PharmCAS Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about the PharmCAS 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.
AACP Resources
Review the AACP 2025-2026 PharmCAS School Manual and the PharmCAS Resources page on AACP's website for additional information.
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in mid-July and closes in late June. Applicants must submit all applications by the June deadline, if not earlier per PharmCAS 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 PharmCAS Application Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between late March and early June, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and AACP review submitted configurations in June.
WebAdMIT
You can view new applicants and initiate a transfer settings shortly after the new cycle opens in mid-July.
Primary Program Contacts
Liaison requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from AACP and PharmCAS, including the configuration, application, and WebAdMIT launch notifications. These individuals are responsible for creating and managing WebAdMIT accounts for all other faculty and staff users who are affiliated with the institution and authorized by the institution to access individual applicant data. Both AACP members and non-members are invited to join the PharmCAS online community in AACP Connect to receive important updates about the service. See the PharmCAS School Manual for details.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of the PharmCAS 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 PharmCAS application and PharmCAS 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. Note that the Manual application status does not apply to PharmCAS.
- Review the requirements for the PharmCAS Complete application status.
- PharmCAS 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 PharmCAS Customer Service.
Configuration Portal
Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and AACP before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, AACP will approve it.
Additionally, review the following recommendations:
Configure Questions and Question Rules (Optional):
- Review current school and supplemental applications to help you determine which questions you need to ask.
- AACP recommends that programs ask no more than 3-5 custom questions.
- Consider removing any custom questions that are not essential to your local admissions review process or predicative of success in your PharmD program.
- If your program's custom questions include an essay, consider reducing the character limit. Applicants already submit a personal essay through the PharmCAS application that is shared with all programs they apply to.
Configure Prerequisites (Optional):
- Pull together information on prerequisites, including any instructions.
- You can customize which and how many prerequisites applicants can match coursework to.
- AACP recommends that programs list ten or fewer prerequisites.
- If applicants matching prerequisite coursework is a barrier for your program, deactivate this feature.
Configure Documents (Optional):
- Ensure you have specific instructions for any documents you are requesting.
Configure Kira Talent Integration (Optional):
- Kira Talent offers on-demand, timed video and timed written assignments that can be combined with the standard admissions process. You can link your Kira assessment to your program in the application by selecting Kira Assessment.
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 FAQ: view answers to frequently asked questions about offering coupon codes.
- Application Statuses: you can only view full application details of applicants in the Verified application status. For all other application statuses, you can view only limited application information.
- 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.
- PharmCAS End of Year (EOY) Reports: learn how to generate end-of-year (EOY) reports through the Report Manager. The Applications by School report is available in this document.
- Reporting Final Decision Codes: learn how to use WebAdMIT to place applicants in Decision Codes and report them back to AACP.
- 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 PharmCAS requires you to report the following Decision Codes by September 30 for the previous cycle:
- Declined Offer
- Deferred
- Denied
- Matriculated
- Rescinded
- Withdrew
- Withdrew After Matriculation
- 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 PharmCAS 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 |
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 |
|
CAS Configuration Portal |
Prerequisites |
You can now set the maximum number of courses that an applicant matches to a prerequisite. Review our best practices when using this feature. |
Action required by participating programs choosing 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 |
2025-2026
The table below contains enhancements for PharmCAS 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Applicant Portal |
Extended Profile |
The Program Plans question was updated with the new entry term years. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – PharmCAS Release Statement |
The PharmCAS Release statement text was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
The Gender Identity and Pronouns questions were removed. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Race & Ethnicity |
The instructions were updated for clarity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Other Information |
The Academic Integrity or Conduct Violations questions were condensed into one question. The Future Enrollment Plans question was updated with the new term years. The COVID-19 Impacts question was removed. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Transcript Entry |
The instructions were updated for clarity. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
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. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information –Experiences |
The hours calculation was removed. Applicants no longer enter the average weekly hours for an experience. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information –Personal Essay |
The personal essay prompt was updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Official Tests |
Applicants can no longer send official PCAT scores to PharmCAS. All mentions of the official PCAT exam were removed from the application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Liaison Letters |
Evaluations Forms |
Evaluator can include comments on their ratings for Likert scales and questions. 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 |
The CAS Custom Questions panel has subpanels by question block, so you can more easily find applicant data and restrict your users' access to it via Work Groups. |
Action required by participating programs choosing 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 |
Personal Statements |
The iThenticate tool was disabled. Related text was removed from the PharmCAS Release Statement and the Personal Essay instructional text. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
