General Admissions & OTCAS OT Stats (am I cooked?)

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futureot0103

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Hello! I'm applying this cycle and I'd like some input on my stats/what I can do to make myself a more competitive applicant. I am planning on taking a few of my pre-reqs over to raise my gpa but I don't anticipate it budging too drastically. I know I'm not the most competitive candidate, but it truly is my dream to become an OT. My whole family struggles with ADHD and I know how impactful OT can be from personal experience, and I would love to serve as a supportive resource that my siblings and I did not have access to growing up. I live in New York and will only be applying to schools in my state, so if anyone has insight on the quality of NY programs, the competitiveness, and/or anything I can do for any programs to make myself a better applicant please let me know. Thank you all and have a blessed day 🙂

Cumulative GPA: 3.35

Pre Requisite GPA: 3.0 (A&P1= B+, A&P2= In progress, Statistics=C, Gen Psych=A, Developmental Psych= B+, Abnormal Psych=C, Sociology=B+)

Observation Hours: 404 hours (280 of them were paid at a hand therapy office. The rest were from me observing OTs in school settings, sensory gyms, and other hand therapy offices. I am also trying to secure a volunteer position at a hippotherapy center over the summer)

Letters of Recommendation: 2 letters from OTs that I shadowed, one from a chiropractor that I worked with while in college. I am also going to try to ask a professor for one, but that's not set in stone yet.

Volunteering: I volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a 'Big' at my school. I served as a mentor that provided consistent support and positive role modeling through regular activity-based interactions for an underprivileged child.
 
Those 2 C's in Abnormal Psych and Statistic are some decent red flags. I think programs would look at that as someone who wouldn't be able to handle graduate level classes. Retake them. You've got a strong amount of observation hours and as long as your LORs/personal statements are solid, you have a competitive portfolio. I had a similar amount of observation hours/pretty good LORs + essays and got into the programs I wanted so Do NOT give up! I'd say most strong applicants have a minimum pre-req GPA of 3.4-3.6