General Admissions & OTCAS Low undergrad stats. Should I go OTA route before applying for OT?

[happynonsense]

I graduated back in 2015 with bachelor's in psych. I was pre-OT before but I messed up in my anatomy classes and ended up with a low GPA of 3.18. Since graduating, I've been working in a medical office and would like to apply to OT school again. I am wondering if I should go through OTA school first to compensate for my low undergrad gpa and anatomy grades. I am located in NYC and I would like to apply to school here so I don't need to relocate (interested in NYU, LIU Brooklyn, York College, Columbia although that's a long shot). The office where I work has an OT who rents out the space so I can probably get a LOR from her. I wouldn't be able to get observation hours through her during COVID though. Ideally I would like to apply directly to MS programs but given my low stats, would it be better for me to become an OTA and do that for a year before applying to OT grad school? I would be retaking those anatomy courses in the process and have a chance to redeem my grades. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

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[cupcaketheot]

I would look at all the schools you're interested in and what prerequisites they require. Then I would retake A&P, any other preqs you didn't do great in and and take any other prerequisites you haven't taken. This took me about a year at my local community college. This will hopefully boost your gpa. Getting the OTA will likely take at least 2 years +1 year of working, then 2-3 years of OT school.

 

[OThopefully183]

I graduated back in 2015 with bachelor's in psych. I was pre-OT before but I messed up in my anatomy classes and ended up with a low GPA of 3.18. Since graduating, I've been working in a medical office and would like to apply to OT school again. I am wondering if I should go through OTA school first to compensate for my low undergrad gpa and anatomy grades. I am located in NYC and I would like to apply to school here so I don't need to relocate (interested in NYU, LIU Brooklyn, York College, Columbia although that's a long shot). The office where I work has an OT who rents out the space so I can probably get a LOR from her. I wouldn't be able to get observation hours through her during COVID though. Ideally I would like to apply directly to MS programs but given my low stats, would it be better for me to become an OTA and do that for a year before applying to OT grad school? I would be retaking those anatomy courses in the process and have a chance to redeem my grades. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

I was on the same boat as you! I graduated in 2015 with a low GPA as well around a 3.2 and still got into OT school so don't give up. I know with COVID, many schools are nicer about observation hours so as cupcaketheot stated, perhaps see what schools you are interested in first and see what they require. I know a majority of schools are very holistic, so if you are lower in one area, make it up in other ways. So since my GPA and GRE were lower, I tried to make it up by spending more time and effort on my personal statement. Also for observation hours, try to communicate with the schools to see if they have alternatives to getting hours. I heard one school offered prospective students to take a class in place of getting more hours so don't be shy and try to reach out. You never know unless you try.

I would definitely say be open when it comes to applying to school if you can. Try to see if the schools you are interested in offer this: looking at only the last 60 semester/90 quarter units. I know that helped me when applying. As cupcaketheot mentioned, I redid alot of my pre-reqs that were not so good and this helped especially since they looked at the last 60 units.

For LOR I do recommend having one professor as I almost didn't get in because of it. Perhaps when you retake a pre req in a CC try to get to know your professor. I was fortunate enough to get my pre req course professor right me one. Since being out of college for so long, I had so much trouble getting one from a professor.

Good luck and I wish you the best if you have any questions let me know. Don't give up, if I can do it so can you!

 

[happynonsense]

Thanks for the responses so far! It seems I should try directly applying to grad school instead of OTA and work on getting the requirements.. Are recommendation letters more valuable coming from a professor than an OT?

I was on the same boat as you! I graduated in 2015 with a low GPA as well around a 3.2 and still got into OT school so don't give up. I know with COVID, many schools are nicer about observation hours so as cupcaketheot stated, perhaps see what schools you are interested in first and see what they require. I know a majority of schools are very holistic, so if you are lower in one area, make it up in other ways. So since my GPA and GRE were lower, I tried to make it up by spending more time and effort on my personal statement. Also for observation hours, try to communicate with the schools to see if they have alternatives to getting hours. I heard one school offered prospective students to take a class in place of getting more hours so don't be shy and try to reach out. You never know unless you try.

I would definitely say be open when it comes to applying to school if you can. Try to see if the schools you are interested in offer this: looking at only the last 60 semester/90 quarter units. I know that helped me when applying. As cupcaketheot mentioned, I redid alot of my pre-reqs that were not so good and this helped especially since they looked at the last 60 units.

