Program-Specific Info / Q's Can anyone give me insight to these OT programs?

[KStar3]

Hi, I'm currently starting my junior year getting my bachelors in Health & Exercise Science and I have about 50 hrs of OT shadowing. I will have 400 more hours when I take this class called Field Experience my senior year. We just get to job shadow a job of our choice the whole semester. So I'm just going to use those hours for OT shadowing. My current GPA right now is a 3.5. I'm going to take the rest of my prerequisites at community college to try and get better grades to raise my GPA more.

I was wondering how my chances would be getting into these programs? Should I apply to more; is 4 to low? If so any other programs I should look into?

Touro University Nevada
Texas Woman's University-Houston
Howard University
University of Illinois-Chicago

If anyone is in these program; would you mind sharing your stats so I can see where I need to be? Do you like the program? What have your experiences in OT school been like?

My top two choices are TWU and Touro but I wouldn't mind going to the other two either. Any info about the programs would be nice.

Thanks!

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[katahdin]

Touro is awesome. They seem to really value the students as individuals and they have a very democratic system in their faculty. You interview with almost all of the professors and they are all incredibly warm open and intelligent people. Henderson wasn't my cup of tea but the program would have been worth it.
Check out U Puget Sound. They have an on site clinic and also have an individualized approach to education.
A 3.5 is solid and will get you in somewhere, but it's no longer a super competitive GPA as MOT programs are getting significantly more competitive each year. If you want a guarantee that you will get in somewhere this cycle I would apply to one or two more. Look for schools that interview as they will look at more than your numbers. A 3.5 is awesome, and 400+ hours is almost unheard of, but so many schools I applied to said the past few years have each been record breaking in the number of applications they receive. I have a feeling when schools don't interview and they receive 500+ applications for 30-50 spots (especially when they were only prepared to process about 250) they immediately discard all applications that have lower than a 3.4.

 

[College 2012]

Touro is awesome. They seem to really value the students as individuals and they have a very democratic system in their faculty. You interview with almost all of the professors and they are all incredibly warm open and intelligent people. Henderson wasn't my cup of tea but the program would have been worth it.
Check out U Puget Sound. They have an on site clinic and also have an individualized approach to education.
A 3.5 is solid and will get you in somewhere, but it's no longer a super competitive GPA as MOT programs are getting significantly more competitive each year. If you want a guarantee that you will get in somewhere this cycle I would apply to one or two more. Look for schools that interview as they will look at more than your numbers. A 3.5 is awesome, and 400+ hours is almost unheard of, but so many schools I applied to said the past few years have each been record breaking in the number of applications they receive. I have a feeling when schools don't interview and they receive 500+ applications for 30-50 spots (especially when they were only prepared to process about 250) they immediately discard all applications that have lower than a 3.4.

Thanks for replying! I just looked in U Puget Sound and it does seem really nice and the town looks beautiful. I think I'm gonna add it to my list of schools to apply too and I'll be looking around for 1 or 2 more schools to add to my list. I thought a 3.5 was a decent GPA also. I see so many different GPA from high to low getting into OT school but I can see it's getting competitive so I wanna try to boost mine up as high as possible. I got lucky with the Filed Experience class one of the professors from my college just added that class a couple of years ago to the major requirements. It's going to be like a job 9 hours a day but I couldn't be more thankful, because I'm so busy with class and work that I don't really have time to job shadow. Also if you don't mind me asking are you in OT school yet or about to apply?

 

[KStar3]

The College 2012 Profile is my first account; so that was me replying. I forgot the password until today but I'm going to delete that account right now so I won't get mixed up

 

[Celtics1138]

It is very tough to get into UIC. They have a great program and it is on the cheaper side compared to most so it is very competitive. You should still definitely apply there though because it is a really good school. I interviewed at Touro and absolutely loved it there. The faculty is very interested in getting to know each person individually and the interview process is very in-depth compared to most schools, but in a good way! You can tell they really care about their students and who is going to be in their program. I was accepted off the wait-list, but ended up not attending since I am from Chicago and was notified about two months prior to the start of class. However, if location were not an issue for me I would have gladly accepted. My GPA was a 3.4 and I had a little over 100 hours of observation hours. Best of luck to you!

