Casper is about to be half of getting into Auckland medicine

what 2028 entry looks like

UoA publishes both weightings on the MBChB programme page. they’re worth reading side by side, because the change is a big one.

so the UCAT stops counting and Casper counts for half. the bit people miss is that GPA stops counting toward your rank too: it’s only an eligibility bar now, a minimum GPA of 6.0 across four core courses plus no grade below a B across your eight first year courses. under the 2027 rules GPA was 60 percent of your rank, and under the 2028 rules you either clear the bar or you don’t.

what Casper is

Casper is an open-response situational judgement test run by Acuity Insights. you are shown everyday scenarios, mostly not medical, and asked what you would do and why. there is no syllabus and nothing to revise.

Acuity publishes the current structure as 2 sections and 11 scenarios:

• 4 scenarios answered on video: 2 open-ended questions each, 1 minute per response.
• 7 scenarios answered by typing: 2 questions presented on the same page, 3.5 minutes in total to answer both.
• two optional breaks.

that’s 22 answers in one sitting. we can’t tell you how long it takes, because Acuity says 65 to 85 minutes on one page and 90 to 110 minutes on another, and Massey (which already uses Casper for veterinary science) calls it a two hour assessment. with three official numbers, nobody really knows yet.

Acuity also states that format may vary for some programmes and that test content changes every year. so treat all of this as the standard version of Casper, because Auckland’s might be different. check Acuity’s own format page.

you’re ranked against everyone else who sat it

this bit changes how you’d prepare. Casper is scored question by question, not once per scenario. each scenario is seen by a different rater, and Acuity states that no rater scores an applicant more than once, which is deliberately designed to stop a first impression colouring the rest.

your typed and video answers combine into one overall score. that score is then standardised against the pool: Acuity describes it as z-scored relative to the strength of your peers’ responses. you receive a quartile. the programme receives a z-score and a percentile.

so there’s no pass mark or rubric to hit. you’re ranked against the people who answered the same scenario in the same sitting. results usually arrive around four to five weeks after the test date.

what nobody knows yet

• whether Auckland’s Casper uses the standard eleven scenario format. Acuity says format varies by programme and UoA has not said which one it bought.
• when in the year it is sat. UoA has not published a date, and Acuity says each programme decides how and when it uses Casper.
• what it costs an applicant.
• what the MMI minimum threshold for 2028 is, or what a fair score means mechanically.

we check every month. once Auckland shows up in Acuity’s school listing with a date, most of this list gets answered, and we’ll email everyone on the list below.

get an email when there’s real news

not into email? the same updates go out in the cutline Discord.

the half of 2028 you can already practise

the other 50 percent is the MMI, and unlike Casper it’s well documented: Auckland has published the seven domains and eight attributes it marks. if you are in first year now, that is the half worth touching this year. start with what the MMI is.

and for Casper itself, do the thing Acuity tells you to do: take the free practice test in your own Acuity account. Acuity states in writing that it is not affiliated with any preparation provider and does not endorse them, and that people who use third-party materials do worse than people who use its free resources. (yes, we’re a third party too, and we’re still telling you to use theirs.)

if you want the whole picture of how the two halves differ, we wrote that too, and what changed for 2027 and 2028 is here.

Casper in New Zealand, answered

Does the University of Auckland use Casper?

Not yet. UoA states that for 2028 entry applicants will be required to sit the University of Auckland situational judgement test (Casper) in the year of application. It is not part of the 2027 entry process, where the ranking is still GPA 60 percent, UCAT 15 percent and MMI 25 percent.

How much is Casper worth at Auckland?

For 2028 entry the published final ranking is MMI fair score 50 percent, with a minimum threshold applying, and situational judgement test (Casper) 50 percent. GPA appears only as an eligibility requirement and carries no weight in that ranking.

What is on the Casper test?

Acuity Insights publishes a two section, eleven scenario format: four scenarios answered on video with two open-ended questions each and one minute per response, and seven scenarios answered by typing, with two questions shown together and three and a half minutes to answer both. Acuity also says format can vary by programme, and UoA has not published which variant it will use.

How is Casper scored?

Each question is scored individually rather than one score per scenario, and a different rater sees each scenario, with no rater scoring an applicant twice. Typed and video responses combine into a single score, which is then standardised against everyone who sat the same test. Applicants receive a quartile; programmes receive a z-score and percentile.

When can I sit Auckland’s Casper and what does it cost?

Not published. The University of Auckland has not announced a Casper date or fee, and Acuity says each programme decides how and when it uses Casper. Anyone telling you a date or a fee for Auckland right now is guessing.

Can I buy Casper practice from cutline?

No. There is nothing to buy, and we are not going to pre-sell something that does not exist against requirements nobody has published. Acuity offers a free practice test in your own account and says to use that. If you want to be told when there is something real here, join the list on this page.