General Admissions & OTCAS Washington University St. Louis 2017

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I'm on the waitlist too! I'm not sure how many people they put on it, but I think in the email it said that they don't start taking people off of it until at least mid-June 🙁
 
otlife said:
Anyone else on the waitlist?? Wondering how many people are on it. WashU is my top choice so I'm hoping a spot opens!


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I am also on the waitlist....and ChiOT is right... I think that's what the email said. They will start taking people off the list mid-June and they don't do a rank so they look at the people on the waitlist and choose the next person.. I wonder how many people are on it?
 
Any waitlist news? I'm missing a prereq and debating if I should take the class in the summer without knowing if I'll actually get in


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Can those of you who were accepted or waitlisted post your stats? This is my top choice and I'm applying in July, so I'm trying to gauge where I might be at!
 
Still waiting! I was told that the class is slightly overfull


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Hi lovely people of 2016! I was wondering if any of you could reflect on your past year as a student at WUSTL! I just got accepted and when I applied I was of the mindset that I was most likely not going to get in but there was no harm in submitting an app anyway! Low and behold I ended up getting an offer into the OTD program (I might be switching to the MOT program despite the OTD program looking fantastic just due to the fact that I am uncomfortable about going triple debt digits)! If you could share any advice, warnings, or just if you were overall happy with your choice and how you think this program is going to set you apart as a practitioner I would be stoked!
 
NJK17 said:
Hi lovely people of 2016! I was wondering if any of you could reflect on your past year as a student at WUSTL! I just got accepted and when I applied I was of the mindset that I was most likely not going to get in but there was no harm in submitting an app anyway! Low and behold I ended up getting an offer into the OTD program (I might be switching to the MOT program despite the OTD program looking fantastic just due to the fact that I am uncomfortable about going triple debt digits)! If you could share any advice, warnings, or just if you were overall happy with your choice and how you think this program is going to set you apart as a practitioner I would be stoked!
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Hi there!

I haven't been on the forum often since my acceptance to the program... but I'm on winter break and realized this was a question I could answer! I hope this helps in some way!

I moved from the PNW to attend WUSTL. Like you, I was accepted into the OTD program, although I switched over to the MSOT program due to some person circumstances this fall (e.g. evaluating what I really wanted to be able to do as an OT right now, coordinating life with my significant other, etc.). Before going on about the program, I do want to briefly touch on the finances. The debt can be scary; but unless you attend an in-state school, I found tuition to be similar across schools I was drawn to. Furthermore, the program will connect you with several opportunities within the program and/or the St. Louis community to work part-time, as a PCA/babysitter/or at community organizations. I have classmates that work anywhere from 2-15 hours - some even work more - a week during the semester to help reduce using loans on groceries and living expenses. I myself worked 8-10 hours/week last semester. Also, STL has a very affordable cost of living, which can save you tons of money over the course of 2-3 years. One last note on finances, the financial aid office at the Washington University School of Medicine is AWESOME, so if you were like me and had never gone through the loan process before, they make it easy!

As for the program itself, I don't have a single regret! You can skim older posts for the perks of our program, like having a former AOTA president as our program head, having access to all the resources of a top tier research and medical campus, and more. As cheesy as it may sound, the program is really interested in making every single student the best OT that person can be. I felt supported the entire first semester. I met with several faculty members one on one throughout the semester after simply sending an email that said "could you please meet with me?" I've also had faculty approach me with additional opportunities, academic or personal, after brief conversations with me. They really listen, and they really invest in you as a person. Finally, the resources that the Program in Occupational Therapy, the School of Medicine, and Washington University in St. Louis can provide are incredible. I've attended several lectures and network events at no cost to me as a student.

You asked how this program may set you apart? Well, the Washington University School of Medicine is ranked #6 in the country, the PT program is tied for #1, and we are tied for #1 as well. With those rankings comes a lot of resources. We have over 600 fieldwork sites to choose from, access to multidisciplinary research happening at WUSTL, support to attend various conferences, etc. Those things are valuable towards helping you decide where you'd like to practice, how you'll connect to current professionals, and will shape your experience as a student and practitioner.

Ultimately though, I think you have to go with your gut when selecting an OT program. I can justify the additional money I'll spend at WUSTL because I know it's where I'm supposed to be, and I've chosen to dedicate myself to the process. That said - this is a very personal decision, and no decision is wrong! It's tough to condense my first four months of OT school at WUTL into one post. So please, feel free to keep asking questions. If you'd feel more comfortable, you can privately message me as well! All the best to you in your decision!
 
edinOT said:
Hey all!

I'm going to write quite a lot, just because I wish someone would of done this for me.