 

[KStar3]

It is very tough to get into UIC. They have a great program and it is on the cheaper side compared to most so it is very competitive. You should still definitely apply there though because it is a really good school. I interviewed at Touro and absolutely loved it there. The faculty is very interested in getting to know each person individually and the interview process is very in-depth compared to most schools, but in a good way! You can tell they really care about their students and who is going to be in their program. I was accepted off the wait-list, but ended up not attending since I am from Chicago and was notified about two months prior to the start of class. However, if location were not an issue for me I would have gladly accepted. My GPA was a 3.4 and I had a little over 100 hours of observation hours. Best of luck to you!

Thanks for replying! I appreciate all the info! I'm going to definitely apply to UIC the program seems nice and I always wanted to go to Chicago. I wouldn't mind going out of state for OT school. I live in Missouri and I'm about sick of it but I think I'll add a Missouri school to my list just in case. Thanks for sharing your stats it really helps!

 

[KStar3]

They're all excellent. Apply to all of them. Go to the cheapest one with the lowest cost of living.

Yeah I definitely want to go somewhere where it's not to expensive. I don't want to be in to much debt. Do you know any other programs I should look into? That aren't to expensive for out of state students.

 

[KStar3]

Kstar: Apply to state schools in Missouri. University of Missouri!!

That does sound good; it's not to expensive. I'm gonna look into. Also I have a friend that just started the PT program there this summer. She said she likes it there.

 

[katahdin]

Thanks for replying! I just looked in U Puget Sound and it does seem really nice and the town looks beautiful. I think I'm gonna add it to my list of schools to apply too and I'll be looking around for 1 or 2 more schools to add to my list. I thought a 3.5 was a decent GPA also. I see so many different GPA from high to low getting into OT school but I can see it's getting competitive so I wanna try to boost mine up as high as possible. I got lucky with the Filed Experience class one of the professors from my college just added that class a couple of years ago to the major requirements. It's going to be like a job 9 hours a day but I couldn't be more thankful, because I'm so busy with class and work that I don't really have time to job shadow. Also if you don't mind me asking are you in OT school yet or about to apply?

I just finished orientation at Stanbridge and am debating about whether or not to stay.

 

[KStar3]

I just finished orientation at Stanbridge and am debating about whether or not to stay.

Awesome! Good luck with your decisions!

 

[caliOTgrl]

I just finished orientation at Stanbridge and am debating about whether or not to stay.

Did you ever decide on going through with the program? I would like to hear some feedback on someone who has been through this program.

 

[katahdin]

Did you ever decide on going through with the program? I would like to hear some feedback on someone who has been through this program.

I decided to leave the program.
There were a lot of reasons, but a big one everyone should be aware of is that they advertise the length of the program (still in big bold letters on their MOT homepage) as 24 months with an asterisk that says it actually takes 26 months. When I got there we were all surprised to find out it's actually a 30 month program. The faculty even seemed confused.
Another big reason I left was that I was told by one of the four faculty members during my interview that I could do my level 2 fieldwork out of state. I also specifically asked the admissions rep if I could do my L2 fieldwork out of state and she answered without hesitation that I could. It wasn't until I had quit my job in CO, left my incredible apartment with a garden and a yard, and spent hundreds of dollars moving halfway across the country that I found out that these two things I had based my decision to attend the school on were false. It seriously shook my trust in the program, and it was a pretty expensive program to not be sure about.
They also included books in the price of tuition, which I thought was a little odd. A classmate found all the books online for less than a quarter of what they were charging us. It felt scammy.
There were other reasons I would be happy to share if you want to message me.

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

If anyone is still deciding on Stanbridge College, I am a current student in cohort 3. At first, I was a bit apprehensive of the program because it was not accredited and there wasn't a lot of reviews about the program but the staff have gone above and beyond to ensure that we are getting our money's worth.

Currently, Stanbridge College is accredited and the MSOT program is currently in the process of accreditation. The OT program has received “Candidacy Status,” by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The MSOT program director, Dr. Janis Davis, has gone through the accreditation progress with two other OT schools in the US. Along with Dr. Davis' expertise, ACOTE and AOTA will be closely watching the school to ensure the program is meeting the standards and preparing the students with the proper materials. The OT program will know if they have received accreditation around December 2015. Once Stanbridge College receives their accreditation, the ACOTE and AOTA will be watching the program for 2-3 years to make sure the program can sustain on their own.

Now more about the OT program~

One cohort consist about 32-35 students and the school provides with all the resources to ensure that students are prepared to pass the NBCOT exam. The classes are only 2 days a week which give some students the opportunity to work and still go to school. The school provides the only synthetic cadaver lab in the west coast, state of the art labs with hospital beds with plastic "dummies", driving stimulation lab, multi-sensory lab, and more. In each classroom/lecture, there are laptop for each student where we can access our lecture power points and we also take our exams on the laptop. Most of the exams will be on the laptop because they are preparing and familiarizing the students to be comfortable to take the NBCOT exam on the computer.

