General Admissions & OTCAS Columbia MOT 2019

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OTLove273

OTLove273

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Hello!

I just recently sent in my application for Columbia's MOT program on November 30th (the deadline). Anyone else also applying for the 2019 year? I thought I'd make a thread so we can all be anxious together 🙂
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I applied! Definitely don't expect to be expected (I have a B- in a prerequisite and they said B or higher) but I figured I had nothing to lose

Do you know when they send out results?
 
roobeck said:
I applied! Definitely don't expect to be expected (I have a B- in a prerequisite and they said B or higher) but I figured I had nothing to lose

Do you know when they send out results?
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Hi! I also applied (on the deadline haha) and haven’t heard anything, and I’m sure we won’t until January - February. As for the prereqs though, I believe if it is already completed then you can have a C. But if you don’t have a grade for it when you apply, then you must finish any outstanding prerequisite with a B.


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roobeck said:
I applied! Definitely don't expect to be expected (I have a B- in a prerequisite and they said B or higher) but I figured I had nothing to lose

Do you know when they send out results?
Click to expand...

I don't know for sure when they send them out but there was a forum I read from last year's applicants and they started to find out around the middle of February up until the end of march. I tried to follow the timeline lol
 
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What are your stats and essay topics if you guys don't mind sharing?

University: Rutgers University
Major/Minor: Exercise Science/Psychology
Overall GPA: 3.587
Pre-Req GPA: 3.94
LOR: 1 OT, 1 professor, 1 former employer

Essay 1: I talked about my passions for cooking and how that helped me choose OT and why it aligns with my interests and goals.
Essay 2: Talked about a conflict with a previous coach

OT observation/volunteering: 130 hours acute-care inpatient, 24 outpatient rehab therap
Volunteering/Extracurriculars: Campus events for children with disabilities, supporting a school in the Philippines for about a decade, random clubs, college athlete (powerlifting), president of a fitness club
Work: 3 years working in campus gym, 4 months working as a rehab aide (pt/ot outpatient clinic)

(Also male if that makes a difference)
 
University: Boston University, Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Major: Behavior and Health
Minor: Special Education
Overall GPA: 3.7
Pre-Req GPA: 3.47
GRE: Verbal: 165, Quant: 151, Writing: 4.0

My letters of recommendation will come from 1 professor/advisor, 1 OT I observed/assisted, and 1 employer (from when I worked as a classroom assistant)

Essay 2: I talked about why OT is a good fit for me and how my experiences/internships have shaped my approach to OT
Essay: conflict between my parents and I about straying from the religious practice I grew up in

Experience:
90 hours geriatric OT observation
20 hours hand OT observation
12 hours assisting and observing OT at a special education school (pediatric) in London (as part of a larger internship I did at the school working in a classroom primarily)
I've worked for the past two years (nearly 400 total hours) as a rehabilitation aide in various clinics where they do hand OT and PT (and in a couple of offices with PT only), helping patients through their exercise programs as well as cleaning equipment, answering office phones, and preparing hot packs and ice packs as needed

I've also worked as a classroom assistant and as a camp counselor, and have volunteered at a support group for parents of children with disabilities. I'm a peer mentor for new transfers into my program at BU.
 
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University: Temple University
Major: Psychology
Minor: Spanish
Overall GPA: 3.59
Pre-Req GPA: 3.84 (Still have to complete A&P 2)
GRE: Opted not tot take it
LOR: OT, Employer, and High School Mentor/Counselor


Essay 1: I talked about how witnessing the recovery of my grandmother, who suffered from a stroke last year, helped shape my desire to become an OT (also talked about my shadowing experience and my experience working in childcare)
Essay 2: I talked about a conflict I had between myself and a former boss of mine.

Experience:
40 hours peds OT observation
6 hour visitation at an OT rehab facility where I was given a tour and observed an in-home OT session.

**As you can see my Observation hours are VERY slim coming out of undergrad because I didn't go into school knowing I wanted to become an OT until my last year. To be completely honest this is the aspect of my application that gives me the most anxiety because most people have so many hours even tho the application doesn't require a certain amount.
 
Yep same here. Last email I received was about the admissions committee updating the online application for received transcripts, but I haven't noticed any changes since (got the email mid december).
 
RUfutureOT19 said:
Yep same here. Last email I received was about the admissions committee updating the online application for received transcripts, but I haven't noticed any changes since (got the email mid december).
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Who did you receive that email from? I submitted my fall transcripts after the semester was over, but never heard anything directly from Columbia. I got an email from the transcript company saying they had opened the email, but no direct correspondence.
 
Hey guys! I submitted my application beginning of November. Only received the checklist email in the middle of December so far. Here are my stats:

University: The College of New Jersey
Major/Minor: Sociology concentration in Health & Environment
Overall GPA: 3.27
Pre-Req GPA: 3.92
LOR: 1 OT, 1 professor, 1 advisor

Essay 1: wrote about a lot but basically it's about why I want to be an OT and how my life experiences have lead me to this career.