I'm a current OTD student at Wash U. For those accepted - WELCOME to THE BEST OT school in the country! Now, I know that I am biased, but I've been in your shoes. It was a big decision for me to come to St. Louis. I'm from a big city on the east coast and St. Louis was quite a change. I was also accepted to a bunch of other excellent programs in big, awesome cities. I chose Wash U because of all the amazing opportunities it will be able to afford me.

I just have to tell you all honestly, my decision has been reaffirmed several times over since coming here. I'll give a quick laundry list. Our director, Dr. Carolyn Baum has been president of AOTA twice and is one of the reasons why our profession has moved towards the respected, evidenced based, cutting edge practice we know today. Our other professors are leaders in their field (numerous AOTA Fellows) and specialty, such as in the NICU, in low vision and so forth. Just one cool example, our neurology professor worked on the predecessor to BrainGate at Brown while completing his PhD. We have the only student run stroke clinic in the country, and we will most likely have a student run hand clinic open by when you guys arrive. The professors make time for you, meet with you, chat with you. They really care - surely professors care elsewhere, but they can apply teachings to vast real world experience, turn your ideas into practice because they are at the very forefront of the field. You have SO MANY options within the program. SO much to get involved in. The professors have wonderful connections - academic, fieldwork, professional and otherwise. I've already been matched with University of Chicago Medicine for my first FWI and I've applied for my Level II fieldwork at the world famous Mayo Clinic in 2018. To clarify, by professional, I mean connections for jobs around the country when you get out. St. Louis is CHEAP (perfect for grad school) and way more beautiful and fun than I would of thought. Another nice little add on is you are a Wash U School of Medicine Student. You get the same rights, privileges, access to databases, libraries, and cadaver lab, etc as the med students. Which right now, WashU OT is tied at #1 with BU and the med school as a whole is #6 above Columbia, Duke, Yale, NYU, etc. No - rankings are not everything and you shouldn't chose a program based off of a ranking, however, we get an incredible experience here and the school provides and EXCELLENT atmosphere and education. And yeah, maybe usually there's no difference in rankings - such as between the #20 and #25 school, but I'd be willing to be there's a difference between the #1 school(s) and the vast majority of other OT schools. It's not everything - but its undeniable that it's worth something.

DO NOT LET THE RESEARCH COMPONENT SCARE YOU. Whether you would like to do research or not, you can do MSOT or OTD and there are two tracks to choose from for each degree! This is something I feel they don't explain so well on the website.

Clinical Track: For example, you can chose an advanced clinician track and spend your time studying assessment and interventions while working with real clients in the stroke clinic (and never touch research). You could imagine how prepared you would be after this, and how you could easily run a clinic or program of your own one day, or easily step into management. If you are OTD, your 3rd year consists of mentoring 1st and 2nd year OT students in the stroke clinic. That's just one example, there are a lot of other clinical practice tracks. Community practice clinician tracks take you out into the community (surprise) to run various programs (i.e. low vision intervention & support), treat mental health, work with low income populations (large scale intervention), conduct group therapies and other sort of emerging / non-traditional practice areas. There's SO much more - this just brushes the surface.

Research Track: There are so many NIH funded projects going on within the department it is insane! The professors have work and projects they would like to give to you depending on the lab to start, to finish or to carry on - in which you will end up published / an author. You can also pose your own question (within reason), and do your own study from start to end - in which you would be 1st author. One example of a new study starting up is the Mars Resource Deprivation Study: Determining how resource scarcity on a simulated Mars mission affects crew members' occupational participation and job performance (within the new Motor and Rehabilitation Neuroscience Lab). Again - SO much more,

As of now, there are ~21 different labs to chose from, all with various projects, grants and research or clinical practice focuses. This sheer number of options you WILL NOT get anywhere else. This is one of the greatest strengths of the program. You will not be pigeon holed into working on something which you are not passionate about. Depending on your choice you will develop either clinical skills or research skills that will set you far ahead of your future colleagues.

The students here are incredible, intelligent, come from all over the country and we all support each other. The faculty and staff here are amazing.

Sorry for my rant, but I feel passionately about this program. It's really a dream come true. Good luck to those still waiting for a response from Wash U, and congrats to those who got in! I'll see you in the fall.

PLEASE COME VISIT! Especially if you're on the fence. It's a once in a lifetime decision.

Just wanted to add: Be cause we have a bigger cohort (~90 students) from all around the country, we have such rich and interesting discussions in every class. It really adds diversity, thought provoking discussion and the ability to have more faculty who each bring a different specialty and perspective to your OT education.
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So there is an option to choose a clinical track that doesnt involve research? I cannot find information regarding that at all.
 
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