I am new to this site so I don't exactly know where to start! I graduate with my BS this May and plan to take a few years off and gain some real-world experience before applying to OT schools in AZ. I was browsing through some forums where students said what volunteer experience and extracurriculars they did, and now I feel like I'm really lacking. I work one job full-time and one part-time (both with kids with autism), so my question is this: does work experience hold the same importance in admissions as volunteer experience? I am deciding on whether I need to change to working part-time so I have more time for gaining a lot of hours shadowing, volunteering, extracurriculars, etc. but then I am in a financial bind. But I do plan to take at least 3 years off, so even if I volunteer a couple hours a month that will add up. Any thoughts on what would be best with the job situation, or do you have a similar experience of your own?
General Admissions & OTCAS More Work But Less Volunteering
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I am considering dropping my full time work to part time; would you advise volunteering many hours and working less? In the moment I will have less money, but I have to consider the long run as well.
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I graduated with a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education in 2010 and just applied to OT school this cycle (I was accepted Early Admission into Belmont, my top choice school). For the four years in between I worked full time as a preschool children (it was working with students with special needs in my class that inspired me to go into OT). I did all of my volunteer hours this past summer and ended up with about 70 by the time I submitted my application in September. I am happy that I had a few years off before returning to OT school and I think my work experience really set me apart from other candidates. I think that working with children with autism while accumulating OT volunteer hours over the next few years is a great option if you don't want to jump right into OT school right away. Good luck!
I think you should just work on getting more volunteer hours. I have a full time job and still had a lot of volunteer hours. My job really helped me because I had hands on every day experience that was different than everyone else's. It wasn't even really OT related...I would drop the part time and use that time to volunteer.
Also I know my full time job helped me because they knew I could handle working 40+ hours per week. They had questions in the interview about anxiety and pressure that comes with dedicating 40+ hours to school and they skipped over those for me because they knew I already could/do. Instead they were able to get to know me and my personality because they already knew I could handle the time I would have to dedicate to school.
Also I know my full time job helped me because they knew I could handle working 40+ hours per week. They had questions in the interview about anxiety and pressure that comes with dedicating 40+ hours to school and they skipped over those for me because they knew I already could/do. Instead they were able to get to know me and my personality because they already knew I could handle the time I would have to dedicate to school.
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Would anyone be willing to help me figure out types of places to volunteer at. I had about 60 hours at a pediatric therapy place but that was it. I have recently submitted a request to a local hospital to volunteer in the OT department. I've called a couple of rehabilitation facilities but all of them tell me that they don't take volunteers or allow shadowing...I feel stuck in my ability to branch out and get the exposure that I need to be a more competitive candidate for school. I was waitlisted for an interview this cycle and was pretty much told that if I haven't been invited by now that I won't be, so I am trying to already prepare for next cycle. Any ideas are much appreciated!!!
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