PTCAS should be renamed to PTdumbCASses

[lastnerve]

Has anyone else's PT application been jeopardized because of PTCAS?

So to give a quick run down of the hell i'm going through... I am a re-applicant and to strengthen my application this year, I retook several classes in fall to improve my prereq GPA. I worked hard, made straight A's, and sent an updated transcript to PTCAS for the Academic Update. I was worried why it was taking so long for them to get my transcript, but finally a ray of hope shined upon me and they received it on Jan 1st, 2011. After waiting a little over a week and seeing no update to my GPA, I decided to call them and ask what was going on and if i needed to do anything to speed up the process. all they said was that it takes "2-3 weeks" to process everything. i'd like to say that i'm a pretty patient guy so i stayed calm and waited 3 weeks, but still nothing was updated. I called the following monday to ask what was going on and they first say "it takes 2-3 weeks to process an application," in which i respond "well it has been over 3 weeks now and nothing has been updated," and he responds "hold one second please sir"... cue *lame jazz music* "sorry sir, i was misinformed and it takes 3-4 weeks to process everything." (i bring up the prior times of convo AND the emails saying 2-3 weeks but it does nothing to help the situation). finally today, the end of week four comes and still NOTHING has been updated. i call and ask about Academic Updates and she says it takes 2 1/2 weeks for it to be processed and i say "well that means it should have been processed by last week," please hold... cue *lame jazz music* she comes back on and says "they're working on it" ... i could no longer keep my patience and i let her have it (but i'm still calm about it). i explain that PT schools are giving out acceptances and interviews at this very moment and without my Academic Update, my application is incomplete. she responds saying that she just spoke with her supervisor and that they are working on it. i ask to speak to the supervisor and she says to hold please *cue lame jazz music* "are you there sir, please hold one moment" *cue lame jazz music again* she comes back on and says that she's putting me through to her supervisor... and i get his voicemail. i leave a message explaining my situation and leave a callback number. i decided to call again because i really need this update. i call, the same girl answers, i just ask to speak to her supervisor immediately and i actually get through this time. "hi this is Robert *some lame last name*" and i tell him my situation and first he says "it can take up to 6 weeks to process an application" and i say that i've heard the policy being 2-3 weeks, 3-4 weeks, and that the chick that i just spoke to said 2 1/2 weeks. he then responds and says that he'll get it figured out by monday or tuesday. so now i'm just waiting...


but seriously, can PTCAS hire people that can actually do the job please?

if i was the person that hired people i would only ask 2 questions
1) do you feel slightly guilty if the person asking you for help does not receive help?

2) typically, do you sit on your a** all day and do nothing?

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[jbizzle]

ok dude, dont take this the wrong way. I'll first say that as a "re-applicant" you should've known how PTCAS works by now, and it should have been in your best interest to e-submit as early as possible, like August. (Unless you didn't use PTCAS the first time like me).

When did you e-submit your initial application? Were you waiting to add those fall grades in PTCAS before you esubmitted, if this is the case then I understand why you did.

Everyone on here, except a select lucky few (myself included), has had some problem with PTCAS.

 

[lastnerve]

i initially sent my application 10/15
i've never used PTCAS before. and my application has already been sent out to schools, but a big part of it is the academic update. that's what i've been waiting on

 

[johncronejr]

I understand how a system such as PTCAS could be beneficial for those applying to 5 or 10 schools, but I believe it is a sham the way it is being run presently.

There are far too many problems being experienced by people. I also believe that it is just plain wrong that PTCAS is set up so that grade forgiveness and academic clemency, a process that many universities offer, is not accounted for with the PTCAS application.

I also take issue with being charged $120 for me to type in all the info and for them to electronically send that info, which I TYPED IN, on to the school. In my opinion, this is yet another money grab that college students are being exposed to. I know that schools could charge application fees, but I also believe that, given the technology we have today, that these costs should be going down and not up. A school can put their app up in a pdf, I can fill it out, and I can email it back.

Who actually owns PTCAS and just how did they get the privilege of raking in this cash?

 

[jbizzle]

I think PTCAS and OTCAS are the "same"; two different departments in one company. What I didn't understand is the supplemental app fees from schools, I thought this would ease their work load, thus granting PTCAS/OTCAS the priviledge. I dont know, Im over it now though, Im already getting burnt out (from the waiting) and I haven't even started.

 

[PT2014]

Lastnerve, I feel for ya. I applied to over 5 schools and I would have rather avoided PTCAS and applied to each school individually. You pretty much have to send transcripts to each school anyway, so why send to PTCAS. When I sent my original transcripts back in September, they didn't process for 4-5 weeks and when I called they told me they probably got lost in transit! So I sent a second set, then 3 weeks later, two copies posted.
PTCAS is terrible because it puts your application in the hands of someone besides the applicant. They don't give a rat's ass about our applications processing.

