Chances of Getting into Occupational Therapy Masters Program

[ashluk2]

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I am currently looking into Occupational Therapy schools and am having trouble narrowing down my options. What method did you use to select an Occupational Therapy school? I have been using US News Ranking for Occupational Therapy schools + these forums to decipher my chances of getting in schools (based on GPAs posted). I've also been looking into location, length of program, costs, and hands on experience (they all seem to have fieldwork I/II experience). Here are my stats:

entering 4th year of undergrad with a Psychology major, Biology and Business minors
Overall GPA: 3.45
Overall GPA of the last 60 credits: 3.50
Prerequisite GPA: 3.2-3.32 (depending on each school's prereqs)
Have not taken the GRE yet

Observation Hours: 80hrs Outpatient Rehab at a hospital, 80hrs school setting (school for disabled children in South Africa), 24 nursing home, 4 Pediatrics. 188 total hrs.

Extras: Resident Assistant for 1.5 yrs, studied abroad in South Africa for a semester where I held therapy sessions with small group of children, CPR trained, and hold minor positions in a couple of school organizations.

What do you think?
Does anyone have any schools to recommend?
Thank You.

 

[jewel11786]

I think all of your stats look really good and make you a competitive applicant. Unfortunately ALL OT programs are becoming very competitive. So it's important to start thinking if you want to apply to a school close to where you live, requires or does not require GREs, cost of tuition and living expenses, etc. Honestly, it depends on what you want to get out of the experience. No matter what once you graduate you become an OT as long as the program is accredited by ACOTE. Some of the differences in entry level OT masters programs I know of are some programs are weekend/online and others are full-time. I'm in a weekend program which allows me to work during the week when I'm not in class. My advice would be to make a list of what you want to get out of the experience and start looking into schools that meet that criteria.

 

[ashluk2]

Okay, thanks for your input. I will be taking the GRE in about a month. Tuition and living expenses, location, and length of program are at the top of my list. It's just hard figuring (among the hundreds of schools) which one's are in my reach.

 

[krl914]

Looking for some advice and would appreciate any help. Would it look better to have more volunteer experience at a hospital or observation hours. The volunteer experience would be under an OT's supervision. I am applying for a master's and was just wondering. Thanks in advance.

 

[jewel11786]

Okay, thanks for your input. I will be taking the GRE in about a month. Tuition and living expenses, location, and length of program are at the top of my list. It's just hard figuring (among the hundreds of schools) which one's are in my reach.

I would make a list of the schools in the area you want to be in first. Then begin narrowing it down by acceptance requirements and by price. Figure out whether you will live on/off campus, consider tuition and fees, and try to develop a preliminary budget. Try to tour a few campuses if you get the chance.

 

[jewel11786]

Looking for some advice and would appreciate any help. Would it look better to have more volunteer experience at a hospital or observation hours. The volunteer experience would be under an OT's supervision. I am applying for a master's and was just wondering. Thanks in advance.

Your volunteer experience, as long as it's under the direction or alongside OTs, counts as part of observation hours. If you can get alot of those at a rehab clinic or hospital, I think would look really good for you.

 

[eedee]

I would be hesitant of the US News ranking. The ranking is based on surveys they sent the school to fill out, using a scale of 1 - 5, and not even based on NBCOT pass scores.

http://www.usnews.com/education/bes...3/11/methodology-best-health-schools-rankings

When choosing a school (apart from looking at location and cost), I looked at the OTCAS participating programs list : https://portal.otcas.org/otcasHelpPages/participating-programs/ and chose schools based on how many in state/out of state students they accepted, how many applied for the cycle, average GPA accepted, and if there would be any other supplemental information I needed.

 

[ExceptionalSea]

with occupational therapy programs being so competitive these days (and you seem like a competitive candidate, no doubt) i would also really do your research on schools based on what kind of applicants they like to admit (this forum is the best for that) and where you might fit in and be accepted. i used this approach because i was coming from a bit of an underdog position (really low cumulative GPA) so maybe it won't apply as much to you or others but i do think it helps. every school gets hundreds of applicants for typically 30-35 spots so anything you can do to up your chances will help.

as others have said above i would be hesitant of basing your decisions on US News rankings. from what i've researched about the field, it doesn't really matter where you go as long as you graduate and pass the NBCOT - you will have many job options and get paid the same as any other starting OT. you will obviously want to research your schools and find ones with programs that look strong or that fit what you would like to accomplish.

how i did it? i went to aota.org and looked at the list of all of the accredited programs. then i narrowed it down by type of program (i was interested in entry-level MSOT/MOT), then i looked at each state i would have been interested/okay with living in, then narrowed it down by what pre-reqs they required and i had or could easily finish, then came on this forum and narrowed down based on what kind of applicants they accept...etc. etc. etc. obviously your narrowing down process will be affected by what's important to you, be it tuition, location, etc.

i hope that helps!

 

[Paypal]

If you're interested in southern Cali, check out Stanbridge College. I have been working with their admissions rep and they've been so helpful and informative! You can see this video to get an idea of what the MSOT program is about.

Hi there!

I am planning to apply to stanbridge actually, for this septembers start date. However, pretty much all therapists Ive talked to advised me against enrolling there because their accredidation is pending. I have major qualms about that, and Stanbridge will most likely be my last resort if I dont get in anywhere else. Would you think its worth enrolling? It's tempting because after I spoke with one of their reps, they make it seem as if theyre willing to give me an interview and a spot right away. But I have to tell myself to not jump the gun and be part of their first experimental batch. It would not be a pretty situation to go through all two years, 80 grand in debt, and have the school end up not getting acreditted, god forbid. If you are planning to apply though, Id love to chat more about it.

 

[CurlyHairedGirl]

I spoke with someone with ACOTE when I had questions about a school pending accreditation. They said that there is a ton of prep work before a school can admit their first class and there is a lot of support along the 2-3 years between starting the first class and getting accreditation. The major difficulties would be if a school had a lot of things that ACOTE asked them to fix and they didn't.

The prep work before admitting students can take years. Since I've been looking at this for years Ive seen schools move from one list to another and read the school websites etc.

Point being that its unlikely that a school won't get accreditation after going through the whole process. Given a choice between going to an affordable (by my definition 30k tuition/yr or less) developing school or waiting another year or two to start school at an accredited program or maybe not getting in at all. Or wait years to be admitted to a cheap in-state school when you are missing out on years of income potential.

On gut feeling I would say the first class to go through might be a little less organized, but they might also have more opportunities for student feedback. Probably smaller class sizes as well.

 

[mamadealex]

I applied to Stanbridge for their 2nd cohort that starts September. Believe me, I had a lot of apprehension too about the accreditation status but like the other reply indicated, there is a lot of prep that goes in before school even gets to candidacy. I looked deep into this program and it was the clear choice for me because of the location (close to family, and no commute), the fact that I can still work during the program, the facilities and the state-of-the-art equipment and training modules they have, and the Director of the program who is a well-regarded OT professor from Dominican University. I was impressed by my tour of the facility and I hope that by the 2nd cohort, things will be more buttoned up and run more smoothly.

I spoke with the Director, Dr. Janis Davis and she assured me when she said that she has been through the accreditation process a few times before (with other institutions), and she knows what needs to be done. She also has a USC alumni OTR working on her staff.