General Admissions & OTCAS To accept or not?

[YogaOT]

Hi all,

I have a quick question regarding how to best plan to accept or reject schools (if I'm that lucky).

I submitted my OTCAS applications for the 2016-2017 cycle about a month ago. One of the schools ("School A") sent me an email saying they are currently reviewing my app. The other schools will not be reviewing my apps until January, so I won't find out until at least then if I am accepted.

My favorite schools are the ones who won't review my app until January. But if I get into "School A," I would hate to reject it and then not be accepted to the others later. I assume "School A" will only give me a couple weeks to consider their offer (if I get it).

How would you navigate this? Is it possible to accept "School A", pay their fee, and then forfeit it later if I get accepted to one of my favorite schools in January? Or would the other schools somehow know that I've already accepted at "School A" and no longer consider me?

Thanks for any help or advice!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[RUNNING_OT]

Hi all,

I have a quick question regarding how to best plan to accept or reject schools (if I'm that lucky).

I submitted my OTCAS applications for the 2016-2017 cycle about a month ago. One of the schools ("School A") sent me an email saying they are currently reviewing my app. The other schools will not be reviewing my apps until January, so I won't find out until at least then if I am accepted.

My favorite schools are the ones who won't review my app until January. But if I get into "School A," I would hate to reject it and then not be accepted to the others later. I assume "School A" will only give me a couple weeks to consider their offer (if I get it).

How would you navigate this? Is it possible to accept "School A", pay their fee, and then forfeit it later if I get accepted to one of my favorite schools in January? Or would the other schools somehow know that I've already accepted at "School A" and no longer consider me?

Thanks for any help or advice!

When you get an acceptance letter they usually give you a couple of weeks to pay a certain amount of money to hold your seat. I do know people that put down a deposit to hold a seat in case they didn't get in anywhere else just to have the opportunity to go somewhere and not wait to apply another year. You can forfeit your seat, and money, later just explaining that a school that is a better fit for you also accepted you. All the schools I applied to last year emphasized to accept an offer given to us if their particular program wasn't going to start accepting students until later. The last thing you want to do it not take an offer and then end up not getting accepted anywhere else.

Remember: the deposit you put down is not refundable.

 

[YogaOT]

Thanks for your response. That was my thinking as well. I don't want to forfeit an offer, in case later I don't get into the places I prefer. I was just concerned that the schools might somehow know I had already accepted to attend one school and therefore wouldn't offer me admission. I believe that's the case with med schools. But apparently not in OT?

 

[RUNNING_OT]

Thanks for your response. That was my thinking as well. I don't want to forfeit an offer, in case later I don't get into the places I prefer. I was just concerned that the schools might somehow know I had already accepted to attend one school and therefore wouldn't offer me admission. I believe that's the case with med schools. But apparently not in OT?

I don't think other schools know you got in somewhere else. I got into 4 schools last year and all I did was inform which ones I wasn't accepting so they could offer those spots to other people.

 

[thebiggestsky]

Yeah.. I don't think they know. I imagine OTCAS just compiles your application information for each school's individual use, and that the schools can't see anything else from their end beyond the application. I'm speculating, yes. However, with med schools, it's known that programs can see acceptances. So it seems like we would also know if OT schools had a similar arrangement.
Like RUNNING_OT, I got into a couple different programs and just let the schools know I'm declining.

 

[slpOT]

I finished my 1st trimester of school in Austin TX, and during my break before 2nd tri, I got a call from my #1 school saying that I moved up to #4 on the waitlist (originally between #40-50) and they wanted to know if the first 3 people were to decline, whether I would accept - the semester started 3 days later, and it was back home in Cleveland. It would have been cheaper for me to go, but at the same time, it wasn't guaranteed that I would be given the spot. The hassle and rush of *possibly* moving after I've already completed my 1st tri and made some roots down here just wasn't worth it to me, but it's totally possible that this situation could happen to you!

Otherwise, had I declined my position at my current school, I would have been waiting until the very last minute to be accepted to another school - and I might have just barely missed the cut-off. So, I'd strongly suggest accepting what you get and wait to make housing arrangements until a few weeks before moving (if you need to). Hopefully this information helps!

 

[YogaOT]

Thanks a lot, this information helps a lot!