One thing that really sold me about the program is how much they care about your success. If a student misses a day of class (one day of class is around 9-hours), the school will call you to ask why you were unable to attend class. Not only do they check up on you, they will set up meetings with a tutor or your instructors to make sure you are caught up with the material you missed. For those who want to work while attending school, they have career services where they help you build your resume, guide you with your job search, and prepare you with a mock interview. As well, they have student services where they will help and teach you how to manage your time, set up peer tutoring, and other personal services (anxiety, stress, depression, etc...). Also they expanded their campus and are building a student study area, cafe (which i'm very excited about), and more classrooms and labs.

So overall, Stanbridge College really cares about their students and I believe that they will become one of the up and coming MSOT program in California. I hope this information is helpful and good luck to prospective OT students!

 

[deejayy]

If anyone is still deciding on Stanbridge College, I am a current student in cohort 3. At first, I was a bit apprehensive of the program because it was not accredited and there wasn't a lot of reviews about the program but the staff have gone above and beyond to ensure that we are getting our money's worth.

One cohort consist about 32-35 students and the school provides with all the resources to ensure that students are prepared to pass the NBCOT exam. The classes are only 2 days a week which give some students the opportunity to work and still go to school. The school provides the only synthetic cadaver lab in the west coast, state of the art labs with hospital beds with plastic "dummies", driving stimulation lab, multi-sensory lab, and more. In each classroom/lecture, there are laptop for each student where we can access our lecture power points and we also take our exams on the laptop. Most of the exams will be on the laptop because they are preparing and familiarizing the students to be comfortable to take the NBCOT exam on the computer.

One thing that really sold me about the program is how much they care about your success. If a student misses a day of class (one day of class is around 9-hours), the school will call you to ask why you were unable to attend class. Not only do they check up on you, they will set up meetings with a tutor or your instructors to make sure you are caught up with the material you missed. For those who want to work while attending school, they have career services where they help you build your resume, guide you with your job search, and prepare you with a mock interview. As well, they have student services where they will help and teach you how to manage your time, set up peer tutoring, and other personal services (anxiety, stress, depression, etc...). Also they expanded their campus and are building a student study area, cafe (which i'm very excited about), and more classrooms and labs.

So overall, Stanbridge College really cares about their students and I believe that they will become one of the up and coming MSOT program in California. I hope this information is helpful and good luck to prospective OT students!

Hi @c0ffeel0ver ,
I am interested in Stanbridge's Master's in Occupational Therapy program and will be applying this year.
----------
If you don't mind, could I ask you a couple questions:

How long is their program?
How much is their program/tuition?
Anything worth mentioning about their fieldwork assignments?
What were your stats when you got admitted into the program?
Any advice to those applying to the program to increase our chances of getting accepted?
----------
Sorry for so many questions. As you have felt before, I too am a little uneasy and reluctant to apply to a non-accredited, seemingly new program.
Hopefully some of your answers can convince me otherwise.
Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

Hi @c0ffeel0ver ,
I am interested in Stanbridge's Master's in Occupational Therapy program and will be applying this year.
----------
If you don't mind, could I ask you a couple questions:

How long is their program?
How much is their program/tuition?
Anything worth mentioning about their fieldwork assignments?
What were your stats when you got admitted into the program?
Any advice to those applying to the program to increase our chances of getting accepted?
----------
Sorry for so many questions. As you have felt before, I too am a little uneasy and reluctant to apply to a non-accredited, seemingly new program.
Hopefully some of your answers can convince me otherwise.
Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

Hi @deejayy !

Thank you for your questions! Sorry for the delay but I just answered your questions down below! Just FYI, the MSOT program has been granted pre-accreditation status. This means that three of ACOTE members will come around in October or November to interview some students and make sure we have enough classrooms and labs for the students. The accreditation will be beginning of next year (which also means that if you enroll after the school gets accredited, then you may be paying more for tuition).

How long is their program?

The program is a 2 year program (24 months) but the school has told us that with the holidays included, the program is around 28 months. The MSOT program has 7 terms. Each term is around 15 weeks. After every term, we have a week break before we start our next term.

How much is their program/tuition?

