General Admissions & OTCAS Personal Statements

[ucfknightOT]

Hey, I'm hoping to start a thread where we can send each other our personal statements and give feedback on them! I'm just worried about the lack on guidelines on personal statements and specifically what admissions are looking for. If anyone is interested let me know and we can send each other our Personal Statements!

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[Vokounfan]

I'm good to read any personal statements.

 

[ambrosa1]

Hey, I'm hoping to start a thread where we can send each other our personal statements and give feedback on them! I'm just worried about the lack on guidelines on personal statements and specifically what admissions are looking for. If anyone is interested let me know and we can send each other our Personal Statements!

I used the attached as my template them built from their with examples from my observation hours. I'd ask the OTs you shadowed to review your revised draft. Good luck!

 

[myOT1995]

Just received an acceptance to my first choice! Open to reading any personal statements 🙂

My biggest piece of advice is to make your personal statement as personal and meaningful as possible, and be clear about how you will make a unique contribution to the field 🙂 OT programs don't want an academic robot (though GPA/GRE is important). They want someone who demonstrates introspection, creativity, empathy, etc. Feel free to PM me and I'd be more than happy to look it over via email!

 

[gOT2beOT]

Hey, I'm hoping to start a thread where we can send each other our personal statements and give feedback on them! I'm just worried about the lack on guidelines on personal statements and specifically what admissions are looking for. If anyone is interested let me know and we can send each other our Personal Statements!

Hey guys! I have a question, what are your thoughts on abbreviating Occupational therapy throughout the essay? I would establish it in the beginning by putting Occupational Therapy (OT) and then refer to it as OT throughout the rest?

 

[gOT2beOT]

That's what I did for mine. I just made sure not to start a sentence with OT. Instead I opted for some form of occupational therapists/therapy or the Feild of Occupational Therapy. The same for SNF, COTA, etc. Your intended audience is narrow enough to know what your talking about. I did spell out ATC every time just in case someone on the admissions committee wasn't familiar with athletic training. You don't want people scrolling through the paper to recall an acrynm definition. When in doubt, spell it out ;-). Good luck!

Thank you so much!!!

 

[bellaot]

Hey! I also wanted to get some opinions; what are your thoughts on getting personal? I don’t know anyone else applying to an OT program but 1/2 of my friends say keep it professional and the other half say to add personal details?

 

[snips21]

A senior admissions staff told me some insight which may be helpful:
OT programs are looking for students who have a strong academic foundation, experience/knowledge in or of the profession, proven leadership exp and students who will bring something unique to the table (diverse major, culture, skill, etc).

If you think about these areas, you can use them as checkpoints during proof reading:

1) WHY did YOU choose OT. The actual answer is irrelevant as everyone has different paths and stories
a) do you have a reason and have you explored the profession to know what you're getting yourself into
b) are you able to articulate that reason (verbal and written skills are needed on the job and in ability to do well in the classroom, may show attention to detail and effort, professionalism, etc.)
c) if either a or b are weak but other areas are strong, these weaknesses may be reviewed and reflected upon after your interview

I have heard the following from other practitioners

2) Why will you be a great clinician
> can you make the school look good and will you be a pleasure to work with
3) Why will you be a great student

Hope this helps!