Guides / OptomCAS Walkthrough

The OptomCAS Walkthrough

OptomCAS has five parts, and transcripts and letters depend on other people sending them. Here is what each part asks for and the rules worth knowing before you start.

Last checked Nov 2, 2026.

Before You Start

The 2026–27 cycle opened Jun 25, 2026. Official transcripts that arrive before that date are discarded, so order them after it opens.
Have your OAT scores, writers' email addresses and a list of every college you've attended, including summer, dual-enrollment and study-abroad work.
For when to submit, see the OptomCAS timeline. For what it costs, see application costs.

1. Personal Information

This part collects your contact details, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and other biographic information. It opens with a release statement.

2. Academic History

Colleges attended: list every institution, and enter each one once, even if it accepted transfer credit from another.
Courses: enter them term by term with the exact course code, title, credits and grade. Each term needs an academic status, such as Freshman or Post-Baccalaureate. Don't enter transferred credits at your new school; enter them at the school where you took them.
Test scores: you can self-report OAT scores or list planned ones. Official scores are sent separately by the ADA.
Transcripts: send an official transcript from every institution attended, even where credits transferred. High school transcripts aren't needed. Allow about 5 business days for your school to send it and 5 more for OptomCAS to post it.

OptomCAS calculates your GPAs from the courses you enter. See how grades count and the GPA calculator.

3. Supporting Information

Recommendations: request at least 1 and up to 4. Writers submit their own letters electronically; you can't write or upload them for them. Set a completion date before your earliest deadline. A request can't be removed or replaced once completed, so check each school's requirements first. See letters of recommendation.
Experiences: sorted into Employment, Extracurricular Activities, Optometric Experience, Shadowing and Volunteer. Each description is limited to 700 characters, and the same hours can't be counted under two types. See shadowing.
Achievements: awards and honors.

4. Program Materials

This part is separate for each school you select: program details and deadlines, school-specific questions, and, for some programs, document uploads and a prerequisite check.

Personal statement: limited to 4,500 characters including spaces. Write one statement and paste it unchanged into each school's prompt. See the personal statement guide.
Documents: uploads can't be edited after you submit.
Prerequisites: you assign completed or planned courses to each prerequisite. This doesn't confirm that you meet the requirement, so check the prerequisites with each school.
Supplemental applications: some schools ask for their own form and fee after OptomCAS. The fees are on the costs page.

5. Submit

Select your programs, review the fee total ($190 for the first school and $85 for each additional one) and pay. Click Submit and finish payment before the deadline. Applications are accepted until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on the deadline date, and OptomCAS doesn't grant extensions.
After you submit, only limited changes are allowed: adding test scores, experiences, achievements, letters or programs.
Fees aren't refunded for any reason, including a missed deadline or a full program.

After You Submit

Verification: OptomCAS checks your coursework entry and GPA in the order applications arrive. The walkthrough we cite gives up to 10 business days in one place and an average of two weeks in another, so plan for up to two weeks.
Schools wait for a complete file: programs don't review your application until your transcripts, payment and letters are in.
Nobody warns you about missing pieces: OptomCAS doesn't notify you about missing letters or transcripts. Check the Statuses area on your home page.
Grade updates: new grades can be added during the academic update window, Dec 15, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027 this cycle.

Section details come from the University of Georgia pre-health advising office's 2026–27 OptomCAS walkthrough, which describes the OptomCAS application. Fees come from OptomCAS's fee page. Check the OptomCAS site for changes, since we haven't compared the live application screens with this summary.

Sources

Requirements and dates change each cycle. Always confirm with each school before you apply.

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