An unintended consequence of video secondaries may be that "looks" might end up creeping in as a subconscious bias in selecting interviewees.
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I agree that “looks” would likely come into play, but don’t applicants already have to submit a photo? (I admit that a photo might carry less weight that a video, but still looks would come into play).
Please refresh my memory. Is a photo submitted with primary or secondary? I just remember having to have son’s pic taken.
Neither of my sons (one from 2013/14 cycle and one from this cycle) submitted a photo with AMCAS application. If my memory servers me well, my first son either submitted a photo online just before the interview or handed one over in person on interview day. I don’t recall any school asking him for a photo with the secondary.
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Programs requiring CASPer
Tulane
NYMC
Central Michigan
U Vermont
U Illinois
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
East Tennessee State
Medical College of Wisconsin
Rosalind Franklin (optional)
West Virginia (optional)
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How long does the test take? Do you take the test online at home or at a test site?
From https://takecasper.com/faq/#toggle-id-6
https://takecasper.com/aboutcasper/
Each CASPer test has both oral response and written response questions.
Test is taken online at home, but is only offered at certain times/dates.
Accommodations for those who have disabilities (unable to use a computer, unable to use a keyboard, speech impairments, hearing deficits, etc) are available.
Now I know why I’m confused. It sounds like the app for PA students CASPA.
DS very happy and relieved with his mcat results yesterday (98%ile!); his grades have been excellent in a tough (engineering) major…another hurdle cleared) 
Joining in the on the madness.
D has officially climbed aboard the crazy train of med school application and admission. Submitted June 5, the day after she returned from her Maymester, and verified a few days ago. Now she’s pre-writing secondaries while she waits.
I think @moonpie, @vandyeyes, and I all have Vandy kids going through the cycle this time. I’m excited to see where they all end up. I’m assuming all three are applying to Vandy SOM. Is it their first choice? Although D is applying, it’s not her first choice, surprisingly.
@Belle315, get your corkscrew ready for the coming months. As far as a first choice goes, there is no first choice when applying. You just hope for one, and anything more is a choice.m
Oh yes, I hear what you’re saying @CottonTales. She will be thrilled to just get into ANY medical school. She has just enjoyed learning about all the different programs, and she has some she likes a lot more than others.
Corkscrew within reach at all times. Check.
all have Vandy kids going through the cycle this time. I'm excited to see where they all end up. I'm assuming all three are applying to Vandy SOM. Is it their first choice? Although D is applying, it's not her first choice, surprisingly. <<<
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Probably a good thing that Vandy Med isn’t a Vandy student’s first choice. During the most recent published report, 195 Vandy students applied to Vandy Med, but only 16 were accepted. Many private SOMs give little/no preference to their own undergrads. 
That said, I like the way Vandy provides such details that others do not. Their report really show how challenging the process really is, even for applicants from a top school.
@cottontales is right. Wine at the ready! And if you don’t have an acceptance in hand by Christmas, then spiked eggnog steps in. 
#Christmas2012WasAnEggnogSlogFest #FirstAcceptanceJan3
Got you beat! D1 #FirstAcceptanceMar16 And it came by snail mail via a registered letter from a school that doesn’t do rolling admissions #thegoodolddays #nailbiter #residencymatchisworse
That is not bad at all, considering that Vandy’s class size is only 90. As a comparison, around 15-17 of the JHU SOM matriculants (120) every year are JHU undergrads. At my first son’s white coat ceremony at Yale in 2014, I counted the Yale undergrads from the brochure to be 20 . Yale’s class size that year was 104.
My son’s application also is verified by AMCAS. JHU pre-health committee is painfully slow and their order of sending the committee letter packets is a mystery. Rumor is that, they send the packets of the weaker applicants first. My first sends letter packet was uploaded on Aug 23rd! That pretty much ensured a rejection from UMich for him. Hopefully, my second one fares a little better.
Dd graduates next May but will be taking a gap year. Meanwhile I will be wishing you a successful application season and will be taking notes for the app cycle next summer.
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195 Vandy students applied to Vandy Med, but only 16 were accepted
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That is not bad at all, considering that Vandy’s class size is only 90. As a comparison, around 15-17 of the JHU SOM matriculants (120) every year are JHU undergrads. At my first son’s white coat ceremony at Yale in 2014, I counted the Yale undergrads from the brochure to be 20 . Yale’s class size that year was 104.
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I agree that private SOMs tend to be like this. The surprise is often to the student/parents who thought that by going to TopSchoolUndergrad meant a direct-path to its med school…only to find out that that is the exception, not the rule.
Best wishes to all …
@WayOutWestMom yes, residency match is worse!!
@Belle315 my daughter is NOT applying to Vandy… I mean she loves Vandy, but really the competition is too stiff. She is setting her sites on our state schools, and will happy to get in ANYWHERE. Her big sister’s experience has helped her a lot. My oldest absolutely LOVES our state school, and has had incredible opportunities, and was awarded a very competitive internship this summer, where she is gaining invaluable experience. I truly think after going through this once, that when our kids are accepted (WHEREVER THAT MAY BE) they will have the most incredible experiences. My middle is loving her research at Vandy, but is happy to get accepted anywhere, but knows Vandy is not in her wheelhouse score-wise (I think @vandyeyes and yours are, however!). Not to say my girl’s score’s are bad… just not the 515-518, 4.0 they are looking for LOL!!!
The latest statistics I could find from the school my daughter just graduated from was 14 of 92 coming from their UG.
fwiw, my kid is applying to Vanderbilt SOM, but he’s not presently an undergrad there. He’s applying to lots of schools of which Vandy is but one. I, however, DID go to Vandy for med school, so he’s applying with that small connection to the school (which, from any sort of admissions boost, likely means even less than attending as an undergraduate). Good luck to all…looking for his first secondary soon hopefully!
Oh, sorry, @vandyeyes, for the false assumption on my part. Best of luck to him, though!
@moonpie, Congratulations on all your older daughter’s accomplishments! Her experiences have been fun to hear about, and I’m excited for her future success. I am sure your middle D will have an equally wonderful path and will benefit from all the wisdom gained through watching her sister go through the process.
I can’t imagine having two kids go into medicine. I’ve got six, and none of the rest are even remotely interested (although the youngest is only 4).
@Belle315 thank you!! I have to admit i much prefer to hear about her delivering babies than the autopsies and crime scenes she’s been doing … blech! My youngest just graduated high school, and I’m having a hard time with that!!! But I cant imagine having a 4 year old too!! Kudos!
So it begins … The secondary applications are trickling in. The king of everything early, University of Michigan SOM, is the first to arrive.