CASPA Program User Guide

Cycle Timeframes

Applicant Portal

The Applicant Portal opens in late April and closes in early April. Applicants must submit all applications by April 1, if not earlier per program configurations. You can view the specific cycle dates, including final processing dates (e.g., last date to submit transcripts, last date to request letters of recommendation, etc.), on the CASPA Application Cycle Dates page.

Configuration Portal

Between early February to early March, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and PAEA review submitted configurations in March.

WebAdMIT

You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in late April.

Program Participation Requirements

PAEA requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from PAEA and CASPA, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.

Applicant Portal

The first three sections of the CASPA application (i.e., Personal Information, Academic History, and Supporting Information) compose the core application. They contain questions that are commonly asked of applicants across all participating programs, such as an applicant's biographic information, standardized test scores, and experiences. The fourth section of the application is Program Materials, which is customized by you through the Configuration Portal (discussed in the next section).

You can access the CASPA application and CASPA Applicant Help Center to review the applicant experience. You can also create a test application in the Applicant Portal; we recommend creating a new account and adding "test" to your name (e.g., TestJohn TestDoe). Additionally, select This is a test account. for the program plans question.

For a general overview of the applicant experience, review the following documents:

• Applicant Processing Reference Guide: learn how applicants move through the application and Liaison processes applicant materials, such as transcripts and official test scores.
• Application Statuses Reference Guide: review what each application status means and how you can interact with applicants at different stages.
  • Review the requirements for the CASPA Complete application status.
• CASPA Quick Start Guide and FAQs: a suggested timeline for completing and submitting the application, links to important pages including cycle dates and fees, and a FAQs section.

You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to CASPA Customer Service.

Configuration Portal

Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and PAEA before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, PAEA will approve it.

Note the following:

• You must use a CASPA pre-approved deadline and use the Show Deadline option.
• Almost all program information in the Configuration Portal, including deadline dates, is locked after your program is live in the application. You must contact PAEA for any change requests.

WebAdMIT

Review the WebAdMIT Help Center for any questions related to working in WebAdMIT. The Reference Guides and WebAdMIT Training and Support sections are additional resources as you configure WebAdMIT for your needs. Documents commonly requested include:

• Accessing Holistic Review Scores: learn how the holistic review process calculates a customizable score for applicants based on various factors, aiding in application prioritization while complementing traditional review methods.
• Application Coupons Reference Guide: learn how to request coupons to offset application fees and disperse them to applicants. To purchase coupons, use the Coupon Code Payment Gateway.
• Application Coupon Codes FAQ: view answers to frequently asked questions about offering coupon codes.
• Background checks through Certiphi. 
• Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
• Deferring Applicants via On Demand Transfer: learn how to transfer deferred applicants from one cycle to the next.
• Deferring Applicants via the Liaison-assisted Deferral Process: learn how to transfer deferred applicants from one cycle to the next.
• Integration Help Center and WebAdMIT API: learn how to set up an API and schedule automatic data exports from WebAdMIT into your SIS/ERP.
• Invitation Codes Reference Guide: learn how to offer individual deadline extensions directly to applicants.
• Reporting Final Decision Codes: learn how to use WebAdMIT to place applicants in Decision Codes and report them back to PAEA.
  • You can also use the Competing Offers and Shared Decision reports to find applicants with program competing offers made and accepted, as well as shared decisions. Note that you may see all or only a few of these reports.
  • Note that CASPA requires that matriculated applicants be marked in the Matriculated Decision Code. All other applicants can be placed in any Decision Code.
• Requesting Official GRE CAS Codes: a guide on how to create CAS-specific codes in order to receive official GRE scores in WebAdMIT.
• Transfer Settings Guide: a review of how programs and templates built in WebAdMIT are carried forward each cycle.

The Release Notes feature new enhancements in the Applicant Portal, Applicant Gateway, Configuration Portal, Liaison Letters, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.

For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.

Cycle Enhancements