General Admissions & OTCAS OT Volunteer Hours

[jujubeen]

Hey guys,

So I am planning to apply to pretty much every program in california for the 2014 cycle and I am overwhelmed. Basically, my question is...is it really detrimental to have the minimum required volunteer hours when applying to schools? And given my stats what are my chances of getting in?

My issue is that I recently decided to changed routes from pt to ot and I fear that with the app cycle coming up I will not be able to accumulate many hours, but I do plan to get the minimum amount (I believe 80 hrs being the upper limit) I am trying to do this all whilst working full time, finishing up my prereqs, and studying for my GREs.

My stats are...
Bio degree from UCSB
Cum GPA: 3.2
Prereq GPA (estimated): 3.6-3.7
Experience: 2 years fulltime EMT, 100 hours in pt, and only 5 hours in ot (so far)
Practice GRE score: 159 verbal, 161 quantitative, 4.5 writing

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hbroth]

Hey @jujubeen, I think that your stats are really good and that you should be just fine with the minimum amount of hours required for schools. I myself only could complete about 80 hours and I was accepted to two schools. I also know that for some schools, even if you volunteer/shadow for more than their required amount of hours, they will only look to see if you have that minimum covered. I think that schools also like to see that you shadowed in a variety of settings and didn't just do 80 hours in one setting, so I would try to check out lots of different settings/age groups to work with. Hope this helps and good luck!!

 

[OT4Life]

I also think 80 hours is sufficient. I'm not that familiar with CA schools but some people have been accepted with far less. Also, some schools may place more or less emphasis on the shadowing experience. Good luck!