Casper refers to several well-known things depending on what you’re looking for: an admissions test used by medical and professional schools, a direct-to-consumer mattress brand, or a blockchain network. Here’s a clear breakdown of each so you can find the answer you need.
Casper: The Admissions Test
Casper is an online situational judgment test that measures social intelligence and professional traits like empathy, ethics, communication, and problem-solving. It’s required or recommended by many medical schools, nursing programs, pharmacy schools, and other health professions programs as part of the admissions process. The test is run by a company called Acuity Insights and is designed to evaluate qualities that grades and standardized test scores don’t capture.
Unlike the MCAT or GRE, Casper has no right or wrong answers. You’re presented with realistic scenarios, often involving ethical dilemmas or interpersonal conflicts, and asked to explain how you’d respond and why. Admissions committees use your score alongside other application materials to get a fuller picture of who you are as a person.
How the Test Works
Casper has 11 scenarios split into two sections. The first section includes 4 video-response scenarios: you watch or read a prompt, then record a one-minute video answer for each of two open-ended questions. The second section includes 7 typed-response scenarios, where you have 3.5 minutes total to type answers to two questions per scenario. The entire test takes about 65 to 85 minutes, with optional breaks built in.
You take the test remotely on your own computer. Registration must be completed at least three days before your chosen test date to allow time for identity verification and payment processing. If you need testing accommodations, all documentation must be submitted at least four weeks before your scheduled date.
Scoring and What It Means
Your responses are evaluated by a diverse group of human raters, not by an algorithm. You receive a score reported in quartiles, which tells you how you performed relative to other test-takers. For example, scoring in the fourth quartile (75th to 100th percentile) means you scored higher than at least 75% of other applicants. Being in the first quartile means you fell in the bottom 25%.
Importantly, the quartile reflects your standing against peers, not the percentage of questions you got “correct.” There are no objectively correct answers. Many programs consider applicants from all quartiles and use the Casper score as one data point among many, not as a hard cutoff.
Fees and Registration
You pay a registration fee when you reserve your test date. All fees are final, non-refundable, and valid only for the current admissions cycle, so you’ll need to register and pay again if you’re reapplying in a future year. If your program also requires the Duet assessment (a brief self-reported personality snapshot offered by the same company), there’s no additional charge for it beyond the Casper fee.
Casper: The Mattress Company
Casper Sleep is a mattress and bedding brand that launched in 2014 and helped popularize the bed-in-a-box model, where a foam mattress ships compressed in a box directly to your door. The company is now part of the Carpenter Co. family, the largest foam manufacturer in the world.
Casper’s current mattress lineup spans three categories. Foam mattresses include “The One” (medium-firm) and “Cloud One” (medium-soft), along with a kids’ model called the Snug. Hybrid mattresses, which combine foam with innerspring coils, include the Dream and the cooling-focused Snow. The Max line offers thicker, more premium versions of the Dream and Snow.
Beyond mattresses, Casper sells pillows in several styles (fiber, foam, hybrid, and a cooling hybrid), sheet sets in percale, supersoft, and lightweight fabrics, duvets, mattress protectors, and mattress toppers. They also offer bed frames, adjustable bases, headboards, and accessories like a glow light designed for bedside use and even a dog bed.
Casper: The Blockchain Network
Casper Network is a blockchain platform with its own cryptocurrency token called CSPR. Unlike blockchains built primarily for trading digital tokens, Casper positions itself as infrastructure for real-world financial and asset transactions. It uses a consensus mechanism called the Zug protocol, which provides instant finality. That means once a transaction is recorded, it’s permanent immediately, with no waiting period or risk of reversal.
The network’s primary use cases center on bringing traditional assets onto a blockchain: real estate transactions with fractional ownership, parking assets, and on-chain financial products. Its design includes features like upgradable smart contracts and built-in access controls, which are intended to support workflows that need to comply with regulations.
Other Uses of the Name
If none of the above matches your search, you might be thinking of Casper the Friendly Ghost, the classic cartoon character created in the late 1930s who has appeared in animated shorts, TV series, and a 1995 live-action film. Casper is also a city in central Wyoming with a population of roughly 60,000, known as an energy industry hub and gateway to outdoor recreation areas.