How the OT Admissions Committee reviews applications:
The faculty admissions committee reviews all parts of your application:
- Academics overall
- Performance in prerequisite courses
- Short-answer written prompts
- Observation hours
- Work and volunteer experiences
- Research experiences
- Certifications
As you prepare to apply to occupational therapy programs, there are many steps you can take to make yourself a more competitive applicant:
Research occupational therapy
- Learn more about careers in occupational therapy by visiting AOTA ‘s Careers page
- Learn more about Occupational Therapy here!
- Compare OT, PT, and speech/language pathology
- Ask an occupational therapist for an informational interview and learn what a day in their work life looks like and ask if they can connect you to another occupational therapist in another area
Experiences
- Find job shadowing opportunities with occupational therapists in schools, community settings, clinical settings, nursing homes.
- Exceed the minimum of 20 observation hours: Complete an Introduction to OT class (OT 1003 or similar) and up to 80 hours of shadowing experience.
- Apply for a job working in healthcare or with children or in a nursing home or observe or volunteer in other areas of healthcare. It’s not required to have related experience but it can be helpful. You can receive points on your application for up to 400 hours of experience in healthcare.
Extracurricular activities
- Join a pre-occupational therapy or pre-health club in college. If your school doesn’t have one, find out how you can start one!
- Join clubs or activities that feed your passion. They do not need to be healthcare related.
Volunteer
- Find a volunteer activity you love and stick with it. Volunteering does not need to be related to occupational therapy.
- Some hospitals or schools offer volunteer opportunities, which offers you a glimpse into healthcare fields.
Leadership
- Look for leadership opportunities in volunteerism, work, the classroom, or extracurricular activities.
- Volunteering long-term may provide opportunities for training new volunteers or doing more advanced work.
- Many student organizations at colleges and universities elect leadership positions such as president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, etc.
- If you work full- or part-time, discuss leadership opportunities with your supervisor.
- Take on a formal or informal leadership role in the classroom or lab; connect with your instructor on ways to lead.
Preparation timeline
- Begin your application in late July the year before you will start the OT program. If you meet initial prerequisites, apply before November 1 to be considered for priority admission.
- Prerequisites: Confirm that you are on track to complete your bachelors degree and all prerequisites by August 1 of the year you plan to begin the program.
- Spend time drafting and revising your short-answer essay responses before finalizing. Be sure to address the prompt thoroughly. Avoid surface-level responses. Use examples.
- List all work, volunteer, observation experiences. Our program values transferable skills.