My list of schools -- do I have a chance to get in?

[sarahg]

I'm mainly interested in early intervention/pediatric OT, so I want to go to a university that either offers a formal concentration in this area or is flexible with allowing students to concentrate their studies (electives, flexible fieldwork, etc). I also want to be in a city, preferably a large city near one of the coasts. I'm a California resident, but neither of the public CA schools look like they really offer what I want. I've searched a lot of websites and come up with the following list:
USC (dream school)
Columbia
SUNY Downstate Brooklyn
Thomas Jefferson
Towson (not sure about the location, but it's public which is good)
WashU St Louis (program looks amazing but I'm definitely not sure about living in Missouri for two years...could be worth applying though)

My main concern is my GPA. It'll be about 3.0 if I do well during my senior year (I have two semesters left) because I had one awful semester. My prereq GPA should be much higher -- I have A's in ones I've taken so far and hope to have at least a 3.5 average in all of them. I'll have at least 100 hours of volunteer work in different settings (so far I've worked in a pediatric outpatient office, an early intervention preschool-type program, and looking at a rehab hospital to get experience with adults). I haven't taken the GRE yet but expect very good scores because standardized tests are a major strength of mine.

So, with a decent prereqs GPA, a great GRE score, and 100+ volunteer hours, do I have a chance at getting into these schools with a 3.0 overall GPA? Any other schools I should look at for pediatrics or with strong sensory integration programs?

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[caduceus27]

hi
I think your competitive to apply to all the schools you mentioned. In terms of pediatrics the only school that I know of, that gives a course in early intervention is SUNY Downstate. They pick certain students to take the course from my knowledge and what I heard. In general OT programs dont offer a concentration in a particular speciality in the field, but the course work covers all aspects of OT.Because OT is so broad it would be hurtful for the profession if the students only concentrate on one aspect of OT. Later after you graduate you can specialize in pediatrics but there are schools that offer courses in Early Intervention and pediatrics. good luck

 

[fridaynights]

u mentioned you were applying to usc... me too. i've had a big to worry about myself- undergrad gpa wasn't too great, but i've been able to bump it up through community colleges (for prereqs). i had a 960 on my gre (wish i actually studied), usc will consider applicants who are at 980+ although they say the min. is 1000 gre. as from all the contact communication i've had, my gre was the only thing holding me back, but everything else was a positive... good prereq gpa, volunteer experience in peds/hospital/homehealth/etc., 5 strong letters of rec, and 2 awesome mentors (from my volunteer sites) who both graduated from the usc otd programs.

as of now, i'm just waiting for my accept/reject letter. hopefully we'll both stand a chance - good luck!