General Admissions & OTCAS Help being realistic with chances of acceptance

[mah2017]

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I recently left an MPH program to pursue Occupational Therapy. My mom is an OT so it's always been of interest to me. I was pre-OT in undergrad before switching to Sociology (obviously, I'm kicking myself now) and am currently working as a caregiver for the elderly (which I've found extremely gratifying and relevant to OT), but am feeling very overwhelmed with all of the hours these programs require. I have most of the pre-reqs done from undergrad, save for Abnormal Psych and Human Development which are so interesting, I feel confident I can receive A's. I'm also planning to re-take the GRE this month as my scores are old and no studying went into them.

But I need help in understanding what programs I would be competitive in...Any help you all can give would be REALLY appreciated! I've spoken with a current MOT student at a nearby university and with admissions offices at a few schools to ensure my pre-reqs are taken care of, but I can't help but feel I'm not getting an entirely honest view.

B.S. Sociology, 2015
Cumulative Undergrad GPA: 3.34
Pre-Req GPA: 3.8
GRE: 150 quant, 156 verbal, 4.5 writing

A lot of this is not immediately relevant to OT, but I wanted to be complete:
--Dietary Aide at a nursing facility for a year and a half in high school
--Served holiday meals 2x/year for 6 years at nursing facility
--Local library aide volunteer, 60 hours
--member of international sociology honor society
--various one-off volunteering opportunities, i.e. habitat for humanity, packaging medical supplies
--2 years working retail during college
--1 year at law firm (Intake)
--1 year at medical campus (Admin)
--1 month (so far, ongoing) as full-time caregiver for elderly patients (stroke, dementia, alzheimer's)

Currently setting up shadowing hours.

Am I ready for a 2018 start date? I don't feel competitive at all with my lack of experience but I really want to get started. Up until recently, my work experience has mostly been office work with no real human services component though. So maybe 2019 would be more realistic. Any opinions would help.

 

[mjb2017]

I recently left an MPH program to pursue OT. I've always been interested in OT and the creativity and importance of the field (my mom is an OT) but the more research I've done and people I've talked to, the more concerned I'm getting about acceptance. Everyone seems to have 1000+ volunteer hours and stellar GPA's. For me, I was very uncertain about what I wanted to do post-graduation so I took administrative jobs at a law firm and at CU's medical campus. These positions made it clear I need to be out and helping others to feel satisfaction in life (not sitting behind a desk all day).

So, I came back to OT. I was pre-OT in undergrad before switching to Sociology (obviously, I'm kicking myself now). I'm set on OT now and working as a caregiver for the elderly (which I've found extremely gratifying and relevant to OT), but am feeling very overwhelmed with all of the preparation these programs require. I have most of the pre-reqs done from undergrad, save for Abnormal Psych and Human Development which are so interesting, I feel confident I can receive A's. I'm also planning to re-take the GRE this month as my scores are old and no studying went into them. But I need help in understanding what programs I would be competitive in...Any help you all can give would be REALLY appreciated! I've spoken with a current MOT student at a nearby university and with admissions offices at a few schools to ensure my pre-reqs are taken care of, but I can't help but feel I'm not getting an entirely clear view. They seemed more optimistic than my stats warrant.

University of Kansas, B.S. Sociology, 2015
Cumulative Undergrad GPA: 3.3
Pre-Req GPA: 3.75
GRE: 150 quant, 156 verbal, 4.5 writing

A lot of this is not immediately relevant to OT, but I wanted to be complete:
--Dietary Aide at a nursing facility for a year and a half in high school
--Served holiday meals 2x/year for 6 years at nursing facility
--Local library aide volunteer, 60 hours
--member of international sociology honor society, alpha kappa delta
--various one-off volunteering opportunities, i.e. habitat for humanity, packaging medical supplies
--2 years working retail during college
--1 year at law firm (Intake)
--1 year at CU (Admin)
--1 month (so far, ongoing) as full-time caregiver for elderly patients (stroke, dementia, alzheimer's)

Currently setting up shadowing hours.

Am I ready for a 2018 start date? I really want to get started, but, up until recently, my work experience has mostly been office work with no real human services component. So maybe 2019 would be more realistic. I'm also mostly interested in geriatric OT and have noticed most of my experience reflects this. Will that hurt my chances of being accepted, that I don't have more variety in generations served?

I'm mostly looking at applying to west coast schools - UNM, Pacific U, CSU, but also really like WUSTL's joint MPH/MSOT program. Feeling like the last one is shooting a bit too high though, considering my stats.

I didn't mean for this post to get so long, but I only recently discovered this forum and am hoping someone can help out in whatever way they can! Thanks so much!

I am applying this cycle so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think your stats look fine! If you haven't shadowed at all yet, I would probably wait until the 2018-2019 cycle though. I'm sure you know a lot because of your mom, but I think you need a chance to really develop your own views of the field through direct contact with an OT in a work setting. By waiting, this will allow you to write better essays and make a better impression in interviews. I also think that focusing on geriatrics isn't bad as long as it's in different settings.

 

[mah2017]

I am applying this cycle so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think your stats look fine! If you haven't shadowed at all yet, I would probably wait until the 2018-2019 cycle though. I'm sure you know a lot because of your mom, but I think you need a chance to really develop your own views of the field through direct contact with an OT in a work setting. By waiting, this will allow you to write better essays and make a better impression in interviews. I also think that focusing on geriatrics isn't bad as long as it's in different settings.

Thanks! I appreciate your thoughts and think you're definitely right about shadowing. I do need to get a better idea of where I'd fit best. One OT I spoke with seemed like it would be a huge hassle for me to shadow her so I'm looking at a few other places. Do most OTs seem put out by shadowing requests or did I just find a bad egg? I can imagine how having someone hover for days on end might be annoying to some.

Also, do most applicants shadow for a year before applying? I'm still trying to figure out the level of preparation needed. My mom went to school when only a bachelor's was required and the field was entirely uncompetitive so her teachings throughout the years have been pretty outdated, but, alternately, I've also heard from people saying it's impossible to be accepted anywhere without a year+ of direct experience. So, I'm looking for a clear middle-ground answer, if it isn't already the latter.

Two years spent behind a desk, feeling wholly unsatisfied at the end of each workday, have made me extremely antsy to find a purpose. And, now that I feel confident in my choice, I want to start! But, while applying this year would be preferred, you are right. Maybe waiting another year to apply would be the best thing in the long-run. Thanks again for your thoughts and good luck with your applications!

 

[mjb2017]

I called several nursing facilities about shadowing last summer and none of them even called me back so if this person actually talked to you then they weren't the worst of them! Like you said, I think a lot of people find it distracting having observers so I understand their hesitation with it. Just keep calling/emailing around and you're bound to find someone. My easiest location to set-up was school-based so maybe try that? Kids may not be your thing, but you could shadow for like 10-15 hours just to have more experience and show that you understand the realm of OT settings.

My first shadowing experience was 2 years ago (48 hours) and then I wasn't able to set-up another location until this past August (28 hrs). I'm currently still shadowing (aiming to get 40 hours), but I started in that setting at the beginning of September. My impression is that schools want you to have experienced several different settings, and have at least one that you have a good number of hours with that the OT can write a good recommendation. The rest of them don't necessary have to be for a significant number of hours, but enough that you understand the setting. I think if you could be constantly shadowing OT in several settings for the next year then you'd be in a really good place by next fall. I definitely understand your push to apply now, but I think you'd be a much stronger applicant next fall and you will save a lot of money.