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General Admissions & OTCAS "Settling" vs. Taking a gap year
- Thread starter otlife
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As someone who has spent the last 10 months in my "gap year", I'm going to give it to you straight up. I didn't have a safety net like you did, I was simply rejected or wait listed at 7 schools. It was awful and I honestly thought it was the end of the world. I graduated, move back in with my mother, and started working 70+ hours a week at two different jobs. Has this been the best year of my life? Far from it. Do I regret the way things turned out? Absolutely not. Having a break from academics has been wonderful, partly because I was burned out and partly because I realized just how badly I wanted to go back to school for OT. For the first time, I've had the chance to live life as a non-student and I've grown a lot personally. I worked as a TSS all last summer and when that didn't work out, I quit and was immediately hired to be a supervisor in a daycare. On nights and weekends, I waitress and bartend at a local pub. Again, the situation is far from ideal. But I've learned a lot. I have a lot of responsibility at my job and I've gotten a lot of experience working with kids (my desired specialty) and parents (the unfortunate side effect of pediatrics haha). I've saved some money, which I am paying my first year's rent with. I've also had a lot of time to think and plan, and I've never been more confident about my plan to become an OT.
I realize that may just sound like a rambling mess. I just wanted to let you know, from someone who has done it, that a gap year isn't the end of the world. I truly believe this year has given me valuable experience and renewed my passion to study OT. In the end, the choice is one only you can make. You will figure out what your heart really wants to do 🙂
Oh, and I applied again this year and was accepted to a program that I will be starting in August. I'm moving to a new city and excited to start the next chapter of my life. Looking back on it, I wouldn't have it any other way!
Best of luck!
I realize that may just sound like a rambling mess. I just wanted to let you know, from someone who has done it, that a gap year isn't the end of the world. I truly believe this year has given me valuable experience and renewed my passion to study OT. In the end, the choice is one only you can make. You will figure out what your heart really wants to do 🙂
Oh, and I applied again this year and was accepted to a program that I will be starting in August. I'm moving to a new city and excited to start the next chapter of my life. Looking back on it, I wouldn't have it any other way!
Best of luck!
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If you take a gap year BE SURE to keep OT in your life in some way...be it through a job or continuing to volunteer somewhere. They'll want to know you spent your time wisely.
I can understand being concerned about your education, but in the end all you need to do is pass your boards.
Sounds to me like you have more than one reason to wait until the next application cycle and they seem like really good reasons. I've just had such a hard time getting into a program that passing up a chance to get in one is beyond my comprehension, lol. Looking at the stats from several schools, I can only say that OT seems to be getting more and more popular and will only continue to get more competitive. Waiting may decrease your chances bc the applicant pool has been getting bigger and bigger with each year.
I can understand being concerned about your education, but in the end all you need to do is pass your boards.
Sounds to me like you have more than one reason to wait until the next application cycle and they seem like really good reasons. I've just had such a hard time getting into a program that passing up a chance to get in one is beyond my comprehension, lol. Looking at the stats from several schools, I can only say that OT seems to be getting more and more popular and will only continue to get more competitive. Waiting may decrease your chances bc the applicant pool has been getting bigger and bigger with each year.
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I would agree with @scubagator87's sentiments. Every admissions coordinator/counselor/advisor I have spoken to has stated that each year they recieve more applicants than the last and the applicant pool is more competitive in terms of GRE, GPA, experience, etc.
If you decide to go with the gap year route, I would contact the schools you are interested in and ask how you could make your application more competitive for next cycle.
If you decide to go with the gap year route, I would contact the schools you are interested in and ask how you could make your application more competitive for next cycle.
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otlife, take the acceptance you have and run. You may not get accepted AT ALL next year. Also, there's no guarantee that the waitlists may move.
I see OT school as getting a driver's license. You learn the theoretical, you get some hands-on practice, you take your road test, and you run. But most of the things you learn as a driver, you will see when you are doing stuff on your own, through trial-and-error, and observing other drivers. In OT, you will learn more about the field through experience, exposure to other therapists, and CEUs, as opposed to when you go to school. What you learn in OT school is a foundation, and you develop your style from there.
Sorry for the ramble lol
I see OT school as getting a driver's license. You learn the theoretical, you get some hands-on practice, you take your road test, and you run. But most of the things you learn as a driver, you will see when you are doing stuff on your own, through trial-and-error, and observing other drivers. In OT, you will learn more about the field through experience, exposure to other therapists, and CEUs, as opposed to when you go to school. What you learn in OT school is a foundation, and you develop your style from there.
Sorry for the ramble lol
I would agree - I am a recent graduate and a brand new practitioner who attended a hybrid program, so we probably had less "hands-on" time at least with regard to classroom experiences than traditional programs that meet 5 days a week. But I will tell you that it's one thing to read about something and even mess with ideas and techniques with your fellow students, but it's a different thing entirely to experience actual clients, which you will do in fieldwork. I think fieldwork prepared me the most for entry into practice and definitely helped in studying for the board exams with regard to making quick clinically sounds decisions in order to answer the questions correctly. The only way to be able to do that is to have done it in practice with real people and real cases. This is not to discredit coursework, which is hugely important, but everything you learn makes so much more sense when you actually get your hands on a client. Even coming from a hybrid program, I feel adequately prepared for professional practice, and while going into fieldwork, I was worried about not knowing enough, I surprised myself with just how much I did know. So I wouldn't worry too much about it - I would take the opportunity to start now when you have an acceptance on the table, as others have mentioned it is becoming increasingly competitive to get into OT school.
