Most pre-PA students are aware of the importance of their CASPA GPAs. In fact, this is the aspect of their PA school application they focus on the most. It’s interesting because, YES your GPA is very important…but by the time you get around to applying to PA school, it’s something that is VERY hard to change. 

It takes many extra classes, lots of time, and tons of money to move your GPA substantially when you’ve already received your degree. We know…it sucks!

But don’t neglect the other aspects of your application and focus ONLY on your GPA. One aspect where students seem to be the most laissez faire is their CASPA letters of recommendation!

They ask a few people (who agree) and then send them the link and viola! Done! 

They wipe their hands together, glad to get the task done and move on the next….

…but not so fast!

We’ve seen CASPA applications where just ONE LOR BREAKS a student’s application and get denied an interview as a result!

One thing that is actually common is for the LOR to have ANOTHER PA school’s name mentioned. EEK!

That’s right! Sometimes LOR writers mention a specific school…not realizing that ALL the schools you’ve applied to in CASPA are getting this SAME letter!

Make sure you educate our CASPA LOR writers that their letter will be going to multiple PA schools and NOT to mention a specific institution in the body of the letter!

Think about it. If you work for school NFL and a candidate has an LOR talking about how they want to go to school NBA, how would you feel? Maybe you’d think your university is a second choice and a backup plan for this student?

Providing a bit of direction and information to those who are writing your CASPA LORs can save you a huge headache in the long run!

So let your PA school letter of recommendation writers know what to expect, how CASPA works, and to not mention a specific PA school in their LOR.

Once you have all your info put into CASPA, and before you press submit, sign up for our CASPA Application Editing and Zoom Feedback session! This is where we edit your entire PA school application – including personal statement editing – then meet you on Zoom for an hour feedback session to make sure your CASPA application is super competitive and stands out!