CASAA Verification 101

CASAA uses different statuses to define exactly where you are in the application process.

You can check the status of your application by navigating to the top menu bar within CASAA and pressing "Check Status". You'll then see a column denoting your application status.

Here is the big picture overview: In Progress --> Complete --> Verified. Keep in mind that it's helpful to nuance each of these stages.

When you initially create a CASAA account and add your anesthesia programs of interest, your application will have an "in progress" status.

"In Progress" means you have not completed or submitted the application. In other words, it means you're still putting together your application by answering the required questions, requesting evaluations (also known as letters of recommendations), writing your personal statement, and sending transcripts.

Programs do not evaluate or invite for interviews any applicants whose application is still "In Progress" because the application is incomplete.

Your application is considered complete once you submit your application along with all program-specific documents required through CASAA, if applicable.

Here is a checklist to ensure your application can move to the "Complete" status.

Once you submit your complete application, you'll be put in the que to become verified. Note that you can still submit an application before sending official standardized test scores, and your application will still be placed in que for verification even without the test scores. In other words, test scores can be received by CASAA at any point during the application cyle, whether that is before or after verification.

During verification, your degree(s) and coursework are confirmed. In other words, verification makes sure that what you manually entered (or what PTE entered) into your application matches your transcript. You can think of it like your application is being fact-checked.

If you plan to take courses in the future that are not yet reflected on your official transcript, you can self-report those future courses on your application. Those courses will be label as "planned/in-progress" courses and will be considered unverified. Don't worry that those future courses are considered unverified because they won't prevent your overall application from being verified. It is relatively common to apply while still having an outstanding prerequisite.

Also during verification, CASAA calculates your GPA so that each applicant's GPA is determined by the exact same criteria. Admissions committees can then be sure they're comparing apple to apples in terms of GPA. So yes, even though your university already has a GPA on your transcript, CASAA will recalculate it according to their own standards. CASAA even breaks down your GPA into different categories instead of simply giving an overall GPA. For example, the admissions committee will be able to see subject specific GPAs such as science as well as year-level GPAs.

Here is exactly what the verification process looks like:

If you're wondering exactly how CASAA calculates your GPA, you can read more here.

Note that if any major mistakes are found during the verification process, your application will not be delivered ("undelivered" status) to your school of interest and instead will be returned to you for revision. You would then have to go through the verification process again.

When planning your application timeline, keep in mind that verification takes time, specifically up to 10 days! If you submit your application before the deadline, but it is not verified by the deadline, your application might not be considered by admissions committees. There is no way to speed up the verification process. The amount of time the verification process takes depends on the volume of applications that are ahead of you in the que to be verified.

Application status designations are often used differently by CASAA and by programs themselves!

When CASAA designates an application as "complete", it means it can be submitted for verification because CASAA has received your transcripts and has received 3 evaluations. Remember that at this stage, CASAA still might not have received your test scores yet.

When CAA programs refer to complete applications, what they really mean is you have a verified application, submitted standardized test scores, and have done any supplemental requirements.

Put another way, don't let having the "verified" status give you a false sense of security about having your application all done and wrapped up in a bow.

Even if you have a "verified" application, it doesn't necessarily mean you have a finished application, and it certainly doesn't mean you meet all the requirements for a particular program.

Here are a couple of example scenarios of having a "verified" application but still not having a fully finished application that meets programmatic requirements.