For LOR I do recommend having one professor as I almost didn't get in because of it. Perhaps when you retake a pre req in a CC try to get to know your professor. I was fortunate enough to get my pre req course professor right me one. Since being out of college for so long, I had so much trouble getting one from a professor.

Good luck and I wish you the best if you have any questions let me know. Don't give up, if I can do it so can you!

 

[OThopefully183]

Thanks for the responses so far! It seems I should try directly applying to grad school instead of OTA and work on getting the requirements.. Are recommendation letters more valuable coming from a professor than an OT?

I don't think so it was just cause they wanted an academic source I believe to attest to your academic abilities. So I feel like most schools I applied to asked for a professor as one of the sources. I think having an OT is most important, but be sure to check and make sure what the school requires as they do differ.

 

[ot.forever]

I graduated back in 2015 with bachelor's in psych. I was pre-OT before but I messed up in my anatomy classes and ended up with a low GPA of 3.18. Since graduating, I've been working in a medical office and would like to apply to OT school again. I am wondering if I should go through OTA school first to compensate for my low undergrad gpa and anatomy grades. I am located in NYC and I would like to apply to school here so I don't need to relocate (interested in NYU, LIU Brooklyn, York College, Columbia although that's a long shot). The office where I work has an OT who rents out the space so I can probably get a LOR from her. I wouldn't be able to get observation hours through her during COVID though. Ideally I would like to apply directly to MS programs but given my low stats, would it be better for me to become an OTA and do that for a year before applying to OT grad school? I would be retaking those anatomy courses in the process and have a chance to redeem my grades. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

Honestly, just try out because you never know. I dont even think your gpa is bad and it doesn’t define your capabilities . However, you are competing with other people who have 3.8-4.0 GPA.

I heard some schools look at their applicants holistically. My suggestion is have confidence and apply! You got this!

 

[OTish20]

I graduated back in 2015 with bachelor's in psych. I was pre-OT before but I messed up in my anatomy classes and ended up with a low GPA of 3.18. Since graduating, I've been working in a medical office and would like to apply to OT school again. I am wondering if I should go through OTA school first to compensate for my low undergrad gpa and anatomy grades. I am located in NYC and I would like to apply to school here so I don't need to relocate (interested in NYU, LIU Brooklyn, York College, Columbia although that's a long shot). The office where I work has an OT who rents out the space so I can probably get a LOR from her. I wouldn't be able to get observation hours through her during COVID though. Ideally I would like to apply directly to MS programs but given my low stats, would it be better for me to become an OTA and do that for a year before applying to OT grad school? I would be retaking those anatomy courses in the process and have a chance to redeem my grades. Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

I know this is kind of an old thread so I'm not sure if you made a decision, but I think you should go for OT directly! To be honest, my GPA is lower than yours and I just started getting acceptances and have a few interviews coming up. My suggestions: re-take pre-requisite courses if you didn't do well in them (namely A&P). Not only does this show that you are a more focused student now, but it can bring up your GPA! While COVID is going on, many schools waived shadowing hour requirements and there are online shadowing options like the one through Quinnipiac that you can do. I contacted every single school I was interested in to find out if they had a holistic process or if there was a sharp cut off with GPA and almost all said that they are holistic in their review. If you have a lower GPA but you have relevant/patient care experience, you will have a chance! And last thing: there are quite a few schools that look at only the last 60 credits. They may not be in NYC, but they exist. Best of luck, I'm rooting for you!

 

[ot.forever]

I know this is kind of an old thread so I'm not sure if you made a decision, but I think you should go for OT directly! To be honest, my GPA is lower than yours and I just started getting acceptances and have a few interviews coming up. My suggestions: re-take pre-requisite courses if you didn't do well in them (namely A&P). Not only does this show that you are a more focused student now, but it can bring up your GPA! While COVID is going on, many schools waived shadowing hour requirements and there are online shadowing options like the one through Quinnipiac that you can do. I contacted every single school I was interested in to find out if they had a holistic process or if there was a sharp cut off with GPA and almost all said that they are holistic in their review. If you have a lower GPA but you have relevant/patient care experience, you will have a chance! And last thing: there are quite a few schools that look at only the last 60 credits. They may not be in NYC, but they exist. Best of luck, I'm rooting for you!

wow, well said!