The price of the program is $83,995 including all the books and supplies (vaccinations, CPR certifications, physical, etc). Some of the students decided to not get the books from the school and bought the books from online (which will decrease your tuition). Also vaccinations are provided but if your health insurance can cover it for free or with a small co-pay, I would suggest you get your vaccinations from your doctor.

The tuition does not cover room and board because the program only has 2 days of classes (which is great for people who work).

Anything worth mentioning about their fieldwork assignments?

Well I can't say too much about their fieldwork assignments because I just started my first term. From what I have heard, Fieldwork I only requires the student to work a minimum of 40 hours a week. (fieldwork I is just one week long). Fieldwork II is more of a full-time job (you won't have any classes with your FWII). The one thing I like about the fieldwork is that sometimes the OT students are paired up with Stanbridge OTA students from the school. I think its great that they sometimes pair up OT students with OTA students because in the real world, we will need to collaborate with OTAs, PTs, SLPs, and other health professionals. So it is a good learning experience. Once Stanbridge is accredited, we would be the only school that has an MSOT and OTA program.

Also, I have heard that the fieldwork coordinator tries her very best to get a fieldwork where it is most convenient for you. The fieldwork coordinator ask students to fill out a student profile of your experiences, interest, and etc. She uses that student profile to see if she can find a fieldwork that matches your interest and driving distance. So if you don't live in Orange County, she will try her best to find fieldwork that is around where you live. If you don't mind the driving a long distance to fieldwork and you want to work in another city, she will also take that into consideration.

If you end up changing your interest throughout the program, you just need to let her know and she will try her best to match you with the fieldwork.

What were your stats when you got admitted into the program?

Major: Psychology & Liberal Studies
GPA: 3.10 Cumulative / 3.4 Pre-Reqs
GRE: 155 Quan. / 145 Verbal / Writing: 4
Volunteering: 80 hours at a Pediatric clinic / 2 years of experience working in a research lab (I didn't include the research hours but I did mention working in a research lab during my interview).

Any advice to those applying to the program to increase our chances of getting accepted?

The one biggest advice I can give is get all your forms, transcripts, Letters of REC, and all done as soon as you can! The faster you complete your application process, the faster they will get back to you.

I would suggest going to the informational session! You get to see all the therapy labs, classes, and all. If you have some questions that the administrative officer can not answer, sometimes they would bring one of the staff members come down to answer your questions. I personally had A LOT of questions and the fieldwork coordinator came down from her office and she answered all of my questions.

Also if you do get an interview, you will have a group interview with 2 other applicants. You don't want to one-up the other applicants but show your best qualities as a student.

Just let me know if you have any questions!

 

[deejayy]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
This is extremely helpful, and I really appreciate your help!
One other question I have is how many cohorts do they accept a year?
I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future during the time I apply, which is around September.
Thanks!

Hi @deejayy !

Thank you for your questions! Sorry for the delay but I just answered your questions down below! Just FYI, the MSOT program has been granted pre-accreditation status. This means that three of ACOTE members will come around in October or November to interview some students and make sure we have enough classrooms and labs for the students. The accreditation will be beginning of next year (which also means that if you enroll after the school gets accredited, then you may be paying more for tuition).

How long is their program?

The program is a 2 year program (24 months) but the school has told us that with the holidays included, the program is around 28 months. The MSOT program has 7 terms. Each term is around 15 weeks. After every term, we have a week break before we start our next term.

How much is their program/tuition?

The price of the program is $83,995 including all the books and supplies (vaccinations, CPR certifications, physical, etc). Some of the students decided to not get the books from the school and bought the books from online (which will decrease your tuition). Also vaccinations are provided but if your health insurance can cover it for free or with a small co-pay, I would suggest you get your vaccinations from your doctor.

The tuition does not cover room and board because the program only has 2 days of classes (which is great for people who work).

Anything worth mentioning about their fieldwork assignments?

Well I can't say too much about their fieldwork assignments because I just started my first term. From what I have heard, Fieldwork I only requires the student to work a minimum of 40 hours a week. (fieldwork I is just one week long). Fieldwork II is more of a full-time job (you won't have any classes with your FWII). The one thing I like about the fieldwork is that sometimes the OT students are paired up with Stanbridge OTA students from the school. I think its great that they sometimes pair up OT students with OTA students because in the real world, we will need to collaborate with OTAs, PTs, SLPs, and other health professionals. So it is a good learning experience. Once Stanbridge is accredited, we would be the only school that has an MSOT and OTA program.