 

[DPTbaseball]

I've had the same problems with PTCAS. I submitted my updated transcripts in mid december. They just barely (two days ago) confirmed that they received my transcript and said it will take an additional 3 weeks to update my GPA. I feel like they are costing me a shot at some schools, especially the ones with rolling admissions.

 

[oregonprept]

I used ptcas to apply to a few schools also. What a pain! They accidentally selected an additional school for me to apply to and the system wouldn't let me delete it. I had to call and have someone fix it on their end. It was a school I had never even heard of.

The school I chose to attend doesn't use ptcas (U of MN). However, when I asked other schools reps about their thoughts on ptcas, they responded that they pretty-much hate it. The volume of applicants is much greater than before.

It would seem like if you really want to attend somewhere seriously you would apply there, whether it's centralized, or not. Many people seem to be applying all over. In the end I think it just creates much more labor for the admission boards for schools and doesn't produce a much better outcome than if people just applied where they really want to attend.

Of course if you someone who's really afraid of not getting in anywhere, the shotgun approach isn't a bad thing... and you're probably appreciative of ptcas. lol

 

[pumpkinpatch]

Sorry to hear that it's been such a pain for you, lastnerve!

I agree that PTCAS is a huge pain and creates a lot of problems, but I do have to say that in my experience they were very responsive to my questions. I emailed the address they gave for questions and they were very prompt and always clearly addressed my problem. Granted, I had to email them close to 10 times about different issues I needed help with, so that goes to show how flawed it is...

It's a relatively new system so it's going to have its problems. Hopefully after a few years they'll have the kinks worked out and it will make everybody's life easier. For the time being, though, I definitely would rather have filled out separate applications for each school -- the only advantage, in my book, was only having to write one essay.

Good luck, lastnerve, I hope they finally get their act together!!

 

[psu17]

I know everyone on here, including myself, has had problems with PTCAS and although I am one of the people it benefits, who applied to numerous schools, I totally agree that they need to get their act together

but I'm wondering if the other centralized application companies have similar issues? I know physician assistant programs have caspa, nursing now has nursingcas, and law schools have lawcabs

I had a roommate who was applying to law school last year and she didn't have any problems with applying through lawcabs. It seemed much more organized than PTCAS

 

[shellabie]

I am not able to relocate and hence, am only interested in one school. Unfortunately, that school uses PTCAS. In terms of value based on my personal situation... not so great. If I were applying to a half dozen schools, I'm sure I would be thankful that there was a CAS in use.

Although I don't really have high hopes for a Fall 2011 entry (taking GRE late), I applied through PTCAS this year anyway. The process has been worthwhile for me. I did encounter a few roadblocks, but at least I am aware of what I'll be up against for the 2011-2012 cycle.

All of my transcripts were mailed to PTCAS in early December. My Rutgers transcript was processed by PTCAS 30-days after the University mailed it off. Last time I checked, there isn't 30-days worth of distance between NJ and MA (even factoring in the "10 days" for processing). That being said, once PTCAS received all of my transcripts, my application was verified in exactly 2 weeks. Since the academic update was also taking place during this time, I was actually surprised by the two-week turnaround time.

I also had problems with two of my electronic verification signatures-- the whole SPAM folder deal. I needed to have PTCAS resend and it took them about a week to respond to my inquiry.

When folks say to apply early, they really, REALLY mean it. I'll be using my experience with this PTCAS cycle to reduce my stress during the next cycle-- which will probably have even more applicants and thus, more chaos attached!

 

[Eforma]

Just to throw in some more food-for-thought....double check that PTCAS does not change classification of your courses. I SWEAR I did this and everything was correct after a I sent it in, but maybe I just didn't check after they had calculated GPAs so I got screwed.

(My situation -- applied to Samuel Merritt....I'm a solid candidate...and about a week ago I received an email saying that I was denied acceptance. First off, I had been attempting to contact the Asst. Admissions Director during the two weeks prior to their interview date, to clarify why I wasn't offered an interview, and I did not receive a single response. So I decided to contact the head of admissions, and was able to finally get through. After speaking with the woman, she said she would do me a favor and investigate my file. Well, since at UCBerkeley, you can take Eng Comp courses under different departments, (mine was through the Italian department) the courses aren't obviously listed to denote Eng Comp/Lit. I did however, note this on my PTCAS, though somewhere down the line, that was altered. Anyway, after speaking with the admissions director, she said I was a strong applicant, but because they thought I did not have an Eng Comp class, they did not consider me for admissions. I am somewhat shocked that SMU did not even consider sending me a "conditional" interview or something of the sort, as this seems to be common among schools. I was accepted into GWU under the condition that I provide proof of an Eng Comp course. I just don't understand why SMU would toss a "strong applicant" because of one course that, had they just clarified w/ me, would have been a non-issue. ....sorry...I wanted to blow of steam. Thankfully SMU wasn't a top pick for me, but I still wanted it to be an option, as I am from the Bay. Ah well. Stupid PTCAS.)