General Admissions & OTCAS Florida OT schools

[gatorvot]

Hi! I will soon be applying to OT schools and I wanted to gain any input from students who have previously been accepted to different OT programs in Florida like FIU, FGCU, USA, Nova, etc. and maybe any tips they can give me on what/what not to do? Or their current experience in any of these OT schools. I am mainly interested in FIU's OT program but I've become nervous since I've seen on previous posts they've sometimes accepted students with a lower GPA than mine or denied people with similar stats to me.

Stats:
School: 3rd year at the University of Florida
Major: Health Science
GPA: 3.6
Extracurricular: over 200 OT observation hours in Peds and hand therapy, 80 volunteer hours at a high school, part of 2 clubs, and I also take leisure courses at UF
GRE: taking it this summer

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[gatorbait2342]

Hey! I am currently a senior at UF and applied to UF, Adventist, and FGCU! I just got accepted to FGCU.
I think your stats look good! Observation hour wise, UF doesn't look at more than 30 hours, but the other programs would really like that you have a lot of hours. I would suggest trying to observe in a couple more settings. Since you have peds, I would try a SNF or work with a geriatric community. Also, in Gainesville there is a place called HOPE where you can volunteer and shadow hippotherapy (horse therapy for OT and PT) and that can help give you more to talk about in interviews/give you greater diversity in your observations.

I would really try to study for the GRE. I used the Kaplan plan for studying and it helped me a lot. I didn't want to have to retake it and pay another $250 so I found their plan really helpful. I suggest that you do the online practice exams (full length is best) to help your eyes train a little too lol the exam is a lot and is exhausting because it is on a computer, so try to make your practice as realistic as possible. Overall, I think you could have a good shot! Let me know if I can help or answer any other questions

 

[gatorvot]

Hey! I am currently a senior at UF and applied to UF, Adventist, and FGCU! I just got accepted to FGCU.
I think your stats look good! Observation hour wise, UF doesn't look at more than 30 hours, but the other programs would really like that you have a lot of hours. I would suggest trying to observe in a couple more settings. Since you have peds, I would try a SNF or work with a geriatric community. Also, in Gainesville there is a place called HOPE where you can volunteer and shadow hippotherapy (horse therapy for OT and PT) and that can help give you more to talk about in interviews/give you greater diversity in your observations.

I would really try to study for the GRE. I used the Kaplan plan for studying and it helped me a lot. I didn't want to have to retake it and pay another $250 so I found their plan really helpful. I suggest that you do the online practice exams (full length is best) to help your eyes train a little too lol the exam is a lot and is exhausting because it is on a computer, so try to make your practice as realistic as possible. Overall, I think you could have a good shot! Let me know if I can help or answer any other questions

Thank you so much! I actually do have another question. I'm not sure if you apply to schools once the new OTCAS cycle opens in July or to wait until the end of Fall 2018? I have two prereqs missing, one of which won't be done till December 2018. I'm not sure if applying too early or too late will hinder my chances. Also, a big congrats on getting into FGCU! that must be such a great feeling. I'm sure you'll have more acceptances coming along soon.

 

[gatorbait2342]

I would apply as early as possible and not wait until the end of Fall! OTCAS has an academic update period after the fall semester where you can input your remaining prereqs that you completed as well as your other fall coursework! You'll have to resend in your transcripts and then they will have all of that for their files! I highly suggest sending it in as early as possible because 1) it relieves a lot of stress on your part, 2) OTCAS can take like 3 weeks to get verified (after like 3 weeks of them waiting to get your transcripts) and 3) some schools are rolling or like to see your app as soon as you can!

 

[gatorvot]

that sounds so great, thank you so much I really appreciate it! i hope you get into every OT school, funny part is that maybe we've seen each other and don't even know it!

 

[gatorbait2342]

Haha very true! Although UF is very big, its always fun to see how small it can be when you make connections! I wish you all the best, and I also hope you enjoy your senior year! It goes by really fast

 

[gatorvot]

How much time do you recommend studying for the GRE? I just registered to take the exam in the last week of May and now i feel a wave of anxiety over me. I was planning to study the entire month of May since finals are in the ending of April/ first couple days of May but i'm not sure if that is enough time, especially since I'm not that great in mathematics.

