General Admissions & OTCAS Undergrad decision?

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Kaitlyn.w0009

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Hello! I'm a sophomore in highschool, and I'm trying to base my undergrad major on what my interests are and what would be best for an OT program. I'm stuck between psychology and getting my BSN. I'm leaning towards BSN because if I don't get into OT school, I can still do something with that degree. Where with a psychology degree, I'm told there's next to nothing to do with that unless you go beyond getting a BA in it. What is your recommendation? Does one look better than the other? Does the BSN set me up for a better backup plan than the psychology? Thank you!

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Well, at my undergrad, nursing was harder than psych and often took longer. And psychology sets you up for other master's programs like school psych if you end up interested in psych. Plus psych typically has more classes that overlap with prereqs, but that depends on your school.

But really, don't worry about not getting in. Just do well, shadow, and you'll be fine.
 
Hello! I'm a sophomore in highschool, and I'm trying to base my undergrad major on what my interests are and what would be best for an OT program. I'm stuck between psychology and getting my BSN. I'm leaning towards BSN because if I don't get into OT school, I can still do something with that degree. Where with a psychology degree, I'm told there's next to nothing to do with that unless you go beyond getting a BA in it. What is your recommendation? Does one look better than the other? Does the BSN set me up for a better backup plan than the psychology? Thank you!

I am finishing up my undergrad in psych. I chose it because, as Bokonomy stated, it overlapped the most with the prereqs for most programs (Lifespan psych, Abnormal psych, Statistics, Neuroscience, etc.). The only thing that was challenging was finding ways to squeeze in A and P, but I would advise choosing a minor that requires this as well. Mine is in Wellness, so I have had classes in Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, Nutrition, Health psych, etc. that I would not have had otherwise but are clearly helpful for OT.

BSN would definitely set you up for a more secure future if you don't want to go to grad school unless it is OT. There are tons of subfields within psychology that require a master's degree, but are very rewarding professions. Also, psych is probably WAY easier than BSN as Bokonomy said. I was able to supplement my classes with research experiences with faculty members at my university as well as a summer research program. These research endeavors were directly related to OT (exercise intervention for older adults, infant perception, and attitudes toward students with disabilities) which made me feel like I hadn't strayed too far from my end goal.

All this to say, I have a high GPA, average GRE scores, and shadowed the minimum required and had no problem getting into the program I wanted. If you have more questions about specifics, you can message me. :)
 
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Hello! I'm a sophomore in highschool, and I'm trying to base my undergrad major on what my interests are and what would be best for an OT program. I'm stuck between psychology and getting my BSN. I'm leaning towards BSN because if I don't get into OT school, I can still do something with that degree. Where with a psychology degree, I'm told there's next to nothing to do with that unless you go beyond getting a BA in it. What is your recommendation? Does one look better than the other? Does the BSN set me up for a better backup plan than the psychology? Thank you!
You can major in anything as long as you do the prerequisites for grad school. Many people do kinesiology or psychology. I did speech and hearing sciences and liked how that translated into an interdisciplinary perspective. A PT I work with knew she was going to be a PT but wanted to major in something she enjoyed on the side so she did creative writing.
Although I feel like if you do a BSN, you'll be setting yourself up for nursing instead of OT. After I did my speech and hearing degree, I became employed as a physical therapy aide as a stepping stone as I waited on grad school. It's been great experience and I get by with the pay. My husband is graduating from a kinesiology program and will be doing his EMT certification to get him through the years I'm in grad school before he applies for his grad program. Taking a gap year and getting a certification (such as a nursing assistant certification) or finding an aide position is a great way to build patient care skills.
 
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If ultimately OT is your goal, I suggest not starting off with your fall back plan. You can do this! I would recommend for your future OT applications you looking to going to a community college first getting your COTA license with an associate's degree then transferring to a four-year university to finish your bachelor's while working part time as a COTA.

I suggest a major such as Human Development or Psych! These are majors that are "easier" to keep your GPA up and ultimately that is what you will need when you apply to MOT or DOT programs. There's a huge demand for COTA's and in two years you could be making a great part-time salary while finishing up schools. (Much better than what most undergrads make serving or doing whatever another minimum wage job they can find) You could stack your schedule to only go to class MWF or T/TH and work as a COTA the days you aren't in school. If OT is your passion you wouldn't want to be stuck being a nurse. I have friends who are in nursing and hate the way they are treated and end up doing a lot of grunt work.

According to the to BLS the pay for COTA's isn't far off of that of a nurse. If OT is your interest and you ultimately decide to stay a COTA it is a livable wage. With much less health risk than a nurse handling blood, other bodily fluids and sick patients. COTA has a projected job market prediction of increasing by 40% and OT actually has a predicted job market growth of 27%.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/occupational-therapy-assistants-and-aides.htm#tab-5

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes312011.htm#st

Another "perk" you will save a ton on tuition. Ultimately, your bachelor's doesn't indicate that you went to a CC first. Also, you would have a HUGE leg up in applications because you will have a lot of hours from work you're getting PAID to do! Additionally, it shows your interest in OT and gives you the opportunities to do bridge programs.

It seems that the trends is to enroll well-rounded students rather than students with perfect scores. Enroll in clubs, volunteer at a variety of places (food banks, shelters, environmental clean-ups) and travel! Have fun with undergrad you only do it once (hopefully) and being well rounded will ultimately take you further.

http://www.aota.org/education-careers/find-school/accreditentrylevel/otaprograms.aspx
 
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