Also, I have heard that the fieldwork coordinator tries her very best to get a fieldwork where it is most convenient for you. The fieldwork coordinator ask students to fill out a student profile of your experiences, interest, and etc. She uses that student profile to see if she can find a fieldwork that matches your interest and driving distance. So if you don't live in Orange County, she will try her best to find fieldwork that is around where you live. If you don't mind the driving a long distance to fieldwork and you want to work in another city, she will also take that into consideration.

If you end up changing your interest throughout the program, you just need to let her know and she will try her best to match you with the fieldwork.

What were your stats when you got admitted into the program?

Major: Psychology & Liberal Studies
GPA: 3.10 Cumulative / 3.4 Pre-Reqs
GRE: 155 Quan. / 145 Verbal / Writing: 4
Volunteering: 80 hours at a Pediatric clinic / 2 years of experience working in a research lab (I didn't include the research hours but I did mention working in a research lab during my interview).

Any advice to those applying to the program to increase our chances of getting accepted?

The one biggest advice I can give is get all your forms, transcripts, Letters of REC, and all done as soon as you can! The faster you complete your application process, the faster they will get back to you.

I would suggest going to the informational session! You get to see all the therapy labs, classes, and all. If you have some questions that the administrative officer can not answer, sometimes they would bring one of the staff members come down to answer your questions. I personally had A LOT of questions and the fieldwork coordinator came down from her office and she answered all of my questions.

Also if you do get an interview, you will have a group interview with 2 other applicants. You don't want to one-up the other applicants but show your best qualities as a student.

Just let me know if you have any questions!

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

Hi @deejayy !

Oh no problem! Each cohort has 32 students.
If you ever have more questions, feel free to ask

 

[deejayy]

Oops, what I meant to ask was how many admission periods do they have a year?
For instance, USC only has one admission period which is in the Spring for the program beginning in the Summer.
If I'm not mistaken, it seems like your school has 2 admissions periods, 1 in September and 1 in March, if I'm right?
Sorry for the confusion in my question.
Thanks again for your help!

Hi @deejayy !

Oh no problem! Each cohort has 32 students.
If you ever have more questions, feel free to ask

 

[Should_I_continue_OT]

Since the OP was starting Junior year of college, I think this would still be relevant. I have not attended (or visited) any of the schools you mentioned at the top. However, I considered applying to two of them and have been to the areas where they are located and know people who live there now.

I considered TWU-Houston because I knew some OTs who had gone there. Houston is a sprawling city and traffic is bad. TWU is in the medical center area, and parking is very expensive for employees who work there. There is some sort of light rail system but I'm not sure if public transportation will be workable if you have to do a student's odd hours on campus. I do know that Texas public universities have ridiculously low out-of state tuition that is lower than many other state's in-state tuition. For that reason, most Texas schools have a ton of applicants and are tough to get into with much higher GPA's. I emailed TWU-Dallas or TWU-Houston and they told me not to apply because of my low GPA. As a very broad generalization, the area a few miles south/southeast of the med center is not that safe, although many students live inside apartments with gated access.

I remember the OT department or admissions department at Howard was very responsive when I spoke to them on the phone. They weren't having any official open houses or something like that during the time frame I was asking about. Although Howard is a HBCU, the OT grad students aren't all African-American. The two factors that kept me from applying are 1) sky-high tuition rates and 2) several years ago, Howard students had low first-time pass rates and was under probation for that reason. Traffic and parking is even more sky-high in Washington DC than Houston. There are Metro (subway) stations fairly close to Howard, and Metro runs late enough at night and frequently enough to handle staying there until 10 pm, although you might want to request a security escort to walk you to the station. Most of the area around Howard is not that safe. To live someplace safe and semi-affordable, you generally have to live further out and not close to the Metro stations. Buses don't run as late as the Metro itself. I have a friend getting a Ph.D at Howard now. Some of the local newspaper articles have suggested that Howard has a lot of financial difficulties, particularly with their university hospital and that Howard may end up shutting down at some point. That was also a couple years ago.

 

[a25]

Oops, what I meant to ask was how many admission periods do they have a year?
For instance, USC only has one admission period which is in the Spring for the program beginning in the Summer.
If I'm not mistaken, it seems like your school has 2 admissions periods, 1 in September and 1 in March, if I'm right?
Sorry for the confusion in my question.
Thanks again for your help!

Yes, you're right.

