2014 applicants?!

[RedDevilOT]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the site and this is my first post so I hope I'm doing it right...

I was just wondering if there is anyone on here planning on applying for 2014 admission? Maybe I'm jumping the gun a little but I'm already so anxious about this whole process! Anyway, I'm a first time applicant so I was just curious as to what everyone is working on at the moment (volunteer hours, classes, personal statement, etc). I was also wondering if people already know where they're applying to and if so, where!

I would love to hear from you guys!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[dobber]

Oh hey!
I'm at a 2.52 GPA right now (Sociology major), but I failed A&PI and A&PII once so I'm taking them now. In school right now, I'm taking A&PI, this summer I'll take Lifespan Development, Abnormal Psychology, Medical Terminology and A&PII. In the fall, I'm taking Statistics (my last pre-requisite). I'm not applying to any OTCAS schools because my GPA is too low for a gamble like that. I'm also taking the GRE this summer.

I have four letters of recommendation. My business professor, my developmental psychology professor, the hand therapist, and my supervisor.

I've done roughly 40 hours of shadowing @ a Hand Therapy place. I am shadowing an Occupational Therapist in the OSD office of my University, and I'm also volunteering there every Friday. I want to say I have 10~15 hours of shadowing done. I have a gig at a rehab center and at a nursing home this summer which I plan on getting 30 hours each of shadowing.

As for schools I'm applying to.... I'm in the process of research, but I'm definitely applying to East Carolina University, Bay Path College, and Richard Stockton College of NJ.

 

[RedDevilOT]

Awesome, thanks for the response!!

I feel like we're on the same page here. Here's my info:

Major: Biology (Economics Minor)
Overall GPA: 3.13
Last 60 credits: 3.6ish
Pre-Req GPA: 3.9 (but still have yet to take several prereqs...)
GRE: 155 V, 149 Q, 4.0 AW

Volunteer: 40 hours at a outpatient clinic in a hospital (half are with hand therapy, half are with pediatrics)....this summer I plan on getting 40 at a summer school for special needs and 50+ at a SNF.

Plan on apply to: Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth, Towson, Temple, Sacred Heart, Philadelphia U, and Richard Stockton

I still need to take A&P 1 and 2, Developmental Psych, and a couple others this summer...unfortunately my small liberal arts school doesn't offer them any opinions on how many schools to apply to? obviously it depends on scores, money willing to spend, etc. but how many is too many?

 

[philadelphia321]

Hi!

I am a 2014 applicant and I am currently taking A&P1 and Lifespan Psychology (retake from freshman year I got a C+). I am also taking A&PII in the fall with Abnormal Psyc. That will complete my prereqs. My current stats:

Major: BA Psychology 2011
Overall GPA: 3.27
Last 60 credits: 3.9 (still taking)
Pre-Req GPA: 3.9-4.0 (but still have yet to take several prereqs...)
GRE: taking this summer (any suggestions?)

I plan to apply to Temple and possibly Phila U and Salus U but I really would like to get into Temple. I am currently doing my shadow hours on the weekends. I plan to have about 60 hours (in two different settings) by July/August. I have 180 intern/volunteer hours at a center for Autism.

I'm also taking my GRE on July - does anyone have any suggestions?

How far is everyone else in the process?

 

[pherrera]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the site and this is my first post so I hope I'm doing it right...

I was just wondering if there is anyone on here planning on applying for 2014 admission? Maybe I'm jumping the gun a little but I'm already so anxious about this whole process! Anyway, I'm a first time applicant so I was just curious as to what everyone is working on at the moment (volunteer hours, classes, personal statement, etc). I was also wondering if people already know where they're applying to and if so, where!

I would love to hear from you guys!

Thanks for posting this!
Where are you from by the way? I go to school at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX. About 45 mins from Dallas.
I am in the 2nd semester of my sophomore year. I will be applying to Texas Woman's in Denton because they have this thing called "Assured Admission" if you meet the requirements, you are guaranteed into the program! This is only offered to current undergraduates at my school. I will also be applying to TWU Dallas campus. My stats:

Major: Psychology B.S
Overall GPA: 3.52
Last 60 credits: (My last 60 credits begin in the summer since I am only a sophomore) *My school looks only @ pre-reqs & last 60 hrs. So technially I have a "clean slate" if you know what I mean.
Pre-Req GPA: 4.0
Volunteer hours: None, but will do this summer

Because my school is one of the top schools for nursing, we have very good science class options. TWU offers a combined A&P course in one semester instead of taking 2 semesters of it. I am currently taking that right now. It is intense! lol. But it you work hard it is do-able. I am looking at an A right now. I am currently taking abnormal psychology as well. In the summer I will be taking statistics. In the fall I will be taking Kinesiology. My school requires Neuroanatomy. So I still need to take that. Hope this helped!

