 2027. Case Western Reserve. Domestic DMD. January 19, 2027. California Northstate. Domestic DDS/DMD. February 22, 2027. Temple University Kornberg. Acuity's listing accepts AADSAS, CAAPID and DentPIN IDs — see the warning below. February 22, 2027. UCLA — PPID only. International advanced standing only, NOT the 4-year DDS. July 9, 2026 — passed. Pacific Dugoni — IDS only. International advanced standing only. July 8, 2026 — passed. Temple: the vendor and the school disagree. Temple is the one entry we cannot resolve, and it is also the one people search for most. Acuity's directory lists Temple as requiring CASPer for 2026-27 with a February 22, 2027 deadline, and its listing accepts AADSAS, CAAPID and DentPIN numbers — which would mean both the four-year DMD and the advanced standing program. But CASPer does not appear anywhere on Temple's own admissions

pages. We read four of them end to end, including both advanced standing pages, and found no mention of CASPer, Acuity Insights, Duet or Snapshot. Our read: Temple most likely does require it and simply has not documented it, since a school does not usually appear in a vendor's directory by accident. But do not take that on our word for a test you have to schedule and pay for. Call Temple admissions and ask directly. Four programs that dropped CASPer — check the date on any guide you read This is where most outdated advice does its damage. Each of these schools required CASPer recently enough that guides still list them, and each has since stopped: School. Status now. What the school's own page says. University of Colorado. Dropped. Its international program page states, in capitals, that CASPER IS NO LONGER REQUIRED.. University of Detroit Mercy. Dropped. "Casper test is no longer required for Detroit Mercy Dental", effective the

2025-26 cycle.. Indiana University. Replaced. IU now uses a Kira Talent assessment instead. A 2022-23 IU bulletin still listing CASPer is live and outranks the current page.. High Point University. Replaced. Acuity lists High Point for 2025-26 but not 2026-27; HPU's own FAQ says it adopted Kira Talent for 2026-27.. CASPer and Kira are different companies. Three of the four schools above swapped CASPer for Kira Talent , which is a different vendor with a different format and no separate Acuity fee. Being told to "take Casper" for a school that uses Kira means paying for and sitting the wrong test. Our verified list of schools using Kira covers who uses that one. Verified as not requiring CASPer We checked these on their own admissions pages and found no CASPer requirement for either their domestic or advanced standing track: Midwestern University (both the Arizona and Illinois colleges), Roseman University, A.T. Still University Arizona,

University of New England, Augusta University Dental College of Georgia, UCLA's four-year DDS, University of Detroit Mercy, Indiana University, and University of Colorado. The UCLA split is worth stating plainly because it is easy to get backwards: CASPer is required for UCLA's PPID international program and is not required for the four-year DDS. Our UCLA advanced standing guide covers the rest of that process. Three schools whose own pages say nothing either way MUSC , East Carolina University and Temple do not mention CASPer in their published requirements. That is not the same as saying it is not required — it means the school has not documented it, so the honest answer is that we do not know. Ask the admissions office rather than assuming either way. Note also that neither MUSC nor ECU runs an international advanced standing program at all; ECU states plainly that it "does not offer a special program for internationally trained

dentists." Two caveats on this list Acuity's directory is organised by test distribution, not by program. Its Louisville entry requires only a DentPIN, which both domestic and international applicants hold, so the directory alone cannot tell you which track it applies to. Temple's entry has the opposite problem — it accepts all three ID types at once. Deadlines here are CASPer test deadlines, not application deadlines, and they run months apart. Utah's is in early November while California Northstate's is in late February. CASPer is offered on fixed dates and fills up, so the test deadline is usually the earlier constraint — book it as soon as you decide to apply. Why Dental Schools Use CASPer Understanding why programs use CASPer helps you understand what they're actually looking for in your responses — which is the foundation of effective preparation. The problem CASPer solves: Dental school admissions committees are selecting from

