CAA ADMISSIONS GUIDE
CASAA Application Guide: 2026–2027
CASAA—the Centralized Application Service for Anesthesiologist Assistants—is the application platform used by many CAA programs.
Applicants complete one centralized application containing their academic history, experiences, evaluations, essay, and other supporting information, then select the participating CAA programs that should receive it. Individual programs can also require additional questions, documents, prerequisites, testing, or supplemental materials.
This guide walks through the major parts of the 2026–2027 CASAA application and highlights the details applicants should pay attention to before submitting.
Last Reviewed: October 2026
What Is CASAA?
CASAA stands for the Centralized Application Service for Anesthesiologist Assistants.
Instead of completing an entirely separate core application for every participating CAA program, applicants enter much of their information once in CASAA and select the programs they want to receive it.
Not every CAA program necessarily participates in CASAA, and participating schools still establish their own deadlines and program-specific requirements. Always review the requirements for each individual school on your list.
What Is Included in the CASAA Application?
CASAA is organized into four major sections. Understanding what belongs in each one makes the application much easier to manage.
| CASAA Section | What It Includes |
|---|---|
| Personal Information | Biographic and contact information, citizenship information, family information, environmental factors, and other applicant information. |
| Academic History | Colleges attended, transcript entry, coursework, standardized tests such as the GRE or MCAT, and related academic information. |
| Supporting Information | Evaluations, experiences, achievements, licenses and certifications, and the CASAA essay. |
| Program Materials | School-specific requirements that may include additional questions, essays, documents, prerequisite matching, deadlines, and other program instructions. |
When Does the 2026–2027 CASAA Cycle Open and Close?
The 2026–2027 CASAA application cycle opened March 10, 2026.
The CASAA cycle itself closes February 26, 2027 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time, but that does not mean every CAA program accepts applications until February.
Individual programs establish their own deadlines, and those deadlines may be substantially earlier than the overall CASAA closing date. Applicants should build their timeline around the deadlines of the programs they are applying to—not the final date that CASAA remains open.
Do not use the CASAA closing date as your personal application deadline.
How Do Transcripts Work in CASAA?
Applicants list the colleges and universities they attended and enter their coursework in CASAA.
CASAA generally requires official transcripts from every U.S. and English-speaking Canadian institution listed in the Colleges Attended section—even when credits from one school later transferred to another institution.
Official transcripts must be sent to CASAA according to CASAA's instructions. A transcript that you personally upload, a photocopy, or a transcript addressed somewhere other than CASAA does not satisfy the official transcript requirement.
Request transcripts early enough to allow time for delivery, posting, and verification.
How Many Evaluations Do You Need for CASAA?
CASAA requires at least three completed evaluations before an application can reach Complete status and enter the verification queue.
However, applicants should also review the requirements of every CAA program they select. Programs may have preferences or requirements regarding who writes an evaluation—for example, an academic instructor, supervisor, healthcare professional, or another person who can meaningfully evaluate the applicant.
Ask potential evaluators early and confirm that they are willing to participate before entering their information into CASAA.
How Should You Enter Experiences in CASAA?
CASAA allows applicants to report relevant experiences using categories such as anesthesia shadowing, healthcare experience, employment, extracurricular activities, and other experience types.
Choose the category based on what you actually did—not simply which category sounds strongest.
CASAA notes that individual programs can interpret experience requirements differently, so selecting a category in CASAA does not guarantee that a school will count the experience the same way for its admissions requirements.
Focus on meaningful, relevant experiences and describe your actual responsibilities accurately.
What Is the CASAA Personal Essay?
CASAA includes one general essay that is sent to the programs selected by the applicant.
The essay asks applicants to explain their motivation for a healthcare career and specifically their interest in becoming an anesthesiologist assistant, while connecting their personal and professional background to their career goals and suitability for the profession.
The CASAA essay has a maximum length of 4,500 characters, including spaces and punctuation.
Because the same essay is sent to multiple programs, CASAA recommends keeping it general rather than writing it specifically for one school. The essay also cannot be edited after the application is submitted.
Important: Program-specific writing may still appear separately under Program Materials. Do not assume that completing the general CASAA essay means you have finished every writing requirement for every school.
For help planning the essay itself, see the CAA Personal Statement & CASAA Essay Guide.
Do Not Skip CASAA Program Materials
Program Materials is one of the most important areas to review for every school you select.
Depending on the program, this section may contain school-specific questions, supplemental essays, required documents, prerequisite matching, deadlines, or additional instructions.
Requirements can be different from one program to another even though the schools use the same centralized CASAA application.
Open every program individually and review every tab before submitting.
Completing the common CASAA sections does not automatically mean every selected program is complete.
What Happens After You Submit CASAA?
Submitting your application and having a verified application are two different things.
After submission, CASAA checks whether the required materials needed for completion have been received. Once the application reaches Completed status, it enters the verification queue.
During verification, CASAA reviews entered coursework, standardizes course subjects and grade values, confirms degrees where applicable, and calculates CASAA GPAs.
Verification can take up to 10 business days after an application becomes complete.
| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| In Progress | Your application has not yet been submitted or the application fee has not been paid. |
| Received | Your application has been submitted, but one or more materials required for completion are still missing. |
| Completed | CASAA has received the required materials and your application is in line for verification. Individual programs may still require additional program-specific materials. |
| Undelivered | CASAA identified an error and returned the application to you for correction. |
| Verified | CASAA has processed the application and, when applicable, calculated the CASAA GPA and made the verified application available to your selected programs. |
What Can You Change After Submitting CASAA?
Much of the application becomes read-only after submission.
CASAA allows limited additions or updates in certain areas, such as adding some new test scores, experiences, optional documents, evaluations that are still new or in progress, and additional programs where applicable. Existing submitted entries generally cannot simply be rewritten.
The CASAA essay cannot be edited after submission.
For that reason, applicants should review the entire application carefully before paying and submitting.
How Much Does CASAA Cost?
For the 2026–2027 application cycle, CASAA charges $165 for the first program and $55 for each additional program.
Individual schools may also charge separate supplemental fees.
CASAA offers a limited number of fee waivers to qualifying applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. The waiver covers the initial CASAA application fee; additional program fees remain the applicant's responsibility.
Plan Your CAA Application Before You Submit
CASAA is only one part of the application process. Your school list should also account for prerequisite coursework, standardized testing, anesthesia exposure, individual program requirements, and application timing.
Keep Your CASAA Application Organized
The free CAA Application Starter Kit includes an application timeline, pre-submission checklist, Program Comparison Worksheet, readiness scorecard, personal statement self-check, interview readiness checklist, and final application review.