General Admissions & OTCAS Who have you heard back from? 2020-2021 Cycle

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Hi!!!!!

Applied: Hofstra, SUNY Downstate, NYIT, Columbia, NYU
Interviews: Hofstra, SUNY Downstate, NYIT
Accepted: NYIT
Waitlisted: Hofstra, SUNY Downstate
Rejected:



I probably have to wait until March or April because I will not hear back from Columbia and NYU by then. I will also find it out about waitlist as well.
 
BHfutureOT said:
Hi!

I am not sure if they are at capacity. I have heard of many other people being waitlisted as well though. I think that they probably have spots left if they are still interviewing!! For the interview we were split into groups of about 5 and talked to two staff where they asked all interviewees the same questions and then after we switched to another 2 staff members where they again asked us the same questions. I felt it was be a little hard to stand out if I was asked the same question last out of 5 people, so definitely try to be creative with your answers. I don't remember specific questions because my interview was a few months ago but I just reviewed OT interview questions and none of the questions really threw me off so you should definitely be good 🙂 Good luck!
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So helpful!! Thank you for replying!
 
Fries123 said:
Unrelated but is anyone worried about paying off student loans in the future? I applied this cycle but I’m reconsidering whether I want to pursue this career or not because I don’t want to be 80-100k in debt.
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I think if you are questioning whether you want to pursue this career, you probably should not attend graduate school right now. Any graduate program will come with a large debt, but anyone who is 100% certain about their career path won’t mind this sacrifice in order to pursue their interests. If you are questioning, maybe you should take some time to think if OT is really the path you want to take or if it is the path that you think you should because of the money or job growth. You can always reapply in the future once you are sure! I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do!
 
GAOT said:
For those of you that submitted a video essay for Nova, how long did it take for them to reach out to you after your video submission?
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I did a video essay on October 5th and heard back November 5th! Hopefully that helps!
 
mabOT said:
I think if you are questioning whether you want to pursue this career, you probably should not attend graduate school right now. Any graduate program will come with a large debt, but anyone who is 100% certain about their career path won’t mind this sacrifice in order to pursue their interests. If you are questioning, maybe you should take some time to think if OT is really the path you want to take or if it is the path that you think you should because of the money or job growth. You can always reapply in the future once you are sure! I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do!
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@Fries123 I think you bring up a completely valid concern! I am 100% certain about pursuing a career in OT, but I am also mindful and considerate about how much debt I am going to be in and whether or not the ROI is high enough to mitigate my worries. Maybe students who don’t have to pay for their degree themselves are not concerned about the possibility of debt, but I hear you and I agree! After realizing how much some programs may cost in total I‘m also beginning to see that it may be a safer investment in my future to pursue an in-state program or one that enables me to apply for in-state tuition rates after living in the state for a year. I’ve spoken to many OTs and PTs who have advised choosing a reputable program first and foremost, but also highly weighing the cost because ultimately we will all be entry level practitioners after graduating from our program whether the total program cost is $65,000 or $130,000..
 
Applied: UW (Seattle), EWU, UIC, WashU, SUNY Downstate, Sacred Heart, Tennessee State, Elmhurst, Columbia, Towson, Salus
Interviews: Salus, Towson, Sacred Heart, SUNY Downstate, Elmhurst (declined), Tennessee State (1/22), EWU (2/6)
Acceptances: Salus, Sacred Heart, SUNY Downstate, WashU, UIC, Towson, Columbia
Waitlists:
Rejections:
 
hopefulOT15 said:
Applied: UW (Seattle), EWU, UIC, WashU, SUNY Downstate, Sacred Heart, Tennessee State, Elmhurst, Columbia, Towson, Salus
Interviews: Salus, Towson, Sacred Heart, SUNY Downstate, Elmhurst (declined), Tennessee State (1/22), EWU (2/6)
Acceptances: Salus, Sacred Heart, SUNY Downstate, WashU, UIC, Towson, Columbia
Waitlists:
Rejections:
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When did you hear back from Columbia? 🙂 Congrats BTW!
 
FutureOT2525 said:
Has anyone heard back from UIC recently? I know a handful of people got acceptances at the end of November, but I haven’t seen anyone post denials/waitlists/acceptances after that date (believe it was 11/25?).
This wait is killing me!!!!
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Hey there! I applied and still haven't heard back! But admissions told me that the ones who ended applying later like november-december they will get to them later. So don't stress out too much. They may still be going through applicants!
 
Hey ya'll! Can't find my original post but has anyone heard back about BU regular decision?

Also, anyone else apply to Duke's program? I know we're supposed to hear about interviews in February and I am so nervous!
 
prtyuncl said:
Hey ya'll! Can't find my original post but has anyone heard back about BU regular decision?

Also, anyone else apply to Duke's program? I know we're supposed to hear about interviews in February and I am so nervous!
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I applied to BU regular decision too but haven't heard anything yet!
 
hopefulOT15 said:
Thank you! No, there was no interview, just the video in the regular application.
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Congratulations.

