OccTherapy

Depending on the type of person you are, taking time off can be a really good thing. However, if you're the kind of person that doesn't need too much time to recharge, then you may not need the 2 years. In my case, I graduated from college and had to take an extra year of prerequisites and volunteering. So I graduated 2014, strengthened my application 2014-2015, applied now for 2016, and now I'm just playing the waiting game. In my case, I had to wait 2 years because my application just wasn't ready to turn in, but yours seems very strong! You have a lot of experience and a great GPA. And you'll have a lot of time in the next 9 months to get more experience. All you need is a good chunk of time (I took 8 weeks) to study for the GRE and you should be set. Of course this is just my personal opinion, because of the kind of person I am. After one year, I was ready to start grad school-even though I was still taking those prereq classes. But now I have to wait an additional year, and even though I got a job where I'll get great experience, I wish I could just start school already. (I think moving back home and not being around friends as much also can make time go by super slowly- other factors to consider if they apply in your case.) Overall, it just depends on whether you need that long of a break or not and how confident you feel about your application when you turn it in.

Hello! I'm applying to OT programs this cycle and I'm trying to find out the big differences between a lot of the top programs. I've applied to about 15 different programs (USC, WashU, BU, SJSU, Tufts, etc.) and already got acceptances into a few. Although most are Masters programs, I'm pretty sure I want to go for my OTD. I know a lot of people use location as a good indicator of which school they want to attend, and I'm looking to go to a school in a big city. I'm also narrowing down my choices by choosing schools that actually offer OTD and where I can complete it in 3 years. (While I'd love to live in NY, Columbia doesn't offer OTD, and NYU's masters+OTD program would take 4.5 years to complete.) So my main question is: what are the biggest differences between the schools that do offer the OTD- like USC, BU, WashU, VCU? Besides cost and location, what are some of the factors I should be looking into? Also, has anybody gone the route of getting their Masters from a school that didn't offer OTD, and then doing the additional OTD year/s immediately after at a different university? I know this route is stickier because you have to reapply with rec letters, GRE scores, etc. but I'm wondering if it's as much of a pain as it sounds. Any information is greatly appreciated!