General Admissions & OTCAS Advice on when to apply?

[lilmiscassie92]

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I only need to take 4 more prerequisite classes (A&P I/II, Abnormal Psych, Developmental), which I will spread out between this summer and fall. I know it is recommended to apply to at least a handful or two of schools, so I'm wondering if I should wait until fall of 2015 to apply, since I won't technically have my bachelor's degree until December. This will definitely give me at least a year or two off until I matriculate into the program, and I'm the type that doesn't really feel productive if I'm not in school; I haven't had a summer off the last couple years. I guess I'm just curious to hear from those of you who have applied/are applying, what did you do during your gap year, and when most of the programs START accepting applications?

 

[rcludo]

The OTCAS app opened July 20th last year, so that was the day you could start filling it out (and theoretically submitting it). I will be starting grad school in May and I graduated in 2011 so I've had 3 gap years, but I'm really glad. I spent most of the time working in an autism research center which not only got me interested in OT, but was also likely a major reason why I was accepted. Definitely make sure you have enough time to get in some observation/volunteer experiences, because those are really important as well. Good luck!

 

[Emily722]

I was in the same position as you. I took anatomy last summer and still had 2 prerequisites to finish in the fall before graduating in December. I did all of my observation hours between May and August, took the GRE in August and September, and had my application through OTCAS submitted and verified by October 25th. The deadlines of the schools I applied to ranged from December 1st to February 15th.

I will start my program in May, so I've had a semester off. In January I started working with young women with autism, it's hard to leave the position so soon but it was a great experience and allowed me to save up a little money.

So in hindsight I don't regret at all the order I did everything. I felt that I had plenty of time to put everything together for my applications. Granted, I could have planned a lot of things out better. Some of the programs I applied to didn't start until fall and I'm really happy mine starts in May, so it would be hard for me to imagine having taken a year off. I decided I wanted to become an OT a little over two years ago, so I feel like I have been waiting forever for this moment.

In the end it's a personal choice, but if you are 100% sure about OT then I'd strongly consider applying next cycle.

And as far as when most programs start accepting applications, in general it can be very early such as when OTCAS opens in the summer. However, they may not start looking at applications for months. Schools make it very clear if they start reviewing applications only after their deadlines, or before such as with rolling admission. Also, most programs encourage and allow students to apply with a couple remaining prerequisites. That is what the acedemic update is for.

 

[CurlyHairedGirl]

I applied very late (had a hold on transcript last fall because of immunization and TB testing requirements) and I think that automatically ruled me out for a lot of schools. My original plan was to aim to submit all of my applications a month before the "due date" for anything in the fall, and then submit everything else in Dec/Jan. Early January, but didn't get OTCAS finished until the end of Jan. Applying early doesn't hurt in most cases, and schools that would care about your fall grades might ask for an updated transcript.

Many of the schools that have a late deadlines in OTCAS (Jan 15, Feb 1, or later) were doing rolling admissions, were not taking students until the following fall or even winter of the next year. So if you ideally would like to start school in the summer with a semester off, apply in mid-fall. Also, keep in mind that most schools want a recommendation from an OT and have more than one setting. So start shadowing one place in the summer/fall, and also schedule a second place for a little later on. OTCAS will let you put in future shadowing hours if you have a definite place, OT you will be observing, and scheduled date.

If you are concerned about your qualifications, apply to 10 schools, avoid ones that are say the top 20 in US News, and avoid ones that have super-cheap tuition for out of state students. I think cheap out of state tuition is what made all the Texas schools so hard to get into. Check the tuition rates of any private schools before ruling them out. Many private schools are cheaper than out of state tuition at a more expensive public school. Apply both to OTCAS schools and some interesting non-OTCAS schools.

Don't assume that after a year attending a school you will be eligible to switch to in-state tuition. Most states assume that if you move to a state shortly before you start attending college, that you will be considered out-of-state for the entire time you are in school. Registering to vote, buying a house, and joining a church don't mean anything.