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

@deejayy

Stanbridge has 2 admissions periods. One would be in the Fall (September) and one in Spring (March). Don't worry about asking too much questions. If you want, you can PM me and I can give you my email if you want to get more on a faster response.

Thank you @a25

 

[deejayy]

Hey @a25,
Thanks!
Are you also a student there?


Thanks also @c0ffeel0ver! I just sent you a PM

 

[a25]

Hey @a25,
Thanks!
Are you also a student there?


Thanks also @c0ffeel0ver! I just sent you a PM

Yes, I am!

 

[deejayy]

Yes, I am!

Congrats! I hope you don't mind, but I sent you a PM

 

[aluan150]

Hi Deejay,

I just interviewed for their September 2015 cohort last week. Two faculty members interviewed three of us from 3 different backgrounds. I got pre qualified in March and I have a good GPA and average GRE score. Recommendations were good so I think I made it to the prequalification stage. I am wondering do they happen to choose between the 3 candidates they interview or nevertheless happen to take all of them in case they do well? The questions they asked were about 7 to each one of us. In the end we wrote a small essay for 5 minutes. The question I have is

how does the waitlist concept work for each intake? Also when did this Program accept its first cohort?
What backgrounds of students did they accept in your cohort?
I am assuming the acceptance rate is relatively high for this program as its still not accredited ( regionally) and once it does may be they will get more applications?
So when does the first cohort pass the NBCOT ? I believe a good passing rate of the group reflects great upon college training.

Lastly anyone in this forum Interview for April or Sep 2015 ? How many students got pre-qualified for Sep? Does prequalified mean we are almost there? Do most of them get accepted eventually?

Any thoughts... are welcome.

Thanks

 

[7461]

DO NOT apply to Howard. I think it's a terrible school. I seriously felt like they took my money and ran. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE answers the phones, email, returns calls, etc. at Howard. Felicia Banks, the Dept. chair doesn't get back to you in regards to no one answering the phones/emails and I've tried contacting them numerous times over the course of 4-5 months. Till this day no one has responded and I know a lot of other people were in the same boat as me. If I were you I wouldn't waste my time and money applying here. It's a bad sign when you cannot get a hold of anyone from the OT dept.

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

Hi Deejay,

I just interviewed for their September 2015 cohort last week. Two faculty members interviewed three of us from 3 different backgrounds. I got pre qualified in March and I have a good GPA and average GRE score. Recommendations were good so I think I made it to the prequalification stage. I am wondering do they happen to choose between the 3 candidates they interview or nevertheless happen to take all of them in case they do well? The questions they asked were about 7 to each one of us. In the end we wrote a small essay for 5 minutes. The question I have is

how does the waitlist concept work for each intake? Also when did this Program accept its first cohort?
What backgrounds of students did they accept in your cohort?
I am assuming the acceptance rate is relatively high for this program as its still not accredited ( regionally) and once it does may be they will get more applications?
So when does the first cohort pass the NBCOT ? I believe a good passing rate of the group reflects great upon college training.

Lastly anyone in this forum Interview for April or Sep 2015 ? How many students got pre-qualified for Sep? Does prequalified mean we are almost there? Do most of them get accepted eventually?

Any thoughts... are welcome.

Thanks

@aluan150
Thank you for your questions!

I have answered your questions below.

how does the waitlist concept work for each intake?
- The program waits for qualified students to accept their admission to the school. If a qualified student declines their admission to the school, they start taking students from the waitlist. It is possible that they can call the students on the waitlist during the first two weeks when class has started. I know some of my classmates were on the waitlist and got accepted into the program 4 days before orientation was about to start.

Also when did this Program accept its first cohort?
- The first cohort started during the Spring 2014.

What backgrounds of students did they accept in your cohort?
- Everyone has a different backgrounds. The most common majors I have heard are Psychology, Kinesiology, or Education. Some of my classmates came from a field that was completely away from the health field (Business Majors, Musicians, etc...).

I am assuming the acceptance rate is relatively high for this program as its still not accredited ( regionally) and once it does may be they will get more applications?
- I don't know about the acceptance rate for MSOT program but I believe that it will get more competitive with every new cohort. Yes, I believe we will get more applications because OT programs in general are getting more applicants. We are already pre-accredited by the ACOTE (the accrediting organization) and we should know if we are accredited by the beginning of 2016.

So when does the first cohort pass the NBCOT ? I believe a good passing rate of the group reflects great upon college training.
-The first cohort have not taken the NBCOT exams yet. They are on their 4th term (7 in total). The NBCOT exams are near the end of term 7. For the OT Assistant program at Stanbridge, the 2 years average pass rate for the OTA was 96%.

