Interview with USC Admissions

I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Kristin Nxumalo, who is a member of our admissions team here at USC. I interviewed Dr. Nxumalo in order to gain some insight into the admissions process, and I was pleasantly surprised by a lot of the things she shared with me that I can't wait to share with you!

One of the first things Dr. Nxumalo and I discussed was how admissions truly are holistic. In my post about my personal application process, I believed admissions were holistic, and so it was great to hear Dr. Nxumalo confirm. Dr. Nxumalo stated that many people believe USC to be into impressive GPAs and GREs, but the personal statement and short answers are weighted just as heavily because USC truly wants to get to know the applicant as a whole. I think this should be a great comfort to anyone who feels the numbers on their applications are not impressive enough for OT school. A couple of my classmates had GRE scores below USC's minimum, but they were still accepted! So work hard on your personal statement and short answers in order to show admissions your whole person through your application.

Another thing that surprised me in my conversation with Dr. Nxumalo was how volunteer hours are viewed. I was aware that volunteer hours are not a requirement by any means at USC, but I was under the impression that it would boost your chances. Dr. Nxumalo informed me that they don't even review the volunteer hours in OTCAS, because they believe that being able to volunteer for free is a privilege for many. I really appreciate USC's consideration of applicants who may be in a position to only have time to work for pay. To me, this feels like USC is giving equal opportunity to students in all kinds of situations. Dr. Nxumalo said that you should still input volunteer hours into OTCAS of course if you are applying to other schools. She also said occasionally they may refer to your CV/resume if you mention something about your experiences in your personal statement. But to be clear, volunteer hours are not something they score.

Dr. Nxumalo also informed me that even if you apply after the November 1st deadline, you will still be considered on a space available basis. Currently, the late application has been extended to December 1st! So if you feel it is too late to submit, I definitely don't think it is too late and that you still have a good chance of getting into the program! If you want to apply for scholarships, even if you are submitting your application after the November 1st deadline, Dr. Nxumalo stated that you must submit your scholarship application by November 1st to qualify for scholarships. Dr. Nxumalo said that many people don't apply for funding and then end up not attending USC because of the cost, so you should definitely apply for funding! I received a scholarship and many of my classmates did as well just by applying.

Finally, Dr. Nxumalo stated that the entry level OTD is starting next year! So the application procedures may look totally different. But there are going to be online information sessions starting in March! I attended information sessions as well when applying, and I think that helped me a lot throughout the process. I cannot express how helpful the admissions team is at USC. They were the most responsive and helpful out of all of the schools I applied to. Dr. Nxumalo told me that a lot of applicants are afraid of asking "silly questions" because of how it might make them look as an applicant, but to not fear that! They would truly be happy to answer any questions you may have!

Here are a few resources Dr. Nxumalo gave that may be helpful:

https://chan.usc.edu/admissions/entry-level-ma


https://chan.usc.edu/admissions/admissions-blog/why-holistic-admissions


https://chan.usc.edu/admissions/admissions-blog


As always, if you have any questions I could answer, please feel free to comment on this post! Good luck! 

-Bethany


Comments

OTter said…
Does the admissions committee care about what major I was for my undergraduate career? Do certain majors have a better chance of getting in than others?
November 10, 2020 at 3:58 PM
Bethany Hom said…
I believe they don't care as long as you take the required prerequisites! However, within my cohort, I see a lot of majors in common such as psychology, kinesiology, and biology. I'm sure those will give you a lot of background knowledge that will aid you in your OT classes!
November 11, 2020 at 7:10 PM
Unknown said…
Do you happen to know how many applicants get selected for the Phase 2 video submission?? Does USC let a majority of their applicants move on to Phase 2 or do they cut off more applicants before Phase 2?
December 22, 2020 at 9:28 AM
Bethany Hom said…
Unfortunately I do not know too much about that, when I interviewed USC did not use phase 2 submission. I apologize!
March 1, 2021 at 7:39 AM
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