General Admissions & OTCAS Chances of getting into OT school?

[julianac4]

Hello all! I am new to the site and wanted some opinions on whether or not I will get into OT school. Here is a little bit about me:
Major: Exercise Science
Overall GPA: 3.41 (will hopefully be going up before I apply)
Major GPA: 3.60
Prerequisite GPA: about 3.7 depending on the program
I will be taking the GRE this summer, but based on practice tests I expect to get between 150 and 160 for verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning (not sure about writing score)
Observation: I currently haven't done any but have several lined up that will start in a couple weeks. I will have 8 hours of shadowing with pediatrics, over 100 hours with mental health, elder care, and physical disabilities, and another 100 hours split between pediatrics and physical disabilities.
Other experiences:
I have been a Resident Advisor for 2 years
I have been a commuter resident advisor for 1 year
I am a PCA with a boy with brain damage where I perform OT, PT, and speech therapy exercises (worked with him for 8 months---well over 300 hours total)
Chemistry tutor for 6 months
I have been tracking community volunteer and expect to have about 50 hours of community service upon application

Many of the schools that I am applying to are extremely competitive and have about 9-15% acceptance rates I apply next fall and am hoping to get recommendation letters from the family I PCA for, an OT I volunteer with, my RA supervisor, and my academic advisor. Where do you think I stand in the rankings? Each school I am applying to will get somewhere between 500 and 600 applicants and I want to be sure I stand out. Any other recommendations are welcomed to make me a more competitive applicant! Thank you!!

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[ot.3277]

I think your stats look really good, especially given that you perform therapy exercises which I would definitely bring up in an interview. I'm applying next year as well, good luck with everything!

 

[julianac4]

oh wow 7-8 schools? I'm trying to stay as close to home as possible and I live in Minnesota and we only have 3 in the state. I'm applying to 2 out of state schools as well. I'm just so nervous because this is my dream job and it has grown so much in the past few years that it has become more competitive! My cousin is an OT (she's 26 now) and she said it wasn't nearly as competitive when she went through the process. UGH I'm feeling so discouraged knowing everyone has similar volunteer experiences, grades, working with people, etc. I just don't know how to really leave an impression! Thanks for you input and good luck to you too! Where are you applying? Are you feeling the same pressure that I am?

 

[ot.3277]

oh wow 7-8 schools? I'm trying to stay as close to home as possible and I live in Minnesota and we only have 3 in the state. I'm applying to 2 out of state schools as well. I'm just so nervous because this is my dream job and it has grown so much in the past few years that it has become more competitive! My cousin is an OT (she's 26 now) and she said it wasn't nearly as competitive when she went through the process. UGH I'm feeling so discouraged knowing everyone has similar volunteer experiences, grades, working with people, etc. I just don't know how to really leave an impression! Thanks for you input and good luck to you too! Where are you applying? Are you feeling the same pressure that I am?

Haha yes, I am definitely feeling the pressure. I first thought I would apply to only a few schools, but as it gets closer I know I'm going to be applying to more. I'm applying to ~10 schools in the midwest

 

[idontdance]

The only suggestion I would make is to try and get a recommendation letter from a college professor. The academic advisor is okay, but grad schools want to hear about your academic achievement from someone who can attest to your skills firsthand.

Also it would be worth reaching out to schools and asking how they weigh all the application components (for a reference see Colorado state's OT website, they list their scale online). In general, it's good to stay in touch with schools so they already know who you are when you apply or throughout the application cycle.

Also, find a safety school--one that you like and are very confident will accept you--and apply there in addition to the ones you want to go to but are competitive. Worst case, you'll still be going to school somewhere.
Just some thoughts.

You'll be fine : )

 

[Sallykredi1995]

Anyone had an group format interview with liu?

 

[Sk8OT52]

Your stats look good, but I think you should definitely consider applying out of state. You need to ask yourself, are you ok with the possibility of taking a year or two or three off and reapplying multiple times for the same programs? If not, you should definitely apply to programs throughout the country to diversify your list. After all, it would only be two or three years away from home and you could go back when you graduate.

I would also recommend applying to schools that conduct interviews. I've found that these schools tend to look at individuals more holistically. Therefore, even though you don't have a 3.9 gpa, they consider you more as a person than a set of scores.