Program-Specific Info / Q's Samuel Merritt 2015

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I went to the info session that was held today...here's some information!

For the FALL 2015 cohort there are approximately 248 applicants; 38 spots
Lisa said interview decisions at EARLIEST will be given out next week!!
Interview date is tentatively December 6th and January 10th

Fall 2014 Data
Average last 60 GPA of enrolled students : 3.62 (EFF this i got like a heart attack when i saw this haha)
Average Science gap: 3.4
seems like a HUGE jump from 2013 data....

And for waitlist, usually if your in 10 or below you will get in. Last year 14 people got pulled from the waitlist. You can get in from the waitlist like 2 days before class starts!

Other information about the school:
I do want to get in, but the campus itself is pretty ugly haha. Surrounding area is dangerous (not surprising). Library is small, no gym etc.
Basically its not really a real campus, its just a bunch of buildings surrounding a nice hospital. But that is to be expected for this school since its a health graduate school.
(This is why I might want to get into a school that is also an undergrad school haha)

Faculty: VERY NICE. They are the reason I would want to get into the school, they all seem very caring and funny.

ALSO, kind of a surprising fact: They don't actually look at the classes you take, just you last 60 GPA. I found this kind of shocking and unfair. As far as science GPA goes, it's all natural sciences. (I think its ridiculous that they don't consider WHAT or HOW MANY science classes you actually take..)

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38 spots! yay I think that's more than last yr! Thank you for posting this! Very helpful info. Keep me posted if anyone hears about interview invitations being sent out :)

I went to the info session that was held today...here's some information!

For the FALL 2015 cohort there are approximately 248 applicants; 38 spots
Lisa said interview decisions at EARLIEST will be given out next week!!
Interview date is tentatively December 6th and January 10th

Fall 2014 Data
Average last 60 GPA of enrolled students : 3.62 (EFF this i got like a heart attack when i saw this haha)
Average Science gap: 3.4
seems like a HUGE jump from 2013 data....

And for waitlist, usually if your in 10 or below you will get in. Last year 14 people got pulled from the waitlist. You can get in from the waitlist like 2 days before class starts!

Other information about the school:
I do want to get in, but the campus itself is pretty ugly haha. Surrounding area is dangerous (not surprising). Library is small, no gym etc.
Basically its not really a real campus, its just a bunch of buildings surrounding a nice hospital. But that is to be expected for this school since its a health graduate school.
(This is why I might want to get into a school that is also an undergrad school haha)

Faculty: VERY NICE. They are the reason I would want to get into the school, they all seem very caring and funny.

ALSO, kind of a surprising fact: They don't actually look at the classes you take, just you last 60 GPA. I found this kind of shocking and unfair. As far as science GPA goes, it's all natural sciences. (I think its ridiculous that they don't consider WHAT or HOW MANY science classes you actually take..)
 
I got invited for an interview December 6th !!

I think I got the earlier date because I had my app verified by 9/29

They also stated in my email that I have to RSVP by November 25th so I'm assuming that is the last day they'll be sending out interview invitations?
 
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I just got an email invite today for December 6th.
I am so excited. I applied last year and didn't even get an interview. My application was complete and verified on 10/13.
 
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I got invited to interview on Dec. 6 as well!! See some of you there :)
 
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I got an interview today for Jan 10! :clap:Anyone else going?
 
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I got an interview today for Jan 10! :clap:Anyone else going?
I just got mine too! Started to get nervous when I hadn't heard back from them in so long. See you there!
 
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How'd the interviews go?
Hey! Sorry for the late response. They didn't have an introduction about the program or anything. Just right into the writing sample which is very straight forward. Next are the individual interviews where everyone is asked the same 5 questions relating to OT, your experiences related to OT and so on. They also offered a campus tour but I was unable to take mine because I had the morning session interview and they were running short on time because the afternoon interviews were coming up. I hope this helps! Good luck
 
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Congratulations and good luck to everyone who has interviews!!!!!! I just declined my interview invitation so I hope it goes to one of you who is still waiting to hear from SMU :)
 
I was accepted to SMU this morning! I was surprised because I thought they wouldn't be making any decisions until after the second interview in January. Good luck to everyone interviewing in January!
 