 

[14otstudent]

`

 

[rcludo]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the site and this is my first post so I hope I'm doing it right...

I was just wondering if there is anyone on here planning on applying for 2014 admission? Maybe I'm jumping the gun a little but I'm already so anxious about this whole process! Anyway, I'm a first time applicant so I was just curious as to what everyone is working on at the moment (volunteer hours, classes, personal statement, etc). I was also wondering if people already know where they're applying to and if so, where!

I would love to hear from you guys!

Hello! Great thread to start! I am also very anxious about the whole process and have been stalking these threads to see if there's anything that will help me out next year

Major: Psychology & French, small liberal arts school class of 2011
Undergrad GPA: 3.66
Prereq GPA: Somewhere between 3.7 and 4.0, I think. Schools all want different things. I am currently taking A&P II at a community college (just finished/aced A&P I there) and still have to take Sociology, Cell Biology, and Chemistry.
Last 60 of undergrad: 3.86
Observation hours: around 20 so far (half with a hand therapist at a sports rehab center, half at a child development center). Getting 2 hours weekly with both of those, planning on doing a couple observation days in schools and a couple at a hospital... and anything else I can find!!
GRE: not taken yet... planning on August or so
Other: 4 semesters in a behavioral/health/social psychology lab in undergrad, studied message framing and effect on health behaviors; a year and a half so far working in an autism research lab.

References will be my college professor/advisor (the head of that lab), my work supervisor, and hopefully the hand therapist I'm observing, although I haven't asked yet! I have thought some about my personal statement but haven't put any actual work into it yet.

And finally... where I plan on applying...
UNC Chapel Hill, VCU, UW, Thomas Jefferson, U of Pitt, Temple, Boston, U of Puget Sound, and MUSC. This could very well change between now and then, though.

Excited to hear from anyone else in our cycle! Anyone feel free to PM me if you want to chat more!

 

[prodigiousflame]

I'm applying--will post current stats later. Let's just say..I'm scurrred !

 

[philadelphia321]

Question for all:

I took A&P I (C) &II (C+) my freshman year of college in 2006. I am retaking them now currently finishing A&P I with an A.

Will this hurt my application having to retaken the course?

 

[dobber]

naw, schools take the highest grade

 

[proto]

Hello!

Major: Sociology
Overall GPA: 3.81
Last 60 credits: ~3.9
Pre-Req GPA: 3.76 - 3.8 (depending on the school)
No GRE for me, unless I choose to expand my school choices.

I included the grades I expect to get this semester and those that I'll get during the summer, assuming that I'll ace my summer courses.

I go to a university in the DFW area! I've taken several of my pre-reqs, but I'll be taking A&P II in the summer and Medical Terminology in the fall. I'll also be taking Biomechanics and Psychophysiology at some point, depending on which school I get into (if any).

I was doing observation/volunteer work with a hand therapist, but I was just offered a job as an OT Tech by the same therapist! It's going to be an awesome experience and I'm probably going to get a solid letter of recommendation from her.

As of right now, I'm going to apply to TWU Dallas/Houston and UTMB. I'll probably also apply to Texas Tech and possibly UTEP and UTPA.

I'm going to start my applications this summer. So excited!!

 

[futureot12]

Awesome, thanks for the response!!

I feel like we're on the same page here. Here's my info:

Major: Biology (Economics Minor)
Overall GPA: 3.13
Last 60 credits: 3.6ish
Pre-Req GPA: 3.9 (but still have yet to take several prereqs...)
GRE: 155 V, 149 Q, 4.0 AW

Volunteer: 40 hours at a outpatient clinic in a hospital (half are with hand therapy, half are with pediatrics)....this summer I plan on getting 40 at a summer school for special needs and 50+ at a SNF.

Plan on apply to: Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth, Towson, Temple, Sacred Heart, Philadelphia U, and Richard Stockton

I still need to take A&P 1 and 2, Developmental Psych, and a couple others this summer...unfortunately my small liberal arts school doesn't offer them any opinions on how many schools to apply to? obviously it depends on scores, money willing to spend, etc. but how many is too many?

I applied to many of the same schools as you for the 2013 start. My stats were very similar and I was accepted into Thomas Jefferson, Temple, and Philadelphia University but rejected at Towson and Virginia Commonwealth (I ended up not taking a couple pre-reqs needed for these schools, but I don't think that would have changed anything). I applied to four additional schools which I was also accepted into.
I had no idea what to expect going into the process, but I definitely would have applied to fewer schools if I had known more--probably about 5 instead of 9. My advice, though, is to APPLY EARLY! Like, in the August-October range. When I visited Thomas Jefferson (where I will be attending), they stressed this a lot. Also, write an awesome personal statement and get some good letter of recommendations. If you do well in your remaining pre-reqs, it sounds like you're in good shape!
Hope this helps, and good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[futureot12]

Question for all:

I took A&P I (C) &II (C+) my freshman year of college in 2006. I am retaking them now currently finishing A&P I with an A.