When did you apply to Columbia?? I have not heard back from them yet.
 
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Applied: Rutgers, Kean, Seton Hall, Stockton, University of Florida
Waitlist: UF
Interview: Rutgers
have not heard back from the others yet.
 
Occuplease210 said:
Congrats on your acceptances! Do you mind sharing your stats? My dream school is BU and I'm feeling quite anxious as I wait to hear back.
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Hi I'm so sorry I just saw this!!!
GPA at the time of application (I'm still in undergrad): 3.91
OTCAS GPA: 3.92
Prereq GPA: 4.0
GRE (although BU doesn't care about it): 156 V, 157 Q, 5.0 AW
Major: Biobehavioral Health
Minors: Biology, Italian, Diversity and Inclusion in Health and Human Development
Hours: between 70-80 completed across a pediatric clinic, public high school, private high school for children with disabilities, and an adult outpatient rehab between 2018-2020. I had at least 36 planned hours for summer 2020 that couldn't be fulfilled because of the pandemic so I included that in my OTCAS too
Main extracurriculars: APO National Service Frat, GKAItalian honor society, AED Health Preprofessional Honor Society, undergrad research assistant for a lab in my major, lecture assistant for chemistry, OT club, marching band, I also proctor Zoom exams on the side and was a summer camp counselor for 3 consecutive summers

Hope this helps! 🙂
 
I only applied to two schools because I'm trying to stay local right now.

Applied: Shenandoah (MSOT), Trinity (MOT)
Interviews: Shenandoah (1/25)
Acceptances: Shenandoah (2/5)
Waitlists:
Rejections:
 
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Alagz said:
Applied: Moravian, Stockton, Kean, G. Mercy
Interviews: Moravian
Acceptances: Moravian
Waitlists: n/a
Rejections: n/a

if anyone is attending Moravian in the fall let me know!!! 🙂
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Updated!
Just got an email this week for an interview for Stockton 🙂)
Applied- Moravian, Stockton, Kean, G.Mercy, Salus
Interviews: Moravian & Stockton
Acceptances; Moravian
Rejections: n/a
 
boopsforsnoops said:
Applied: MGH Institute (10/13), Boston University (9/12), University of Florida (11/7), and New York University (11/12), Wash U, (12/30) Midwestern University (1/20)
Interviews: MGHIHP on 11/17, Wash U (1/14)
Acceptances: Washington University (1/25)!!!
Waitlists: MGHIHP
Rejections: BU, UF
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Applied: Nova OTD, FGCU, UF
Interviews: Nova, FGCU
Acceptances: Nova, FGCU
Waitlist: UF
 
Put my deposit down on sacred heart! Anyone else attending? Any Instagram or other pages for our class???
 
jalapeno26 said:
Hi! How long ago did you apply to Nova and how long did it take back to hear from them?
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I applied in early September. I was invited to do a video interview the first week in October and I believe I had received my acceptance by the end of October or first week of November.
 
futureot548 said:
Put my deposit down on sacred heart! Anyone else attending? Any Instagram or other pages for our class???
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Hi there! I am actually in the OT program and will graduate in August! If you have any questions feel free to ask! There will be a class page created soon. But there is an insta: sacredheart_ot
 
Thughey said:
Hi there! I am actually in the OT program and will graduate in August! If you have any questions feel free to ask! There will be a class page created soon. But there is an insta: sacredheart_ot
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Hi! I was wondering what you did about housing for your first year in the program as this is my next step! Also just how was your overall experience?
 
Hi all!

Applied: UIC, UW Milwaukee, UW Madison, Carroll University, Rutgers, Creighton University, University of Washington, Rush, University of Minnesota
Interviews: Creighton, Rush
Acceptances: Carroll, Rutgers, University of Minnesota
Waitlists: Rush, Creighton, UW Madison
Rejections: UIC, University of Washington

Updated!
 
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Applied: UIC, Elmhurst University, University of St. Mary KS, Rush, Huntington University IN, Midwestern IL, University of Kansas
Interviews: Elmhurst (1/8), USM (12/16), Rush (1/4), Huntington (12/11), Midwestern IL (extended offer for 2/18 - declined), KU (1/12)
Acceptances: USM (12/21), Huntington (12/18)
Waitlists: KU (1/27), Rush (2/16), Elmhurst top 25 (2/22)
Rejections: UIC (2/16)
 
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OTish20 said:
Hi all!

Applied: UIC, UW Milwaukee, UW Madison, Carroll University, Rutgers, Creighton University, University of Washington, Rush, University of Minnesota
Interviews: Creighton, Rush
Acceptances: Carroll, Rutgers
Waitlists:
Rejections:

Anyone else apply at the normal deadline for UIC waiting to hear back? Or UWM, Madison, or Washington for that matter? The anticipation is killing me!
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I've had my application in for Madison since early October and I haven't heard anything 😅
 
FOTBI16 said:
Applied: St.Augustine, Midwestern (IL), Marquette, OSU, Rush
Interviews: St.Augustine, Midwestern, OSU, Rush, Marquette
Acceptances: St. Augustine, OSU, Marquette
Waitlists:
Rejections: Midwestern
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What was Rush interview like? I'm on the last interview date in 2 weeks and I'm nervous!
 