Lastly anyone in this forum Interview for April or Sep 2015 ?
- I interviewed in April 2015. (Cohort 3)

How many students got pre-qualified for Sep? Does prequalified mean we are almost there? Do most of them get accepted eventually?
- I am not sure how many students got pre-qualified during my admission process but I do remember the administrative representative told me there were 8 people waiting for my spot (I was a bit unsure of accepting my admission to the program). I am not sure what if you are almost there but it depends where you are on the waitlist.

I hope my answers are helpful! Good luck!

 

[aluan150]

Hi Coffee Lover,

Thanks for your reply. Next ,I wanted to know how hard the classes are with Stanbridge as these are 2 times a week and morning 11 to 9pm right? I come from SD and I am wondering if there are students in your class travelling from San Diego. How is the online component structured? I heard every student is given a laptop also for home? I heard the books are expensive to buy from college. Can we negotiate to get us the list and we can buy them on our own?

Seems like there are always people waiting to take the spot for these programs anywhere you go, anywhere you apply to. What is the best thing going on for you in this course right now? How are group projects and classes structured? How are exams? Are they all written or Multiple Choice?

Please share your current experience in the college.

Thanks

 

[jjhale0787]

Hi! So I am working on getting in all my stuff for my application. If I get an interview I know I will be extremely nervous. I have had one OT interview for school and it did not go well. Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate it

 

[cb31]

Hi! So I am working on getting in all my stuff for my application. If I get an interview I know I will be extremely nervous. I have had one OT interview for school and it did not go well. Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate it

Be able to explain what OT is in your own words, know why OT, know how past work have helped prepare you for a career as an OT, be confident, smile, breath and relax!!

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

Hi! So I am working on getting in all my stuff for my application. If I get an interview I know I will be extremely nervous. I have had one OT interview for school and it did not go well. Does anyone have any advice for me? I would really appreciate it

Hi @jjhale0787 ,

One biggest advice would be to practice answering your questions. I had friend grill me with interview questions and he would stop me if I started stuttering or repeating myself. Practice makes perfect! I also watched this video to help me prepare and some of the questions came up during my interview for Stanbridge:

Also you will have a group interview (if you are able to come to campus for an interview). Do not tear the other interviewees down but show them why you are a great candidate. Also dress professionally (Business Formal) and get there a bit early so you don't have to worry about traffic, bring a pen (there is a 5 minute writing portion).

Just like @cb31 said be prepared to answer those questions. But these were the questions that I had during my interview:

• How well you worked in a group setting and how you were able to handle the issue?
• Describe yourself in one word.
• If you have a client that is a convict or someone who doesn't line up with your beliefs, how would you approach the client as an OT?
• Where you see yourself in 5 years?

Hope this is helpful and Good Luck on your interview!

 

[jjhale0787]

Thank you both for giving me the great advice! I really appreciate it!

Coffeelover do you think I could email you with some questions?

Thank you!

 

[RiverSong47]

Hi Coffee Lover,

Thanks for your reply. Next ,I wanted to know how hard the classes are with Stanbridge as these are 2 times a week and morning 11 to 9pm right? I come from SD and I am wondering if there are students in your class travelling from San Diego. How is the online component structured? I heard every student is given a laptop also for home? I heard the books are expensive to buy from college. Can we negotiate to get us the list and we can buy them on our own?

Seems like there are always people waiting to take the spot for these programs anywhere you go, anywhere you apply to. What is the best thing going on for you in this course right now? How are group projects and classes structured? How are exams? Are they all written or Multiple Choice?

Please share your current experience in the college.

Thanks

I have an interview scheduled for July 24th for the September start date, if I am accepted I will also be traveling from San Diego! How did your interview go, what kind of questions were asked, and was the essay question challenging? I have received some really great advice from Coffee Lover but would love to hear from someone who just interviewed. I hope we are accepted and get to meet each other in September!

 

[aluan150]

Hi River song,

All the best for the Interview. It is going to be very easy and non stressful . People who Interviewed are not supposed to post the questions on public forums as I have been advised by my Student advisor. It can hurt our application process. But PM me and I will get back to you soon

 

[jjhale0787]

I had my interview on Friday. It went well! Has anyone heard back if they have gotten in or not? They said we should know by August 14th. Fingers crossed!!

 

[RiverSong47]

I had my interview on Friday. It went well! Has anyone heard back if they have gotten in or not? They said we should know by August 14th. Fingers crossed!!

