General Admissions & OTCAS Colorado State

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OTgirl29

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does anyone have any insight or experience on the admission process with CSU? I know it's a very very very competive program. I am a Colorado resident, and curious if I have any shot of getting in.
 
Hi there,

Have you attended their information session? I found it incredibly helpful. There is also a pdf doc on their website showing you the breakdown of how they weigh GPAs, GRE, essay responses, etc. What are your stats? I believe the average cumulative GPA was 3.7

If I recall correctly, GPA (undergrad or grad which is pretty unique IMO) is weighed 20%, prereq 20%, verbal and quantitative each 5%, AWA 10%, essays 25%, and number of completed prereq 10%... Something like that. Hope this helped!!
 
OTgirl29 said:
does anyone have any insight or experience on the admission process with CSU? I know it's a very very very competive program. I am a Colorado resident, and curious if I have any shot of getting in.
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I'm currently living in CO as well and am trying to figure out if it's worth it to apply there. I definitely suggest going to their info session and seeing the facilities. The OT building itself wasn't my favorite because I had just talked to a school that had so much new technology, so that kind of skewed my view. I thought it was neat that it was on a big campus, but I don't love the idea of living in FoCo since i'm used to the size of Denver. The one thing that was a set back for me was that you have to take an Intro to OT class before you start. They offer them online through the university, but I'm not so keen on taking another class before grad school.

What are your stats? Here are mine:

V:154
Q:151
W:4.0
GPA: 3.53
Pre-req:3.8-4.0

Hope that helps!
 
I'm a Colo resident too! I mainly am applying there in the hopes of getting in-state tuition, and I love the state (although I'm in Denver, and wish I could just stay here.. oh well). I have a low GPA, however, so I suspect I'm a longshot. I think CSU doesn't do rolling admissions (correct me if I'm wrong), so there's a little more wiggle room to work on improving your application (essays, GREs, etc).
 
I'm from California but have family and friends FoCo and Denver so I'm not unfamiliar with the area. Would the Denver-CSU commute be too long for every day or something?

Does any one know cohort size and number of applicants? I believe it was 600 applicants but I may be incorrect
 
I'm in Denver and applied last year but did not get in. I plan to try again this year. Definitely a competitive program. I wish they looked at your LOR and experience but unfortunately they don't. 25% of the review process is based on responses you give to questions on a scholarly article on culture and occupational therapy. Over 600 applicants last year for 50 spots.
 
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OTMatt said:
I'm in Denver and applied last year but did not get in. I plan to try again this year. Definitely a competitive program. I wish they looked at your LOR and experience but unfortunately they don't. 25% of the review process is based on responses you give to questions on a scholarly article on culture and occupational therapy. Kind of disappointing in my opinion. OT is such a people oriented profession, you would think they would be more interested in what others have to say about you and what sort of experience you have. Over 600 applicants last year for 50 spots.
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I agree, it's so frustrating that they don't look at your past experience or LOR. OT isn't just about a part of the body, but about the person as a whole, which is why I think it's ridiculous that they don't look at us as whole people but just as a number. They literally assign you a score and that's all you are. Sorry, it just makes me mad!

What were your scores like last year if you don't mind me asking?
 
Yup that's what I was afraid of (and getting the vibe when I talked to a admission person there) that there application is basically all numbers and that personal CSU essay. Big time bummer as I have a decent gpa, but the gre will def bring me down. Guess I'll work really hard on that essay and give it a shot. I wish CO had more OT programs, I would love to stay in my beautiful home state.
 
Hello, I am also thinking of applying to CSU. Is anyone having a hard time contacting the department? I have a few questions about prerequisites but I haven't been able to get a hold of anyone. Thanks!
 
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Has anyone tried to submit the CSU grad school application but had problems? I couldn't find OT listed as a grad degree option and it says my term is wrong (Fall 2016)
 
sarah_futureot said:
Has anyone tried to submit the CSU grad school application but had problems? I couldn't find OT listed as a grad degree option and it says my term is wrong (Fall 2016)
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Hi, Did you check to see if you applied to the correct application group? There are two different applications for fall 2016: Group 1 and Group 2. The OT program is under the Health and Human Sciences department which is in Group 2. Read the graduate admission page carefully, it's a little confusing. Hope that helps!
 
