Master The Application System: PTCAS
By Rhyan Caruso
PTCAS
PTCAS, or The Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service, is the application system that all students will use when applying to PT school. I recommend all of you get very comfortable and learn the ins and outs of this application system as it is something you will be visiting quite frequently during the application process. You can create an account through PTCAS whenever even if you are not applying anytime soon, and I recommend creating one and browsing the system to see all what it has to offer. Here I will be describing the different parts and teaching you different ways to navigate the site with ease, as it may seem confusing at first, as it was for me.
Personal Information (8 Parts)
This section is straightforward, as you will have to fill out basic information about yourself. This includes filling out a release statement, biographic information, contact information, citizen information, race and ethnicity, parent/guardian information, economic/educational factors, and then a few questions under “other information.” There should generally be no questions for you guys under this section. When everything is completed, the “my application” page should show a full green circle under the personal information section as a complete 8/8, meaning you are done with this section.
Academic History (3 Parts)
The Academic History section includes three subsections, colleges attended section, a transcript entry section, and a standardized test section. I will explain each one below.
Colleges Attended
This section you will have to add every college you have ever attended, including colleges you took an online course through or even colleges you took College Credit Plus Classes through in high school. For each college you add, you will have to enter the time period you attended that college and whether a degree was earned or not or expected. Each college will also need to have your transcript from their university sent to PTCAS. This can be done by contacting the registrar at each school you attended and requesting your transcript to be sent to PTCAS or done electronically through a transcript system your school may use, such as Parchment. When selecting the recipient through your online transcript service, you will type in PTCAS when entering the details, and it should pop up on the drop-down menu. From here you will then need to enter the school’s unique transcript barcode ID, which will be found in the top right corner of the school you are sending the transcript from, found under the Colleges Attended section of PTCAS. Click order for each individual school and monitor your status under this section. When completed and received, PTCAS will list the date the transcript was received under each school within this section. This should take around 1-2 days.
Transcript Entry
For the transcript entry portion, PTCAS offers a service that will enter your transcripts in for you, with prices of $55 for 1-3 transcripts, $100 for 4-6 transcripts, and $150 for 7+. I would recommend ordering your official transcripts from your schools to be sent to you personally, as it will most likely be cheaper, and from there you can manually enter all your classes. Make sure to enter all of the class information exactly as it appears on your official transcripts, as PTCAS will need to verify whether your manually entered transcript matches your official one, and any mistakes could result in delays in getting your application verified. The manual entry is pretty simple and shouldn’t take more than 45 minutes. Content entered includes the course code, i.e. MATH 122, the title, i.e. College Algebra, the subject, i.e. Algebra (this will not necessarily be on your official transcript, but make your best judgement, as a drop-down menu will be available as well), along with the number of credits and grade that was received in the class. When finished, click review and finalize my transcripts, and PTCAS will take you through a finalization check point of your classes where you will enter specific information regarding them, such as whether it was a lab, lecture, or both. You will also have the option to enter classes and semesters that are in progress, for these classes, list everything as stated above and leave the grade slot empty. When you eventually finish these classes, there will be an Academic Update window for you to go back into the application and enter the grades for the classes that were in progress, even after the application was already submitted. To qualify for Academic Update, you would have just needed at least one application verified by a later winter date (which can be found online). This window is usually 2 months long and will most likely be between December to February. If any mistakes arise and your application does not get verified, the application will be undelivered and returned to you for corrections. So, make sure you enter carefully!
Standardized Tests
There is a good chance you will not need to use this section, simply because most schools have stopped using tests like the GRE as a requirement to apply to their program, however some still do. Other test options to enter under this section include the TOEFL, Advanced Placement Tests (AP), CLEP (College Level Examination Program), and IB (International Baccalaureate). There are plenty of materials online to study for the GRE, which is the most common graduate school exam. There are even practice tests on the ETS website, who are the makers of the GRE. I would recommend getting a GRE study practice guide from these makers of the exam as well, which should also include more vocab, practice tests, and information on the structure of the exam. The GRE can be taken at a local testing site or even online now, and scheduling will take place through the ETS website. After you take the exam, you will have the option to send it up to 4 schools as part of the registration fee. Any schools you send to after this will require a fee. For every school you send the exam to, you will need to type in the school’s program specific score recipient code, which can be found on each school’s physical therapy program site online.