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I was accepted to SMU this morning! I was surprised because I thought they wouldn't be making any decisions until after the second interview in January. Good luck to everyone interviewing in January!

@FutureOT8 I was also accepted this morning! Got a phone call saying to check my email regarding a decision on my application! I'm so excited! Are you planning on accepting! We will be classmates. Congrats to you! And good luck to everyone else waiting!
 
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@FutureOT8 I was also accepted this morning! Got a phone call saying to check my email regarding a decision on my application! I'm so excited! Are you planning on accepting! We will be classmates. Congrats to you! And good luck to everyone else waiting!
Yes! I am definitely accepting. SMU is my #1 choice. Congrats to you and see you in the Fall!!
 
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Ahh congrats! Cant believe they started sending out acceptances already! I wonder how many seats will be left by the time the Jan 10 interview comes around? Hopefully I can get in with you guys too! :)
 
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Hey guys,

I was also accepted! I got the call last week. Already made my deposit. Good luck to everyone!!!
 
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Congrats to everyone who has been accepted! Any advice for those of us who are interviewing on the 10th? Not quite sure what to expect :)
 
Hey guys,

I was also accepted! I got the call last week. Already made my deposit. Good luck to everyone!!!

Awesome! Looks like we will be classmates! :)I also made my deposit last week! So excited! Wonder if I met you at interview.

Good luck to everyone with interviews coming up!
 
When is your deadline for the deposit?

Deposit was due 10 days from when we got the email with details on acceptance. Which I got on the 22nd. Original acceptance email and phone call on the 19th I believe.
 
Has anyone who is attending Saturday's interview received any information about it? It said Lizzie would be sending additional info...
 
I haven't heard anything more from them yet, other than my appointment time right after I accepted the interview.
 
I also haven't received anything from Lizzie yet. Did anyone from the first interview date get any additional information before their actual interview?
 
Hey! Sorry for the late response. They didn't have an introduction about the program or anything. Just right into the writing sample which is very straight forward. Next are the individual interviews where everyone is asked the same 5 questions relating to OT, your experiences related to OT and so on. They also offered a campus tour but I was unable to take mine because I had the morning session interview and they were running short on time because the afternoon interviews were coming up. I hope this helps! Good luck
What was the writing sample prompt @FutureOT8? Thank you for posting, this is so helpful! Congrats on getting in! What would you have done to better prepare yourself and what would you recommend to those of us interviewing this Saturday? I'm hoping to be your future classmate!
 
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Hey futurOt8, good job in getting accepted into the program! I had my interview today but I dont know what are the chances of me getting in. I really hope I get accepted.
 
For the second round interviewers, do we know exactly when we will be finding out if we got in? They said about one week, but did anyone get any more specific information? SOOOO anxiously waiting!
 
Hey holly! Its karen! Just want to stop by and wish you luck in your future endeavors!!! :)

Hey Karen!! Thank you, good luck to you too! :) I texted you after the interview. Did you get it? Keep me posted if you got in/waitlisted!!! I decided I'm not going to apply to Pacific this time because it's so last minute. The application says that I need to write all this extra stuff like what I've done since the last time I reapplied, etc. and that I can't use the same personal statement:meh: Hopefully this gives you a better chance!
 
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I just got a phone call this afternoon saying I had been accepted into the program! So happy!
 
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I know I'm late to the thread but I interviewed on Saturday morning, January 10. I've been following this forum for updates on the admissions process and I got the phone call this afternoon! I'm so excited, can't wait to start the program this fall!
 
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I haven't received it yet. (Congrats, BTW!)
 