Will this hurt my application having to retaken the course?

I went through the same thing applying for the 2013 start, and it seemed to be fine with the As from community college replacing the Cs. I got in to the majority of schools I applied to. It really depends on where you apply, but schools look at a lot of other aspects of your application.

 

[RedDevilOT]

Wow, I'm so impressed by all the hard workers on this website! Keep posting stats, I love to hear from you guys!

Right now, I'm focusing on graduating (kind of important!) and getting volunteer hours done. This summer, I'll continue with volunteering but I'm going to work really hard on acing the rest of my prereqs and improving my GRE scores. I also still need a letter of recommendation from an OT supervisor but I'm hoping I can get that from one of the two settings I'm working with this summer.

Just a side question...how early does everyone plan on applying? Especially for schools using OTCAS and those with rolling admissions, I hear it's critical to apply early. I'm hoping to apply around late August/early September (granted I can get my summer transcripts/new GRE scores in by then...). Any suggestions as to how early is early?

 

[MarvinKmooney]

Wow, lots of people thinking ahead!
I'm in a bit of a different situation as I already have a Masters degree in education, so this is a career changer for me. ( I have been a teacher for 6 years)
I am Planning on taking A&P 1+2 this summer,as well as doing observations. In the fall I will be taking Lifespan Psychology and introduction to OT.

My gpa is 3.59

I cannot relocate so I can only apply to schools in my area. I am planning on Kean, Seton Hall, Columbia, NYU, and Touro.

 

[cammmiam]

I'm applying in a few months for the Summer 2014 term at St Augustine!

Major: exercise science
gpa: 3.3
pre req gpa: 3.5
GRE: scheduled for may
volunteer hours: about 108, when i apply i should have 40 more. i've done hand therapy, nursing home, a lot of inpatient, school system, music therapy + pet therapy also
LOR: motor dev teacher, 2 OTs, and music therapist

i finish my bachelors next spring so my gpa should go up a little more if i continue to get all A's. i can't wait to apply!

 

[cammmiam]

Hi!

I am a 2014 applicant and I am currently taking A&P1 and Lifespan Psychology (retake from freshman year I got a C+). I am also taking A&PII in the fall with Abnormal Psyc. That will complete my prereqs. My current stats:

Major: BA Psychology 2011
Overall GPA: 3.27
Last 60 credits: 3.9 (still taking)
Pre-Req GPA: 3.9-4.0 (but still have yet to take several prereqs...)
GRE: taking this summer (any suggestions?)

I plan to apply to Temple and possibly Phila U and Salus U but I really would like to get into Temple. I am currently doing my shadow hours on the weekends. I plan to have about 60 hours (in two different settings) by July/August. I have 180 intern/volunteer hours at a center for Autism.

I'm also taking my GRE on July - does anyone have any suggestions?

How far is everyone else in the process?

im taking the GRE in may! ah!

 

[pherrera]

Question for all:

I took A&P I (C) &II (C+) my freshman year of college in 2006. I am retaking them now currently finishing A&P I with an A.

Will this hurt my application having to retaken the course?

What schools are you applying too?
Most schools take your highest grade. BUT some schools will average your two grades. So if you made a C the first time, but retake it and make an A the second time, then you will have a B. Make sense?
The admissions person at my school told us "We will accept your highest attempt, but think carefully. Is OT really a career for you if you must be re-taking science and social science pre-reqs to only make at least a B? If so, you may need to re-evaluate your goals"......

 

[philadelphia321]

What schools are you applying too?
Most schools take your highest grade. BUT some schools will average your two grades. So if you made a C the first time, but retake it and make an A the second time, then you will have a B. Make sense?
The admissions person at my school told us "We will accept your highest attempt, but think carefully. Is OT really a career for you if you must be re-taking science and social science pre-reqs to only make at least a B? If so, you may need to re-evaluate your goals"......

I am applying to temple. No need to reevaluate my goals. I'm doing just fine. I received those grades when I was 17 in my freshman year of college. I wasn't the student then that I am now. I was on the deans list junior and senior year, received a scholarship my senior year for have consecutive 4.0's, and was inducted into the national honor society in psychology. I'm trying not to take offense to your comment but I've worked so hard to get where I am.

 

[pherrera]

That's just what our school told us during a seminar. Not my words. Sorry dude.