Essay 2: RA conflict

OT observation/volunteering:

1,175 hours at peds location

8 hours adult TBI outpatient rehab

4 hours geriatric inpatient/outpatient setting


Volunteering/Extracurriculars:

Co-founder/ Treasurer OT/PT club at TCNJ, CCS mentor (mentor for students with special needs), Lead Research Assistant for a year, RA for a year, VP for fraternity, Club Volleyball, Camp New Day Volunteer (Adult with disabilities sleep away camp), Petey Greene tutor (Go to state prison to tutor math)


Work: Desk assistant, internship at a nonprofit OT peds setting, babysitter for a kid with special needs, ABA Paraprofessional at a middle school in NJ


(Also a male if that matters lol)
 
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ONLYOT said:
I got this same email! They attached a document with a checklist right? They also said that I should hear back by late March or early April which is kind of later than expected.
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I didn't get anything about the checklist or expected response date. She just said they'd be in touch if i was missing anything.
 
MusicalOT said:
Who did you receive that email from? I submitted my fall transcripts after the semester was over, but never heard anything directly from Columbia. I got an email from the transcript company saying they had opened the email, but no direct correspondence.
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Response was from Eileen, but it was because I asked if they were accepting my writing course/syllabus.
 
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ONLYOT said:
Just curious, is anyone not from around the NY area? Such as out of state of international? I'm from California and I'm also still waiting to hear back from a few other schools, but I have gotten into a few so far.
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I'm from NJ lol so I'm out of state but super close. I also only applied to schools around the area (Columbia, NYU, Seton Hall, and Kean) and they haven't made any decisions yet.
 
Hey guys, I applied to Columbia too, anxiously waiting for their decision too!
It's been super hard for me to find a way to take pre-reqs after graduation as there's no community colleges here so most of my classes were taken online.

I also have not received a check-list, wondering if I should try to get in touch with admissions but so far I have never managed to get a reply from them, even when asking about pre-reqs which has been a little stressful...

Anyway here are my stats:

University: McGill (Montreal, Canada)
Major/Minor: Psychology
Overall GPA: 3.46
Pre-Req GPA: around 3.85 depending on whether they accept some of my pre-reqs or make me retake them
LOR: 1 OT who was my employer when I worked as a care-giver, 1 professor for who I've been doing research for over a year, 1 supervisor at a volunteer site

Essay 1: wrote about OT experiences that made me think this career is a good fit for me

Essay 2: conflict with previous employer

OT observation/volunteering:

800 hours working as care-giver/ camp counselor for campers living with motor and cognitive impairements ages 4-40 years old

40 hours volunteering at skilled nursing facility (activities, manicures...)

40 hours hosting arts and crafts activities at psychiatric inpatient unit

20 hours shadowing an OT in physical rehab.

50 hours volunteering with OTs and PTs at pediatric rehab center (group therapy for kids with CVI, DCD)

Work:

1 year as an RA at child language development and disorders lab

4 years as a figure skating coach

6 months as french teacher at a preschool
 
RUfutureOT19 said:
Yep same here. Last email I received was about the admissions committee updating the online application for received transcripts, but I haven't noticed any changes since (got the email mid december).
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I was wondering if there's a way to make sure my transcripts were received but didn't find anything ! What online application are you referring to? When I go on the portal from which I submitted my application nothing indicates what documents are received or missing.

Thanks!
 
ONLYOT said:
I totally get your frustation with contacting them! It was definitely hard at first since none of their school admission emails responded to me for a long time, but I found that "[email protected]" (Marilyn Harper) is the main person to contact! Hope that helps and good luck to all of us!
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Thanks, that's helpful! I'll contact her directly, hopefully she can confirm that all my transcripts were received!
 
I got a checklist in September from Jessica Bussey but earlier this week got an email from Marilyn Harper about something missing so I guess they’re starting to actually go through applications now
 
Based on previous years, when do Columbia decisions start to come out?
 
Columbia just sent out some letters today it looks like, I got a rejection letter from them today.
 
I was accepted to Columbia this morning too on 3/1 and am planning to attend! Good luck to everyone who is still waiting
 
Can people who were accepted to columbia please share their stats??
 
otmot123 said:
Can people who were accepted to columbia please share their stats??
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University: UC Berkeley
Major/Minor: Molecular and Cell Biology (major), Toxicology (minor)
Overall GPA: 3.46
Prereq gpa: not sure, around 3.8 or 3.9
GRE: 161v, 160q, 5.0a
Observation Hours: 80 outpatient peds, 39 hand therapy, 45 inpatient rehab, 7 school setting
Other volunteering: 120 nonclinical hospital hours, 1 year volunteering in student health center pharmacy
LOR: 1 OT (CHT), 1 professor, 1 supervisor ar volunteering site
 
Congrats to everyone who's been accepted!! I haven't gotten an email yet so I'm still waiting 🙂
 
Just received my checklist email. How long after receiving it did you guys find out?
 
No I haven't! I received my checklist on February 12 and I applied right before the deadline. Haven't heard anything since.
 
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