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Lizzie said she would be sending an email with more information about deposits, etc. Has anyone from the second round of interviews received it yet? @OTapplicant15 @CaliKnitter

I got two e-mails this morning. One was admission information, and the other was about how to log in online. I'm planning to pay my deposit as SMU is my first choice!
 
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Congrats to everyone that got in so far!!
I interviewed on January 10 and got my acceptance notice today!! SMU was also my first choice so I am very excited to start in the fall and meet everyone. WOOOO!
 
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I wish I knew of some "back up" schools as well. This is my first time applying and I'm so nervous about how competitive it seems to be. It seems like a lot of people have great stats but there just isn't enough space for everyone. Maybe Dominican since it's in California? Not sure if it's competitive though. Are your stats pretty good? Oh I've also read that Bay Path might be easier but again, not sure. It's not in Boston but it's in Massachusetts.
Hi everyone, I am in my last semester at Samuel Merrit and I have a time to tell all of you. Please private message me and asked me if you have any questions on interview process, how the school is, workload, or anything else.

I know things about SJSU and Dominican also- feel free to respond to my QnA Thread for Samuel merritt!!
 
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Hi everyone, I am in my last semester at Samuel Merrit and I have a time to tell all of you. Please private message me and asked me if you have any questions on interview process, how the school is, workload, or anything else.

I know things about SJSU and Dominican also- feel free to respond to my QnA Thread for Samuel merritt!!

Thank you @MT2bNOT! It is so nice to be able to talk to someone who has gone through this already! I plan on attending SMU in the fall, and I want to know what your weekly schedule has looked like over the last two years. Are classes always M-F and what times do they take place? I would love to hear more about your experiences with workload and what you think about the program. Is it possible to work part time and still be in the program?

Thank you so much!!
 
Hey! So I have an idea, I want you to be able to maybe hear multiple responses-?? Even more insight-..I'm co chair of the professional development organization and wanted to do q and a with the class letme know :)

That being said- I do not suggest a part time job personally- I've done it and I hated it but that'sme- there are at least 5-7 ppl in the program who have part time jobs or work at the school...but it depens on the person

You'll be inclass for around 7 hours a day for 3-4 days a week not too bad...not everyuday is a full day (usually 2-3full days in the week and like 2 days that are half days or off days)
 
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Thanks @MT2bNOT, I would love to hear responses for other people in your class as well, that would be great! And in addition to class time, how many hours per day did you typically spend on school work? Would you say that you spent more, less, or about the same amount of time on school work as others? I have tried to go on the website, but I can't seem to see the class schedules for the fall. Do you know if it is posted yet or if I can find it somewhere?
 
Hi everyone,
I was waitlisted at number 8 and was wondering if anyone has an idea of what my chances are for getting in/when I would possibly hear back to get in? I know every year is different, but just wondering if there is a general pattern for how ppl get off the waitlist each year. Thanks.
 
Hi @futureOTgirl333! I was waitlisted last cycle and about 14 people were taken off the list. The year before that I believe even more people were accepted off the waitlist. #8 is a great position to be in! People are still hearing back from schools and make decisions later on. I wish you the best of luck and don't give up!!
 
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Thanks for your insight @FutureOT8 ! I just hope I can hear back soon! so anxious! and congrats to everyone that has been accepted already
 
Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say I am waitlisted at #14 and haven't heard anything further since a follow up conversation I had with Lizzie Mayo. Fingers crossed!
 
Hi @alowe1275
I tried calling the school yesterday and they haven't called me back. I don't want to seem pushy but I'm really anxious to know when we're getting an update. Did Lizzie mention anything to you about when we would hear back?
 
@futureOTgirl333 She said she would be updating the waitlist randomly over the next few months, as spots become available. She pretty much said it could happen anytime. She also told me the most that they've brought in off the waitlist in one year was 25, and that last year it was around 8.
 
that's strange i thought last year they accepted 14? i guess all we can do is wait and see :(
 
Got an update from Lizzie Mayo this morning- it looks like they've pulled two off the waitlist into the class, as I'm now # 12 out of 29.
 
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