applicant pools where the top candidates are increasingly indistinguishable on paper. When the 10th percentile of applicants to a competitive program has a 3.6 GPA and a 22 DAT, academic metrics can no longer efficiently separate candidates. The interview closes some of this gap but is time-limited, format-constrained, and subject to interviewer bias. CASPer adds a standardized, blind assessment of the non-cognitive dimensions that predict clinical performance: the ability to navigate ethical ambiguity, to communicate under pressure, to recognize competing values and reason through them, to maintain empathy with difficult patients or colleagues. These are specifically what dental clinical training requires. The admissions committee's use of CASPer scores: Programs receive your CASPer result as a quartile ranking — they know whether you scored in the top 25%, the second 25%, the third, or the bottom. They don't see your individual

scenario responses. A score in the bottom quartile is a flag that may affect interview invitation decisions or admissions decisions at the margin. A score in the top quartile is a positive signal that can strengthen a borderline academic profile. Practice CASPer-Style Ethical Scenarios. DentPrep's AI interview coach covers the same ethical reasoning and communication skills that CASPer evaluates — with instant feedback on your reasoning structure.. Start Practicing Free →. What CASPer Scenarios Look Like Each scenario presents a situation involving interpersonal conflict, ethical complexity, or a professional challenge. Some scenarios are directly clinical — a patient interaction, a clinical decision, a colleague's behavior. Others are personal or general — a team disagreement, a community conflict, a values question. The test is the same for dental, medical, PA, and other health professional applicants — it is not program-specific in

its scenario content. Sample Scenario Types Clinical professional situation: A patient in your dental clinic becomes angry because they are told their appointment has been canceled due to an emergency. They demand to see a dentist immediately and begin raising their voice at the receptionist in front of other waiting patients. Typical follow-up questions: How would you handle this situation? What are the considerations involved? Ethical dilemma: Your supervisor asks you to document a procedure as completed when you believe it was only partially finished due to time constraints. They explain that the patient's insurance requires documentation of full completion for reimbursement. Typical follow-up questions: What do you do? What factors are most important in your decision? Team or interpersonal conflict: A colleague who has been working with you on a project takes credit for your contribution during a presentation to leadership. After

the meeting, others congratulate them on the work. Typical follow-up questions: How do you respond? What do you do next? General values scenario: A close friend asks you to lie on their behalf to help them avoid consequences for a mistake they made. The lie would be small and easily told, and they are under significant pressure. Typical follow-up questions: What considerations matter in deciding how to respond? What do you do? Video scenario: A video clip is shown (rather than text) presenting an interpersonal situation. Questions then appear on screen. What CASPer Raters Are Evaluating CASPer responses are scored by trained human raters — not AI systems. Each rater scores individual questions on dimensions including: Empathy and perspective-taking: Do you acknowledge the feelings and perspective of others in the scenario before asserting your position? Responses that jump immediately to a solution without recognizing the human

dimensions of the situation consistently score lower. Ethical reasoning: Can you identify the competing values or principles at stake? Can you take a defensible position while acknowledging the complexity? For dental applicants, the ADA Code of Ethics framework — autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, veracity — provides exactly the right analytical vocabulary. → Full ADA ethics framework Communication clarity: Is your response organized, specific, and clear within the time limit? Raters are reading quickly. Responses that get to a clear position in the first sentence, support it with a specific rationale, and address the second question completely score better than responses that meander to a conclusion. Professionalism: Does your response reflect the judgment and values of a professional in training? Responses that are overly casual, that minimize ethical concerns, or that fail to consider the institutional and patient-safety

dimensions of professional scenarios score lower. The Most Common CASPer Mistakes Dental Applicants Make Mistake 1: Describing what you'd do without reasoning through why. Raters are not checking whether you chose the "right" action — they're evaluating whether you can reason through competing considerations to a defensible position. "I would report the colleague because it's the right thing to do" gives a conclusion without reasoning. "I would report the colleague because patient safety is non-negotiable and a pattern of incomplete documentation creates direct clinical risk — regardless of the personal relationship at stake" gives a reasoned position. Mistake 2: Giving abstract responses rather than specific ones. "I would try to communicate effectively and resolve the situation professionally" says nothing about what you'd actually do or say. Name the specific action: who you'd speak to, what you'd say, in what sequence, with what

