CASPA letters of recommendation, called evaluations in CASPA, are submitted directly by your evaluators through Liaison Letters. You must request at least two and may request up to five evaluations, although individual PA programs may have their own requirements for the number or type of recommenders. This guide explains how to choose the right recommenders, what your evaluators should include, and how to manage the CASPA evaluation process. You’ll also see two CASPA letter of recommendation samples that illustrate what effective recommendations can look like.
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What Is a CASPA Letter of Recommendation? Requirements and Key Rules
CASPA letters of recommendation, called evaluations in CASPA, give PA programs another perspective on your academic, professional, or clinical performance. Recommendations are one part of how to get into PA school, but a strong evaluation comes from someone who knows you and your work well and can support their assessment with concrete evidence.
CASPA Evaluation Requirements
CASPA requires at least two evaluations and allows up to five. This is the general CASPA requirement; individual programs may set additional recommendation criteria, which we cover below.
How CASPA Recommendations Are Submitted
CASPA requires evaluators to submit their recommendations directly through the application system; applicants do not upload the letters themselves. Once you save an evaluator’s information, CASPA sends that person instructions for completing the evaluation electronically.
CASPA collects information about the evaluator’s relationship with you, and the evaluation may also include written prompts or rating scales in addition to an uploaded letter. This makes first-hand knowledge of your academic, professional, or clinical performance especially valuable.
Program-Specific Recommendation Requirements
PA programs may have their own recommendation requirements, including expectations about the number or type of evaluator. Some specify a professor, supervisor, or health professional.
Check these requirements before sending your evaluation requests so you know which evaluators will satisfy the programs on your list. You should also review each program’s PA school requirements before finalizing your choice of recommenders.
Who Should Write Your CASPA Letter of Recommendation?
Choose evaluators who meet your PA programs’ requirements and know your work well enough to give a detailed, credible assessment. Ideally, your recommendations should show different sides of your candidacy rather than repeat the same perspective.
Academic Recommenders
Choose an academic recommender who knows your work beyond your grades. They are well-positioned to discuss qualities such as intellectual ability, work habits, curiosity, and how you contribute in a learning environment.
An academic recommender is especially useful if a program asks for a faculty reference or if your academic strengths are an important part of your application.
PA or Clinical Recommenders
A PA, physician, or clinical supervisor is most useful when they know your performance in a health care setting first-hand. Their evaluation may highlight professionalism, communication, teamwork, reliability, and interactions with patients.
Prioritize direct knowledge over title alone. A PA who barely knows you is less useful than a clinical supervisor who has worked with you closely and can provide specific examples.
Professional Recommenders
A supervisor or employer provides evidence of your work ethic, judgment, communication, reliability, and contributions in the workplace. Choose someone who can explain how you performed, not just list your responsibilities.
This type of recommender is useful when they have seen how you handled responsibility, worked with others, or developed over time.
Who Should You Avoid Asking for a CASPA Recommendation?
Avoid relatives, family friends, public officials, or others who know you mainly in a personal capacity unless a PA program specifically requests a character reference. These writers are less likely to provide objective evidence of your academic, professional, or clinical performance.
How to Choose the Strongest CASPA Recommenders
If your programs do not require a specific evaluator mix, choose recommenders who offer complementary perspectives on your candidacy.
Prioritize people who:
- Meet your programs’ requirements.
- Know your work well enough to give specific examples.
- Have taught, supervised, mentored, or observed you directly.
- Have seen qualities relevant to academic, professional, or clinical performance.
- Are willing to recommend you strongly.
If your programs allow flexibility, BeMo generally recommends a mix such as an academic recommender, a professional supervisor, and a PA or clinical evaluator.
Want a quick visual guide to CASPA recommendation requirements and choosing the right evaluators? Review the infographic below.
What Should a CASPA Letter of Recommendation Include?
A strong CASPA letter of recommendation should establish the evaluator’s relationship with you, describe the qualities they have observed, and support those points with concrete evidence. If a PA program provides its own instructions, follow those requirements first.
Explain the Evaluator’s Relationship With You
Start by establishing who the evaluator is, how they know you, how long they have known you, and the setting in which they observed your work. This context helps the admissions committee understand the basis for the evaluator’s assessment.
Highlight Relevant Strengths
Depending on what they have observed, an evaluator may discuss qualities such as academic ability, professionalism, reliability, communication, teamwork, empathy, or clinical performance.
Rather than trying to cover every positive trait, the evaluator should emphasize the strengths they are best positioned to assess.
Use Specific Examples
General praise is less persuasive than evidence. A brief example of a responsibility, accomplishment, challenge, or interaction gives the evaluator a concrete way to demonstrate the qualities they describe. The strongest examples show what you did, how you approached the situation, and what the evaluator learned about you from it.
Make the Recommendation Clear
The conclusion should leave no doubt that the evaluator supports your application. It should briefly reinforce why they believe you are prepared for PA training and why they are comfortable recommending you.
