Which GPA is looked at more? OT admission

[Karina12]

would any OT students say that their pre-req gpa was looked at more during the admission process than their over all. I am going back to school as a post bac in order to take my pre-reqs for OT and am wondering if admissions will look more at my post bac pre-req gpa or my graduating gpa? I am kinda worried

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[Bad0 Fish0]

certainly your pre-req GPA is most important.

i'm a PT student, and i can only speak for my program, but overall GPA was only used as a cut-off point for applying.. it was the math/science GPA that was factored into the actual admissions process once your application was looked at.

 

[BUSportsMed]

The more threads I see with issues like this the more fortunate I feel to have been accepted to a freshman-entry (six-year) program (PT). While I still have to meet certain GPA requirements I don't have to pray a program will accept me on top of this. I suppose this isn't an option for you as you're applying post grad. Good luck!

 

[joyus195]

I agree with Bad0Fish0. Your pre-req GPA is what is most important and your undergraduate GPA is the cut-off point for applying. For most schools that I have looked into the cut-off GPA was at least a 3.0. However for some schools it can be a bit lower.

 

[Karina12]

Thanks for the info joyus195 however that was an old thread that I started , I am starting Columbia's MS OT program in the fall

 

[fridaynights]

don't think too much about gpa. b/c your applications are weighed in different areas. here were my application stats...

overall 3.4
Ot pre reqs - 3.6
science - 3.5

gre- i'll say it's slightly below 1000 ( not great :/ )... writing 4.5
community service.... several years
leadership positions.... various, mainly president positions
ot experience/exposure/volunteering... ~100hrs
strong letters of rec (personally knew them) ~ 7
extracurric... arts/music/sports
work exp... 5+ yrs pediatric mental health/school sys

i really felt i couldn't compete with many of the top schools, but i'm actually amazed that i've got into almost all my choices (still waiting on USC, NYU, UPS, LLU, ATSU, Midwestern, Dominican, Samuel Merritt). i've been talking to a lot of admissions directors, gpa isn't everything. it is however, similar to a key that will open a door to the next step. my weak points were my gpa and gre grades (retaking classes to raise gpa, 3x gre testing), but you have an opportunity to explain those deficiencies in your essay and interview.

i've read a lot of PT and OT forum posts that mentioned interview processes. personally, i feel that if you've gotten into an interview, you're basically a finalist, and if you can't sell yourself and communicate clearly, you basically lost your admission. interviews can make or break an admissions, but it's the easiest step and you can justify your whole application through the whole thing. i can give you a lot of practice questions that they gave me

the main thing is- what good is a 4.0 gpa if you have no social commitments, community service, or volunteering?
what good is getting a 4.0 in all the pre req's when you've got no extra curricular background, work experience, or letters of rec?
how can you say you're a fantastic student or hard worker if you can't write well or communicate your thoughts?

those examples come about b/c i went to UC Riverside where a good number of intelligent professors had great research, but really couldn't teach or communicate to the students clearly.. i'm sure everyone in this forum could relate to that statement.

gpa is just 1 factor. don't put all your eggs in one basket.

AND to answer your question. contact the admissions director about gpa's. some schools want sci gpas, some strong prereq gpas, some undergrad residency gpas, some want your upperdivision major gpas, overall gpas... see what i mean? but prereq gpas are possibly a good indicator of what classes they hope you can tackle in the grad program.