First-Hand Experience with PTCAS: What is it & What to Expect

APTA Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service | APTA

Hello everyone! PTCAS stands for the Physical Therapist Centralized Application System. This system is used by many physical therapy schools across the country, Utica University included. When I was applying for graduate school last summer, I used PTCAS. This makes applications a lot easier by organizing all of your applications onto one site. For the most part, physical therapy schools need to know the same general information about each of their applicants. Using the physical therapist centralized application system allows you as the applicant to enter a lot of this information one time and apply it to a number of applications for a lot of different schools. When I found out that Utica University uses PTCAS for their applications, I was very happy because this made my life much easier. I was able to enter my general information onto my PTCAS  account and then just type up short essays and other questions that were specific to each school that I applied for. On the physical therapist centralized application system, you can save your progress, send links to your references for them to submit their electronic letters, monitor your progress with each application you are completing, and so much more.


Generally, Utica University's physical therapy application opens in the summertime. You will apply one year prior to the start of the graduate program. So for me, I just started my first year this summer with Utica's human gross anatomy course, so I applied last summer in 2021. This application for physical therapy school is vast. I think that completing it within four to six weeks would be making great time, although if it takes longer then that’s okay too! Another tip that I have for applying would be to get your application in as soon as possible. For Utica University, I know that they have two rounds of applicants, so your best bet would be to get your application in early so you can be in that first round of applicants. I was able to get my application into Utica University very early, after completing it in less than four weeks. This meant that I was in the first pool of applicants and was able to get an interview that fall rather than in the late winter time. Getting the application in early is also nice because then you will have time to decide, if you're choosing between a few different programs, what one’s you want to go to the interviews for, the school's you want to tour, and much more. 


This blog post has just been a general overview of my experience with PTCAS and Utica University's application process for their doctorate program in physical therapy. If you have more questions about UU’s  application process or the physical therapist centralized application system in general, feel free to send me a quick email at mmlazore@utica.edu. 


Goodbye for now, folks☺


Maryanne


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