Pre-Occupational Therapy

Are you interested in the pathway to Occupational Therapy?

What does it take to enter the profession?

Explore the menu below to learn more!

• Profession Overview
• Academic Preparation
• Extracurricular Preparation
• Application Requirements
• Letters of Recommendation

• Occupational Therapy

  Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants focus on the things you want and need to do in your daily life. Occupational therapy intervention uses everyday life activities (occupations) to promote health, well-being, and your ability to participate in the important activities in your life. This includes any meaningful activity that a person wants to accomplish, including taking care of yourself and your family, working, volunteering, going to school, among many others.

  Occupational therapy services typically include:

  an evaluation made just for you that that lets us know your history, life experiences, and your interests. We call this your occupational profile, and it tells us what values and activities are important to you during this conversation.
  an intervention plan that is unique to you to improve your ability to perform daily activities and reach your goals,
  and an outcomes evaluation to make sure that the goals you set with your occupational therapy practitioner are being met.

  Occupational Therapy Brochure

  The broad range of occupations is categorized in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4) as activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, health management, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation.
  Specializations:
  Gerontology
  Mental health
  Pediatrics
  Physical rehabilitation

  Occupational therapists work in hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, offices and clinics, school systems, nursing homes, and home health agencies. They typically work 40 plus-hour weeks during daytime hours, including some weekends and holidays. Occupational therapists work most of their hours on their feet while treating their patients.

  How to become an Occupational Therapist:

  Individuals interested in becoming an occupational therapist typically have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They are very compassionate, patient people with a desire to help others improve their lives. High school students would set themselves up for success by taking science and communication courses, and spending time volunteering helping children or the elderly.

  Higher education requirements

  Occupational therapists need to obtain a bachelor’s degree which can be any major but is typically biology, psychology, sociology, kinesiology, or a health science major as certain prerequisite courses are required for admission to graduate school.

  Master’s degree program in occupational therapy
  Optional doctoral program in occupational therapy

  There are some programs that combine the bachelor’s and master’s degree into one occupational therapy program that can be completed in a total of five years.

  Certification process
  After completing your graduate-level occupational therapy program, you must pass the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam in order to become certified as an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists are required to complete continuing education credits each year to keep their license current.

  BLS Profession Overview:
  Median Pay of $85,570 per year
  Employment of occupational therapists is projected to grow 14 percent from 2021 to 2031

  Professional Associations:
  American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
  Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado

• Academic Preparation

  Choosing a major: You can major in anything that you want! You have to take a set of courses that are required by OT Programs.
  See Coursework:

  Pre-Occupational Therapy Coursework

  Some programs have differing requirements. It is a good idea to build out the list of programs that you are interested in early and make sure you are in line with each school’s requirements. Find OT programs here: https://www.aota.org/education/find-a-school

  CSU OTD Program: https://www.chhs.colostate.edu/ot/programs-and-degrees/occupational-therapy-doctorate/

  Typical OT Program academic requirements are these courses:
  Medical Terminology
  Biology with Lab
  Human Physiology with Lab
  Human Anatomy with Lab
  Human Development/Human Behavior
  Kinesiology
  Abnormal Psychology
  Developmental Psychology
  Statistics
  Physics
  Sociology/Anthropology

  Minimum GPA requirements can be anywhere from 2.75 to 3.2 for more competitive programs. Be aware that to be competitive, you will really want to achieve a higher GPA than what the programs’ minimums are. The average GPA for admitted OT students is around 3.5-3.8 for most programs that I researched for this post.

  Some but not all OT programs may require the GRE.

• Shadowing and Observation hours of a certified Occupational Therapist is typically considered required for applying to OT programs.
  See Shadowing guide here: https://career.uccs.edu/resources/medical-shadowing/

  It is important to journal your shadowing experiences, impactful observations, outcomes etc. You will have to write about these experiences in your application. This indicates to the admissions committees that you understand what the role of an OT entails and that you are sure this is the profession you want to pursue.

  Other considerations that can help in boosting your application:
  Work Experience-any industry, OTA experience, Volunteer/Community Service, Other healthcare experiences or shadowing, Research, Tutoring/Teaching Assistant, Student Engagement- student orgs and clubs.

