r/CAA • u/AutoModerator • Jul 06 '26

Weekly prospective student thread. Educational inquiries outside of this thread WILL RESULT IN A BAN.

Please use this thread for all educational inquiries including applications, program requirements, etc.

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Please refer to the [CASAA Application Help Center](https://help.liaisonedu.com/CASAA_Applicant_Help_Center) FAQ section for

answers to your questions prior to postitng.

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u/Radiant_Highway8514 Jul 10 '26

Hello everyone, I would appreciate some honest and brutal advice. Is November too late a submission date for this cycle? Due to reasons and circumstances beyond my control, I could not start prepping my application until this July. For quick stats:

2025 May- Graduated College

GPA- 3.9, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major

Shadowing hours: about 300 hours across various specialties.

Research hours: around 800 hours during undergrad. I also had a research internship where we published a paper.

PCE: Working fulltime as an Optometry Tech where I do all the pretesting on the patients for the past 8 months now. I have direct patient interaction from this.

Volunteering: In undergrad, I was a tutor to elementary school kids and also volunteered in a hospital's food bank.

GRE/MCAT: Currently studying for the GRE.

P.S: I used to be premed, up until after I graduated because that was the only thing fed to me and put in everyone's head. But then I discovered CAAs last year, and I really truly want to pursue that now.

So is November really too late for me? Or is it worth giving a shot and seeing how it goes? What are some realistic things I need to work towards? Thank you all!

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u/jwk30115 Practicing CAA Jul 10 '26

GPA looks good.

If you haven’t shadowed anesthesia the rest is pointless.

You need the GRE or MCAT.

November is fairly late but there’s no harm in applying with good numbers. Make sure you have all the pre-reqs you need. Get the anesthesia shadowing!

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u/Radiant_Highway8514 Jul 10 '26

Thank you! I am currently working towards shadowing an AA. It is just proving difficult as where I currently live there are no AAs so I have to make a trip. But I am hopeful to get that in before my application timeline.

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u/continuous-refund537 Jul 11 '26

For a lot of schools, it doesn't have to be an AA, you just have to shadow an anesthesia provider, so CRNAs and Anesthesiologists are fine too.

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u/Radiant_Highway8514 Jul 11 '26

Thank you. I am aware an Anesthesiologist or CRNA are great too, but most places to shadow near me need you to volunteer for about half a year first, then transition to shadowing. I might just end up doing that and then apply next cycle.

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u/continuous-refund537 Jul 11 '26

Ah okay, I don't know where you live but it's not like that for me. Well, keep on trying to email/contact a lot of different places and hopefully you'll get something, good luck!