 

[philadelphia321]

Thanks

 

[rcludo]

Philadelphia, that's awesome what you did junior and senior year. From what I've heard OTCAS calculates its own GPA, taking into account everything (including those Cs and the retake As) but lots of schools calculate their own GPA and a fair amount only look at the highest grade in a course. I think schools understand that freshman year is about exploration and getting used to college and that many (if not the majority) of students have lower grades then than they do getting towards the end of college, buckling down and thinking about a career. It seems like it should be obvious to any school that they should judge you based off of your recent accomplishments and not freshman year. I hope that's the case!

 

[pherrera]

Hello!

Major: Sociology
Overall GPA: 3.81
Last 60 credits: ~3.9
Pre-Req GPA: 3.76 - 3.8 (depending on the school)
No GRE for me, unless I choose to expand my school choices.

I included the grades I expect to get this semester and those that I'll get during the summer, assuming that I'll ace my summer courses.

I go to a university in the DFW area! I've taken several of my pre-reqs, but I'll be taking A&P II in the summer and Medical Terminology in the fall. I'll also be taking Biomechanics and Psychophysiology at some point, depending on which school I get into (if any).

I was doing observation/volunteer work with a hand therapist, but I was just offered a job as an OT Tech by the same therapist! It's going to be an awesome experience and I'm probably going to get a solid letter of recommendation from her.

As of right now, I'm going to apply to TWU Dallas/Houston and UTMB. I'll probably also apply to Texas Tech and possibly UTEP and UTPA.

I'm going to start my applications this summer. So excited!!

Your application sounds really solid! That's awesome you got a job as an OT tech. Sounds like we will be applying to some of the same schools. Wish you the best!

 

[philadelphia321]

Philadelphia, that's awesome what you did junior and senior year. From what I've heard OTCAS calculates its own GPA, taking into account everything (including those Cs and the retake As) but lots of schools calculate their own GPA and a fair amount only look at the highest grade in a course. I think schools understand that freshman year is about exploration and getting used to college and that many (if not the majority) of students have lower grades then than they do getting towards the end of college, buckling down and thinking about a career. It seems like it should be obvious to any school that they should judge you based off of your recent accomplishments and not freshman year. I hope that's the case!

Rcludo - thanks for the encouraging post. & that is definitely the case!

 

[proto]

Your application sounds really solid! That's awesome you got a job as an OT tech. Sounds like we will be applying to some of the same schools. Wish you the best!

Thank you! I noticed that you were planning on starting volunteer hours in the summer? If you're interested in doing those in the Denton area and don't have any places in mind yet, shoot me a private message and I'll give you some suggestions!

 

[pherrera]

Yea most def! Thank you so much!!!

 

[RedDevilOT]

Hi All!

So I've been trying to figure out a timeline of the next couple months for when I will attempt to complete each step of the application by...since everyone else here is doing the same thing, I thought I'd share!

Now-5/19: Write Personal Statement, Get PS reviewed and edited…Talk to Letter of Rec writers
5/20-6/20: Take A&P 1 and Basic Psych prereqs…Volunteer at Nursing Home
6/25-7/29: Take A&P 2 and Developmental Psych prereqs…Continue volunteering at Nursing Home + Extended School program for special needs children…Start filling out OTCAS...Contact LOR writers
7/29-8/16: Continue volunteering…Send transcripts from Summer Classes to OTCAS…Send GRE Scores
8/16-Early September: Finish OTCAS and SUBMIT for rolling admissions schools!
Sept-Jan: Submit to non-rolling schools and wait for responses!

What does everyone think? Am I forgetting anything??

 

[OTdream]

Hi All!

So I've been trying to figure out a timeline of the next couple months for when I will attempt to complete each step of the application by...since everyone else here is doing the same thing, I thought I'd share!

Now-5/19: Write Personal Statement, Get PS reviewed and edited…Talk to Letter of Rec writers
5/20-6/20: Take A&P 1 and Basic Psych prereqs…Volunteer at Nursing Home
6/25-7/29: Take A&P 2 and Developmental Psych prereqs…Continue volunteering at Nursing Home + Extended School program for special needs children…Start filling out OTCAS...Contact LOR writers
7/29-8/16: Continue volunteering…Send transcripts from Summer Classes to OTCAS…Send GRE Scores
8/16-Early September: Finish OTCAS and SUBMIT for rolling admissions schools!
Sept-Jan: Submit to non-rolling schools and wait for responses!

What does everyone think? Am I forgetting anything??

I would contact LOR asap to give them more time to submit to OTCAS. and by July if they haven't send the letters in remind them.

 

[OTdream]

Oh I see what you put. Never mind. I didn't see the LOR contact in May. You're on track! Good luck!! I was in your shoes last year but its worth it!

 

[OTTXGirl]

Hi All!

So I've been trying to figure out a timeline of the next couple months for when I will attempt to complete each step of the application by...since everyone else here is doing the same thing, I thought I'd share!