Oh, during my gap year(s) I worked in the computer industry, bought 2 and sold 1 townhouses, lived abroad, worked in 4 different states (although I had residence in only 2), got a master's degree in an unrelated subject, and got fairly fed up with guys who boast about their computer skills and generally being a bad ass later in my career, while dealing with sexual harassment in my earlier career. I spent 10 years debating changing to OT and 4 years taking prereqs, some while working, some not.

 

[sb0106]

EARLY!

I was OTCAS verified by early December but oh man did I suffer the consequences of applying late in the game. By the time schools looked at my apps they were already full and looking at wait list options. I STILL haven't heard from one school I was hopeful about in the beginning ...but I read on here that their class is full and they are just working on a wait list.

I got wait listed at two schools, denied at two (not a surprise as they were two top notch, highly competitive schools), and still waiting on one. Ugh I can only hope there are spots that open up.

If only I applied earlier, I think my chances would have been better, I really do.

I really made a mistake in applying late-ish but I had trouble getting my reference letters. The last one I needed I WAITED and WAITED for. The person I asked kept assuring me they'd have it done ASAP, but they completely just didn't do it. I exhausted my options but managed to come up with another reference in place of him at the last minute.

If only I had stuck to my gut and known this guy wasn't going to pull through, I could have come up with a solution sooner and applied earlier. UGH It is what it is though.

I have applied to OTA schools as a back up plan.

GOOD LUCK

 

[CurlyHairedGirl]

As far as when to apply, I'd start working on applications in July.

Another advantage to applying early is that you have more time to spread out your interviews and campus visits. Tomorrow I could have gone to interviews at 2 different schools or go to an open house at a third school. Since I just got accepted someplace, and have a major paper/project to do this weekend, I canceled. In two weeks from tomorrow, I just got a second interview request, and will need to figure out which one to go to.

My suggestion would be to go to the AOTA website, http://www.aota.org/en/Education-Careers/Find-School.aspx and look up all schools within an 8 hour drive of you. That's so you can drive there and handle interview requests that are last minute. Make up a spreadsheet of all those schools, their due dates, how they want items submited, their requirements, any quirks, stats on admitted students. anything that matters to you. Pick 10 schools to apply to out of those. Yes, 10 schools, unless you have a 4.0 and 200 hours of OT shadowing. If schools have a low minimum GPA, assume that they will have lots of applicants. Also, keep an eye on the developing and applicant programs, and check out their websites. One school was opening an additional campus location. They had people apply to the existing location in OTCAS *before* the program had even been approved to go from applicant to developing.

Like the previous author, I also had difficulty on one of my references. I asked a professor who wrote me a reference last year (I made straight A+'s on all the assignments/tests) if he would write them again. Unfortunately, I contacted him the week before spring semester started. Even though I said I didn't need them for 2-3 weeks, a couple emails and phone messages went unanswered. I missed the deadline for one of the two in-state public schools I was interested in. I ended up getting another professor (who had me for two classes, not just one) to write a reference at the last minute.

So lesson learned there. Contact all references a month ahead of time of any deadline and confirm that they will be able to write the recommendation, and that they know how it will be submitted (electronically, they mail an envelope to the school, or they put the recommendation in a sealed envelope and give it to you.

Some schools want all components mailed to them and received before the deadline. One school had the requirement that all transcripts and recommendations go to me, and they are sent in together. That requirement meant that there was no way that my undergrad school, halfway across the country, could send the transcript to me in time.

One of my friends said that the reason he is a lawyer instead of an economist is that he couldn't get his Economics professor to write recommendations by the deadline for the PhD program.

 

[Emily722]

lilmiscassie92,

Are you asking when to start everything for the 2014/15 cycle? or if you have enough time to prepare a solid application for the 2014/15 cycle vs. taking a year off and applying for the 2015/16 cycle? Because if it's the first, then now would be the time to start getting organized and making plans for everything you have to get done.