I am currently in a hybrid program - almost finished with my first year. It is the closest program to where I have lived and established an adult life for the last ten years and as a career-changer in my 30s, the ability to work at least part time to cover what expenses I can was a huge plus. (I do have an hour and twenty minute commute each way, but for one day a week, it's totally doable). Not only that, the program itself seemed like a great fit, on visiting several programs and since I am somewhat of a non-traditional OT student (older, don't have a Psych degree), I liked that the program appreciates diversity in the student body. My cohort has a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, so it's been a great fit. I've always been very strong academically, so motivation was never an issue, plus I did all of my zillions of prereqs mostly online while working FULL time. I've been able to work part time this whole first year; this semester I ended up working MORE than I had planned, and the workload itself was more than last semester, so I think for next year, I will drop down in work hours to where I was first semester. But other than that, it's been fine and even with the extra work hours, I've maintained excellent grades - I just don't sleep as much 🙂
I know some people balk at the perceived quality of instruction of an online program, in that they are not always seen as "as serious" as traditional programs. My program meets once a week for a full day, with the additional credit hours provided in online activities, NOT including what we are assigned for homework/studying. So if we have a 3-credit class that meets 1 hour in person, they need to give us 2 more hours of stuff to do (powerpoints, videos, discussion boards, etc - we do A LOT of discussion boards). I feel like I have learned a lot; if it helps at all, I went to the AOTA conference in Baltimore a couple of weekends ago and was concerned that everything would be over my head - I was pleasantly surprised that I knew A LOT more than I thought I did, was able to have intelligent conversations about various topics with people I met, and I have our faculty to thank for that.
Everyone has to make their own decisions, so depending on where you get in, you will want to weigh the pros and cons of each, but I can at least say that I would still give the hybrid programs consideration. Hope this help a little 🙂