OTDreamer98 said:
Hi!! So I was in the same position and denied my seat for temple actually! I chose the OTD route because the profession will most likely move that way anyway in the future. Although the mandate to make entry-level doctorates has been postponed in my eyes if it has the potential to move that way in the future I'd rather have it now. As of right now, there's no notable price difference but I see in the future the possibility of a price difference/hiring privileges especially in the school setting where they base salary off of degree level. When speaking to an AOTA spokesperson they informed me some fieldwork placements aren't even taking masters students anymore and prioritize doctoral students. For me, there was a difference of 10,000 more dollars and one more semester to get the OTD so I thought why not! Both are great schools so either option is great! What helped me was making a pro's con's list and if this is what the profession wants in the future although it's not confirmed right now I think why not get a head start for just a semester more! For the program I chose there were 2 more fieldwork options than temple so I thought that would be great to have a variety and more experience with the doctorate.
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Although the field is moving that way, there is a low, low, low chance it ever become mandatory for people practicing with their Master's to go back and get a doctorate degree. 15-20 years ago, you could be a practicing OT with a Bachelor's degree and many of those clinicians continue to practice with that level of education. The salary changes you mentioned are also possible, however OT services are generally billed at a certain rate as long as a qualified OT is providing the services. There won't be a separate billing code if an OTD provides services vs a MSOT/MOT or even a BOT. I don't know about school settings in particular but I could see base salaries being higher for OTDs. With that being said, however, why would a hospital/company/school willingly hire someone they need to pay more versus anyone else who is just as qualified? Just a thought. Quality of care/knowledge is definitely a possibility, but as with basically every other career in healthcare, experience becomes the primary method of learning. I cannot speak to fieldwork placements prioritizing doctoral students but that doesn't seem fair if it's true. At the end of the day, it's all personal choice and based on what you want to do in the future (research, teaching, etc.) I don't mean any offense by what I've said here, the doctoral route is very appealing to me too and aligns with what I want to do as well, but there are quite a few post-professional doctorate programs for people with their Master's already so if/when I want to and am ready to pursue that, I'm happy that those options are there. I think you have found a great option of only one extra semester giving you the OTD and I would probably do that myself. I think there are definitely good parts about having the doctorate, I just think some of your reasons don't paint that picture. From my knowledge, most OTD programs are a full year longer and from what I've seen are exclusively in the 100k-200k (although yours seems better!) range and to me, that price for the same salary or a modest increase just isn't worth it in this moment.
 
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Did anyone apply to MGH IHP regular decision? If so has anyone heard back yet? I've been anxiously refreshing my email every 5 minutes for the last few weeks and the anticipation is killing me lol.
 
mgwatterson said:
Applied: University of Saint Mary (Kansas), Rush University, Midwestern U (IL), St. Ambrose University, Ohio State, AT Still U (AZ), Elmhurst U
Interviews: St. Ambrose University, University of Saint Mary, Rush
Acceptances: University of Saint Mary
Waitlists: St. Ambrose
Rejections: NA
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How did you feel about SAU OTD program ? I was recently accepted a few days ago
 
Has anyone heard back from JMU yet? The last email I got from them was early Jan saying they were reviewing applications!
 
MOT_2021 said:
Has anyone heard back from JMU yet? The last email I got from them was early Jan saying they were reviewing applications!
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The last email I got from them was early January saying that they were reviewing my application and that they would be making decisions in the coming weeks/months!
 
preotva said:
The last email I got from them was early January saying that they were reviewing my application and that they would be making decisions in the coming weeks/months!
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Me too!! I'm super anxious to hear back from them. Hopefully we will hear back sooner rather than later!
 
mabOT said:
I think if you are questioning whether you want to pursue this career, you probably should not attend graduate school right now. Any graduate program will come with a large debt, but anyone who is 100% certain about their career path won’t mind this sacrifice in order to pursue their interests. If you are questioning, maybe you should take some time to think if OT is really the path you want to take or if it is the path that you think you should because of the money or job growth. You can always reapply in the future once you are sure! I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do!
Click to expand...
Fries123 said:
Unrelated but is anyone worried about paying off student loans in the future? I applied this cycle but I’m reconsidering whether I want to pursue this career or not because I don’t want to be 80-100k in debt.
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Yes, I think its important to think about ultimately paying off debt and the stress this will cause (if your principle seems unmanageable- you'll also be dealing with interest- eek! ). Personally, I chose to look at cost when applying to programs and I do not plan to go to a school where tuition plus fees are anywhere near 100K because I had the same concerns. I know of others who applied to more programs than I did but ultimately chose to go to a less expensive program. Definitely also apply for grants and scholarships. Its a reasonable concern. Best wishes with your decision!
 
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