I have been checking my e-mail constantly but haven't heard anything yet. We should know sometime between now and Friday....keeping my fingers crossed that we are accepted! Let us know when you hear back and I will do the same.

 

[d.uong]

It should be on the way. I interviewed at the end of July and I got my formal acceptance letter/email yesterday! Good luck to everyone on this thread! I hope we all get to meet each other in September

 

[RiverSong47]

It should be on the way. I interviewed at the end of July and I got my formal acceptance letter/email yesterday! Good luck to everyone on this thread! I hope we all get to meet each other in September

Congratulations!!! :] That's great news.

 

[RiverSong47]

It should be on the way. I interviewed at the end of July and I got my formal acceptance letter/email yesterday! Good luck to everyone on this thread! I hope we all get to meet each other in September

Did you receive a phone call from your advisor before/after you received the official acceptance e-mail?

 

[d.uong]

Did you receive a phone call from your advisor before/after you received the official acceptance e-mail?

Yes, my advisor called me last week to tell me about my acceptance. I had to finish my financial aid packet before Stanbridge would email the formal acceptance letter. Let me know when you hear back from them! I hope we get to meet each other!

 

[RiverSong47]

Yes, my advisor called me last week to tell me about my acceptance. I had to finish my financial aid packet before Stanbridge would email the formal acceptance letter. Let me know when you hear back from them! I hope we get to meet each other!

Thanks for all of the info! I'm definitely starting to get worried since I still haven't heard back. I e-mailed my advisor Karen yesterday and she said she still hasn't heard anything yet :/ it's killing me.

 

[d.uong]

Thanks for all of the info! I'm definitely starting to get worried since I still haven't heard back. I e-mailed my advisor Karen yesterday and she said she still hasn't heard anything yet :/ it's killing me.

I know it's stressful but not hearing back from them yet doesn't always mean it's a bad thing!

 

[RiverSong47]

I know it's stressful but not hearing back from them yet doesn't always mean it's a bad thing!

You were right! I just received my acceptance!!! :] I cannot wait to meet you all soon. Is there a Facebook page set up for us yet?

 

[DH91]

Congrats to everyone that got accepted to Stanbridge.! Good Job guys! I was accepted last week . I hope to meet all of you soon! Is anyone planning to move to Irvine?

 

[RiverSong47]

I will be commuting from San Diego (North Park). I will post my stats on here tonight when I get home around 8:00. Congrats to all those accepted and for those of you who haven't heard back yet, hang in there! I hope everyone knows by tomorrow and I wish you all the best.

 

[RiverSong47]

Ok here are my stats:

California State University Monterey Bay
Major: Psychology
Graduated with honors (cum laude) and distinction in major
GPA: 3.716
Prerequisite GPA: 3.27 (based on Stanbridge's prereqs)
GRE: 154V 147Q 4.0W
Volunteer hours: Over 200 OT observation/volunteer hours in the schools, pediatric clinics (majority of my hours), and a Kaiser outpatient clinic. Over 100 hours volunteering at a special education school in a preschool classroom where I sometimes observed an OT and I also participated in an adaptive swim program with that class as well.
XTRAS: Distinction in major (For completing an experiment with my professor and presenting our results at the 2013 Western Psychological Association Conference), Psi Chi member (the international honor society for Psychology)
Letters of Rec: 1 professor that I did research with as an undergrad, the main teacher of the preschool where I volunteered, and 2 OT's that I observed for about a year at the same pediatric clinic.

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

You were right! I just received my acceptance!!! :] I cannot wait to meet you all soon. Is there a Facebook page set up for us yet?

Congratulations on your acceptance! I made a FB page but make sure you PM me so I can add you into the group! I hope we can meet everyone very soon and be prepared for a picture on day 1 of orientation!

 

[Unique_OT]

Does anyone know what's on the written portion if you get an interview at Stockton University?

 

[CeliafutureOT]

Congratulations on your acceptance! I made a FB page but make sure you PM me so I can add you into the group! I hope we can meet everyone very soon and be prepared for a picture on day 1 of orientation!

Hello Coffee lover, Can you tell me what the writing portion was on?? what did they ask?

 

[c0ffeel0ver]

Hello Coffee lover, Can you tell me what the writing portion was on?? what did they ask?

Sorry, I can not tell you what the writing portion is on. The writing portion is assessing your ability to write at graduate level and if you can improvise your answer to the question.