OTgirl29 said:
Yup that's what I was afraid of (and getting the vibe when I talked to a admission person there) that there application is basically all numbers and that personal CSU essay. Big time bummer as I have a decent gpa, but the gre will def bring me down. Guess I'll work really hard on that essay and give it a shot. I wish CO had more OT programs, I would love to stay in my beautiful home state.
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Have you guys heard anything yet? If you don't mind me asking, what were your GRE scores? I also didn't do so hot. I applied last year and was rejected. I live in Fort Collins with my boyfriend and have always lived in Colorado, so it's going to be a bummer if I'm rejected again. I spoke with someone in the admission department and she said that one of the reasons I wasn't accepted was one of my prerequisites didn't meet their standards, so I retook it. She also told me my writing GRE score wasn't high enough. So I studied and retook it 3 times. I still got a 3.0 every time. I'm not great at standardized testing. I have a 3.86 though so I'm not dumb! It sucks that they look at numbers before they look at references, personal experience, and your personal statement. Good luck!
 
emnOT13 said:
Have you guys heard anything yet? If you don't mind me asking, what were your GRE scores? I also didn't do so hot. I applied last year and was rejected. I live in Fort Collins with my boyfriend and have always lived in Colorado, so it's going to be a bummer if I'm rejected again. I spoke with someone in the admission department and she said that one of the reasons I wasn't accepted was one of my prerequisites didn't meet their standards, so I retook it. She also told me my writing GRE score wasn't high enough. So I studied and retook it 3 times. I still got a 3.0 every time. I'm not great at standardized testing. I have a 3.86 though so I'm not dumb! It sucks that they look at numbers before they look at references, personal experience, and your personal statement. Good luck!
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They'll notify you by mail mid March.
 
Has anyone heard back from Colorado State yet?
 
cna92813 said:
Has anyone heard back from Colorado State yet?
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I've been wondering the same thing. We should get a letter on or near today exactly (March 16th), according to the department website.
 
otgal15 said:
I've been wondering the same thing. We should get a letter on or near today exactly (March 16th), according to the department website.
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Last year they said the 15th and I got a letter on the 18th (I'm in Denver)
 
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Been anxiously checking the mailbox all week! I wish they'd email
 
HelpMeBeAnOT said:
Been anxiously checking the mailbox all week! I wish they'd email
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Me too I live in Fort Collins so I though surely I'd get a letter one way or the other today...but nothing is in my mail from CSU.
 
emnOT13 said:
Me too I live in Fort Collins so I though surely I'd get a letter one way or the other today...but nothing is in my mail from CSU.
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I'm in Florida, so I'm guessing I'll be a day later. Maybe you'll get one tomorrow! Fingers crossed
 
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Just received my acceptance letter!! I am ecstatic!! Anyone else out there who will be attending CSU in the fall??
 
HopefulOT303 said:
Just received my acceptance letter!! I am ecstatic!! Anyone else out there who will be attending CSU in the fall??
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Congratulations! Where are you at? Trying to gauge if I should be waiting for the mailman...
 
HelpMeBeAnOT said:
I'm in Florida, so I'm guessing I'll be a day later. Maybe you'll get one tomorrow! Fingers crossed
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I hope so!
HopefulOT303 said:
Just received my acceptance letter!! I am ecstatic!! Anyone else out there who will be attending CSU in the fall??
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CONGRATS!!! I'm at work and am nervous to get home to my mailbox! would you mind posting your stats? CSU is based mostly on stats...
 
Just got accepted too! Stats if anyone's interested...

GPA: 3.4
Pre-req GPA: 4.0 with all but anthropology/sociology complete
GRE: Q-156, V-167, AW-4.5
 
CSUhopeful said:
Just got accepted too! Stats if anyone's interested...

GPA: 3.4
Pre-req GPA: 4.0 with all but anthropology/sociology complete
GRE: Q-156, V-167, AW-4.5
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Do you know if you will be attending?

