Other OT-Related Information [Help] Need advice! Please :)

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otdream1213

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Currently a 4th year at UC Berkeley and will be graduating in about 2 months. I was on the pre-med track until halfway through the 2nd semester of Junior year. I've been pretty lost about potential educational/career path ever since I decided to stop pursuing the MD path. I learned about OT through a friend last summer and am highly interested. Right now I just need advice on WHAT TO DO! I would appreciate advice on how to get on the right path.

Information:
- Integrative Biology Major with 1 Semester left
- Killed it in highschool, got killed in college
- GPA at around 3.0-3.1 by the end of this semester (VERY LOW)
prereq GPA is expected to be more around 3.5-3.7
- Currently volunteering with a program that helps meet the need for alternative physical therapy and - recreational services for children. (we help swimmers in a pool)
- Relevant prerequisite courses taken: human physiology, introductory stats, psychology, introductory soc.
- Plan on completing over this summer and next fall: anatomy w/ lab, medical terminology, abnormal psychology, developmental psych
- Took a GRE practice test to gauge: 160ish V 164ish Q so I have to prepare more for it
- Working on receiving Letters of Recs from my professors
- I'll be volunteering this summer at a non profit health center where I can get patient care / data collection experience at their primary care clinic

What should I be working on doing now/when should I expect to apply for programs?
- I understand that I need to shadow an OT and gain observation hours/experience
so do I just contact current OT's in my area and ask if I can observe them? how does that work
- My primary residence is in southern california so I want to stay in CA, but that limits my options severely as there are less than 10 accredited OT schools in CA to my understanding. I am open to out of state options.
I am looking into CSUDH, SJSU (would have to do the art requirement thing) and USC (super long shot) at the moment. What other schools should I consider?
I can finish all the requirements for admissions by the end of FALL so I would be prepared to apply to some schools by the next cycle. Based on my current schedule, would it be better to get even more experience working in healthcare settings/volunteering or should I apply as soon as I am done with the prerequisites.

This is a lengthy post with many questions and I apologize, but I really would appreciate any help!!!

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Currently a 4th year at UC Berkeley and will be graduating in about 2 months. I was on the pre-med track until halfway through the 2nd semester of Junior year. I've been pretty lost about potential educational/career path ever since I decided to stop pursuing the MD path. I learned about OT through a friend last summer and am highly interested. Right now I just need advice on WHAT TO DO! I would appreciate advice on how to get on the right path.

Information:
- Integrative Biology Major with 1 Semester left
- Killed it in highschool, got killed in college
- GPA at around 3.0-3.1 by the end of this semester (VERY LOW)
prereq GPA is expected to be more around 3.5-3.7
- Currently volunteering with a program that helps meet the need for alternative physical therapy and - recreational services for children. (we help swimmers in a pool)
- Relevant prerequisite courses taken: human physiology, introductory stats, psychology, introductory soc.
- Plan on completing over this summer and next fall: anatomy w/ lab, medical terminology, abnormal psychology, developmental psych
- Took a GRE practice test to gauge: 160ish V 164ish Q so I have to prepare more for it
- Working on receiving Letters of Recs from my professors
- I'll be volunteering this summer at a non profit health center where I can get patient care / data collection experience at their primary care clinic

What should I be working on doing now/when should I expect to apply for programs?
- I understand that I need to shadow an OT and gain observation hours/experience
so do I just contact current OT's in my area and ask if I can observe them? how does that work
- My primary residence is in southern california so I want to stay in CA, but that limits my options severely as there are less than 10 accredited OT schools in CA to my understanding. I am open to out of state options.
I am looking into CSUDH, SJSU (would have to do the art requirement thing) and USC (super long shot) at the moment. What other schools should I consider?
I can finish all the requirements for admissions by the end of FALL so I would be prepared to apply to some schools by the next cycle. Based on my current schedule, would it be better to get even more experience working in healthcare settings/volunteering or should I apply as soon as I am done with the prerequisites.

This is a lengthy post with many questions and I apologize, but I really would appreciate any help!!!

