General Admissions & OTCAS My chances for 2016- am I wasting my time?:(

[csn6691]

I'm only applying to schools in California for this cycle. I haven't done my OTCAS GPA calculations because OTCAS for the next cycle is not open yet, but here are my stats so far:

Bachelor's degree in Music Theatre from UC Irvine
Cum GPA: ~3.14 (may go up to 3.2 if I add all the prerequisites taken at community colleges- but I also have some failed classes which I retook that will not be forgiven in OTCAS gpa calculations, so I'm not exactly sure how my final OTCAS gpa will turn out)
Prereq GPA: I got a B in anatomy and a B in developmental psychology and A's in rest... Planning to retake developmental psychology
Have not taken the GRE yet but planning to study my butt off for it and hopefully do really well
Observation hours: 100 hours at an outpatient hand therapy clinic, 150 hours at a non-profit pediatric clinic, 40 hours at a geriatric daycare service


Honestly, I'm not sure if I will even be looked at by programs ANYWHERE in the country, let alone programs in California! Am I just wasting my time and money here? Should I retake some more classes/get more volunteer experience and apply next year? Should I look into more schools out of state (if they even accept me, that is) ??

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[cb31]

I'm only applying to schools in California for this cycle. I haven't done my OTCAS GPA calculations because OTCAS for the next cycle is not open yet, but here are my stats so far:

Bachelor's degree in Music Theatre from UC Irvine
Cum GPA: ~3.14 (may go up to 3.2 if I add all the prerequisites taken at community colleges- but I also have some failed classes which I retook that will not be forgiven in OTCAS gpa calculations, so I'm not exactly sure how my final OTCAS gpa will turn out)
Prereq GPA: I got a B in anatomy and a B in developmental psychology and A's in rest... Planning to retake developmental psychology
Have not taken the GRE yet but planning to study my butt off for it and hopefully do really well
Observation hours: 100 hours at an outpatient hand therapy clinic, 150 hours at a non-profit pediatric clinic, 40 hours at a geriatric daycare service


Honestly, I'm not sure if I will even be looked at by programs ANYWHERE in the country, let alone programs in California! Am I just wasting my time and money here? Should I retake some more classes/get more volunteer experience and apply next year? Should I look into more schools out of state (if they even accept me, that is) ??

First thing, DO NOT limit yourself to just California!!! Unless there are personal reasons why you are just applying to Cali schools then I think you are really limiting yourself... there may be schools that you are a good candidate for but are out of state. Honestly, when I applied to schools the second time around I literally went down the list of schools on OTCAS and wrote down all the schools that I qualified for... I then researched each school and decided which ones I liked and would apply to. I didn't apply to any schools outside of OTCAS because I didn't want my references to have to send letters to more than one place. But I know a lot of people suggest also looking at schools outside of OTCAS. Anyway, I don't think that you should give up just yet, I've seen many people on this forum that had lower GPAs, but were accepted into OT school. You have a nice amount of shadowing hours which is very good!! (It won't hurt to do more if you have the time... I didn't have nearly as many hours as you have right now so you are definitely in good shape with that one). Also, before retaking classes, I think that you should look at the schools you want to apply to; I know when I was applying to schools some said that they wouldn't accept more than two retakes on classes/prereqs. The Bs for those two classes aren't bad though so retaking might not even matter too much.... but honestly that's your call... do what you think is best for you!

So here is my advice: look into schools outside of Cali, apply to schools that require interviews as part of their application process... interviews are so vital and can really help you!! Definitely, do well on your GREs, since your GPA is on the lower end then the GRE can definitely put you above the rest (the higher the better, obviously, but try to get in at least the 50 percentile). Also my biggest advice is: decide how many times you want to apply to OT school before you are done... although I love OT, I told myself that I would only apply twice. Applying to graduate school is expensive and I just didn't think applying more than twice was worth it... but that was me... I'm sure others have applied three and four times... you decide what you think it's enough. My second time around I applied to OT schools and also applied to other graduate degree program as a backup. I had a plan B, but thankfully, I didn't have to go that route and was accepted in two OT schools. Anyway, Good luck and let me know if you have any more question!!

 

[sngot]

Cb31 covers most of the important points. I am from California but ended up going out of state to attend occupational therapy school. I would go further into saying- do not bother applying to schools that don't offer interviews. They will disregard individuals with low gpa right off the bat. I would also look into schools that does not use OTCAS- it is more work but generally less competitive because human are lazy.

Your gpa isn't going to change much so you should work on what you can: GRE, letter of recommendations, and applying early! Rooting for you!

 

[deleted704821]

Put more work into your essays and personal statement. I was a music student with a 3.5 GPA but mostly B's in my prerequisite and got accepted at a top ranking school. I had 80 hours of shadowing. Talk about why you are a good candidate, but also acknowledge that you have areas you can work on. Using story telling techniques and referencing specific instances from your shadowing experience should help. Don't tell them what they already know which is that you worked hard in school, want to be an OT, and you want to attend their school. Tell them why you are different and do not be afraid to toot your own horn. Your music theatre degree should help. You understand what it is like to practice and work at something even when it may be painful or frustrating and what it means to be solely dedicated to an art. That is something that makes musicians special. You are creative and used to thinking outside the box, something OTs do on a daily basis to customize treatments for our patients.

Another piece of advice I got from a friend who applied to PA school is to not put too much thought into the rankings of programs. Going to a #1 program versus a #70 program will not make a difference in the long run. What you get out of your education is up to you. I have heard wonderful things about programs ranked lower and it was ranked low because it is a small school in a rural area and they don't receive a lot of donations or attention. Look at schools that has a philosophy that aligns well with yours and that matches your expectations. For example, I don't desire to work with children, so I didn't consider schools that made a majority of shadowing hours with children a requirement. Check out St. Ambrose in IA. They are a great school that many don't consider. Don't restrict yourself to one state. The way I see it, school will be expensive no matter where you go and at the end of the day you're going into a field that has a promising outlook and that is a lot better than what most people can say who sunk thousands of dollars into another degree.

Grad schools also don't care if you took your classes at a 4 year institution or at a community college. They only care that you completed the prerequisite. Obviously, they care that you did well overall as a student, as it is an indicator as whether or not you will do well in graduate school, but it is more important to present yourself as a well spoken, determined, and committed individual. Ask yourself why you stand out and what would make you choose you over someone else and put that into your essays. Play up the fact that you retook classes. You recognized that you had a weakness or didn't perform as desired, but you worked hard, got creative, and figured out how to be successful the second time. Not every can say they have experienced that struggle.

Few schools actually put much weight on if you are in state or not. I only saw one or two schools that outright side they cared where you came from. Apply anywhere you want. If you don't believe in your abilities, then why would they? Grad school is the perfect time to try out a new climate or environment since if you hate it, you're only there for 2 or 3 years and then you can move back.

If you are wait listed, see what the schools policy is on sending letters of intent. If they don't explicitly say "do not send one" then send one. I sent thank you notes to the office staff listed on the website, the admissions committee, and then a letter of intent to the director of the program. I said that I would certainly accept if offered a spot and that I'd follow up at a later date to see what I could do to improve my application. I sent an email asking to set up an appointment to discuss my application about a week after I sent the letter, and 5 days later I was accepted to the program. I only applied to one school and didn't use OTCAS. My school also didn't use interviews but their essay questions would reveal important aspects of your personality beyond intelligence. It is better to put your heart and soul into 5 applications than spread your energy over 10 applications and not put in as much effort as you could.