CASPer core competencies are the professionalism-related skills your responses are meant to show under time pressure. CASPer is not asking you to recite definitions; it asks you to respond to realistic interpersonal problems in a way that shows sound judgment. PrepTrack's CASPer preparation helps applicants practice those skills through structured reflection and response review.
The phrase casper competencies usually refers to the social-intelligence and professionalism skills Acuity describes for CASPer, including collaboration, communication, empathy, fairness, ethics, motivation, problem solving, resilience, and self-awareness. You should treat that list as a guide to what strong responses often demonstrate, not as a script to name in every answer.
For the 2026-2027 cycle, the standard CASPer format includes 11 scenarios: 4 video-response scenarios and 7 typed-response scenarios. Each video scenario has 2 questions with 1 minute per response, and each typed scenario has 2 questions with 3.5 minutes total. If you want a deeper format overview, start with the CASPer Test Format and Instructions guide.
The most useful way to study the CASPer core competencies is to connect them to actions: what you would ask, who you would include, how you would avoid assumptions, and when you would escalate. PrepTrack's guide to CASPer Stakeholder Analysis is a strong companion because many competencies appear through the people and interests you notice.
CASPer Core Competencies: The Main Skills to Understand
CASPer scenarios rarely label the skill being assessed. A prompt about a struggling teammate might involve empathy, accountability, fairness, communication, and problem solving at the same time. A prompt about a safety concern might require ethics, judgment, and appropriate escalation.
| Competency area | What it looks like in an answer | Weak version to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | Clear, respectful, specific next steps | Vague reassurance or lecturing |
| Empathy | Acknowledging concerns without inventing facts | Claiming to know exactly how someone feels |
| Collaboration | Involving relevant people constructively | Solving everything alone without context |
| Fairness | Applying standards consistently while considering circumstances | Favoritism or rigid rule-following |
| Ethics | Naming duties, safety, confidentiality, and honesty when relevant | Choosing the easiest option because it avoids conflict |
| Problem solving | Gathering facts, weighing options, and proposing realistic follow-up | Jumping to a dramatic solution too early |
| Resilience | Learning from setbacks and adjusting behavior | Pretending failure never affects you |
| Self-awareness | Recognizing limits, bias, role, and need for help | Presenting yourself as flawless |
A good response may not show every row. The goal is to identify the central tension in the scenario and respond in a way that is balanced, humane, and practical.
CASPer Competencies: How the Core Skills Show Up in Prompts
Most prompts create incomplete information. You may not know whether a classmate is dishonest, exhausted, embarrassed, unsafe, or misunderstood. That uncertainty is deliberate. Strong answers avoid premature judgment and explain what information you would gather before acting.
For example, if a teammate has stopped contributing to a group project, a weak answer might immediately report them or do all the work yourself. A stronger answer would privately check in, ask whether something is interfering, clarify shared expectations, offer reasonable support, and involve the instructor only if the problem continues or fairness to the group is at risk.
That single answer can show several CASPer competencies at once: empathy for the teammate, fairness to the group, communication through a private conversation, and problem solving through a staged plan.
How to Practice CASPer Competencies Without Sounding Scripted
Do not start every answer with a memorized line about empathy, nonjudgment, and professionalism. Raters are evaluating the substance of your response, not whether you used a buzzword. Your answer should sound like a person reasoning through a situation.
A practical review method is to reread each response and ask four questions: Did I identify the main issue? Did I consider the affected people? Did I avoid unsupported assumptions? Did I give a realistic next step? If the answer is no, revise the response before moving to another scenario.
For more detail on this balance, use How to Balance Empathy and Accountability in CASPer. Many applicants lean too soft or too punitive; the strongest answers usually combine concern for the person with responsibility to the role, team, patient, or institution.
What Not to Do With a Competency List
A competency list can become harmful if you turn it into a checklist you force into every response. You do not need to mention collaboration in a scenario that is mainly about confidentiality. You do not need to force a resilience story into a prompt asking how to handle unfair treatment.
Also avoid using competency language as decoration. Saying "I would be empathetic" is weaker than describing the actual empathetic behavior: choosing a private setting, asking an open-ended question, listening before deciding, and acknowledging the person's concern without making promises you cannot keep.
FAQ About CASPer Core Competencies
What are CASPer core competencies?
CASPer core competencies are the social-intelligence and professionalism-related skills reflected in strong responses. Acuity describes CASPer as assessing areas such as communication, collaboration, empathy, fairness, ethics, motivation, problem solving, resilience, and self-awareness.
Are CASPer competencies scored one by one?
Applicants should not assume they receive a separate score for each competency. Acuity describes CASPer as using trained human raters to evaluate responses, and the applicant-facing result is not a detailed competency-by-competency report.
Should I name CASPer competencies in my answers?
Usually no. Show the casper competencies through your reasoning and actions. A concrete, fair, role-appropriate response is stronger than a sentence that merely labels itself empathetic or ethical.
How should I practice CASPer competencies?
There is no single universal competency that matters most in every scenario. The priority depends on the facts: a safety issue may require escalation, a conflict may require communication, and an ambiguous personal situation may require careful information gathering.
Related CASPer Resources
Final Takeaway
CASPer core competencies are best studied as habits of judgment, not labels to memorize. Practice noticing stakeholders, missing information, fairness concerns, communication needs, and realistic next steps so your responses naturally show the skills CASPer is designed to assess.