Now-5/19: Write Personal Statement, Get PS reviewed and edited…Talk to Letter of Rec writers
5/20-6/20: Take A&P 1 and Basic Psych prereqs…Volunteer at Nursing Home
6/25-7/29: Take A&P 2 and Developmental Psych prereqs…Continue volunteering at Nursing Home + Extended School program for special needs children…Start filling out OTCAS...Contact LOR writers
7/29-8/16: Continue volunteering…Send transcripts from Summer Classes to OTCAS…Send GRE Scores
8/16-Early September: Finish OTCAS and SUBMIT for rolling admissions schools!
Sept-Jan: Submit to non-rolling schools and wait for responses!

What does everyone think? Am I forgetting anything??

I would definitely recommend you notify the people writing your LOR's sooner than that. I found in my experience that they can take longer than expected to finish the LORS, due to life and other obligations. I would perhaps even now inform them that you would like for them to write you a LOR, that way they can have it in their mind already and feel no haste to finish it and not bea able to truely discuss all your qualities in the letter.

Also FYI the OTCAS portal typically opens up mid July, so I would definitely shoot to have as much stuf completed by then. Typically even after you have sumbitted all your documents to OTCAS, it won't process for 6 weeks or longer (this is if there is a high influx of applicants at the time) depending on when you submit it. But it could process as fast as two weeks. (EDITED)So the earlier the better.

Also I would send your transcripts as soon as possible to OTCAS as well because that too takes time to process they verify all the grades you enter into OTCAS against your transcript, and in the event they find a discrepancy they will send your app back to have you correct it.

All in all there are many factors that can play into you not submitting your OTCAS app during the ideal time frame of early September so I would just suggest overall submitting all your info in sooner than later. Good Luck!

 

[14otstudent]

I am a bit confused on the letters of recommendation. Is it better to have your references write the LOR and send it or electronically send it to OTCAS? From what I have read, OTCAS does not open until July for the 2014 cycle. The email from OTCAS is sent to the recommenders within a few hours of entering their name into your application, even if you have not submitted the app yet. Or if you choose for them to submit a paper LOR, you still have to wait until the application opens to print the paper version that must be attached to the lor. So either way, they cannot submit your LOR until the application opens in July, correct?
For those of you who applied this year, any opinions on the advantage of either paper or electronic LOR submitted?

 

[prodigiousflame]

wait six weeks? So if we turn in all our info early September it'll take till October for schools to receive our apps?

 

[MSR0307]

The OTCAS process can take about six weeks. If they do not have a lot of applications to verify at the time you submit it, your application can be verified a lot sooner.

 

[RedDevilOT]

I would definitely recommend you notify the people writing your LOR's sooner than that. I found in my experience that they can take longer than expected to finish the LORS, due to life and other obligations. I would perhaps even now inform them that you would like for them to write you a LOR, that way they can have it in their mind already and feel no haste to finish it and not bea able to truely discuss all your qualities in the letter.

Also FYI the OTCAS portal typically opens up mid July, so I would definitely shoot to have as much stuf completed by then. Typically even after you have sumbitted all your documents to OTCAS, it won't process for 6 weeks or longer (this is if there is a high influx of applicants at the time) depending on when you submit it. But it could process as fast as two weeks. (EDITED)So the earlier the better.

Also I would send your transcripts as soon as possible to OTCAS as well because that too takes time to process they verify all the grades you enter into OTCAS against your transcript, and in the event they find a discrepancy they will send your app back to have you correct it.

All in all there are many factors that can play into you not submitting your OTCAS app during the ideal time frame of early September so I would just suggest overall submitting all your info in sooner than later. Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice! When you say shoot for having as much stuff completed by the time OTCAS opens up in July, do you mean just have it ready to go or actually filled out on the website? My understanding was that you couldn't fill anything out until July 17th...is that wrong? If I send my transcripts to OTCAS after my grades are in (late May), won't they just disregard it??

 

[OTTXGirl]

Thanks for the advice! When you say shoot for having as much stuff completed by the time OTCAS opens up in July, do you mean just have it ready to go or actually filled out on the website? My understanding was that you couldn't fill anything out until July 17th...is that wrong? If I send my transcripts to OTCAS after my grades are in (late May), won't they just disregard it??

I mean have it ready to submit by mid July ideally, you won't have access to OTCAS until it officially opens up. I would also recommend you have you LOR writers submit it electronically. It is much faster and efficient and OTCAS notifies you when they have done so. This way you will know whether to shoot them a reminder.

 

[536728]

Here's my info:

Major: Biology (Economics Minor)
Overall GPA: 3.13
Last 60 credits: 3.6ish
Pre-Req GPA: 3.9 (but still have yet to take several prereqs...)
GRE: 155 V, 149 Q, 4.0 AW

Volunteer: 40 hours at a outpatient clinic in a hospital (half are with hand therapy, half are with pediatrics)....this summer I plan on getting 40 at a summer school for special needs and 50+ at a SNF.

