General Admissions & OTCAS Your Best Advice for New Applicants

[alg5443]

Hi Everyone!

I've recently been talking to a couple of people who will be applying to OT schools this year and it brought me back to applying myself and all the questions I had! I thought we could start a thread offering our best advice to new applicants to help them along with the process and for new applicants to ask questions about the process, too!

I'll start with one:
My best piece of advice for applying is to apply early (September) and to stay in contact with the schools, especially if you have questions! I know I was finishing an important remaining pre-req (physiology) the fall semester I applied, and one of the schools I applied to stated they would not review an app with pre-reqs that were incomplete. I emailed the school asking about this and they then asked me to send my mid-semester grade so that they could do a "pre-review" of my app. (This information about sending a mid-semester grade was not stated anywhere, so staying in touch with the schools is important!) I was then accepted before I even completed the pre-req and I honestly believe it is because I reached out, showed interest, and brought it to their attention.

Also, write your personal statement early! Get it done. I procrastinated on this part of my app for far too long. Then when I finally did get to writing it and taking it to people for their opinions and corrections, it was time to submit my app so I would meet early decision deadlines. After I submitted my app, I realized I had a grammar mistake in the FIRST sentence of my PS. I basically thought it was the end of the world at the time, haha. Even though I had many people review my app and I probably looked at it 100 times, we all missed the mistake. I also felt that my PS could have been much stronger looking back on it now. Therefore, if you write your PS early, you will have time to critique it more. You will also have time to take a good, long break from it so you can return to it with fresh eyes and catch mistakes! It is the most personal part of your app that really shows who you are and why you chose OT, so make it great!

And finally: Really research the schools you want to apply to. Match their stats, mission statements, and curriculum style with what YOU want! I wish I had done this better. I really took my time in deciding the schools I was applying to but now that I look back, I wish I paid more attention to tuition prices. Tuition was actually the biggest factor in my final decision. Next was the curriculum style and campus. Make sure you can see yourself on the campus, if you cannot, why apply? Try to visit, and if you can't, Google Earth the school - just make sure you can see yourself there.


What's your best advice for new applicants?!

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[ErinOT]

I agree with your advice to start early, 100%. There are so many pieces that have to come into place for your application to be completed and for you to feel like you put your best foot forward it's best not to scramble at the end. I especially believe it's necessary to start your volunteer/observation hours early in the process not only to accrue hours and experience for your app but to ensure it's the right career move and establish those relationships with other OTs. I was so lucky to have a couple of excellent OTs to go to for advice throughout the process -from letters of recommendation to having their eyes on my personal statement- and it all started with a cold call or email to see if they'd let me shadow. Because I started that process early, I was able to submit my completed OTCAS early which I believe got me into my first choice school. I knew Rush U was rolling admissions so my timing was important. I only had a 3.0 gpa going into this so I made sure to knock every other aspect of that application out of the park. I also made sure I had time to take the GRE at least twice! Best of luck to new applicants! It's a daunting endeavor but don't let the numbers on here scare you away.

 

[msot4me]

Apply to at least 10 schools to increase your chances and always ask a few more people for recommendations than you think you'll need. Some people may not follow through or they may be hard to contact. And this way, you can pick the best letters for your application.