If you would like EVERY school you apply to see your GRE score, you can also self-report your scores under this section in PTCAS. If you only want a certain number of schools to see your GRE score, send the exam to these specific schools using their code on the ETS website, and then, on PTCAS, only put the date you took the GRE, along with the ETS Registration Code, under the GRE section, rather than entering your scores. This will make sure your score is only available to those who you sent the test directly to through the ETS website. Yes, the school’s you’re applying to will all see that you have taken the exam, but only those who you sent it directly to through ETS will have your scores available to them. This can be utilized when dealing with some schools that require the GRE, and some that do not, especially when you are not too proud of your score but still need to send it as a requirement for certain schools.
If you do great on the GRE, go ahead and send it to all schools, even those that do not require it, but will consider it as a holistic part of your application. If you are not too proud of your score, I would recommend retaking it if you have time, but if not, only send it to those that require it. The status page will reveal a green statement stating that your GRE was accepted on a specific date to reveal completion. Take it serious if you plan to take it, however the GRE is not as significant of a factor in the application process now as it was in the past, so don’t stress too much on this.
TIP: Mark your calendar 3 months ahead of time! Schedule the GRE about 3 months ahead of time. By picking an exact date, you force yourself to not procrastinate and study. This should be an ample amount of time to study and prepare well for the GRE.
Supporting Information (5 Parts)
Observation Hours
Here is where you will enter all your observation hours, with a process made simple to you through the app. You will click the add observation hours icon and fill basic info regarding the setting where you observed, such as if you were paid or volunteered, who you shadowed, as well as other information on the setting, such as whether it was inpatient, outpatient, how many hours you observed, and what type of patient diagnoses you observed. Next, all you have to do is choose how you would like your hours verified, either by sending the observation hours to the PT or PTA you shadowed through email or uploading a signed document of the observation hours. Once the observation hours are verified, PTCAS will reveal the status as “completed” next to the setting you received the observation hours from. Any observation hours that show requested or accepted are NOT complete.
TIP: Before you leave observation settings for the very last time, make sure to grab some form of contact information, preferably email, of the PT or PTA you were observing to keep for future reference down the road when you need your observation hours verified through PTCAS!
Experiences
Here is where you will write down anything from employment to extracurricular activities, research opportunities, or volunteering. To enter the experience, click add experience. From there you will need to select the experience type from the drop-down menu, then enter information regarding where the experience was done, information about the supervisor, and the date range you were a part of the experience. Other information you will have to enter is the title of the experience, as well as the average weekly numbers regarding it. Finally, select Yes or No as to whether you would like to release authorization to allow the programs you’re applying to contact the organizations you have entered, then click save and continue. Be sure to only put recent information in this section, as PTCAS indicates you should not enter work experiences from high school. Do not be afraid of putting too many experiences in this section, as more experience will only help you as an applicant, as long as every place you are putting down can vouch for you in a positive way.
Achievements
Add all your awards, honors, and scholarships here! These can include things such as President’s List, honors in a club or athletic team you have participated in, or any school or athletic scholarships you have received. If you think it belongs in this section, ENTER IT! Entering these achievements is very similar to the Experiences section, as you will click add achievement, select the type and enter the name, add information regarding the organization and the date you received it, as well as a brief description of the achievement. Click Save achievement and you are done!
Licenses and Certifications
If you have no licenses or certifications, do not stress. However, I would recommend going online a taking a certification class through a certified organization such as the American Red Cross, where you can easily take online courses to get certifications for things like First Aide, or CPR, for a cheap fee. Entering the information will be done exactly as the experience and achievements sections, however you will then need to upload a copy of the license or certification. Hit save and continue once again and you are done for this section.