Stats:
GPA: 3.57
Pre-req GPA: 4.0, all pre-reqs completed
GRE: Q-157, V-152, AW-4.5
The other 25% of the CSU score is based on the essay
 
I was rejected from CSU 🙁 pretty bummed to have to leave my beautiful home state... However, I will be attending University of Minnesota! Congrats to all who got in to CSU! If anyone needs advice on living in Fort Collins, let me know! I live in Fort Collins, about 5 min away from campus. Fort Collins is a beautiful town and it's where my heart is. I know it's where I will be moving back after I spend my time in Minnesota!
 
Congrats to those accepted!! I'm stuck at work--has anyone on the east coast received a letter yet?
 
Hey everyone! I am in Ohio and I received my letter today. I wasn't accepted but was placed in their "alternate pool". Basically I have to return a form saying that I am interested in remaining on the waitlist, and they will send more information to me after April 15. I called to ask if they had any idea what my ranking was on the waitlist, and they reiterated that I will have to wait after April 15 to know more.

AH. This waiting game is terrible.
 
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ACCEPTED! I live in Oregon and I came home from work to the best news ever! Good luck to all of you still waiting! 🙂
 
Hey! I was just wondering if you guys all took Intro to OT already? I wasn't sure if Colorado is offering it this summer, but I haven't taken it yet.
 
beckslush said:
Hey! I was just wondering if you guys all took Intro to OT already? I wasn't sure if Colorado is offering it this summer, but I haven't taken it yet.
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I am wondering this too! I was waiting on getting accepted before I spent the money on taking a course that only CSU required. I plan on seeing if there are any similar courses offered near me (Texas resident) or elsewhere online that would suffice.
 
@OTRam that's what I plan on doing too! Thank you for your help. 🙂
 
Just got home from work to my ACCEPTANCE letter! I could not be more excited! I'm also in Oregon for those of you still waiting.

Good luck everyone, keeping you all in my thoughts 🙂
 
Got my ACCEPTANCE letter today!! So excited! After all rejections last year, it is a wonderful change to have options. I'm leaning toward CSU, but will definitely be doing my research this week!
 
OTRam said:
I am wondering this too! I was waiting on getting accepted before I spent the money on taking a course that only CSU required. I plan on seeing if there are any similar courses offered near me (Texas resident) or elsewhere online that would suffice.
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If you find a cheap, online Intro to OT class, could you let me know? I've been looking and haven't had much success yet.

Also, does anyone know what the weekly schedule is like at CSU?

Congrats to everyone who's been accepted, and good luck to those still waiting!
 
Has anyone had the opportunity to visit the CSU campus or tour the OT facilities? I'm torn between 2 programs and would love the chance to visit Fort Collins before making my decision, however I don't think that will be possible unless I am able to get an extension for the deposit on the other program as it is due on Friday. Any insight anyone might have about the program and/or surrounding area (housing, cost of living, etc.) would be much appreciated! Thank you!
 
OT_Bound said:
Has anyone had the opportunity to visit the CSU campus or tour the OT facilities? I'm torn between 2 programs and would love the chance to visit Fort Collins before making my decision, however I don't think that will be possible unless I am able to get an extension for the deposit on the other program as it is due on Friday. Any insight anyone might have about the program and/or surrounding area (housing, cost of living, etc.) would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Click to expand...

I didn't get in to CSU but currently live in Fort Collins and have for the past several years so I can help with some of these questions. The OT building is an old building in what they call "the Oval" at CSU. Which is basically just an oval shaped courtyard with a lot of nice big old trees and buildings. The building is nothing super fancy since it's an old building, but they have nice equipment, and it is a good program. CSU's campus in general is really pretty.

