PTCAS Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the PTCAS Applicant Portal, Configuration Portal, and WebAdMIT. It also contains resources that may help you work more efficiently throughout your admissions process. If you have additional questions or need further assistance, please contact a member of your account team.
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in mid-June and closes in early June. 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 PTCAS Application Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between late March and late May, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and APTA review submitted configurations in June.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in mid-June.
Program Participation Requirements
APTA requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from APTA and PTCAS, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the PTCAS 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 PTCAS application and PTCAS 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).
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 PTCAS Complete application status.
- PTCAS 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 PTCAS Customer Service.
Configuration Portal
Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and APTA before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, APTA will approve it.
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:
- 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 FAQs: view answers to frequently asked questions about 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 On Demand: 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.
- Reporting Final Decision Codes: learn how to use WebAdMIT to place applicants in Decision Codes and report them back to APTA.
- 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 PTCAS requires you to report the following Decision Codes by October for the previous cycle:
- Denied
- Matriculated
- Requesting Official GRE CAS Codes: a guide on how to create CAS-specific codes in order to receive official GRE scores in WebAdMIT.
- Social Security Number (SSN) Documents Reference Guide: a guide on how to configure a PGP key to receive an encrypted file that contains the applicant's CAS ID and SSN.
- 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
2026-2027
The table below contains enhancements for PTCAS for the cycle timeframes noted at the top of this page. Note that some sections have multiple enhancements. If an action is required by participating programs to use the enhancement, click the links under Enhancement Details to learn more. Additional enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more.
|
Portal |
Section |
Enhancement Details |
Implementation |
Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
User Interface |
The application is updated to a new, mobile-first, and modern applicant portal that we call CAS 3+. Visit the CAS 3+ Upgrade page to learn more about its key benefits and a preview of the upgraded application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Release Statement |
The Pre-Submission Release statement, where applicants can choose to share their basic contact information before they submit their application to your program, has been updated for conciseness. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Contact Information |
Applicants can validate their mailing addresses via the SmartyStreets integration. You can view verified address data from WebAdMIT. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Economic/Educational/Environmental Factors |
A new Did you participate in any physical therapy career exploration events prior to applying to a DPT program? question is available. If the applicant answers yes, then they can identify the grades they were in when they participated. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Standardized Tests |
Applicants can self-report their Duolingo test scores. You can view their scores under the Standardized Tests panel on the Applicant Details page. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Essay |
The essay prompt was updated to: As a prospective Doctor of Physical Therapy, how do you see yourself having an impact on the profession upon entering the field? Consider areas such as practice, education, research, leadership, or community-based endeavors. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Applicant-reported and Official Tests |
Starting January 21, 2026, ETS's TOEFL exam has a new 1-6 scoring scale for each section and overall total score. Review the release notes for more information about changes to the CAS Applicant Portal and Liaison Outcomes/WebAdMIT, as well as best practices in managing these changes. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available now |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Email Notifications |
A new Professional Transcript Entry (PTE) Missing Transcript email template is now available to remind applicants about outstanding application materials. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
WebAdMIT |
Deferred Applicants |
CASs can transfer deferred applicants on demand. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Export Manager |
The Hispanic field in WebAdMIT aligns with the Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino Origin? optional question from the CAS Applicant Portal. Currently, when users export this field from WebAdMIT, an applicant’s response populates as:
A new Hispanic (Yes / No / Blank) field has been created to accurately reflect an applicant’s response to this Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino Origin? question:
The Hispanic (Yes / No / Blank) field is available in the:
The original Hispanic field is still available in WebAdMIT. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Final Decision Codes |
A new January Start - Decision Pending decision code is available. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
2025-2026
The table below contains enhancements for PTCAS for the cycle timeframes noted at the top of this page. Note that some sections have multiple enhancements. If an action is required by participating programs to use the enhancement, click the links under Enhancement Details to learn more. Additional enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more.
|
Portal |
Section |
Enhancement Details |
Implementation |
Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Fees |
The initial application fee and secondary application fees increased to $175 and $75, respectively. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Release Statement |
The release statement was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Legal Sex question was updated to What is your Legal Sex? |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Economic/Educational/Environmental Factors |
A new question about the applicant's zip code was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The COVID-19 question was removed. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
CAS Configuration Portal |
Program Details |
A new Priority Deadline program attribute is available. It will be available as a column and filter on the Add Program page in the CAS application. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available now |
|
Liaison Letters |
Recommendation Forms |
Recommenders can include comments on their ratings for Likert scales. You can view their comments within WebAdMIT and the full application PDF. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page Email Templates Export Manager List Manager |
The Title field is no longer collected in the application and will be removed from WebAdMIT. You will need to update any lists, exports, emails, and other integrations to account for this field removal. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Applicant Details Page Export Manager List Manager |
The Refugee answer option was removed from the Visa Information question in the application; the correct option, I-94 Refugee, remains available. You should update any lists, exports, and other integrations to account for this answer option removal. |
Action required by all participating programs. |
Available at cycle launch |