General Admissions & OTCAS How can I improve?

[ryker11]

Hello!
I am currently a senior and will be finishing up in December. I have to go back to school to finish up some pre reqs. I am looking for some advice as to how I can beef up my resume. I haven’t dont any observation hours yet (COVID-19), but have places lined up
Cumulative GPA: 3.55 (Communication, PR Major)
Last 60 credits: ~3.7-3.8
Pre-req GPA: 3.6 (still have AP I&II, physics, and another psych class to take)
Observation hours: 10 in PT setting, am supposed to observe at a rehabilitation center in a hospital later this summer, and through a school system in the fall/spring. Looking to also try to work with a pediatric OT in a non-school setting.
Work experience:
Life guarding for 4+ years. Athletics internship for 2 years.
Extra curricular activities:
Member of Kappa Delta sorority. Athletics internship.
I have not taken the GRE yet. With one year left of my college career, I am looking for advice as to how I can really beef up my resume, especially being that I am not a science major.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thank you!

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[vgreenlee]

Hi!! I think by working hard for an A in those pre reqs would help your application a lot! Also doing well on the GRE. Schools like students to be in the 70th percentile for the GRE. If you are like me and are really bad at standardized test it is all good! I still got accepted to OT school. You can make up for it in other areas. I think by having shadowing hours in many different settings and along the lifespan is very helpful and shows you understand what OT is. Also make sure to have really good LORs and a solid personal statement. If you post your personal statement on here people will read and give feedback feel free to message me if you have an specific questions!


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[OThopefully183]

I think your stats are quite similar to mine. Are there any schools that you already have in mind that you would like to apply to? I think having that first in mind will make it easier for your to boost or improve your stats as school requirements can drastically vary. As long as you do well on the pre-req requirements, I don't think you not being a science major will make a difference. I would suggest to check with each school to see if their requirements have changed. I heard many colleges were more laxed about GRE and observation hours due to the outbreak. So checking with them and making sure you fulfill everything is the most important.

Letter of Recommendations are important as well. I strongly recommend having a professor as one of them, since for me I almost did not get accepted because of that and make sure to have on from an OT.

The great part about most schools is I feel they are pretty holistic. I was terrible at the GRE and my GPA was on the lower side, so my hours and letter of recs helped tremendously. I spent alot of time also on my personal statement, since I knew that was the other thing that could help my stats. I started three months before my apps were due so I had time to have friends and others read and give ideas on how to fix it. I was very lucky since my good friend was a PhD and he loved proofreading essays haha.

Good luck and if you need any more advice or feedback, I'd be more than happy to help!

 

[ryker11]

I think your stats are quite similar to mine. Are there any schools that you already have in mind that you would like to apply to? I think having that first in mind will make it easier for your to boost or improve your stats as school requirements can drastically vary. As long as you do well on the pre-req requirements, I don't think you not being a science major will make a difference. I would suggest to check with each school to see if their requirements have changed. I heard many colleges were more laxed about GRE and observation hours due to the outbreak. So checking with them and making sure you fulfill everything is the most important.

Letter of Recommendations are important as well. I strongly recommend having a professor as one of them, since for me I almost did not get accepted because of that and make sure to have on from an OT.

The great part about most schools is I feel they are pretty holistic. I was terrible at the GRE and my GPA was on the lower side, so my hours and letter of recs helped tremendously. I spent alot of time also on my personal statement, since I knew that was the other thing that could help my stats. I started three months before my apps were due so I had time to have friends and others read and give ideas on how to fix it. I was very lucky since my good friend was a PhD and he loved proofreading essays haha.

Good luck and if you need any more advice or feedback, I'd be more than happy to help!

There are a few schools I have in mind! I think right now my top school MSOT is St. Scholastica. On my list I also have UNC, Thomas Jefferson, And Trinity just to name a few. I think I’m going to apply to mostly MSOT programs, but am also considering applying to a few OTD programs.

 

[GottaGoOt]

There's no way of knowing for sure which aspects of your application make you stand out from others, but here are some things that I think made me unique:
I volunteered with kids with disabilities for about 100 hours in a program where we did a PE class with them. I also volunteered to do physical fitness training with cancer survivors. More than anything, these experiences gave me great things to talk about in my essay, and reassured me that OT is what I want to go into. With your life guarding experience, if you could either work/ volunteer with something like special olympics (swim coach) or in an adaptive swim program then that could be a cool thing to help you stand out.
Like other posters, I agree that having strong pre-reqs is huge, especially in A&P. If at all possible, try to get nothing lower than an A- in any of them.
I only had ~75 hours shadowing and if there was one thing I would change about my application it would've been to shadow more. So I think your goal of getting a bunch of shadowing in diverse areas is a great way to strengthen your app.
For reference, I got into St. Scholastica first round so I could answer other questions you have about them specifically if needed!

 

[Lizufin]

I wouldn't worry about not being a science major; my bachelors is in Art. OT school will give you the science foundation you need. Diverse experience that shows personal growth will make you stand out more. OT has strong roots in the arts and loves creative thinkers. I have 6 years experience working in the field as a COTA (and just got accepted to OT school for the fall), and honestly, the most successful COTAs and OTs I have worked with have come to the profession from a variety of backgrounds. Do something that interests and challenges you, puts a little out of your comfort zone. Your schools will be more interested in what you feel you have gained from your experience than the experiences themselves. Good luck!