Fort Collins in my opinion (I'm biased) is beautiful. I will be attending University of Minnesota, but after I finish the program, I'll be moving back to Fort Collins that's how much I love it. I live closer to the foot hills, about 25 min from campus on bike, 15 min by car. The closer you get away from campus, the cheaper rent is. I pay $875 for a 2 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend which is basically the cheapest apartment you can get in Fort Collins (my boyfriend is a leasing agent for Fort Collins apartments so he knows this). For a studio-2 bedroom apartment closer to campus, rent ranges from $1,000-$1,500+ but keep in mind, rent goes up in Colorado every year, especially in FoCo because it is growing. My suggestion would be to live a little bit further from campus, so you don't have to pay as much if you have a bike or car.
In my opinion, the apartments closer to the foothills are a lot nicer anyways, or just in general a more desirable place to live, especially for grad students who don't want to deal with people partying and stuff. Where I live, there is a hiking trail that goes straight up to Horsetooth reservoir, and has about 100 other hiking trails from there. If you couldn't tell.... I'm really bummed to be moving 🙁

Fort Collins is more expensive than average I think when it comes to cost of living, but it's not terrible. Rent is the most expensive thing, but gas is the same as some of the cheaper surrounding towns, as is food, shopping, restaurants, etc. There is a great night life too if you think you will have much time to go out haha. Plus there are so many FREE things to do outdoors! (camping, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, road biking, fishing, etc etc )

Congrats on getting in! I envy you all and wish I was going to CSU and am just hoping I can be happy and U of M. Let me know if you have any other questions!
 
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emnOT13 said:
I didn't get in to CSU but currently live in Fort Collins and have for the past several years so I can help with some of these questions. The OT building is an old building in what they call "the Oval" at CSU. Which is basically just an oval shaped courtyard with a lot of nice big old trees and buildings. The building is nothing super fancy since it's an old building, but they have nice equipment, and it is a good program. CSU's campus in general is really pretty.

Fort Collins in my opinion (I'm biased) is beautiful. I will be attending University of Minnesota, but after I finish the program, I'll be moving back to Fort Collins that's how much I love it. I live closer to the foot hills, about 25 min from campus on bike, 15 min by car. The closer you get away from campus, the cheaper rent is. I pay $875 for a 2 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend which is basically the cheapest apartment you can get in Fort Collins (my boyfriend is a leasing agent for Fort Collins apartments so he knows this). For a studio-2 bedroom apartment closer to campus, rent ranges from $1,000-$1,500+ but keep in mind, rent goes up in Colorado every year, especially in FoCo because it is growing. My suggestion would be to live a little bit further from campus, so you don't have to pay as much if you have a bike or car.
In my opinion, the apartments closer to the foothills are a lot nicer anyways, or just in general a more desirable place to live, especially for grad students who don't want to deal with people partying and stuff. Where I live, there is a hiking trail that goes straight up to Horsetooth reservoir, and has about 100 other hiking trails from there. If you couldn't tell.... I'm really bummed to be moving 🙁

Fort Collins is more expensive than average I think when it comes to cost of living, but it's not terrible. Rent is the most expensive thing, but gas is the same as some of the cheaper surrounding towns, as is food, shopping, restaurants, etc. There is a great night life too if you think you will have much time to go out haha. Plus there are so many FREE things to do outdoors! (camping, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, road biking, fishing, etc etc )

Congrats on getting in! I envy you all and wish I was going to CSU and am just hoping I can be happy and U of M. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Click to expand...

In regards to places to live, are there many places that have a yard for a dog? I have a medium sized dog that will be coming with me from Texas, so having a place for him to go during the day with doggy-door accessibility is a huge component for me. And if he had that kind of space, I definitely wouldn't be opposed to living further from campus.
 
I'm visiting Fort Collins today (on my way from denver right now). Hopefully going to check out some neighborhoods... this is so exciting!
 
CSUhopeful said:
I'm visiting Fort Collins today (on my way from denver right now). Hopefully going to check out some neighborhoods... this is so exciting!
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How bad is the drive from Denver? Would it be insane to try to commute?
 
emnOT13 said:
I didn't get in to CSU but currently live in Fort Collins and have for the past several years so I can help with some of these questions. The OT building is an old building in what they call "the Oval" at CSU. Which is basically just an oval shaped courtyard with a lot of nice big old trees and buildings. The building is nothing super fancy since it's an old building, but they have nice equipment, and it is a good program. CSU's campus in general is really pretty.

