General Admissions & OTCAS Online prereqs and tracking observation hours

[therapist2be]

Hello everyone! So I recently graduated from college in May thinking I was going to become an SLP but I have since changed my mind and decided to pursue OT. So far I'm finding the process to be so much more frustrating for OT than for SLP and I'm not even applying until next year. With SLP, simply graduating with a bachelor's in communication disorders meant that I could apply almost anywhere in the U.S. since the classes are standard across the U.S. With OT, there is no specific bachelor's degree and the prereqs are not standard. Some schools require some very obscure classes that only they require or that you can only take at their school (rolls eyes). Anyway, since I changed my mind I have to go back and get 3 prereqs (A&P II, Abnormal psych and lifespan psych). The others I have (A&P I, stats, gen psych, gen soci, medical terminology,etc) through my undergrad degree. I am not applying to schools that require neuroscience, physics, biology, chemistry or other obscure classes since I work full time and don't want to take forever to complete the prerequisites. Grad school for me is already being delayed further than I expected because of the switch.

1st problem- I want to take them all at a community college which I will do for lifespan and A&P II but abnormal psych is giving me some problems since it's an upper division course. It will be about $1500 for one course at the university that I graduated from vs. the $250-$500 for the other classes at my local CC. I found out that I can take it through BYU and UCB extension online for a good price. Are you guys aware of any other universities or community colleges in the country that offers abnormal psych that's completely online for cheap?

2nd- I have arranged to get 40 observation hours with an OT at the hospital where I work starting this Wednesday, 9/21 (I'm currently a CNA). I plan to get more hours at two more locations afterwards. It seems like each program has it's own sheet for tracking hours. How did you all manage to track your hours? Did you track them on your own and then have the OT sign each sheet at the end, or did they sign each sheet from each university every time?

Thank you all in advance for your help!

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[CAOT]

Hi! Welcome to OT
I can't speak to #1 specifically because I took Abnormal Psych as part of my undergrad at my home Uni, but I will say that yes, everyone experiences some level of exasperation trying to meet each individual school's requirements (at least, I did!).

As for #2, I completed many of my hours before I had identified/finalized which schools I was applying to, so I just had my OT's sign a generic timecard (which is fine for OTCAS purposes). I have had to re-approach some of them since, with specific forms for specific schools, which everyone has been very gracious about, but I still feel bad about the level of "busywork" I'm asking them to do on my behalf. Now that I've identified my schools, I'm conscientious about making sure that if there are specific forms/evals, I ask for those and LORs all at the same time. My advice would be to ask your OTs which they prefer: give them an idea of all you will require, forms, LORs, electronic, hardcopy, etc.--my guess is they'll say it's better to do it all at once, but it shows you are organized and respectful of their time.

One other note that may or may not apply to your schools: some schools have requirements that if A&P I and II are a series, they have to be taken sequentially, same place. Doesn't apply if you take an Anatomy class, and then a Physiology class. But combined as A&P, just something to be aware of.
Good luck!

 

[therapist2be]

Hi! Welcome to OT
I can't speak to #1 specifically because I took Abnormal Psych as part of my undergrad at my home Uni, but I will say that yes, everyone experiences some level of exasperation trying to meet each individual school's requirements (at least, I did!).

As for #2, I completed many of my hours before I had identified/finalized which schools I was applying to, so I just had my OT's sign a generic timecard (which is fine for OTCAS purposes). I have had to re-approach some of them since, with specific forms for specific schools, which everyone has been very gracious about, but I still feel bad about the level of "busywork" I'm asking them to do on my behalf. Now that I've identified my schools, I'm conscientious about making sure that if there are specific forms/evals, I ask for those and LORs all at the same time. My advice would be to ask your OTs which they prefer: give them an idea of all you will require, forms, LORs, electronic, hardcopy, etc.--my guess is they'll say it's better to do it all at once, but it shows you are organized and respectful of their time.

One other note that may or may not apply to your schools: some schools have requirements that if A&P I and II are a series, they have to be taken sequentially, same place. Doesn't apply if you take an Anatomy class, and then a Physiology class. But combined as A&P, just something to be aware of.
Good luck!

Thanks for your reply!
I think I will follow your advice and ask them what they would prefer. I will just go to each schools website and print out all the forms they require to have them ready. Also, luckily I took my A&P I class at the same community college that I'm going to take the second one at since I transferred to my four year university after that class. So I won't have a problem with them being at different schools. Thanks for the heads up.