General Admissions & OTCAS Shadowing Hours

[WiscoWannabeOT]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I was hoping to get some people's honest thoughts on the value of getting in a high number of shadowing hours. I'm of the opinion that the main reason to shadow as an undergrad is to get exposure to the field and see what an OT does to make an educated opinion if it's right for you. I've done about 30 hours in 2 different settings, as well as a lot of research on my own and through classwork. I don't think my career goals would change if I had another 10, 20, 100+ hours like some people I've seen. I made sure to ask as many questions as I could about the field and what was happening, but also knew it wasn't the OT's job to teach me how to be an OT, that's what grad school is for. So I guess I'm wondering if people really see value in getting a lot of hours, or are they doing it more since it looks good on the application.

 

[SUNYOT2017]

Personally, I only shadowed around 90 hours in 2 different settings. After that I felt I had observed enough to be able to speak to what an OT does in different settings and explain why I want to do it. I do not think an exorbitant amount of hours is necessary, but you should definitely do more than the minimum (which from most schools I applied to was 30). However, it really is hard to say from this side of the application process how much each component of the application weighs. If you have a weaker GPA / GRE scores / less work experience etc., you might want to get more hours in to counterbalance that.

 

[OT2Be17]

I was told by my school that it's basically looked at as a checklist. If you've got the minimum, that gives you a check so I don't think more hours necessarily makes you stand out more (they want to see you well rounded). However, if there's an interview, make sure you have enough experience to be able to talk about your hours and things that stood out to you etc.

 

[SUNYOT2017]

I was told by my school that it's basically looked at as a checklist. If you've got the minimum, that gives you a check so I don't think more hours necessarily makes you stand out more (they want to see you well rounded). However, if there's an interview, make sure you have enough experience to be able to talk about your hours and things that stood out to you etc.

Definitely agree that if you get an interview they will be looking for you to discuss the observation(s) in detail especially because OT can be so broad. I think demonstrating a greater understanding of the profession is what sets you apart regardless of the # of observation hours.

 

[PNW_OT]

I was hoping to get some people's honest thoughts on the value of getting in a high number of shadowing hours. I'm of the opinion that the main reason to shadow as an undergrad is to get exposure to the field and see what an OT does to make an educated opinion if it's right for you. I've done about 30 hours in 2 different settings, as well as a lot of research on my own and through classwork. I don't think my career goals would change if I had another 10, 20, 100+ hours like some people I've seen. I made sure to ask as many questions as I could about the field and what was happening, but also knew it wasn't the OT's job to teach me how to be an OT, that's what grad school is for. So I guess I'm wondering if people really see value in getting a lot of hours, or are they doing it more since it looks good on the application.

I was told specifically by a school I was accepted to that they really value someone who has good exposure to all OT settings, not just a high number in one or two settings. so I aimed to get at least 20 hours in each setting: outpatient, inpatient, hand therapy, SNF, schools, industrial rehab, etc. I had about 150 hours total and 200 hours in industrial rehab because we happened to have that program at my work. Overall I felt it was very valuable to me to observe in all of the settings. It didn't sway me one way or another in terms of my career, but I definitely felt more knowledgeable about what OTs offer.

 

[cns93]

I think a lot of it depends on how competitive the schools that you are applying to are. I had around 220 hours and this was considered high for some programs, but for my top choice that was the median. Another school I liked only requires 40 but almost all of the accepted students has well over 100 hours of observation or relevant work experience. A lot of schools take your hours into consideration because it shows that you've really invested in this and made sure it was the right career for you. More hours will also increase your knowledge of the field and will help you have a stronger and more genuine personal statement and answers to interview questions. I would suggest looking at the websites of the schools you're interested in and seeing what the average hours of ACCEPTED students are, not just the minimum requirements. Another thing to consider is how competitive your GPA and GRE scores are, if they are on the lower side then having more hours will definitely strengthen your application! Hope this helps!

 

[Sawyer95]

I am not in the rehab world, so attaining my hours was challenging. I did about 1-2 days in various areas (NICU, SNF, Home Health, school, acute rehab, etc.). I had the minimum hours (40-ish) and got into my top choice and an interview at my second choice (which, I did not attend). I have a high GPA and average GRE scores along with a lot of research experience in developmental psych.

I think a big plus for having a generous number of hours is actually the relationship you can form with an OT. Most schools require a Letter of Rec from an OTR, so asking lots of questions and being consistently professional will go a long way. I got my LOR from an OT I had only shadowed with for 3 days, but LOVED the work she did. She told me that she felt comfortable writing one for me, so I wasn't too concerned, but it would have been nice to have one that could speak a little more specifically to my strengths/personality that would come into play later on as an OT.

 

[WiscoWannabeOT]

Thanks for all the responses and insight! I only applied to 2 schools. One didn't have a requirement, and the other was 20 , and neither had interviews. My OTCAS GPA was 3.4, but that's with 2 bachelor's degree, one from several years ago where I was below 3.0 and I just finished another with a 4.0, and my pre-req was 4.0. I also did well on the GRE, scoring several points above the medians for each section, compared to the previous cycle's cohort. I also included around 200 hours of volunteering (not OT/health related) in the community, and 500+ hours as an ABA therapist in my app. In my personal statement I talked about life and work experiences that made me decided to go back to school as an "adult student" (I'm early 30s and I think it sounds cheesy, but one of my advisers told me to wouldn't hurt to play that up), and tied in my shadowing as well, and I'm guessing my LORs (from a professor and 2 work supervisors) are pretty solid. So I'm not too concerned that my stats aren't competitive...Maybe I'm just overthinking everything, since more shadowing hours is the one big area of the application I think I could have done better on. I guess we'll see if I get in, and if not I'll spend some time in other settings and hope that helps next time around. Thanks again everyone!