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CASPA Calculated GPA Timeframe and the Application Process


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Hi everyone!

I will be a first time applicant this cycle and am curious about the process. Ive looked through the FAQs on the portal, but am still a little unclear on the timeliness of how the process is handled by CASPA, so if you've applied in the past let me know how it went for you!

From what I understand is that I will not be able to request my LOR's or submit my PS until CASPA opens on April 30th. After that I will select the schools I want to apply to(only the programs that I am qualified for at that time, as I will become eligible for other programs later this Summer), pay the application fee and then give CASPA 4-6 weeks to verify my grades and calculate my c/sGPA before the school reviews my application? My GPA is right on the cusp for some programs I want to apply to, and it would be great to have a CASPA verified GPA prior to applying to those schools so I dont waste money. Ive calculated my GPA numerous times, though still have some level of uncertainty. For instance I retook a four credit class three times, with two Fs and finally a B, so is that calculated by CASPA as (0+0+12/12)?

 It would be great to know sooner rather than later so that I can enroll in Maymester courses to improve my cGPA early. 

If I were to have my grades entered and all supplemental information added to CASPA by May 1st with programs selected, when would the school actually receive a completed application? Is there no way to submit LOR before April 30th?

Sorry for the multi-layered questions. 

 

Thanks

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You are correct, you have to wait for the application cycle to open in order to request LOR, transcripts, and input personal statement and experiences. You can submit to each school individually. If you have everything in CASPA Done correctly, most importantly the manual submission of your grades, it should be verified rather quickly, this is especially true the sooner you submit your application. For example, I submitted my application for for 7 out of my 9 schools on May 20th and was verified the next day. I was procrastinating the additionally questions that two other schools had in the CASPA application, but when I submitted those two weeks later, they were verified the next day. If your GPA is on the cusp, it would be in your best interested to just submit to one school and wait to see what the CASPA calculation is. 
 

You will likely have to wait 1-2 weeks for official transcripts to be uploaded depending your previous institution, there’s no reason to submit before those are in because they won’t be verified. Take your time with you personal statement and experiences, even though you can submit to each school individually, the first time you submit your CASPA, you will not be able to go back and change any information you already entered. This will all make sense once you start the application and have schools added. 
 

in my experience, if you submit in May or June it will only take 1-3 days to be verified. If you submit in July-August, the busiest time, it could take 1-2 weeks, granted everything is inputted correctly. 

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Take your time with you personal statement and experiences, even though you can submit to each school individually, the first time you submit your CASPA, you will not be able to go back and change any information you already entered. 

Thanks man, good stuff...Are you able to change or add experiences to your CASPA after you've submitted an application? My HCE/PCE will be building through the summer and will need to be updated to be eligible for some programs once I hit x amount of hours later this summer. 

Edited by arbr0972
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12 hours ago, arbr0972 said:

Thanks man, good stuff...Are you able to change or add experiences to your CASPA after you've submitted an application? My HCE/PCE will be building through the summer and will need to be updated to be eligible for some programs once I hit x amount of hours later this summer. 

I believe you can add a new experience, but I don’t think you can edit an already existing one. If you need more PCE hours, it may be better to wait a little longer to submit. More hours will look better to any school, even if you’ve already hit the minimum. If you submit in May/June you are still likely to be way ahead of schools deadlines. 

this is from the CASPA website 

Updating Other Application Sections

Once you submit your application, most sections are locked to prevent edits. Updates you can make include:

  • Editing your contact information.
  • Editing your profile information (username, password, security question, etc.).
  • Adding programs with deadlines that have not yet passed.
  • Editing or deleting evaluations that remain incomplete. 
  • Adding new test scores, experiences, achievements, and/or certifications, if applicable (you are unable to edit or delete existing entries). 
  • Editing program materials for programs you have not yet submitted to (programs you have already submitted to will be locked).

After making your updates, click Update my application to send the changes to your programs. If you have updates for other sections of your application, submit these updates directly to your programs.

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12 hours ago, arbr0972 said:

Thanks man, good stuff...Are you able to change or add experiences to your CASPA after you've submitted an application? My HCE/PCE will be building through the summer and will need to be updated to be eligible for some programs once I hit x amount of hours later this summer. 

You could also check the specific requirements of the school you are interested in. Some schools require hours to be complete by the time of application, certain dates, or before matriculation. 

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