Fort Collins in my opinion (I'm biased) is beautiful. I will be attending University of Minnesota, but after I finish the program, I'll be moving back to Fort Collins that's how much I love it. I live closer to the foot hills, about 25 min from campus on bike, 15 min by car. The closer you get away from campus, the cheaper rent is. I pay $875 for a 2 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend which is basically the cheapest apartment you can get in Fort Collins (my boyfriend is a leasing agent for Fort Collins apartments so he knows this). For a studio-2 bedroom apartment closer to campus, rent ranges from $1,000-$1,500+ but keep in mind, rent goes up in Colorado every year, especially in FoCo because it is growing. My suggestion would be to live a little bit further from campus, so you don't have to pay as much if you have a bike or car.
In my opinion, the apartments closer to the foothills are a lot nicer anyways, or just in general a more desirable place to live, especially for grad students who don't want to deal with people partying and stuff. Where I live, there is a hiking trail that goes straight up to Horsetooth reservoir, and has about 100 other hiking trails from there. If you couldn't tell.... I'm really bummed to be moving 🙁

Fort Collins is more expensive than average I think when it comes to cost of living, but it's not terrible. Rent is the most expensive thing, but gas is the same as some of the cheaper surrounding towns, as is food, shopping, restaurants, etc. There is a great night life too if you think you will have much time to go out haha. Plus there are so many FREE things to do outdoors! (camping, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, road biking, fishing, etc etc )

Congrats on getting in! I envy you all and wish I was going to CSU and am just hoping I can be happy and U of M. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Click to expand...
Minnesota is beautiful and the twin cities are awesome! No mountains obviously, but lots of lakes and beautiful parks. I went to college up there and absolutely loved it.
 
BeAnOTsoon!? said:
How bad is the drive from Denver? Would it be insane to try to commute?
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So my fiancé is doing it the other way- we're moving to Fort Collins but he's going to work in Denver 2x week. From downtown Denver, it's an hour with no traffic. It's not unreasonable, but I'm not sure if it would be ideal. Do you currently live in Denver?
 
CSUhopeful said:
So my fiancé is doing it the other way- we're moving to Fort Collins but he's going to work in Denver 2x week. From downtown Denver, it's an hour with no traffic. It's not unreasonable, but I'm not sure if it would be ideal. Do you currently live in Denver?
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No, I've actually never been to Colorado! But my fiance will be starting a job in Denver, and will probably have to be at there early in the mornings. An hour wouldn't be too bad. Is there typically bad rush hour traffic? And do you know if we'll have class every day?
 
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OTRam said:
In regards to places to live, are there many places that have a yard for a dog? I have a medium sized dog that will be coming with me from Texas, so having a place for him to go during the day with doggy-door accessibility is a huge component for me. And if he had that kind of space, I definitely wouldn't be opposed to living further from campus.
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Yep! Lots of places. Pretty much everyone in Colorado has a dog haha. That won't be had to find a place to accommodate a dog. I have a medium sized yard for my dog!
 
CSUhopeful said:
So my fiancé is doing it the other way- we're moving to Fort Collins but he's going to work in Denver 2x week. From downtown Denver, it's an hour with no traffic. It's not unreasonable, but I'm not sure if it would be ideal. Do you currently live in Denver?
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I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you have to... with traffic it can be like 2 hours.. and Denver is 2x more expensive.
 
BeAnOTsoon!? said:
Minnesota is beautiful and the twin cities are awesome! No mountains obviously, but lots of lakes and beautiful parks. I went to college up there and absolutely loved it.
Click to expand...

I am glad to hear you had a positive experience in MN! I am still excited, just bummed to be leaving CO. I can always come back though!
 
Okay everyone, I jumped in and created a facebook group for the Class of 2018-- hope that's okay! I wasn't sure if there would be an official one made by current students or anything, so I just went for it. If so, I'll merge/take it down. But anyway, here it is!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1688945791373997/

If that link doesn't work, message me on here and we can try to figure it out. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.
 
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