What will you do if you do not get into OT school? What is your plan B?

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asianlad

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Hi!

I would love to be an OT, but if I do not get into any of the programs I applied to, then I am seriously going to apply to nursing school.. If I do not get into nursing school, then I will get into the Laboratory Vocational Nurse (LVN) program, work for a year or two, then get into the LVN to ADN program and become an RN..

What about you guys?

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I would also love to be an OT, so far this application process has been so stressful which has dampened my hope some what. But if I don't get in this year, I'll have to get a job to pay off my current student loans, accumulate more observation/volunteer hours in more settings and hope to get in the next year. But I'll also apply to places outside of my commutable range.

Right now I'm still hoping on getting into one of the schools I applied. So far I've been wait listed at Columbia and still haven't heard back from NYU. I still have Seton Hall, I don't expect to hear back from them yet since their application deadline was in the middle of march.

In respects to NYU, during the info session I attended Ginelle John (the speaker) told us that if we get into the waiting list to not lose hope because a good amount of those wait listed end up getting in.

So, don't lose all your hope yet! :) Best of luck
 
This is my second year of being both waitlisted and denied. I was waitlisted at NYU last year and denied this year, go figure! I figure I'll try one more year and I'll have to resort to school psychology or clinical psychology masters. I really want OT, but the stress of getting in when I have great grades, LORs, and volunteer experience is starting to bother me a great deal.
 
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This is my second year of being both waitlisted and denied. I was waitlisted at NYU last year and denied this year, go figure! I figure I'll try one more year and I'll have to resort to school psychology or clinical psychology masters. I really want OT, but the stress of getting in when I have great grades, LORs, and volunteer experience is starting to bother me a great deal.

I feel you! You are not alone. It is my first time applying and I am already giving up. At least you are trying and not giving up so soon. I got denied by NYU and Midwestern University in Illinois.. I am wait listed at Samuel Merritt University, and Dominican University kind of left me hanging. I still need to hear a decision from them. I spoke to Larry Schwartz, the assistant admission direction, and he told me that they have reached the maximum capacity for the fall 2010 program. So I asked him if I am wait listed and he told me that they still need to come up with a wait list.

I read from one of the treads that you are wait listed at Dominican. When did you find out you are wait listed? What is your wait list rank?
 
Don't give up! With the economy, so many laid off people like myself are going back to school (although school was always a part of the plan, not the lay off) and programs everywhere have had an increase in applicants. And I'm sure it's worse for OT due to the limited amount of programs. I read somewhere it can take 3 years to get into OT so I will try one more year. I was told by NYU there are simply too many qualified people. I knew something was up because I know I'm a great candidate. Just keep pushing. I'm typing this on my phone, so I replied to your waitlist question on the other thread. Good luck!
 
Don't give up! With the economy, so many laid off people like myself are going back to school (although school was always a part of the plan, not the lay off) and programs everywhere have had an increase in applicants. And I'm sure it's worse for OT due to the limited amount of programs. I read somewhere it can take 3 years to get into OT so I will try one more year. I was told by NYU there are simply too many qualified people. I knew something was up because I know I'm a great candidate. Just keep pushing. I'm typing this on my phone, so I replied to your waitlist question on the other thread. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I believe I have a good chance of getting in at Dominican because Larry told me I have all my prerequisites done and he said that if he is to put me on the wait list, then I will be number 6, which is a pretty good position. I am sure there will be a few people who will not go to Dominican. So lets cross our fingers and pray that a lot of the students who got admitted decide not to go there.
 
Haha, yeah! I'd probably go if I got in, especially since my boyfriend is relocating to the bay area for work. I'm just not excited about the 3 year program and some of the things I've heard, and I'd like to shoot for some other school I was waitlisted at last year, but I'm ready to just get it over with, ya know? I guess I should just visit and try to find more people that actually attend the school.
 
Is everyone exploring all their options?

NY has Mercy College, Dominican (the one in NY), StonyBrook, Downstate,Utica, NYIT, Touro...

CT has Quinnipac

NJ has (or had) Kean.

All of these schools have been around a long time.

Once you graduate and get a job, nobody will remember where you went to school, just that you are keeping your license up to date.