CASPA Letter of Recommendation Format
If a PA program does not provide formatting instructions, BeMo recommends a clean, concise, professional letter that keeps the focus on the evaluator’s evidence.
Use the following guidelines when no program-specific format is provided:
With these elements in place, the next step is seeing how they come together in a complete recommendation.
CASPA Letter of Recommendation Samples
The following CASPA letter of recommendation samples show how different evaluators can support an applicant from distinct perspectives. The first emphasizes clinical professionalism and patient interaction, while the second focuses on academic performance, persistence, and mentorship.
Use these samples as models for structure, specificity, and level of detail, not as templates to copy. The strongest recommendations reflect the evaluator’s own experience with the applicant.
How to Request and Manage CASPA Letters of Recommendation
Once you have chosen your evaluators, make it easier for them to write and submit a thoughtful recommendation on time. Give them enough lead time, useful context about your application, and a clear deadline without trying to control what they write.
Ask for Your Recommendations Early
As a planning guideline, BeMo recommends asking at least four to six weeks before you plan to submit your application. If you already know whom you want to ask, raise the request earlier and confirm the timeline once your application cycle is underway.
When you make the request, explain why you value that person’s perspective and give them a target date that leaves room before your own submission deadline. It is also worth asking whether they feel comfortable writing you a strong recommendation. A hesitant response gives you time to approach someone else.
Give Your Recommenders Useful Supporting Materials
Your evaluator should write the recommendation in their own words, but supporting materials help them recall relevant experiences and understand your broader application.
A useful recommender packet might include:
- Your updated physician assistant resume
- Your transcript
- Your PA personal statement, if it is ready
- A short description of your PA-school goals
- A few experiences or interactions they personally observed
- Your target submission date and any relevant program-specific instructions
The goal is to provide context, not a script. Remind the evaluator of experiences they witnessed, then let them decide which examples best support their assessment.
Prepare Your Evaluators for the CASPA Process
CASPA sends evaluators submission instructions after you enter their information, so you do not need to recreate the process for them.
Instead, send the details specific to your application: your preferred completion date, the programs you are targeting, and any recommendation instructions those programs have provided. PAEA advises applicants to review each program’s recommendation requirements before choosing evaluators, since some programs specify the type of recommender they expect.
Keep everything in one concise email or document rather than sending details across several messages.
Follow Up Without Over-Managing the Process
If the evaluation is still incomplete as your target date approaches, send a brief reminder a few weeks beforehand and ask whether the evaluator needs anything else from you. Monitor the evaluation status in CASPA rather than repeatedly contacting the recommender. Once the evaluation has been submitted, send a short thank-you email or note.
FAQs
1. Should I waive my right to view my CASPA evaluations?
CASPA asks you to choose whether to waive your right of access before requesting an evaluation, and the decision is binding. Waiving access tells programs that the evaluator wrote the recommendation without expecting you to review it; CASPA notes that programs may view a waived evaluation as a more accurate representation of the applicant.
2. Can I submit my CASPA application before all of my evaluations are received?
Yes. You may submit the application before every evaluation is received, but CASPA generally requires at least two completed evaluations before the application is considered complete and enters verification. Program deadlines may impose additional requirements.
3. Can I change or replace a CASPA evaluator?
CASPA allows incomplete evaluation requests to be edited or deleted in certain circumstances, but completed evaluations cannot be removed or replaced. Choose evaluators carefully before sending requests.
4. Does a CASPA recommendation need to come from a professor or PA?
Not always. Individual programs determine which evaluator roles they require or prefer. Some programs ask for a professor, supervisor, health professional, or another specific type of recommender. If an academic evaluator is part of your strategy, they may also help demonstrate readiness for demanding coursework, which makes understanding your PA school prerequisites useful when planning your application.
5. Will my CASPA letters of recommendation come up during a PA school interview?
You may not know whether an interviewer has focused on your recommendation letters, so prepare to discuss the experiences, strengths, and goals represented throughout your application consistently in your own words. Reviewing common PA school interview questions can help you prepare for that stage of the admissions process.
6. Should a CASPA recommender mention my intended PA specialty?
Specialty interest belongs in the letter only when it reflects something the evaluator has seen or discussed with you. BeMo recommends keeping the focus on qualities the evaluator has observed rather than using the letter to establish a future PA specialty.
7. Should a recommender explain why I want to become a PA?
Your evaluator should not try to write your career motivation for you. Their role is to provide first-hand evidence of qualities and experiences that support your readiness for PA training. If you are still clarifying the profession itself, understanding PA vs MD may help you articulate that distinction elsewhere in your application.
8. Should a recommender comment on whether I am prepared for PA school?
Readiness for PA training is most persuasive when the evaluator can support it with first-hand evidence. An evaluator may highlight qualities they have observed directly, such as discipline, reliability, or performance in demanding settings. Applicants should separately understand the training commitment, including how long PA school is.
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