Linking Admissions to Clinical Performance: Tulane’s Evidence-Based Approach with Casper
Tulane University School of Medicine is one of the oldest and most recognized medical schools in the United States, receiving roughly 17,000 applications each year. Alongside academic excellence, the school prioritizes resilience, service, professionalism, and alignment with the needs of the New Orleans community. To support a holistic admissions process grounded in evidence, Tulane has now integrated Casper as part of their admissions process to better understand whether non-academic qualities identified at admissions relate to performance later in the MD program.
Challenge
Strengthening holistic applicant review by assessing non-cognitive attributes tied to in-program success and the school’s mission
Solution
Results
Evidence of predictive validity linking Casper scores to clerkship performance and reduced likelihood of incomplete grades
PROGRAM TYPE
Medicine (MD)
PROGRAM SIZE
Approximately 190 matriculants per cohort
REGION
North America – USA
Challenge
Medical education requires more than strong GPA and MCAT scores. Students must demonstrate professionalism, sound judgment, resilience, and the ability to thrive in demanding clinical environments. While Tulane’s holistic review process already avoided rigid academic cut-offs, admissions leaders wanted stronger evidence to support how non-cognitive qualities could be assessed fairly and consistently.
The admissions committee faced several challenges:
- Academic metrics alone did not capture the full context behind applicant performance
- Comprehensive file review and interviews required significant time and faculty involvement
- The program needed data to justify changes to admissions tools in a high-stakes decision environment
- Leaders sought clearer insight into which applicant qualities translated into in-program success
Solution
Tulane University School of Medicine integrated Casper as part of a pilot study focused on understanding whether non-cognitive attributes assessed at admissions relate to performance later in the MD program.
This enabled the program to strengthen admissions insight in the following ways:
Assessing non-cognitive attributes in a standardized way
- Uses realistic scenarios to evaluate judgment, professionalism, resilience, and communication consistently across applicants
- Captures how candidates reason through complex situations in real time, beyond academic records
Linking admissions data to in-program performance
- Examines correlations between Casper scores and clerkship outcomes
- Identifies relationships between Casper results and the likelihood of academic completion without incomplete grades
Supporting evidence-based admissions discussions
- Provides concrete data to inform conversations about refining admissions rubrics
- Builds confidence in evaluating new tools within a high-stakes decision environment
Complementing comprehensive review without disruption
- Positions Casper alongside interviews and full application review rather than as a stand-alone decision tool
- Preserves Tulane’s context-driven, mission-aligned approach to applicant evaluation
Results
Tulane’s analysis revealed meaningful relationships between Casper scores and student performance in the MD program. Higher Casper scores were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving favourable clerkship grades and a lower likelihood of receiving incomplete grades.
The program observed several benefits:
- Clear evidence that non-cognitive qualities assessed at admissions relate to clinical performance
- Greater confidence in exploring structured rubrics tied to real student outcomes
- Stronger alignment between admissions priorities and in-program success
- A data-informed foundation for refining future admissions processes