goal. Mistake 3: Not taking a position. CASPer raters consistently report that responses that describe all possible perspectives without reaching a conclusion score lower than responses that take a clear position and support it. Taking a position that acknowledges complexity ("I believe X, and here's why, while recognizing that Y is also a legitimate concern") is stronger than "it depends" with no resolution. Mistake 4: Running out of time. The typed response window is 3.5 minutes for two questions — approximately 1.5 minutes per question. Applicants who spend 2.5 minutes on the first question and run out of time on the second are leaving one question unscored. Practice timing specifically. Mistake 5: Treating CASPer like an interview. CASPer responses are typed or spoken to a screen — there's no interviewer to read or respond to. The absence of social feedback causes some applicants to either over-explain or under-develop their

responses. Practice the format specifically — not just thinking through scenarios, but typing responses under time pressure. How to Prepare for CASPer — Without Wasting Money What Works Take the free official practice test from Acuity Insights. Acuity Insights provides free sample scenarios and a practice test through their website after you create an account. These are the most accurate representation of the actual test format available anywhere. Do this first. It costs nothing and gives you the most reliable preparation baseline. Practice timed typed responses. The primary preparation need is speed and structure under time pressure. Set a timer for 1.5 minutes and practice writing a coherent, specific, positioned response to a scenario. Do this 10–15 times before your test date. The typing speed and response structure that feels natural on test day requires practice — it does not come automatically. Learn and internalize the ADA

ethics framework. For the ethical scenario components — which appear frequently — having a reliable analytical structure produces better responses than improvising. The five ADA principles (autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, veracity) give you vocabulary and structure that raters in a dental admissions context respond to positively. → Full ADA ethics framework with scenarios Develop an answer structure and use it consistently. The strongest CASPer responses follow a consistent structure across questions: acknowledge the complexity briefly → state your position → support it with your strongest specific reason → address the second question directly. This structure works for ethical dilemmas, interpersonal conflicts, and professional situations alike. Practice it until it's automatic. Practice the video response format separately. The four video scenarios are a different cognitive task from typed responses. You're speaking to

a camera under time pressure with no ability to edit. Record yourself responding to video prompts and watch the recordings. Identify filler words, pacing issues, and whether you're getting to a clear position within the response window. What Doesn't Help Much Expensive prep courses. The $500–$1,500 CASPer prep packages sold by various companies offer minimal additional value beyond what free preparation achieves. The test evaluates who you are professionally and how you reason — qualities that don't dramatically improve from a prep course. What prep does is familiarize you with the format and build response speed and structure. Free resources accomplish both. Memorizing scenario-specific answers. The scenarios on the actual test will not match practice scenarios. CASPer evaluates reasoning process, not content recall. Memorized responses sound scripted and miss the specific nuances of the prompt you're actually facing. Over-preparing.

CASPer is not a high-stakes academic exam. It's a professionalism assessment. Spending 40 hours preparing for CASPer is time better spent on interview preparation, personal statement revision, or clinical experience — all of which develop the same skills CASPer evaluates while also strengthening other parts of your application. Logistics: Registration, Scheduling, and Cost Where to register: Acuity Insights website (acuityinsights.app). Create an account, find dental school test dates in the program directory, and register for a date that meets your schools' deadlines. Cost: $85 for the CASPer assessment (2025–2026 cycle). The Duet assessment (required by some programs) is $40. If multiple programs require CASPer, your single test result is distributed to all designated programs — you don't retake it for each school. One take per cycle: You can only take CASPer once per application cycle. There is no retake within the same application

