Am I A Competitive Applicant?

[BHSUStudent]

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Black Hills State University
Bachelor of Science, major in psychology, minor in biology.
Overall GPA: 3.59, Pre-req GPA 3.5-3.55
Elected member of Phi Kappa Phi national honor society
No GRE scores (I am studying for them, but the universities that I am looking at don't require them).

Work Experiences: Worked over 560 hours as a Direct Support Professional for people with developmental disabilities (helped those with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Willi Prader Syndrome, etc). Provided assistance with basic and instrumental ADLs in a group home setting. Included HIPAA training, Medication Administration training, CPR certification, and Crisis Prevention Intervention training.
Was employed as a statistics tutor.
Over 4 years of customer service related experience.

Extra Curricular Activities: Conducted research with the Special Olympics for 4 months.
Approximately 40 hours volunteer work at the Veteran's Health Administration, and 20 hours with the Special Olympics.

LORs: The Head Administrator at my university, who is also a neurobiologist and the pre-Occupational therapy advisor. A clinical psychologist who is a professor, has practiced for many years, and owns her own private practice.

Honors/Awards: Cum Laude, Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency Certificate of Achievement in Science and Writing, Army and Air Force Exchange Service Proficiency Award, 5th Signal Command Certificate of Achievement, 43rd Signal Battalion Scroll of Appreciation, Army Family Action Plan Certificate of Appreciation, 447th Signal Battalion Certificate of Achievement, Distinguished Honor Graduate.

Observation Hours: I plan on gaining at least 100 hours in a variety of settings.

Other: I lost my ability to walk and spent 9 months in a wheel chair, which is when I first learned about occupational therapy (I have been walking for 2-3 years now). I felt that I could use my experiences to help others gain independency, and to ensure that people with disabilities are given the quality and compassionate care that they need.

I want to specialize in TBI. I have had a fascination with the brain for over 6 years, and studied both Neurobiology and Biopsychology during school.

 

[rcludo]

I don't have any expertise in saying this, but you sound like a very competitive applicant to me. Where/when are you applying?

 

[BHSUStudent]

I don't have any expertise in saying this, but you sound like a very competitive applicant to me. Where/when are you applying?

Well I don't know. I don't have documentation for my volunteer experiences. Also, I dropped out of my physics course after the first week and got a "W." My grades were a bit rough during my senior year. My GPA dropped from a 3.72 to a 3.59.

I plan on applying to Midwestern University in Glendale, or AT Still University. This is because I would like placement in Arizona, since I consider that my home state, and those are the only two accredited universities in AZ.

 

[mgOT]

From my experience, I think you have a good shot, so go for it! Also, your experience with a disability will stand out if you talk about it in your personal statements and interviews. I can say this because I have a sensory disability and explained the impact on my career choice in OT. My stats is much lower than yours, yet I got accepted into a school and got a couple interviews. Schools probably would like to hear about your experience since OT deals a lot with disabilities, and having a disability can be an asset, especially when using therapeutic use of self when working with clients.

 

[BHSUStudent]

From my experience, I think you have a good shot, so go for it! Also, your experience with a disability will stand out if you talk about it in your personal statements and interviews. I can say this because I have a sensory disability and explained the impact on my career choice in OT. My stats is much lower than yours, yet I got accepted into a school and got a couple interviews. Schools probably would like to hear about your experience since OT deals a lot with disabilities, and having a disability can be an asset, especially when using therapeutic use of self when working with clients.

Ok. Thanks for the feedback. I hope I can get in. I just wish that I was more prepared for the GRE. I would like more choices of schools. I'm really good with statistics, but I've had to go back and relearn some basic arithmetic, which is embarrassing. I hated algebra in high school and went into the military, so I didn't use it very much. It's strange that I enjoy statistics, lol.

 

[mgOT]

Statistics is very important in OT and is one of the pre-req required by almost all OT programs! Don't worry, I might be good at math but dislike them. I am retaking stats now since my stats professor at my alma mater gave me a C but the last time I took a core math course (i.e. calc) was during my senior of high school. I did not take the GRE but by taking it will give you more choices. Good luck!