 

[beestrng]

Hi! I will soon be applying to OT schools and I wanted to gain any input from students who have previously been accepted to different OT programs in Florida like FIU, FGCU, USA, Nova, etc. and maybe any tips they can give me on what/what not to do? Or their current experience in any of these OT schools. I am mainly interested in FIU's OT program but I've become nervous since I've seen on previous posts they've sometimes accepted students with a lower GPA than mine or denied people with similar stats to me.

Stats:
School: 3rd year at the University of Florida
Major: Health Science
GPA: 3.6
Extracurricular: over 200 OT observation hours in Peds and hand therapy, 80 volunteer hours at a high school, part of 2 clubs, and I also take leisure courses at UF
GRE: taking it this summer

USA-St aug campus is good but fieldwork coordination has issues.

 

[gatorbait2342]

How much time do you recommend studying for the GRE? I just registered to take the exam in the last week of May and now i feel a wave of anxiety over me. I was planning to study the entire month of May since finals are in the ending of April/ first couple days of May but i'm not sure if that is enough time, especially since I'm not that great in mathematics.

TBH, I didn't devote enough of myself too it. I had a 153v 151q 4.5w on my first attempt and didn't want to repay the fee to retake. I was sick when I took it and also didn't sleep well so that impacted how I did, but my scores were average for most of the programs I applied to so I kept them. I would say focus more on content measurements instead of time (you can "study" for a month but if it wasn't quality studying you didn't do much). I tried to do at least 250-350 problems of each category, get a good understanding of root words to help myself with the verbal, and I read over some top essays from years past!

 

[flexfit]

How much time do you recommend studying for the GRE? I just registered to take the exam in the last week of May and now i feel a wave of anxiety over me. I was planning to study the entire month of May since finals are in the ending of April/ first couple days of May but i'm not sure if that is enough time, especially since I'm not that great in mathematics.

I REALLY recommend Magoosh! It's relatively cheap for the amount of information they give you and how much they go in depth in explaining each practice question. I only studied for the GRE for about a month on and off before I took it.

 

[OT19]

Has anyone heard back from Adventist yet about an interview? I know they said they would start letting people know up until the 12th.

 

[flexfit]

Has anyone heard back from Adventist yet about an interview? I know they said they would start letting people know up until the 12th.

I haven't heard back from them yet!

 

[gatorbait2342]

Has anyone heard back from Adventist yet about an interview? I know they said they would start letting people know up until the 12th.

Neither have I!

 

[gatorvot]

Neither have I!

Hey!
I have a question. I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t do as good as I wanted. I’m retaking it in August but that’s my last hope of getting my score up. Are there any suggestions you could give me to improve my score? I feel like I’m pretty fine everywhere else, just makes me nervous my GRE isn’t as great.

 

[gatorbait2342]

Hey!
I have a question. I took the GRE a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t do as good as I wanted. I’m retaking it in August but that’s my last hope of getting my score up. Are there any suggestions you could give me to improve my score? I feel like I’m pretty fine everywhere else, just makes me nervous my GRE isn’t as great.

Hey there! I'm sorry that you aren't happy with your scores. I know that that can be difficult. The GRE is such a different styled test than we are used to and it really is all just in the practice. There are great apps you can download, games you can play online, or other supplemental books that you can try! You still have a month to practice more and so I would really utilize that time! Even just 10 minutes a day, or saying "I will do 10 flashcards or 10 math problems" can really help you do slight improvements. You can always try to take a practice exam again prior to going in just to really get as close to what it'll be like again when you retake it. Just have faith in yourself and know that you can do really well on the exam! If you're really stressed, I know there are some in person classes you can take

 

[gatorvot]

Hey there! I'm sorry that you aren't happy with your scores. I know that that can be difficult. The GRE is such a different styled test than we are used to and it really is all just in the practice. There are great apps you can download, games you can play online, or other supplemental books that you can try! You still have a month to practice more and so I would really utilize that time! Even just 10 minutes a day, or saying "I will do 10 flashcards or 10 math problems" can really help you do slight improvements. You can always try to take a practice exam again prior to going in just to really get as close to what it'll be like again when you retake it. Just have faith in yourself and know that you can do really well on the exam! If you're really stressed, I know there are some in person classes you can take

Thanks so much! I've been studying so hopefully I can get some more points soon. Since OTCAS opens tomorrow, I wanted to submit my application as soon as possible. Since i'm taking the GRE in a month, do you think I should wait till I take it to submit my OT applications or should I just do it now? I was also wondering how long a personal statement should be? I was looking online and some were long, others short so i don't really know what to go by. Please let me know and thanks!!

