My Application Experience

I think what most people are interested in are what statistics do you need to get into OT school, so here are mine:

Undergraduate school: UCLA

Major: Psychology, BA

GPA: 3.4

GRE: 150 Q 154 V 4.0 Writing

Volunteer hours: 250

See? No crazy stats here! I remember my relief when I got almost the minimum score for verbal on the GRE (the minimum for SJSU is 153). I remember feeling that my GPA was a bit low, compared to the 3.6 "average" I would see online. I didn't list my pre-requisite GPA because every school has different prerequisites, but I believe I had an A in all of my prerequisites except for anatomy I got a B. That being said, I always encourage applicants to not compare stats because every applicant is so different! I feel that schools really do look at you holistically, so it is hard to say you will or will not get in just based off of how your stats compare to others. 

Here are the schools that I applied to as well as my admissions decisions:

USC: accepted

SJSU: accepted

Samuel Merritt: waitlisted and then accepted

Dominican University: rejected

Now for my application experience...

I had a whirlwind application experience. But I will begin from the very beginning, with how I decided to go OT. When I applied to undergraduate schools, UCLA was my #1 choice. When admissions came around, I got into all of the UC schools except for UCLA, where I was waitlisted. I was devastated. I submitted a waitlist statement and was granted acceptance to the school a few months later. However, I got into the mindset that UCLA didn't accept me originally because they didn't think I would do well at UCLA. My thinking turned into self-destruction, as I began to not try in my classes because I felt I wouldn't be able to succeed amongst so many other smart students. I failed chemistry that semester, and I thought that I would never be able to apply to graduate school with a failing grade on my transcript. From then on, I planned to go into human relations, because that was a job I knew I wouldn't need to go to graduate school for. That was my path freshman and sophomore year, until my family and boyfriend confronted me that human relations didn't seem like something I truly wanted to do, because I care for people a lot and human relations isn't entirely about that. My close friend then told me about OT, and helped me look up places to volunteer at. I volunteered at a pediatric clinic and fell in love with OT the very first day. So from then on, I decide to pursue OT. But by this time I was a junior, and so I felt very behind my friends who knew they wanted to pursue OT since their first year of college. These friends were planning to apply during their senior year so they could go straight into OT school after they graduated. Because I felt so behind, not having my prerequisites done, any volunteer hours, letters of recommendation, or GRE scores, I felt the soonest I could apply would be after taking a gap year. That was my plan until the summer before the beginning of my senior year. It was middle of July, and applications had already opened. I was heading home to NorCal after a brutal 6-week anatomy course I had taken in LA. I was so excited to relax and spend time with my family after being apart for a month and a half. But my mom had other plans when she told me, "I think you can apply for OT school." I remember being in such disbelief because I had none of the requirements to apply, and the applications had already opened! But my mom really believed in me, so I agreed to try. In the following months, I volunteered at a hospital, hand clinic, and two pediatric clinics. I studied for the GRE and took it. I obtained letters of recommendation and filled out my applications all before my first October 1st deadline. Through this whole process, I felt so unsure of myself because this was not my plan. I wanted to have a whole year of experience and have highly competitive stats, but instead I felt very rushed. However, looking back on it now, I am so thankful that this is how it happened, and I hope I can be an encouragement to others that don't feel like they have enough experience or numbers to be a competitive applicant. I think if you work hard and you truly love OT, schools will see that through your application as well, not just your stats. I know I was very anxious while applying, because the application process was very intimidating to me, so I wanted to share some tips in hopes that you won't feel as nervous as I was! Applications can appear tricky, but there are so many resources online to guide you and I am here for you as well!

So here are a few of my tips!

Prerequisites: 

I don't think you have to get all As by any means, but I would say to do your best because these classes are important for your preparation into OT school and will show if you are a qualified applicant. The requirement for USC is to have a minimum prerequisite GPA or 3.0, and have at least a 'C' for each prerequisite. For me personally, I was a psychology major first and then chose OT later in my junior year of college. So I was fortunate and had taken a lot of the psychology prerequisites even before knowing they would qualify for OT school. After I decided on applying to OT school, I use my junior and senior year to take as many of the remaining prerequisites that UCLA offered as I could. I would also be wary of how many units are required by each school, because I didn't realize how my quarter system credits wouldn't satisfy the requirement when converted to semester units. However, when I talked to USC admissions, they were flexible with looking at other classes I took that could satisfy the prerequisite so don't be afraid to reach out to them about which courses will satisfy your prerequisites! Also it is totally okay to have some of your prerequisites in progress at your time of application!

GPA:

One of my main fears with GPA was how the F would be viewed on my transcript. Consequently, I retook that class during my time at UCLA and replaced the F with a B. However, one of the questions on the OTCAS application is if you've ever been on academic probation (and I think they also ask why?). I don't know the right answer, but I just wanted to share with you what I put, which was that I was on academic probation but since then I've learned how to study better, work harder, and I've demonstrated that through how my GPA has improved since then. I think it is important to show that you have addressed the problem and have grown from it. Or that question might be more of a formality, I'm not sure! Either way, it didn't prevent me from getting into OT school which is great! General guidelines for GPA is that you should have a 3.0 minimum, but at least for USC, if you have below a 3.0 you will still be considered! 

GRE:

For the GRE, I only studied for 3 weeks because I didn't have much time before the application deadline. I think most people usually study for a few months. Like I mentioned earlier, I got one point above the minimum for the verbal score. I think schools generally care more about the verbal score than the quantitative. I would also say to focus on the writing portion because a lot of my friends that took the GRE usually regret not studying more for that portion or take the GRE over again just to improve their writing score. For SJSU, there is a 4.0 minimum writing score, but 4.5 is "desired." Again, I got a 4.0 for writing but got into SJSU if that gives you any hope! But for this year, because of COVID-19, the GRE is being waived!

Volunteer hours:

Majority of my volunteer hours were from outpatient pediatric clinics. I only had 40 hours from the hospital and hands clinic. It is not a requirement by any means, but I think it is a good rule of thumb to try and volunteer in as many settings as possible to get a better idea of the many OT practice settings. SJSU's requirement is, "Minimum of 80 hours volunteer experience or paid work experience in at least 2 different types of healthcare, education, or social service settings; 60 of the hours must be completed under the supervision of an occupational therapist." At the time of application, I only submitted 20 hours because of their app requirements. I can't remember the exact requirements, but they let me put down the remaining 60 hours as in progress. For USC, there is no volunteer hour requirement! I will speak on this more in an upcoming blog post about my interview with an admissions team member. In addition to OT volunteer hours, I also was an ABA volunteer for a little over a year. I was a peer buddy through Best Buddies, which is a program that allows you to to be friends with an individual with a disability. I also was a member of the Society for Physical and Occupational Therapy at UCLA, as well as Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), where we participated in sports day events for children with disabilities. I also was a personal care attendant for a UCLA student with a neuromuscular condition. I think all of these helped make me a more well-rounded applicant and portrayed that I was passionate about OT. 

I think I covered everything about my OT journey, I hope that information was helpful! If I missed anything that you've been wondering about, please feel free to comment on this post! I will try my best to answer any questions you might have, and I'd love to hear from you! Good luck! -Bethany