Before Submitting
Before you submit your application, be aware of the following:
- You can make limited changes after you submit your application. You can add new items to certain areas of the Academic History, Supporting Information, and Program Materials sections (e.g., test scores, experiences, optional documents, etc.), where applicable, but you cannot edit existing entries. You can also update recommendations with "new" or "in-progress" statuses and select additional programs to apply to. All other sections are read-only.
- You can submit your application before your transcripts and recommendations are received. Please note, however, that we will not review your application until all of your transcripts, payments, and recommendations are received. See Completing Your OptomCAS Application for all requirements.
- Do not wait until the last minute. You can submit your application up until 11:59 PM ET on the deadline date; however, ensure you allow for time to complete the required payment section. You must click Submit and complete the final payment information before the deadline in order to guarantee your submission is accepted. Additionally, be aware that during our busiest times you may experience page loading delays, and these may occur outside of customer service's hours of operation. We cannot grant deadline extensions if you miss your deadline; contact your programs directly for more information.
Submitting Your Payment
When you are ready to submit your application, go to the Submit Application tab and click Submit. Do not submit any payments before submitting your application. Payments can only be made in the application via PayPal, pre-paid credit or debit card, or standard debit or credit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Credit card payments cannot be made over the phone.
If you choose to pay via PayPal, once you complete the transaction on PayPal, you must return to your OptomCAS application and click Submit. Note that you can add money to your PayPal account at select retail locations. Visit the PayPal website for locations and information.
Once you submit your application and payment, click View Payment History for each program on the Submit Application page to confirm your payment's receipt.
Refund Policy
Because your designated programs have access to your information as soon as you submit your application, no refunds can be issued for any reason (this includes missed deadlines and programs no longer accepting applicants).
Before submitting your application, you are prompted to review and agree to the OptomCAS Release Statement. This agreement includes a clause about the refund policy. As an applicant, it's your responsibility to complete your application correctly, monitor the status of your application, ensure all required materials are received and posted to the application, respond to all notifications in a timely manner, and adhere to the deadline requirements posted by each program to which you have applied. Additionally, keep in mind that programs review applications and fill seats throughout the application cycle and may not notify OptomCAS that their class is full. We recommend contacting your programs before applying to confirm available seats.
After Submitting
You'll receive a confirmation email acknowledging that your application was submitted. Note that submitting does not mean your application is being reviewed by your programs. Depending on what materials were already received, submitting changes your application status from "In-Progress" to "Received" or "Complete."
Completing Your OptomCAS Application
Your application must be considered "complete" to be placed in line for verification. In general, an application is complete when:
- All official transcripts have been received and posted to your application.
- All required recommendations have been completed and submitted to OptomCAS.
- If you used the Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) service, you have approved the work completed.
- Your application fee payment was submitted and marked as received.
- You submitted your application and received an email confirming it was successfully submitted.
- Your application Program Status is "Complete."
Note that your selected programs may have specific requirements for completion (i.e., supplemental applications, official transcripts, document uploads, etc.). We recommend contacting your programs directly to ensure you are meeting all requirements. Failure to submit all required materials may jeopardize your eligibility for admission consideration. Review each program's homepage to ensure you are meeting all requirements.
Verifications occur in chronological order and on average take two weeks to complete. Once your application is verified, you will receive a notification and your application's status will change to Verified.