 

[To_oT]

Thanks so much! I've been studying so hopefully I can get some more points soon. Since OTCAS opens tomorrow, I wanted to submit my application as soon as possible. Since i'm taking the GRE in a month, do you think I should wait till I take it to submit my OT applications or should I just do it now? I was also wondering how long a personal statement should be? I was looking online and some were long, others short so i don't really know what to go by. Please let me know and thanks!!

Your application won’t be sent off to schools until OTCAS receive your GRE scores. The good news is when you retake your GRE you can send them to OTCAS there for free so take advantage of that and know before hand exactly where your GRE is supposed to be sent to. A lot of programs will say Such and Such University OTCAS. As for the personal statement mine was a page and a third, and I was accepted into UF, Nova, and FGCU. Try to be precise as possible. If you can express your ideas in less words than!

 

[gatorvot]

Your application won’t be sent off to schools until OTCAS receive your GRE scores. The good news is when you retake your GRE you can send them to OTCAS there for free so take advantage of that and know before hand exactly where your GRE is supposed to be sent to. A lot of programs will say Such and Such University OTCAS. As for the personal statement mine was a page and a third, and I was accepted into UF, Nova, and FGCU. Try to be precise as possible. If you can express your ideas in less words than!

thanks so much! do you think i should send my old GRE scores then resend my new ones when they become available or just see which one is better?

 

[To_oT]

thanks so much! do you think i should send my old GRE scores then resend my new ones when they become available or just see which one is better?

I would wait and see which one is better. I think most of the programs will accept your highest scores in each section, so if you do better on your new GRE there’s no sense in spending the money to send your old GRE scores if they aren’t going to look at them.

 

[gatorvot]

I would wait and see which one is better. I think most of the programs will accept your highest scores in each section, so if you do better on your new GRE there’s no sense in spending the money to send your old GRE scores if they aren’t going to look at them.

thanks so much, hopefully my scores go up next time. best of luck in OT school, i'm sure you'll do great

 

[Abcdeot90]

Anybody applying to Nova's MOT program this cycle? I understand that admission is on a rolling basis.. but I want to add some more shadowing and volunteer experiences before I submit my app.. I'm looking at submitting around late November/early December. Do you guys think that's too late?

 

[To_oT]

Hi there! I'm also planning on applying to Nova. I think I saw on another thread that some folks got acceptances in December so it may be more on the late side to apply then. I also think I saw something about a prospective student attending the backstage pass in October and they hadn't submitted their application by then and the admission people were hinting that it was too late. I'm hoping to have all of my materials submitted by the end of August/beginning of Sept. to be safe.

Hey guys last cycle I applied and was accepted to Nova in December. Pretty much what they told us that it’s best to submit everything sooner than later because it is a rolling admission. So there could be a chance (though usually not the case) that all the spots will be filled. I had to have everything in by November 1st to get a decision by December. I wouldn’t worry too much if you cant get in all your material by November because like I said they dont usually fill all their spots the first decision day, and a lot of people end up giving up their spots because they decide to attend another school.

 

[Abcdeot90]

Hey guys last cycle I applied and was accepted to Nova in December. Pretty much what they told us that it’s best to submit everything sooner than later because it is a rolling admission. So there could be a chance (though usually not the case) that all the spots will be filled. I had to have everything in by November 1st to get a decision by December. I wouldn’t worry too much if you cant get in all your material by November because like I said they dont usually fill all their spots the first decision day, and a lot of people end up giving up their spots because they decide to attend another school.

Can I ask when you submitted all of your materials and applications?

 

[To_oT]

Can I ask when you submitted all of your materials and applications?

I had my application submitted a few days before Halloween, and received a decision December 1st

 

[Abcdeot90]

I had my application submitted a few days before Halloween, and received a decision December 1st

Thanks for the response! Do you happen to know what they weigh most heavily at Nova? I think my GPA is pretty strong, but my volunteer experiences are a little lacking.