Plan on apply to: Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth, Towson, Temple, Sacred Heart, Philadelphia U, and Richard Stockton

I still need to take A&P 1 and 2, Developmental Psych, and a couple others this summer...unfortunately my small liberal arts school doesn't offer them any opinions on how many schools to apply to? obviously it depends on scores, money willing to spend, etc. but how many is too many?

Hey all! I've been meaning to contribute to this thread for a while, but as you all can imagine, finding the time has been difficult.


Undergrad Major: Religious Studies
Overall GPA: 3.65 - 3.7
Last 60 credits: 3.9 isn
Pre-Req GPA: 4.0 (need a couple more classes)
GRE: Taking in June

Volunteer: I'm currently volunteering at OHSU in the inpatient rehab department (50 hours so far) and twice a week at a small clinic for kids with SPD (about 10 hours so far). I will be getting a handful of hours at a home health OT organization, and have been looking into full-day observations with school OT, hand therapists, and industrial rehab OT. All in all, I hope I will have about 100 hours of volunteering, but my goal is to have a wide breadth of OT settings at the time of application.

Schools I will apply to (in July): VCU, UNC, Thomas Jefferson, UPitt, Temple, Medical University of South Carolina, UW, and I think University of Puget Sound. I think. It's hard to keep track of so many schools.

Also, I still have to (re)take Stats, then take lifespan dev, chem, and cell bio. Loving A&P right now!

 

[rcludo]

Ok, I'm going to lay out a couple questions I have here in regards to some of the OTCAS/LOR things people were discussing above… I do plan on contacting OTCAS to ask too but I'm guessing you guys are more helpful and will respond sooner

Am I correct in thinking that OTCAS only accepts additional grades (after having e-submitted) during the academic update period in December? So if I go ahead and submit in July to be on top of the game (for the sake of rolling admissions schools), my summer grades will not be on there, and can't be added until December, along with fall grades? If that's the case, I wonder if it would be detrimental to have "in progress" for summer courses instead of (hopefully) A's... and I wonder how that disadvantage weighs against the disadvantage of waiting until September, when summer grades are in, to submit.

Also, how many references will OTCAS accept?! The only place I see where it mentions that, it says "Applicants are required to enter up to three (3) evaluator names on your OTCAS application and may list a maximum of five". I'm guessing 5 is the answer, but that's an unclear sentence to me. I have an odd situation that I'm trying to figure out... One of my college professors is fully prepared to write me a LOR - she was the head of the lab I was in, my advisor and favorite professor, and we've kept in touch. She knows me best and has won several big awards in the psychology field as well, so I definitely want her letter. However, upon graduation (2 years ago) I asked another professor if she would also be willing to write me one, because at that point I had no idea what I wanted to go to grad school for, how many I would need, etc., and she wrote the letter within a couple weeks (she likes doing it when her memories of the student in her class are most fresh). I'd feel bad telling her I don't need it after all, so I'd prefer to submit both professors as references, along with an OT and my work supervisor. If I am in fact allowed to do that, does anyone know if there is a way to designate which schools look at which references? Related to that, I'm applying to one school that only wants two references - is there a way to tell them through OTCAS which two references (out of the 3 or possibly 4) to look at?

Sorry for the rambling! I appreciate any info or personal experience anyone has with these situations. Thanks!!

 

[OTTXGirl]

Ok, I'm going to lay out a couple questions I have here in regards to some of the OTCAS/LOR things people were discussing above… I do plan on contacting OTCAS to ask too but I'm guessing you guys are more helpful and will respond sooner

Am I correct in thinking that OTCAS only accepts additional grades (after having e-submitted) during the academic update period in December? So if I go ahead and submit in July to be on top of the game (for the sake of rolling admissions schools), my summer grades will not be on there, and can't be added until December, along with fall grades? If that's the case, I wonder if it would be detrimental to have "in progress" for summer courses instead of (hopefully) A's... and I wonder how that disadvantage weighs against the disadvantage of waiting until September, when summer grades are in, to submit.

Also, how many references will OTCAS accept?! The only place I see where it mentions that, it says "Applicants are required to enter up to three (3) evaluator names on your OTCAS application and may list a maximum of five". I'm guessing 5 is the answer, but that's an unclear sentence to me. I have an odd situation that I'm trying to figure out... One of my college professors is fully prepared to write me a LOR - she was the head of the lab I was in, my advisor and favorite professor, and we've kept in touch. She knows me best and has won several big awards in the psychology field as well, so I definitely want her letter. However, upon graduation (2 years ago) I asked another professor if she would also be willing to write me one, because at that point I had no idea what I wanted to go to grad school for, how many I would need, etc., and she wrote the letter within a couple weeks (she likes doing it when her memories of the student in her class are most fresh). I'd feel bad telling her I don't need it after all, so I'd prefer to submit both professors as references, along with an OT and my work supervisor. If I am in fact allowed to do that, does anyone know if there is a way to designate which schools look at which references? Related to that, I'm applying to one school that only wants two references - is there a way to tell them through OTCAS which two references (out of the 3 or possibly 4) to look at?

