CASPA, or the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants, is the centralized platform applicants use to apply to participating U.S. PA programs. If you’re planning how to get into PA school, CASPA lets you submit one application to multiple participating programs while managing key application materials in one place. This guide explains when to start, how to complete CASPA’s four application sections, how to submit your application and what happens during verification. You’ll also learn how to handle key components such as transcripts, evaluations and program-specific requirements so you can avoid preventable delays.
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What Is CASPA?
CASPA, or the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants, is the centralized application platform applicants use to apply to multiple participating PA programs through one application. CASPA collects and processes common application materials, but each school determines its own admission requirements, prerequisites, deadlines and admissions decisions.
Before starting your application, review the PA school requirements for every school on your list. Individual schools may ask for supplemental questions or documents, standardized tests and other requirements in addition to the information you submit through CASPA.
Not every PA program participates in CASPA, so confirm that each school on your list uses the service before you apply. Use the official CASPA Program Directory to check current participation, deadlines and program-specific requirements.
Browse physician assistant programs in the U.S. or PA schools by state to help build your school list. Applicants considering Canadian PA programs should review each school’s application separately, since application systems and requirements may differ.
CASPA Timeline: When to Start Your Application
CASPA opens in late April, but you should plan your application around the earliest deadline among the PA programs on your list. Individual programs can close much earlier than the overall CASPA cycle.
CASPA participating programs choose one application deadline from 10 standard options:
- June 15
- July 15
- August 1
- September 1
- October 1
- November 1
- December 1
- January 15
- March 1
- April 1
Compare your program deadlines and build your schedule around the earliest one.
How early you should start preparing for CASPA depends on what you still need to complete before applying. If you are still in college, begin organizing your CASPA materials well before the cycle opens so you have time to complete any outstanding requirements. Gap-year, mature and non-traditional applicants should work backward from their earliest program deadline and allow extra time for prerequisites, transcripts, evaluations or other requirements they still need to complete.
How to Complete the CASPA Application: Personal Information and Academic History
The CASPA application has four core sections: Personal Information, Academic History, Supporting Information, and Program Materials. These sections cover your background, academic record, experiences and the requirements specific to each PA program.
CASPA Personal Information
Once you’ve created a CASPA account and started your application, you’ll first be asked to complete the Personal Information section. It covers details such as your contact and biographic information, citizenship, demographic information, family background and other personal information.
Current CASPA guidance lists fields covering:
- CASPA release statement
- Biographic information
- Contact information
- Citizenship information
- Race and ethnicity
- Family information
- Environmental factors
- Military history
- Other background information
Some of these questions are optional, while others are required. Complete required fields carefully and make sure the information you provide is accurate. CASPA notes that background-check requirements and timing can vary by program, so review the requirements for each school separately.
CASPA Academic History
Academic History covers the schools you’ve attended, your completed college coursework and any standardized tests you report through CASPA. The information entered here is used to classify your coursework and calculate the GPAs included with your application.
Accuracy is important in this section because your course entries should correspond with your official academic records. Use your official transcripts as a reference when entering coursework so that course names, credits and grades match the records submitted to CASPA.
CASPA Transcript Entry
Report coursework completed at U.S. and English-speaking Canadian colleges or universities you attended.
If you do not want to enter eligible coursework yourself, CASPA offers its Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) service for an additional fee. PTE specialists enter eligible coursework on your behalf. According to CASPA, PTE can take up to 10 business days once the service requirements are met. Compare the completed entry with your official transcript to confirm accuracy.
CASPA GPA and Course Subjects
CASPA assigns coursework to standardized subject categories that are used in several GPA calculations, including science, non-science and overall GPAs.
CASPA classifies the following as core science subject areas for GPA calculations:
- Biochemistry
- Biology/Zoology
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Physics
- Other Science courses
Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences are classified as non-science categories. If a course title does not clearly indicate the appropriate subject, use the department that offered the course as a guide.
You can also use CASPA’s course-subject list if you are unsure how a course should be categorized. CASPA reviews course classifications during verification and may change an incorrectly assigned subject.
CASPA Standardized Test Scores
CASPA allows you to self-report scores for supported standardized tests or indicate tests you plan to take.
How to Complete the CASPA Application: Supporting Information and Program Materials
After completing your personal and academic information, you’ll move on to CASPA sections that cover supporting materials and program-specific requirements.
CASPA Supporting Information
Supporting Information includes your evaluations, experiences, personal statement, achievements, licenses and certifications, and professional memberships.
CASPA Evaluations
CASPA currently requires at least two evaluation requests and allows up to five. Individual programs may prefer particular types of evaluators; account for those preferences before sending requests.
See our our CASPA letter of recommendation guide for a more detailed breakdown on how to choose recommenders and request strong references.
CASPA Experiences
Use the Experiences section to report activities such as patient care, healthcare experience, shadowing, research, leadership, teaching, volunteering, extracurricular activities and non-healthcare employment.
Select each category based on the duties you performed rather than your job title alone. If a single role includes duties that fit more than one category, divide the responsibilities and hours between the appropriate entries without counting the same hours twice.
