Chances of getting into UF, USC, UWM?

[Justiceorpeace]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I wanted to get some relief from my anxiety about my chances of getting accepted into the OT programs. I decided to become an occupational therapist after realizing the cost of law school and the legal market in general being completely flooded with JD's. I am looking for honest opinions.

Stats

Age:27
Race:African American
Sex:Male
Undergraduate Degree😛olitical Science
GPA:3.72
Honors/Awards:Three year ethical leadership certificate, study abroad to Brazil, won the top award in Model Arab League competition several times.
Extra Curricular: Tutored minority and adult learners in English for a few years, taught English to at-risk students at a development center for a year.
GRE: January 11th 2011 test date
Observation Hours: 20
Recommendation Letters:Being written by two full time professors and one practicing OT I volunteered with.

I will be starting my prerequisite courses in January of next year at my undergraduate alma mater.

My goal is to go to the University of Florida. Also, I'm applying to the University of Southern California and University of Wisconsin Madison to give myself some more options. I am more worried about my GRE score affecting my chances of getting in since I am not a decent standardized test taker but my undergraduate stats are strong and I may be able to just ride on that alone.

Thoughts?

 

[ukegal]

what you've got going for you is that you bring diversity where most people in ot programs are white women. I dont know about the other schools, but uw mad is very good. You need to do well on the gre to get in there. I would also suggest doing well on your prereqs and getting in more observation hours. Schools in the midwest are seeing people with hundreds of observaton hours, so to me having only 20 looks a bit weak. also spend a lot od

 

[ukegal]

oops sorry, trying to type on my phone. Meant to say reflect a lot on what you like about ot and put in some time writing a good statement of purpose. Good luck!

 

[Justiceorpeace]

what you've got going for you is that you bring diversity where most people in ot programs are white women. I dont know about the other schools, but uw mad is very good. You need to do well on the gre to get in there. I would also suggest doing well on your prereqs and getting in more observation hours. Schools in the midwest are seeing people with hundreds of observaton hours, so to me having only 20 looks a bit weak. also spend a lot od

Madison is my #3 choice with UF being #1 and USC being #2. I am not sure how well I will do on the GRE and can't donate more then twenty hours since I have only about six weeks to get prepared for this test. The good news is I am at least meeting the minimum requirement for all my schools with the observation hours. I do think the diversity vote along with a good recommendation letter will get me in the door. Thanks for replying.

 

[ukegal]

Oh, another thing to look into is how many out of state people USC takes if you aren't a CA resident. I looked at some of them (can't remember which) and some only take 1 or 2 nonresidents. So that may affect where you decide to apply.

 

[GatorOT]

Hi. I am also applying to the UF MOT program this spring. It is the only school I am applying to, I am limited to the Gainesville area as this is where my husband works and my children are in school.

I also agree that the minority issue is in your favor. I would do some soul searching as to why you want to enter the OT field, and have that be reflected in your application. It is probably not enough that your first choice profession (JD) has limited potential right now. Are you planning on completing all your prereq's in the spring semester? Have you already taken some of them? It will not be looked on too favorably I believe if you have not completed most of the prereq's before applying. Also get more volunteer hours under your belt. Talking to the program director it is the qualitative portions of your application that is equally if not more important for conditional acceptance students.

Good luck.😳

 

[Justiceorpeace]

Oh, another thing to look into is how many out of state people USC takes if you aren't a CA resident. I looked at some of them (can't remember which) and some only take 1 or 2 nonresidents. So that may affect where you decide to apply.

Yikes, 1 or 2 nonresidents is a bit of a let down. USC has one of the highest populations of international students though and I am hard pressed to believe that all the international students they let in are born and raised in California. I still plan on applying though even if my chances of getting in are very slim being an out of state applicant.

 

[Justiceorpeace]

Hi. I am also applying to the UF MOT program this spring. It is the only school I am applying to, I am limited to the Gainesville area as this is where my husband works and my children are in school.

I also agree that the minority issue is in your favor. I would do some soul searching as to why you want to enter the OT field, and have that be reflected in your application. It is probably not enough that your first choice profession (JD) has limited potential right now. Are you planning on completing all your prereq's in the spring semester? Have you already taken some of them? It will not be looked on too favorably I believe if you have not completed most of the prereq's before applying. Also get more volunteer hours under your belt. Talking to the program director it is the qualitative portions of your application that is equally if not more important for conditional acceptance students.

Good luck.😳

Thanks for your reply!

I did the 500 word essay in my initial portion of applying to the graduate school but I am saving my Faulkner like writing skills for my two page essay I will submitting to the OT department. I do have a good reason as to why I want to do OT and will make sure that every word and sentence will reflect that, as it is the most important portion of my application. My prerequisites will be done in the summer semester next year since taking them all at one time would not be possible given my work schedule and other responsibilities. I am not sure how that will look on my application but I would be ready for the fall 2011 semester, assuming the option to start school in the fall is open. I do like how UF does have a process for degree holding applicants with no background in OT classwork to be accepted on an conditional basis, otherwise I'd have to wait until next year in the fall to apply which would really suck!

I read on the volunteer hours log for UF that thirty hours in two diverse settings is enough and anymore hours would not be looked on any more favorably then just having the minimum thirty hours. Even if you have more then thirty hours, the paper instructs one to not even bother logging them on the paper and just report that you had put in at least thirty hours.

I am going to make sure that my resume and my personal essay are in top notch form before I submit my application packet to UF, USC and UWM. My only gripe is I wish I would have done all of this work earlier in the year rather then crunching it all in at the last minute. Deadlines are approaching fast and I want to make sure I get all my stuff in on time. I am confident though that if I write a good essay and do okay on the GRE I will get an acceptance.

Good luck on your application as well!

 

[ukegal]

I don't think that you have to have all your prereqs done necessarily. It depends on the school. One school I contacted and they said it didn't matter because they only have to be done before the program is started. They may give you a conditional acceptance based on your in progress courses, though. I'd say contact the school and ask what their stance is on that.

 

[Justiceorpeace]

I don't think that you have to have all your prereqs done necessarily. It depends on the school. One school I contacted and they said it didn't matter because they only have to be done before the program is started. They may give you a conditional acceptance based on your in progress courses, though. I'd say contact the school and ask what their stance is on that.

Yes, I contacted all three and all have said that they would accept me on a conditional basis pending the outcome of my prerequisite courses. I am understanding that my application will not be as strong as it could be but I may get an acceptance out of it. If not, I will just finish up my prerequisites, take the GRE again, get more observation hours in and apply next year to more schools and even the same schools that may reject me.

Even with my lack of experience, lack of prerequisites and potential low gre score, I still have a shot of getting an acceptance with my high gpa, minority status, recommendation letters and personal essay. Lord willing things will work out for me this go round but if not, I'll take another shot at applying again once my prerequisites are done and I take the time to build more observation hours and study for the GRE.