cycle. This makes deliberate preparation and scheduling at the right time critical. When to take it: As early in the cycle as possible once test dates are available — typically June or July for dental applicants on the AADSAS cycle. Programs that require CASPer cannot review your application until your score is on file. Taking CASPer in July means your application is reviewable from the moment AADSAS transmits it. Taking it in October means six to eight weeks of rolling admissions cycle have passed before you enter review queues at CASPer-requiring schools. Score validity: CASPer scores are valid for one application cycle. If you reapply the following year, you must retake the test. Technical requirements: A computer (not tablet or mobile device), webcam, microphone, and stable internet connection. Home testing is permitted. Test in a quiet, private space. Registration timing: Register at least three days before your test date — Acuity

Insights requires this for identity verification. Last-minute registration the day before is not possible. CASPer for CAAPID Advanced Standing Applicants CASPer requirements in the CAAPID advanced standing context are less common than in domestic DDS admissions but are growing. Confirmed programs in the advanced standing pathway that require or have used CASPer-style assessments include: Temple Kornberg — CASPer is explicitly listed as one of the four components of Temple's advanced standing evaluation day, alongside the faculty interview, bench test, and OSCE. This makes Temple one of the only CAAPID programs with a formal CASPer requirement. → Temple Kornberg interview prep guide UCLA IDP/PPID — CASPer is required for the PPID program specifically. → UCLA advanced standing school guide For other CAAPID programs, confirm directly — the list is evolving. The Acuity Insights program directory is the most current source. CASPer +

Interview Overlap. CASPer evaluates the same non-cognitive skills your dental school interview evaluates — ethical reasoning, communication under pressure, professional values. Practicing for your interview also prepares you for CASPer. DentPrep's AI interview coach works through the ethical scenario categories that appear in both formats, building the reasoning fluency that makes both assessments feel natural rather than pressured. Practice the Ethical Reasoning Skills CASPer Evaluates. DentPrep's AI coach gives instant feedback on ethical scenarios, communication clarity, and reasoning structure — the exact skills CASPer raters score.. Start Practicing Free →. ); }; export default CasperTestDentalSchool; Which dental schools require CASPer? Confirmed or expected for the 2026 cycle: University of Utah, UCLA (PPID program), Temple Kornberg, East Carolina University, High Point University, Case Western Reserve, Midwestern University,

Roseman University, A.T. Still University, University of New England, Augusta University, and Medical University of South Carolina. Requirements change between cycles — always verify directly with each program's admissions page and check the Acuity Insights program directory for the definitive current list. How is CASPer scored for dental school admissions? Dental programs receive your CASPer result as a quartile ranking — which quarter of test-takers your overall score falls in. Programs don't see individual scenario responses. A bottom-quartile score can negatively affect an otherwise competitive application; a top-quartile score can positively distinguish an applicant at the margins. Can you retake CASPer if your score is low? No — CASPer can only be taken once per application cycle. Your single score is distributed to all programs you designate. If you're dissatisfied with your performance, you cannot retake the test until the next

application cycle. This makes preparation and scheduling at the right time critical. How long does CASPer take and what does it cost? The 2025–2026 format runs approximately 60–85 minutes with 11 scenarios (4 video, 7 typed), two questions each. The base cost is $85 for CASPer, with an additional $40 for Duet if required by your programs. A single test result is distributed to all your designated dental schools. What is the Duet assessment and which dental schools require it? Duet is a values-alignment component of the Acuity Insights platform that compares your stated professional priorities with those of the programs you're applying to. It is separate from CASPer and has its own fee ($40). High Point University and University of Utah explicitly require both CASPer and Duet. How do you prepare for CASPer for dental school? Start with the free official practice test from Acuity Insights. Then practice timed typed responses — 1.5 minutes

per question, 10–15 practice rounds. Internalize a basic response structure: acknowledge complexity → state your position → support with your strongest specific reason → answer the second question completely. Learn the ADA five principles as an analytical framework for ethical scenarios. Expensive prep courses add minimal value; free resources accomplish the core preparation needs.