Essay
In my opinion, the essay is the most important component to your application when it comes to setting yourself apart from the rest of the applicants, as it gives you an opportunity to showcase your unique experiences with a bit more freedom than the other parts of the application allow. The prompt may change depending on when you apply, but every person applying within the same year will have the exact same prompt. The most recent prompt is as follows: 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? Although some years, the prompt may change, but it will still most likely follow a similar format regarding what has led you to this career. Before writing this essay, keep in mind the limit is shorter than you might think, set at a max of 4500 CHARACTERS, not words, as this will include spaces. This would be about a page long with a 12-point font. Prior to creating your essay, work on formulating exactly how you can keep this essay short and sweet, while putting together an organized and captivating essay, as you don’t have space to fill in multiple stories with multiple details. I would recommend writing this essay in a Word document when drafting it, then just copy and paste it from the document to PTCAS so you will not have to write in the column provided by the application system. Every school you apply to will be able to see this essay.
TIP: DO NOT JUST REITERATE THE PROMPT! Use a hook to captivate the PT schools from the very beginning of your essay. Focus on writing about a unique story or specific experience you have had that has developed specific traits that would make you a great physical therapist in the future.
Program Materials
From the Add button on the top of the PTCAS home page, you will see a list of schools, and the schools you add from this list will appear in the program materials list section. This is where you would put all the schools you plan on applying to. Most applicants apply to 5-6 schools, but you can apply to as many as you would like, just know the more applications means the more money you spend. Each school may have slightly different components to their program materials section, but most will include information and due dates of the program, program specific supplemental questions, a documents section to put things like resumes, a references section, and a prerequisites section. The questions section might include a series of school specific questions, such as something like, “what might make you a good fit for our program.” I would recommend typing these in a Word document as well, and keep in mind these will also contain a character limit. The documents section is usually used to upload a resume you might have or possibly additional letters of recommendations. The references section will contain information regarding what type of references the specific school requires, if they even require any. To add a reference, simply click the button that says request a reference, then enter information regarding the reference, including their email, as well as the due date, or date you would like the reference completed by. Click save this reference request to submit, then PTCAS will send out documents to your reference to complete, as well as an opportunity to fill out a letter of recommendation for you. To check the status of your references, click the check status tab.
Any references that say requested or accepted are not complete, only references that show complete are completely done. The prerequisites section will allow you to see all of the prerequisites required by that specific program and allow you to pick the classes straight from the transcript entry section to here, showcasing the school, course code, title, and grade you received in that class.
Kira Assessment
Some schools require a Kira Assessment as a part of their application process, which is basically an online, prerecorded interview that allows you to see a question, have a certain amount of time to prepare for it, then a certain amount of time to answer the question. These interviews will also include a writing portion most of the time. I would use tutorials online for this assessment, such as reviewing practice questions as well as utilizing the mock interview through KIRA. Do not stress too much, as these assessments are to the point and are usually very quick. If you have completed the KIRA Assessment but PTCAS is not showing that you have, email PTCAS and the institution you took the assessment from to update this issue, as this problem occurred to me, but was solved with ease.
Time to Submit
Once you have followed all these steps and completed every program specific requirement, as well as reviewed your entire application multiple times, it is now time to submit. On the My app page, every section should be at a full, 100% green circle, every specific school in the program materials should have a green check next to each section they required, and the status page should reveal all transcripts, standardized test, and observation hours are received and completed. You can then choose to submit one school at a time or all at a time. The first school you apply to is $170, and every school after that is an additional $70, and you are able to use credit card to pay. Expensive, I know. Now, it’s time to play the dreaded waiting game!
TIP: APPLY EARLY! You can begin working on your PTCAS application and make an account whenever. You can start filling out program materials section as soon as the PTCAS application cycle opens up in the summer. Most schools have Early Action Deadlines to apply by, and I 100% recommend trying to send every application you have by these deadlines. Applying earlier will only boost your chances of getting accepted.
Some PT schools may value a student who has a variety of work and volunteer experience but a lower GPA, than a student who has a high GPA but very little work or volunteer experience. Different schools value different things, and it is important to research a bit on the schools you are applying to in order to see if you are the right fit for them. There is no need to waste money applying to a school that has an average GPA of 3.9 when you have a cumulative GPA of 3.0, when you could spend your money applying to schools with an average GPA of 3.1, where you have a lot higher of chance of getting accepted. The key to increasing your acceptance rate into PT school is to hone in on what makes you unique and different from other applicants. You must understand that these PT schools are seeing applications from thousands of different students, and a majority of these applications will look very similar to one another, thus it is up to you to keep that in mind when creating your personal application in order to stand out from the crowd.