General Admissions & OTCAS OTD/ MSOT 2021 cycle

[MariaZz]

Hi there!
I'm applying to OT schools for this cycle and would love some feedback.
I'm not a traditional college student. I graduated with my B.S. in sports management back in 2018 and went back to school to finish my pre-reqs for PT school. (decided to do OT instead).

My UG GPA is 3.67
My pre-req GPA is 3.2

I've worked at 3 different clinics (mostly front office) helping verify insurance, schedule, check-in patients. I would also help out in the back both PT's and OT's when possible.
I have about 200 volunteer hours combined with the places I've worked and a hospital I volunteered at. However, I feel that I don't have much accomplished to make me stand out as an ideal candidate for schools. I have plenty of work experience but no certifications, was not part of any organizations etc.

The schools I applied to:
Boston University
UF
Nova
St. Augustine
Barry


I got rejected from BU and I'm still waiting to hear back from the rest. I was really hoping I'd get accepted to BU. Feel pretty bummed about it. (I'm scared other schools won't take me)

Any advice?

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[OTish20]

I'm just another applicant so I can't say for sure exactly what you could do but your stats seem pretty good at the moment. You could try to retake pre-requisite courses to get that GPA up, that seems to be quite important to schools. Otherwise it's generally extremely important to have a really strong personal statement and be really confident about why you chose OT over PT. Also, Boston University is probably one of the most competitive and top schools in the entire country for OT, so don't judge the strength of your application solely based on that rejection!

 

[MariaZz]

I'm just another applicant so I can't say for sure exactly what you could do but your stats seem pretty good at the moment. You could try to retake an pre-requisite courses to get that GPA up, that seems to be quite important to schools. Otherwise it's generally extremely important to have a really strong personal statement and be really confident about why you chose OT over PT. Also, Boston University is probably one of the most competitive and top schools in the entire country for OT, so don't judge the strength of your application solely based on that rejection!

Thank you! I appreciate the quick response. I’m just waiting to see what school accepts me. Have you taken the GRE?

 

[OTish20]

Thank you! I appreciate the quick response. I’m just waiting to see what school accepts me. Have you taken the GRE?

Yeah, I took it about a year ago. Many schools have either waived it as a requirement or never required it to begin with.

 

[Tross025]

Anyone applying to FIU?

 

[g2124OT]

Hi there!
I'm applying to OT schools for this cycle and would love some feedback.
I'm not a traditional college student. I graduated with my B.S. in sports management back in 2018 and went back to school to finish my pre-reqs for PT school. (decided to do OT instead).

My UG GPA is 3.67
My pre-req GPA is 3.2

I've worked at 3 different clinics (mostly front office) helping verify insurance, schedule, check-in patients. I would also help out in the back both PT's and OT's when possible.
I have about 200 volunteer hours combined with the places I've worked and a hospital I volunteered at. However, I feel that I don't have much accomplished to make me stand out as an ideal candidate for schools. I have plenty of work experience but no certifications, was not part of any organizations etc.

The schools I applied to:
Boston University
UF
Nova
St. Augustine
Barry


I got rejected from BU and I'm still waiting to hear back from the rest. I was really hoping I'd get accepted to BU. Feel pretty bummed about it. (I'm scared other schools won't take me)

Any advice?

Hey! I got rejected from BU too, it definitely was agonizing especially since it was my first rejection and the first time I heard back from a school in general but if I could go back to that moment I received the letter I'd definitely tell myself not to sweat it as much as I did. Those are some awesome schools you're applying to and I bet you'll be hearing back from others soon!

After reading your stats I think you're definitely still a great applicant. I struggled with GPA all of undergrad (basically working my butt off to get to where I am today, wound up with a 3.43 UG and still got into some of my top schools. This year has also been weird with COVID, so I know that some schools have waived certain amounts of hours which is good too. I think as long as you can talk about your experiences and what they've meant to you/how they've grown you into an ideal candidate for OT school, you'll be golden!

Good luck!!!

