CONQUERING CAS: The Basics

So today is the first in a series that we're calling Conquering Cass.

One, because we liked the alliteration.

And two, because this is our bread and butter.

This is our jam.

This is what we spend the vast majority of our days working on.

We both have over a decade of experience in CAS.

And even to us, sometimes we have to go to the help center.

So we thought this would be a great place to start the Conquering CAS series with just outlining all of the basics.

What does CAS, C-A-S, stand for? Central Application Service.

And then usually there's some other letters around it, either at the beginning of it or the end of it.

So you've got CASPA, which is the Central Application Service for PA. You've got OptumCAS, which is Optometry CAS.

You've got DHCAS, Dental Hygiene CAS.

You've got PharmCAS, which is Pharmacy CAS.

Almost every healthcare profession uses a CAS in some form.

And this is a common application.

So it's one thing you're going to fill out that you will then go to each school that you are applying to.

And as a result, it takes a lot of time and effort to fill the CAS out because there's a lot of information in each one.

And they say that the average student spends about 20 hours filling out the CAS.

So if you're going to spend...

so much time on one application, you might be wondering, what is the benefit? Why do we use this central application service? And there is a benefit to you as an applicant.

You're only submitting one application.

You don't have to request and pay for transcripts to go to every school that you're applying to.

You only have to request letters of recommendation once.

Those all come through the CAS application as well.

So it helps save you some time and some money.