Sorry for the rambling! I appreciate any info or personal experience anyone has with these situations. Thanks!!

I recommend that you submit as much info as you can as soon as the application opens in mid July. Now if your taking summer school classes I'm assuming grades will be available by August so when you get an updated transcript you can resubmit it to OTCAS.

Don't e-submit until you have everything ideally. What I'm basically trying to say is have everything ready so you can submit it all asap and won't further delay processing of your application.

You can enter a max of 5 references on OTCAS.
Also there is no way to designated which LOR goes where, I'm not quite sure how they go about distributing your application to the schools, but I don't think it would be a big deal if a school only requesting 2 received 3 instead.

Also I would not tell the professor that is already writing you an LOR to that you don't need it. I would go ahead and have them submit it just in case one of your other LOR writers falls through.

Hope this helps!

 

[ot92]

Hey everyone! I am planning on applying to UTMB, Tech, and TWU and was wondering if they average prerequisites that are taken twice OR if they only consider the first that was taken. Does anyone know?

Also, I'm getting really nervous about the whole process because my GPA isn't high enough to say I have a good shot.

Major: Health
Overall GPA: 3.5
Last 60 credits: ~ 3.55
Pre-Req GPA: 3.3- 3.4 depending on school

I currently have around 65 volunteer hours with 2 different OTs but will definitely be spending the summer volunteering/shadowing as much as I can.

Also, I have an internship next spring as part of my degree plan that will give me 540 hours with an OT, so I'm hoping if I don't get accepted anywhere this round my internship will help me for the 2015 admission.

Thoughts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[lcs2074]

Hi everyone! Here are my stats. Like many others, I'm curious to know my chances if anyone has any comments! Thanks.

OTCAS calculated overall GPA: 3.16 (I know its low, graduated 2010, received As on all post-bac classes taken since)
Prereq GPA: 4.0 (I'm taking A&P 1 now, A&P 2 in the spring, I'm confident I can keep the 4.0)
GRE: 161 Verbal, 152 Math, 4.5 AW
OT volunteering: approx 150 hrs observing/volunteering in 5 settings with a variety of ages
Other volunteering: 1800+ hrs city year americorps (taught in an underprivileged elementary school & did various community service projects), 40 hrs applied behavior analysis with preschoolers with autism, 30 hrs assisting a professor with a disability advocacy related research project, and various other unrelated work experience and hobbies
OTCAS verified: Sept 3rd
Applied: Temple, Thomas Jefferson, Philadelphia U, Salus U (if none of these work out I'm also going to apply to LSU HSC-New Orleans)

Thanks for any help/support! This is an incredibly in depth process, and reading this forum has been really helpful! I am ready to work hard and do whatever it takes to become an OT. I really hope my low undergrad GPA doesn't hold me back...

 

[pherrera]

Hey everyone! I am planning on applying to UTMB, Tech, and TWU and was wondering if they average prerequisites that are taken twice OR if they only consider the first that was taken. Does anyone know?

Also, I'm getting really nervous about the whole process because my GPA isn't high enough to say I have a good shot.

Major: Health
Overall GPA: 3.5
Last 60 credits: ~ 3.55
Pre-Req GPA: 3.3- 3.4 depending on school

I currently have around 65 volunteer hours with 2 different OTs but will definitely be spending the summer volunteering/shadowing as much as I can.

Also, I have an internship next spring as part of my degree plan that will give me 540 hours with an OT, so I'm hoping if I don't get accepted anywhere this round my internship will help me for the 2015 admission.

Thoughts? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

ot92, what are you talking about? Your GPA is pretty good, and you most def still have a shot! You shouldn't be nervous at all! But if you still feel that way, your volunteer hours will most def makeup for it! As for the grades, I looked at UTMB and Tech's policy a longggggg time ago. The answer you are looking for is definitley on their website. You should go check it out. I know for sure TWU takes the highest of the two grades if you had to retake them. And for pre-reqs the minimum grade is a B to apply. Make sense? I don't know how far along you are in your academic career, but if GPA is your real concern, I'm sure you still have some time to bump up your last 60 hours which is what most schools look at anyway! Good luck!

