quality of undergraduate school

[Hillary]

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I was wondering if OT programs take into consideration the quality/reputation of students' undergraduate school when looking at GPA. I have a cumulative 3.0 GPA from a top 50 small private liberal arts school, with a major in psychology and 2 minors. Will my GPA be seen as stronger than someone with the same GPA from a different school, like a state school? I sure hope so, because I feel like my GPA would be a lot better if I attended a different school...

 

[kp24]

I don't think they look at your GPA based on what school you go to. If they did, it would seem a bit biased. A student many have attended a state school due to financial reasons and they could have done equally as well as they did in a high end private school. So there is no way they can judge soley based on the reputation of the school. CSUSJ is a state school, however, their MOT program is very hard to get into.

However, the fact that you have two minors will def. help give you a chance to stand out a bit. You can also explain the fact that you feel as if you would have excelled in another school in your personal statement.

 

[Shelby029]

The school I'm looking at addressed this question at a info session. They said there was no way to adequately judge which classes were harder at what school. Possibly if you had the exact same qualifications as someone who went to a less reputable school you might be picked however, I don't see them largely swaying app's from better schools.

 

[OTlg2]

Just because a school is private does not make it better than all state schools. Personally, I would rather go to a major research 1 institution that is nationally ranked than a small private school that is regionally ranked.. They look at what undergrad college you went to but it isn't crucial. I've talked to a few schools about this because I took a couple prereqs at a CC after I graduated from university. They said that although they know the classes are more difficult some schools than others it doesn't effect how they calculate your gpa or prereq gpa or overall score (a lot of schools calculate a specific formula to determine who they will accept. if you take a class at a lesser school you don't get fewer points).

 

[veggieswirl]

Take the GRE and do well, if you haven't already. That can serve as an equalizer and help the schools assess your overall potential.