  You will need to be able to answer the question: Why Occupational Therapy?

• Application Process:

  OTCAS: The Occupational Therapy Centralized Application Service (OTCAS) simplifies the process of applying to occupational therapy programs. You start by selecting the programs you wish to apply to, then you submit one application that includes all necessary materials. Once received by OTCAS, your application and materials go through a verification process before being transmitted to all of your selected programs.

  OTCAS Application Guide

  What you will need to provide in the application:
  Personal History
  Academic History (manually input coursework)
  Letters of Recommendation
  Experiences
  Personal Statement
  Licenses/Certifications if applicable
  Observation Hours
  Achievements if applicable
  Official Transcripts from all institutions
  Official Test Scores if required

• Letters of Recommendation

  Recommendation or Evaluation Letters may differ by program. It is important to make sure that you are providing the amount and type of LOR based on the requirements of each school.
  Evaluations (sometimes called Letters of Evaluation, Letters of Reference, or Letters of Recommendation) are submitted by the evaluators themselves; they cannot be completed or submitted by the applicant or another party on behalf of the evaluator.

  All evaluations are submitted electronically by evaluators using Letters by Liaison, our Recommender Portal.

  Choose your evaluators early in the application process to ensure they have adequate time to submit your evaluation.

  Prepare your evaluators. Once you choose your evaluators, be sure to inform them about the process and that they will be completing the evaluation electronically. We recommend getting their preferred email address and asking that they monitor that inbox for your evaluation request (which will come from otcasinfo@otcas.org), including any junk or spam folders.

  The Evaluation Process

  When you request evaluations, your evaluator receives an email request with a link to Letters by Liaison. Evaluators review your requests, and then accept, complete, or deny them. Evaluators may complete assessments such as writing essays, completing Likert scales, and/or uploading letters.

  Once your evaluator completes your evaluation, you’ll be notified via email. You can check the status of your evaluation requests in the Check Status tab of your application at any time.
  Requirements

  You are required to request at least 3 and may request a maximum of 5 evaluations. If you want to submit more, send those additional evaluations directly to your programs.

  Submit a Request

  In the Evaluations section, click Create Evaluation Request.
  Enter the evaluator’s full name and email address.
  Select the date by which you would like this evaluation completed. This date should be before your program(s) deadline.
  Enter a brief message or note for the evaluator.
  Select whether you want to waive your right of access to the evaluation. See Waiver below.
  Click the checkboxes to indicate your permission for us (and programs) to contact your evaluators.
  Click Save This Evaluation Request to submit it. Once you do so, an email is immediately sent to the evaluator.
  Confirm with your evaluators that they received the email notification.
  Use the Check Status tab to monitor the status of your evaluations. Completed evaluations are marked as “Complete” and have a Complete Date listed. Follow up with your evaluators if their evaluations are still marked as “Requested” or “Accepted.” It is your responsibility to ensure that evaluation requests are received and completed on time. We will not notify applicants about missing evaluations.

  LOR Tips:
  Establish Relationships

  Get to know your Professors early! Tell professors at the beginning of the semester that you would like them to keep an eye on your performance in class. It will give them a longer observational window. Visit their offices regularly.
  At the end of the semester, if you do well, ask them if they would be willing to write you an excellent letter of recommendation when you are ready to apply.
  A key to a good letter is the establishment of a relationship between student and professor based on shared academic interests.
  1. Ask thoughtful questions
  2. Delve deeper into concepts presented in lectures
  3. Share your academic and career goals
  4. Ask for recommendations for additional reading
  5. Inquire about their areas of interest and research

  Requesting Letters of Recommendation

  1. Ask if potential writers if they feel capable of writing a supportive letter. If anyone is hesitant, you should probably try someone else.
  2. Get business cards with your recommenders’ contact information.
  3. Ask if recommenders would welcome any written background material. You could include a brief biographical sketch or resume, your interests and activities, career goals, and motivation toward your intended profession. You could also include a snapshot, a copy of a paper or assignment from their class, or transcript.
  4. Always give recommenders ample time. One month at a minimum. Follow up to make sure that your letters have been sent.
  5. Send thank you notes.