 

[ct1029]

Hey friends! I am applying for the 2013-2014 cycle, and here's my info:

Undergrad completed at Ohio University (Athens)

Major: Child and Family Studies

Overall GPA: 3.82

Last 60 credits: 3.96

Pre-Req GPA: 3.93 (with 3 or so prerequisites to go)

GRE: 155 V (65th percentile), 154 Q (60th percentile), 4.5 AW (73rd percentile)

I took the GRE in January because I had been studying a little and was ready to get it out of the way. All I did to prepare was read the Princeton Review book occasionally. Whether or not it really helped, I can't say. I was most concerned about vocabulary and that's more of something you acquire over a lifetime than something you can study.

I start 2/3 remaining prerequisites May 20 at a local community college. I will take the third in September. I have observed 40+ hours of OT in a few different settings. I plan to do more when I have the time to make arrangements.

I had extra curricular activities in undergrad but since I taking a year off, my professional experience has been more relevant. I have been working with "troubled youth" full time and will continue to do so until transitioning into a new job teaching life skills to the blind. I will remain at that job until I begin a program.

Applying to OSU for sure. Possibilities: University of Illinois Chicago, Colorado State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Washington, SUNY Downstate.

Any questions or comments are welcome!

 

[anniie]

Hey Everyone!!
I am also applying for fall of 2014!


Pre-reqs GPA: 3.4-3.5ish (depending on school)
Overall GPA: Currently 3.45
Last 60hrs: 3.4


Shadowed an OTA for hand therapy and OTs in the neuro department. Have 100+ hrs
I have also volunteer at a charity clinic


School I am interested in are UTMB, TWU, UTSA, Texas Tech, and Pacific University.
Do I have a chance?

 

[Myze]

-

 

[jewel11786]

You may also want to consider Misericordia if you live in the NJ tristate area. It hold classes on the weekends and is geared toward adult-learners (i.e. those going for a career change, current COTAS, etc.)

 

[jewel11786]

Wow, lots of people thinking ahead!
I'm in a bit of a different situation as I already have a Masters degree in education, so this is a career changer for me. ( I have been a teacher for 6 years)
I am Planning on taking A&P 1+2 this summer,as well as doing observations. In the fall I will be taking Lifespan Psychology and introduction to OT.

My gpa is 3.59

I cannot relocate so I can only apply to schools in my area. I am planning on Kean, Seton Hall, Columbia, NYU, and Touro.

You may also want to consider Misericordia if you live in the NJ tristate area. It hold classes on the weekends and is geared toward adult-learners (i.e. those going for a career change, current COTAS, etc.)

 

[brbrown2]

I applied to Western Michigan Universities program last year and I was sadly denied!!

I'm going to reapply to WMU again this year along with GVSU and Wayne State University.

My stats are:
Major: Interdisciplinary Health Science with a minor in Psychology
Overall GPA: 3.3
Last 60: 3.85
Prereq: 3.85
Undergrad GPA: 3.7

As of now I have 20 observation hours in pediatrics, 20 in inpatient rehabilitation at a hospital and 20 in an occupational therapy vision rehabilitation center. I'm planning on getting at least 60 more hours over the course of the summer in acute care. Hopefully I'll average out to a total of 120 hours of job shadowing hours.

This fall I'm interning/volunteering at a place called Center for Disabilities Services. I'll be working with people who have severe mental and physical disabilities. By the time I apply to programs again I should have at least 200 hours of volunteering experience from there. I've also volunteered at a couple different camps for children with cognitive disabilities as well.

WMU's application has an entire section on research experience. As of now I have no experience with research programs, I wonder if that's going to be a deciding factor on whether or not I get into the program?
Does anyone have any ideas of how to get research experience?

 

[cvspartan89]

Applying for 2014

College: Michigan State University
Undergrad GPA: 3.12
Pre-req GPA: ~3.7
GRE 300 Q+V 4.0AW

Will have around 100 observation/volunteer hours

Needless to say I am worried about my overall GPA. I am applying broadly though so hopefully I can get in somewhere!

Good luck to all that are applying!!

 

[vdubs027]

Well helloooo to my fellow 2014 applicants! It is really neat to read about your accomplishments... There are some amazing stats out there!
This is my first ever post. I want to introduce myself in the hope that we can all be beneficial/helpful/encouraging to one another!

I graduated from a small liberal arts college with a 3.3 and majored in history education. I taught for two years in a public school system but became dissatisfied with my career choice. So I did some exploring and luckily, discovered OT! I have since spent the last two years working as a rehab tech, volunteering, and taking prerequisite courses. I am from the Chicago area and will apply to UIC, Rush, Midwestern, St. Ambrose, Wisconsin-Madison, Governors State, and possibly a few more!

Good luck to all of you! Hopefully, we will find success together!

 

[vdubs027]

Also, would it be possible to somehow make this a sticky? This thread may be quite valuable for many of us in the coming months!