Applying to 1 school vs. many

[SnakePlissken]

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Hey guys,

What are your thoughts on applying to 1-2 local OT schools vs. say 10-20 that you might also want to attend? The reason I ask is because I live about 5 miles from one so it would be really nice to go there. Do you think it would be worth it to take out even more loans and apply for more schools just incase? I really believe I would love OT as a career but is it even worth it to take out 100-200k in loans or more when OT's make 65-70k average? I say that much because if I went to CA or even NY it would most certainly cost that much or even more.

Thanks!

 

[kgirl0042]

I think the smartest thing to do is shoot for a happy medium. Even with OT programs getting way more competitive, applying to 10+ schools is overkill, imo. But applying to your top choice program alone is risky. I've seen people on this forum find success with both of these approaches, but I'd say the vast majority of OT applicants apply to approx 3-8 schools (myself included). So definitely apply to your top choice program, and based on your stats and how confident you feel that you'll be accepted there, choose maybe 5 other programs to apply to as "safety" schools. You may end up having to go out of state for school, but there are plenty of (relatively) affordable programs out there. I personally think taking out over $100,000 in loans should be avoided if at all possible.

 

[mlc54]

The first year I applied to OT programs I only applied to 1 (my undergrad institution) and I was rejected and had to take a year off. This year was my second round of applying to school and I applied to 9 different programs, but was accepted to many of them. Bascially the point I'm trying to make is the more schools you apply to, the greater the chance you have of being accepted into a school. With that being said, make sure the schools you apply to are schools that you would actually consider attending if you are accepted.

Through my experience, I wouldn't suggest only applying to 1 school, even if it is the school you really want to go to. You can never be 100% sure if you will be accepted to a school until you get an acceptance letter. Unless you don't mind the idea of having to take a year off until the next application cycle begins, I would suggest applying to more than 1 school.

I agree with kgirl0042:

So definitely apply to your top choice program, and based on your stats and how confident you feel that you'll be accepted there, choose maybe 5 other programs to apply to as "safety" schools. You may end up having to go out of state for school, but there are plenty of (relatively) affordable programs out there.

Also, I think that $100-200k in loans is a bit high. While taking out loans for grad school is most likely the reality of the situation, there are definitely programs out there where you wouldn't have to borrow THAT much. Try looking at programs that offer in-state tuition or out of state programs that are comparable to it.

 

[otismypassion]

Last year I only applied to one school. I was going to apply to another school but I had to take a certain class before the fall semester. I couldn't get into the summer class so I had to take it in the fall.

The one school I applied to I have not heard from them. I learned my lesson so now I am researching schools like crazy. My problem now is to find schools that have similar requirements for the school I already applied to. I would be lucky to apply to at least 5.