 

[MariaZz]

Hey! I got rejected from BU too, it definitely was agonizing especially since it was my first rejection and the first time I heard back from a school in general but if I could go back to that moment I received the letter I'd definitely tell myself not to sweat it as much as I did. Those are some awesome schools you're applying to and I bet you'll be hearing back from others soon!

After reading your stats I think you're definitely still a great applicant. I struggled with GPA all of undergrad (basically working my butt off to get to where I am today, wound up with a 3.43 UG and still got into some of my top schools. This year has also been weird with COVID, so I know that some schools have waived certain amounts of hours which is good too. I think as long as you can talk about your experiences and what they've meant to you/how they've grown you into an ideal candidate for OT school, you'll be golden!

Good luck!!!

I received my first acceptance from Jacksonville University. I'm waiting on a couple more. Best of luck to you too!!

 

[MariaZz]

OT School Updates:
I'm still waiting to hear back from other schools.

Applied:

St. Augustine
Barry Univ.
Nova Southeastern Univ.
UF
Boston Univ.
Jacksonville Univ.

Accepted:
Jacksonville Univ.

Rejected:
UF
Boston

Has anyone heard of the program at Jacksonville Univ.? It's a fairly new OTD program and they don't have any rankings as of yet.
(They have their first graduating class this year). I'm still waiting on other schools before I make my final decision. If anyone is a current student there or knows anyone that is attending, I would love some feedback!

 

[kyracarries]

OT School Updates:
I'm still waiting to hear back from other schools.

Applied:

St. Augustine
Barry Univ.
Nova Southeastern Univ.
UF
Boston Univ.
Jacksonville Univ.

Accepted:
Jacksonville Univ.

Rejected:
UF
Boston

Has anyone heard of the program at Jacksonville Univ.? It's a fairly new OTD program and they don't have any rankings as of yet.
(They have their first graduating class this year). I'm still waiting on other schools before I make my final decision. If anyone is a current student there or knows anyone that is attending, I would love some feedback!

I would definitely say not to sweat BU. You may already be past this point but it's the number 1 school in the country and they have an early decision deadline as well so they do probably pick a good number of candidates from that group! Additionally, a lot of people I know who are in the field mentioned how much more competitive it seems to be due to COVID. Now that depends a lot on the school but BU is definitely up there in the number of applicants because of how well-known it is. It is currently ranked as the number 1 OT school in the country. Your stats look good though so don't be too worried! Good Luck and I hope you hear back from the rest of the schools soon!

 

[MariaZz]

I would definitely say not to sweat BU. You may already be past this point but it's the number 1 school in the country and they have an early decision deadline as well so they do probably pick a good number of candidates from that group! Additionally, a lot of people I know who are in the field mentioned how much more competitive it seems to be due to COVID. Now that depends a lot on the school but BU is definitely up there in the number of applicants because of how well-known it is. It is currently ranked as the number 1 OT school in the country. Your stats look good though so don't be too worried! Good Luck and I hope you hear back from the rest of the schools soon!

Thank you! I really appreciate it. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty devastated when I found out back in December. But everything happens for a reason. I have two upcoming interviews. Just hoping for the best now haha

 

[kyracarries]

I applied to 5-6 schools (Boston University, Thomas Jefferson,Columbia, NYU, Salus, Gwynedd Mercy) and haven't heard back from Thomas Jefferson due to "an error in their holistic review process". Has anyone else heard back from them?

 

[kyracarries]

Thank you! I really appreciate it. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty devastated when I found out back in December. But everything happens for a reason. I have two upcoming interviews. Just hoping for the best now haha

I'm so glad to hear that! How did your interviews go? Have you heard back from any other schools yet?

 

[OTish20]

I applied to 5-6 schools (Boston University, Thomas Jefferson,Columbia, NYU, Salus, Gwynedd Mercy) and haven't heard back from Thomas Jefferson due to "an error in their holistic review process". Has anyone else heard back from them?

I have not but I'd check out the main "Who have you heard back from?" thread and you can also search this forum for any TJU-specific threads.