Well, sallie mae will remember :laugh:

Teachers float around, so don't believe that one is so much better than another. Check out the pass rates, they are published on their website.
Fieldwork experiences will teach you more than school itself, and NYU students will be beside students from the above schools, working with patients for the first time.
Good luck and call some other schools - who knows maybe they pushed up a deadline or two. :xf:
 
That sounds kind of like my back up plan. i applied last year to three schools, one did not get my GRE scores in time so my app was not reviewed and the other two denied me. This year i plan on casting the net a little wider and apply to more schools. if i do not get in this year i will either get my RN or a masters in social work. But i really hope i get in, i really want to do OT. Good luck to everyone.
 
superCOTA,

Thanks for the advice. I think I will consider all my options. I wanted to stay in California and I'd like to go to a great school, but I'm learning that with the limited amount of OT programs and the competition to get in, any school should suffice. Haha! Now, if I could just get over racking up more DEBT!
 
..and in Grad School the student loan limits increase bigtime to rack up all the debt you can handle. :scared:

Some schools are cheaper than others .. and it's a business to them, show them you appreciate cheap tuition and go where your wallet takes you. :thumbup:

good luck !
 
Now I'm really scared to get in. I have one more year of undergraduate school so I start applying soon. If I don't get in I heard there are classes you can take to make yourself look better for the next round of application... I guess if it all does not work in the long run I'll try to be a high school psych or chem teacher.
 
Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and currently completing my psych prereq's to apply for my masters in OT or a dual BS/MS degree. I have a B.S. in Exercise Science so had a lot of the science classes already. I was just curious, if you all wouldn't mind posting - for those that were either wait listed or denied, what kind of stats did you have?

I'm in my mid 30's now (eek how time flies!) and definitely worried about changing careers and possibly not getting into schools. But then again, I was a late starter and waited ten years to go back just to get my BS which I got in 2007. My main concern is to do something with my life that is fulfilling (as opposed to what I currently do which is not in wellness field at this time) so I want to be patient and try as hard as I can to apply to schools. I'm considering: Kean University, Downstate, York, and Mercy.

I had gotten mostly B/B+ in the sciences classes and A's in the psych classes (except for Psych 101 which I'll probably have to retake since I took it 17 years ago and got a C+). My overall GPA is about a 3.5 and I've yet to take the GRE (super worried about this). Do you guys think I have a chance of getting in?! I'm going to start my observation hours in the next two weeks.

THanks in advance for your replies!
 
Mizfit

Its wonderful to be in a career you know you love so changing at any age doesn't really matter, as long as your happy right?

My stats:
AA GPA: 3.54
BA GPA: 3.56
Volunteer hours (in 3 different places): 75
Strong Rec letters
Strong Essay (I had it checked by my career counselor a ton of times!)

Applications:
Kean- Denied because of my B- in intro to psychology, I took that class when I was 17. I don't think I'll retake it, since I'm already out of school and can't afford it at the moment.
Seton Hall- Denied because of "record breaking amounts of stronger applicants"
NYU- Wait list
Columbia- Wait list (the head emails us every couple of weeks and no one has given up their spot, lol I'm not surprised I wouldn't either!)

If I don't get through the wait list, which I'm not counting on, I'm going to apply to more places like SuperCOTA suggested. This year I only applied to 4, I did a ton of research and if I don't get in I'll be applying to 9-11 schools. I just want to start the OT program, but getting in has gotten so competitive that being qualified isn't enough.

Good luck!
 
Would people mind generally posting the type of undergrad they attended, along with stats? (Selective liberal arts college or Ivy which accepts 20% or less, big university which accepts 60%, third-tier university which 80%, etc.?) I'm not trying to bash certain backgrounds, but I want the context when I am comparing my stats.
 
Can't compare mine is a UK BSc in Maths and Finance...
plus I have some institute of actuaries quals.

Upper second whatever that equates.

I am looking at the Philippines because they are cheap for quality. Taught in English but you have to learn Tagalog to do clinics.

Plan B is try to get in the census and think about doing epidemiology.
 
I am looking at the Philippines because they are cheap for quality. Taught in English but you have to learn Tagalog to do clinics.
Yeah, cheap for quality, but are you planning on practicing in the US? You may want to check that as they have stopped the importing of PT/OT graduates from the philippines.
 
Hopefully I won't have to resort to a plan B...but this is what I have in mind:

- Retake chemistry (got a C in my freshman year)
- Maybe I'll retake biology at a different school as a non-degree student
- Volunteer in a variety of OT settings
- Work
 
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