My gpa is very similar to yours but I've worked hard to make sure my experiences make up for it. I would apply as soon as possible and if you don't get in then you can apply again the next year.

For shadowing, I just googled OT in my area and then emailed or called the places to ask if they accept students for shadowing.

If you have more questions feel free to message me and I'll answer any that I can!

Good luck!
 
I was pre-med too before deciding that a) it wasn't exactly what I wanted, and b) I saw many people around me completing their coursework so much more effortlessly than me. I doubted that my innate talent and interest levels could really let me excel in medical school, and found that I kept looking into specialties where you could work "part-time," which I eventually realized was a clear sign that it was not something I really wanted to devote my life to.

What was your issue? Did you feel overwhelmed by the coursework? Did you do any retakes, and how did those go? You've probably done research on this yourself, but medicine is not necessarily closed off for you.


But if you do want to do OT, here's what I think about what you've said... this is probably info-overload but maybe some of it will help you...

-Your practice GRE scores are fab. Just take it.

-Don't apply until you're done with your prereqs, and apply in the summer. I applied late with prereqs in progress and I feel like it severely limited my options. The rest of my app was good enough for me to get a few interviews, waitlistings, and an acceptance, but I probably could've had a shot at like... WUSTL or Madison if I'd planned better. In January, AT Still said they were about full but would have interviewed me if I'd applied sooner. Hope that gives you an idea.

-With that said, it's not like med school -- your alma mater "doesn't matter." I bet it does matter a bit regionally or maybe if you want to go into academia... but if you want to do that then you might want to consider an additional/alternate degree. Personally, I haven't ruled out getting a PhD later in life. On that note, the "doctoral" track is... focused on clinical development like the MOT but longer, from what my investigation tells me. By which I mean, it's not really similar to something like a PhD in Exercise Physiology or a MD/DO. Here's one school's post-professional OTD courses, to give you an idea: https://www2.stkate.edu/otd/degree

-If you do take an extra year, spread out your pre-reqs a bit so you're not overloaded this summer and can do all of your observation hours stress-free and still get all As. It's not really like med school where you need to take 2+ hard sciences at once to prove yourself, and I'm sure you've done that already if you're a bio major. Go easy mode.

-For shadowing, contact OTs in your area and get ready to hear "no." Just keep calling places until you hear "yes." I volunteered in rehab in the hopes that I'd get easier shadowing opportunities, but it didn't work that way at all. I counted a lot of my volunteer hours as OT observation hours because I really did observe OT (even if I was also cleaning equipment or whatever), and that certainly helped my numbers because it can be hard to get very many shadowing hours. You might get less than 4 hours with some OTs. I got my LoR from an OT I'd known for a while because I was kind of scared to ask one I'd just met, but that was probably not necessary -- I guess other people ask for LoRs from OTs they barely know and it works.

-Do about 4 different OT settings, look at the highest number of observation hours required in the pool of schools you're looking at, and exceed that number. Your volunteering stuff sounds good. Do something else interesting too if you have time... non-clinical volunteering with diverse populations helps establish a commitment to serving others, and just gives you good experience in general.

-10 accredited schools in an area is a lot. A lot of people here seem to apply to less than 10. Just apply to those ones early.

-Some people end up hating OT. Find out if that'd be you or not. Read online stuff with an objective eye (ie, don't let indeed.com depress you), and pay attention if someone you're shadowing airs any sort of frustration. SNF is where the money is and is the most complained about setting to work in -- just something to think about.


...so that's basically everything I figured out when I switched from pre-med. Good luck!
 
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Your prereq GPA and last 60 unit GPA can still change easily. Schools tend to look at those relative to your overall GPA. UC Berkeley is tough university but unfortunately ranking does not matter in apply to schools like mentioned in the thread above. That being said, focus on taking the rest of your prereq and focus on getting the highest grade possible (community college is a viable option) while accumulate as many hours of OT. Diversity in settings and showing how OT plays a role in each would be advantageous. I've say you definitely have a good shot especially if you wouldn't mind going out of state. You just need to discover if OT is truly what you want to do a show the schools exactly that. Also early application makes all the difference because many places do rolling admission for interviews/ acceptances.
 
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