Other OT-Related Information Please stop worrying about the school rankings

[Johann00]

I'm seeing a ton of threads about choosing a school based on the ranking (especially the U.S. News one) lately. And I don't blame prospective students for this; I did the same thing. But I can tell you from personal experience that this doesn't matter. I got accepted to and attend a relatively "high ranked" program (it was in the top 20 when I applied) and am actually a little disappointed with my experience so far.

You're much better off researching the details of the schools yourself (location, price, length, whether its research or practice based, etc.) and then making up your mind based on that. I know it's hard to have perspective when making such a hugely important life decision, but I promise you all that the only thing you need to worry about is being happy in the program you choose, getting through the classes, and passing the NBCOT.

From everyone I've talked to through my volunteer work and fieldwork placements, 99% of employers don't care where you graduated from; only that you're a competent OT.

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[Flexion]

Does anyone know if Kean University have a good OT program? I know it's inexpensive but is the program competitive?

 

[OTStudentSept2014]

Does anyone know if Kean University have a good OT program? I know it's inexpensive but is the program competitive?

Define competitive? US News rankings don't mean a whole lot.

Shadow in several places in the region around Kean, and ask people who work there what they think of the school's OT department. If you are asking if admission to the school is competitive, nowadays every OT school is.

Also, don't hijack a thread about rankings not being important to discuss a particular school.

 

[OH-OT]

How do you determine if a program is more research based vs. practice based? I can't always tell when just reading about the school's program on-line.

 

[OTStudentSept2014]

How do you determine if a program is more research based vs. practice based? I can't always tell when just reading about the school's program on-line.

You could start by looking at the school's website for a list of faculty, and see whether they have a list of publications. Even if it is not on the website, use one of those research databases you used in undergrad, and search on names of the different faculty members and see how many publications they have.

If there are biographies of the professors, take a look at how long the faculty has spent in practice vs.how long they spent at a university.

I thought I wanted to be at a research-based school, and now that I'm at one, I realized that I'd probably be better off at a clinically-oriented school.

 

[Flexion]

OTStudentSept2014, thank you for your reply. If you don't mind asking me, what school are you currently in?

 

[Confusedandlostone]

Does anyone know if Kean University have a good OT program? I know it's inexpensive but is the program competitive?

Extremely competitive to get in there, simply due to the affordable tuition, small class size, and location. Walk in the campus, ask people what their major is, and half of them will tell that they are pre-OT. PM me if you want to know more.

 

[SnakePlissken]

I'm seeing a ton of threads about choosing a school based on the ranking (especially the U.S. News one) lately. And I don't blame prospective students for this; I did the same thing. But I can tell you from personal experience that this doesn't matter. I got accepted to and attend a relatively "high ranked" program (it was in the top 20 when I applied) and am actually a little disappointed with my experience so far.

You're much better off researching the details of the schools yourself (location, price, length, whether its research or practice based, etc.) and then making up your mind based on that. I know it's hard to have perspective when making such a hugely important life decision, but I promise you all that the only thing you need to worry about is being happy in the program you choose, getting through the classes, and passing the NBCOT.

From everyone I've talked to through my volunteer work and fieldwork placements, 99% of employers don't care where you graduated from; only that you're a competent OT.

I am a little worried, and honestly it's because of one story i've heard from an OT school drop out. She didn't drop out, but rather was kicked out because of "unprofessional behavior" or something along those lines. It was an unranked school, Dominican I think it was in CA. However, she claims she did nothing wrong, and even if she did she received no reasonable warnings for such behavior, and that it was some sort of conspiracy basically to get her to leave for whatever reason. So now she's stuck a few semester away from graduating with all that debt, and she can't transfer a majority of her coursework because it's not transferable, possibility because it's unranked but i'm not sure about that.

 

[idontdance]

^to add to the above questions: did you like the culture and feel of the school? What opportunities will it offer you career-wise? How well connected are the faculty and are they doing interesting things? Schools that care about ranking may lose out in other ways (like offering a practice-based curriculum). Many of the highly ranked schools are research-heavy.

 

[Chanandler Bong]

Regarding research/PhD potential: It is my understanding that where you do your masters does not matter that much, as long as it's not a school that's going to lose its accreditation and you have experience in some research and you do well in your program. I know a professor who used his PhD to work in the medical device industry -- he went to a podunk school for his physio masters and did his PhD at LSU.

I obsessed over this rankings thing myself, and ultimately chose a respectable state school that gives me the option of doing a thesis. Research is an interest of mine and even though I'm not CERTAIN I want to pursue it, I don't want that door to be closed. I considered a higher-ranked school but I will save $40k this way, which is important since a) the MOT is a clinical masters and your license is the important thing if you're going to practice, just like in other clinical professions, b) not all PhD programs are fully funded anymore, so it is important to not exhaust your federal aid right away, and c) $40k is just kind of a lot in my world, especially since I have undergrad debt.

I do wonder if I will miss any opportunities, like better job recruitment, better research opportunities, being elbow-to-elbow with highly competitive applicants... but my cousin went to Yale for his masters in architecture and can't find a job, so prestige gives no guarantees.