PTCAS Program User Guide

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 early April 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

Use the Configuration Portal Quick Start Guide to make sure you configure your program(s) efficiently and completely in the prelaunch environment. Be sure to check out your CAS's configuration options and review the best practices found throughout. If any optional sections of the application are required for your program (e.g., experiences, test scores, etc.), you'll want to note this on your program home page.

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 Manual 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 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

2024-2025

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
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statement	Applicants can edit their responses to the Advisor Release question in the Release Statement section after submitting their application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Biographic Information	The Preferred Pronouns question was renamed Pronouns. Additionally, the following new questions were added: Preferred Name Phonetic Pronunciation of Name Sexual Orientation (note that this question and answer data will not appear in WebAdMIT for school or association users)	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Economic/Educational/Environmental Factors	A new Organization and Event Participation question block was added, which includes questions about participation in: Health Careers Opportunity Programs National Society for High School Scholars (NSHSS) Summer Health Professions Exploration Program (SHPEP) HOSA - Future Health Professionals Additionally, a new Were you a part of the foster care system for any period of time between birth and age eighteen? question was added to the Family Situation question block.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Academic History – Transcript Entry	Applicants can view instructions when entering their coursework details.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Essay	The essay prompt was updated to: Every applicant is unique in their own way, possessing individual qualities, abilities, and backgrounds. What unique traits will you bring to the physical therapy profession that will help you to be successful?	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Submit Application Page	The Submit Application page now includes a link to the PTCAS Fee Waiver Program page for clearer advertising.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Applicant Help Center	The full text of the PTCAS Applicant Responsibilities was removed from the Applicant Help Center and replaced with a link to a copy of the content. This ensures that applicants can view the most accurate and up-to-date version of the Applicant Responsibilities.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Configuration Portal	Program Details	To share more clearly the cost of PT school tuition, the following fields were added to the Program Details page. Note that only association users can update this information; school users cannot edit them. Total Cost of Program: In-State Total Cost of Program: Out-of-State	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available now
Liaison Letters	Delegates	Recommenders (i.e., evaluators, references) can designate assistants or "delegates" to help them submit their letters of recommendation on their behalf through Liaison Letters. Recommenders are still responsible for writing an applicant’s letter of recommendation.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available now
WebAdMIT	Decision Codes	The following Decision Codes were updated: Withdrew was renamed Withdrew Before Final Decision Withdrew After Offer Accepted - Deposit Forfeited was renamed Withdrew After Offer Accepted Declined Offer was renamed Offer Declined Rescinded was renamed Offer Rescinded DENIED: Not Qualified/Not Accepted was renamed Denied The following Decision Codes were removed: Early Admissions to General Withdrew After Offer Accepted - No Deposit Forfeited DENIED: Incomplete/Application Not Reviewed DENIED: Late/Application Not Reviewed DENIED: Class Filled/Application Not Reviewed DENIED: Not Qualified/Not Accepted DENIED: Qualified/Not Accepted Under Review for Next Cycle Interview	Action required by all participating programs.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Export Manager List Manager	The following fields were removed. If you have exports and lists that include these fields, you will want to review and update them as necessary. TOEFL Official PBT fields Highest Education Level School field from the Parents/Guardians field category	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Work Groups	In WebAdMIT, you can configure Work Groups to allow users to see specific panels on the Applicant Details Page. With this enhancement (from Release 11, 2023) if you remove access to a panel for a Work Group, the fields in that panel are also not available for the Work Group to see when creating exports, lists, or PDF manager templates. For example, if the Race and Ethnicity subpanel is not enabled for a Work Group, its members will not see the information from that panel when creating an export, and will not be able to create filters in List Manager using any of the fields from that panel. As a result of this enhancement, reports that are not shared with Work Groups from the Report Settings page will be inaccessible to anyone who is not a WebAdMIT Administrator. Review the How Work Groups Impact Access to Features and Fields documentation to learn more about the impacts of this enhancement.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch

2023-2024

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
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Release Statement	A Total Cost of Education Acknowledgment question was added.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Personal Information – Economic/Educational/Environmental Factors	2022 was added as an answer option to the Year of High School Graduation question. Additionally, the following questions were added: Did you participate in HOSA-Future Health Professional during high school? Were you a member of the National Society for High School Scholars (NSHSS) during high school? Did you receive or were you eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant at any time? Have you previously or are you currently applying to a health profession school other than a Doctor of Physical Therapy program? Have you ever matriculated in or attended any medical school or health profession as a candidate for a professional degree?	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Experiences	Applicants can edit in progress experiences after they submit their application.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Observation Hours	The Observation Hours section collects additional experience type details, roles of people shadowed, and hours for non-clinical settings.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
Applicant Portal	Supporting Information – Essay	The Essay prompt was updated.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch
WebAdMIT	Applicant Details Page	Applicants' licenses and certifications data is now located under the Licenses and Certification panel on the Applicant Details page. Previously, it was listed under the Achievements panel.	No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement.	Available at cycle launch