CASPA Personal Statement
CASPA limits the personal statement to 5,000 characters, including spaces and punctuation, and the essay cannot be edited after submission.
For help with structure, writing strategy and examples, see our PA personal statement examples guide.
CASPA Achievements, Licenses and Memberships
Supporting Information also gives you space to report relevant awards, honors, publications, professional licenses, certifications and memberships. Keep these entries concise and accurate, and include the requested dates, organizations and descriptions.
CASPA Program Materials
Program Materials contains the additional requirements set by each PA program you add to CASPA.
Depending on the program, you may be asked to complete:
- Questions: Multiple-choice questions, short responses or PA school supplemental essays
- Documents: Files the program requires you to upload
- Assessments: Program-specific assessments such as Kira Talent, where applicable
- Prerequisites: Courses from your academic history that you need to match to the program’s prerequisite requirements.
Some programs may request additional uploaded documents. If a program requests a résumé or CV, use our physician assistant resume guide to make sure it clearly presents your education, experience and qualifications.
The details area may also show the program’s location, deadline and additional instructions. Complete Program Materials for each school separately before submitting.
How to Submit Your CASPA Application
You can submit your CASPA application to selected PA programs before all transcripts and evaluations have been received, but it will not enter verification until CASPA considers the application complete.
You do not need to wait until every program on your list is ready. CASPA allows you to submit to selected programs first and add or submit to additional programs later, if their deadlines have not passed.
Before submitting, review the sections and Program Materials required for the programs you are ready to submit to. Some submitted sections become read-only, while CASPA permits limited updates in specific areas after submission.
To submit:
- Open My Programs or Submit Programs.
- Select the programs you are ready to submit to.
- Review your program selections.
- Complete the required payment.
- Confirm that CASPA received your submission.
CASPA charges a fee for the first program and an additional fee for each program you add. Some programs may also charge a supplemental fee.
Submission and verification are separate stages. After you submit, CASPA must receive the required materials and consider your application complete before verification begins.
What Happens After You Submit CASPA? Verification and Status
Submitting your CASPA application is only the first step in the post-submission process. Before verification can begin, CASPA must receive the materials required to consider your application complete, including your payment, required transcripts and evaluations.
CASPA Verification
CASPA verification is the review of your reported coursework against your official academic records, followed by the calculation of your CASPA GPAs. This process is separate from the admissions review conducted by individual PA programs.
Your CASPA GPA may differ from the GPA shown on your transcript because CASPA standardizes course classifications and GPA calculations.
CASPA Verification Timeline
CASPA states that verification can take up to 10 business days after an application becomes complete and enters the queue. If one of your programs has a Verified deadline, your application must finish verification by that date rather than simply be submitted by it.
CASPA Application Statuses
Your status shows where your application is in the submission and verification process:
- In Progress: You have started the application but have not submitted it.
- Received: Your application has been submitted, but CASPA is still waiting for required materials.
- Completed: CASPA has received the required materials and the application is ready for verification.
- Undelivered: CASPA has identified an issue that must be corrected before verification can continue.
- Verified: CASPA has finished reviewing your academic record and calculated your CASPA GPAs.
Monitor your CASPA notifications in case the application requires action before verification is complete.
FAQs
1. Do all PA schools use CASPA?
No. Many U.S. PA programs use CASPA, but not all of them participate. Check each program’s application instructions before applying so you know whether to submit through CASPA or another system. If you are still building your school list, explore our guides on physician assistant programs in the U.S., PA schools by state and physician assistant programs in Canada.
2. How many evaluations do you need for CASPA?
CASPA requires at least two evaluations and allows up to five. Individual PA programs may have their own preferences or requirements about who should provide them, so check each program before sending evaluation requests.
3. Can you edit your CASPA application after submitting it?
CASPA permits limited updates after submission, but some submitted fields become locked. Check CASPA’s current update rules before making changes, and follow any program-specific instructions for information that cannot be edited in the application.
4. Can you add PA programs after submitting CASPA?
Yes. You can add additional programs after your initial submission as long as they are still accepting applications. You will need to complete any Program Materials for the new school and pay the applicable additional-program fee before submitting to that program.
5. What happens if your CASPA application is Undelivered?
An Undelivered status means CASPA found an issue that must be corrected before verification can continue. Review the notice in your CASPA account, make the required correction and redeliver the application as soon as possible. This is especially important if one of your schools has a Verified deadline, since the application still needs to complete verification after the issue is resolved.
6. How should you describe shadowing experience on CASPA?
Keep the description factual and concise. State where you shadowed, the type of clinical setting or PA role you observed, and the relevant activities you witnessed. Focus on what you observed rather than implying that you performed direct patient-care duties.
7. What happens after your CASPA application is verified?
PA programs receive your application after you submit and pay, and each program determines when to review it. After CASPA verification is complete, your Verified status and calculated CASPA GPA are available to your programs. If you reach the interview stage, use our PA school interview questions guide to prepare.
8. Can you update experiences or test scores after submitting CASPA?
CASPA allows certain additions or updates after submission, but previously submitted entries in some sections remain locked. Check the current CASPA update rules before making changes.
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