Blog — Medical School Applications

LSAC, AMCAS, NursingCAS, and CASPA each have portal-specific pitfalls that can derail an otherwise strong application. This guide covers the most common submission errors across all four systems, from LSAC's manual letter assignment requirement to AMCAS returned applications, CASPA's color-coded deadlines, and the NursingCAS spam folder problem.

With 34,000+ applicants competing for PA school each cycle, generic recommendation letters will not cut it. This 2026 guide covers CASPA LOR requirements, who to ask, how to coach recommenders, thematic alignment strategy, and what to do when a letter falls flat.