<p>My son is graduating HS in 2013, so we are in the midst of our college search. He is thinking he might like the field of PT, OT (especially), medical technology, basically a lot of the Allied Health sciences. His grades are not competitive enough to get into one of those combined BS/ Masters programs, so he would be looking at majoring in "health science" or possibly a "pre-allied program" and then applying to grad school after completing his undergrad degree. Does any one have any info on schools that offer these programs? Especially OT? He has a 90.23 avg and a 27 on the ACT. He also could use a school that has nice academic support services/tutoring. Although a good, responsible student, he has mild ADD and has sought out tutoring in the past.</p>
<p>Where I live some of the community colleges have majors related to allied health…RN, med records, OT and PT assistant, CNA, etc. perhaps your son could do two years in such a program, do well, and then apply to complete his bachelors someplace.</p>
<p>By the way…around here OT and PT assistants have great job prospects!</p>
<p>Isbean: My daughter majored in Health Science at Clemson and will be starting at Wash U St. Louis for her masters in OT this fall (well, actually next week). It really doesn’t matter what you major in undergrad for OT grad school as long as you satisfy the pre-req requirements (roughly 8-10 courses which includes physiology, anatomy, biology, chemistry, etc…) and these courses are almost the same for all OT grad programs. OT masters programs are extremely competitive to get into. You need great grades, tons of shadowing hours, and relevant work experience if possible. Most OT programs have 50 plus applicants applying for each available seat (and their MOT/MSOT cohorts are usually less than 20 students). It is a fabulous career, however, with high growth due to the aging baby boomer population.</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota has a relatively new program in Rochester, MN, affiliated with the Mayo Clinic for allied health majors. Drawback is that it’s pretty class oriented and not really a “college” life-no sports, activities, etc. Big plus is that the Mayo will guarantee you a job upon successful completion of your program.</p>
<p>I second the idea of community college for the associate degree. It’s the easiest way to get his foot in the door. If it were my son, I’d have him live at home for the first semester. If he does well, I’d consider letting him move to an apartment, if living away from home is important to him.</p>
<p>The daughter of a good friend is in the PT program at Quinnipiac…very, very happy with the program. She was able to get in to the six year program there. Your grades and scores are similar to what hers were…not sure of the requirements now.</p>
<p>Depending on where you are, check out Stockton (a state school) in NJ. Strong for OT, with some actual OT exposure offered as an undergrad, instead of just generic prerequisite work. Their track record of OT masters’ program admissions is something you would ask about, but my informal impression is that they’ve done well.</p>
<p>With community college programs that are oriented toward a specific technical field, and you’re ultimately looking to enter the field with a bachelor’s or master’s, you have to find out whether the associate’s degree offered forms the foundation for the bachelor’s. Sometimes it does not – sometimes it’s an academically lower-level preparation for lower-level employment in the field, and the courses are not on the pathway to the higher degree.</p>
<p>For example, I know someone who is interested in computer science and has checked out our community college. They have a 2-year AAS degree – Associate’s in Applied Science. It is 9 general courses (English, math, etc.) and 11 very technical courses. This is not what you would take if you wanted to transfer out and finish the Bachelor’s. The 4-year school will want you to take the heavy-duty computer courses at the 300 level at the 4-year school. They will take you as a transfer, but they would rather see you spend your community college time taking a general A.S. or A.A. degree – more math than what the AAS people take – and probably taking more than 9 general ed courses, which are generally not enough freshman and sophomore gen ed to satisfy the requirements for the the bachelor’s level degree.</p>
<p>If you take that AAS, start working in the field, and then decide “yes – I want a bachelor’s in this” – you will probably find that you’re going to need three more years of work, not just two. So, community college can be a great place to start, but if you see it as a stepping stone to a four-year degree, dig into the curricular requirements of that degree, and make sure you don’t invest your community college time and money in technical courses that will not transfer to the bachelor’s, even in the very same field.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! My son is definitely headed toward a 4 year college, so unfortunately the community colllege route (which sounds like a good option ) is not on the table. We are in the NY metro area and looking in the northeast, mid Atlantic, and maybe, southeast colleges. Boxysx3… We did look at Quinnipiac, but were surprised that the last two years of college are spent on another campus you have to drive to. however, it is still a possibility. Any other schools that anyone has heard about that offer this would be great.
Southmom…where is Clemson?
Fieldsports…I will check out Stockton…thanks!</p>
<p>check out Sacred Heart(CT), Ithaca(NY), Springfield College(MA)</p>
<p>Now that I know you’re in NY, see what they have at SUNY Upstate Medical College (Syracuse) and SUNY Downstate. At Upstate (and probably Downstate) they offer some four-year allied health degrees, such as respiratory therapy, with the assumption that the students take the first two years of general ed elsewhere (considered “lower level” undergrad). It can be done pretty much anywhere. Then the students come together at the med school for junior and senior year of college, upper level undergrad, focused on their technical field. There is “early assurance” admission, where 12th graders can apply for the upper level program, with the assumption that they will also apply somewhere else for the lower level, and will successfully fulfill the lower level requirements for the next two years. There is a second chance at admission, sophomore year of college, for those who did not pursue this in 12th grade.</p>
<p>The junior/senior experience in a place like that is probably more like grad school, in terms of the social and emotional character of it. It’s small and focused, with a fair number of older students. That may or may not matter; a lot of people are sort of over the rah-rah beer drinking stuff by junior year of college, anyway. At Upstate, there may be the opportunity to feel a part of the traditional undergrad experience that Syracuse University offers, as the campuses are physically adjacent. I don’t know much about Downstate.</p>
<p>They stress that people should have real-world experience in the medical field, even as a volunteer EMT on an ambulance, before committing. If sick people coughing on you is not for you, figure that out before they give you one of the seats. People cannot transfer into the program after the ship sails first semester of junior year, and dropouts simply waste the resource that could have been used by another, more committed applicant.</p>
<p>Definitely check out the SUNY schools. Also, Scranton, Kean in NJ, and a little further afield, (but some really great people there) Springfield College. (for the health programs, the admissions stats are usually higher than the overall school because the program’s are so competitive)</p>
<p>There are some schools in PA that have allied health majors or similar too-Mount St. Mary’s and Seton Hill (I think without looking them up again). I have to say that for what your son is considering, the community college route is NOT the same thing. Our DD is looking into this as well and everyone around here requires a 4 year degree for these fields. This is not a “lab tech” type job which is what the certificate programs at community college prepare kids for. I would not recommend going the CC route if he is thinking OT or PT. The competition for PT especially is such that having the CC to start will be a negative.</p>
<p>Currently, you must have a doctorate (3 year grad program) to be licensed as a PT in all 50 states. To be an OT, you must have a masters degree (2 year grad program) or a doctorate (3 year grad program) to be licensed in all 50 states. You cannot be licensed as either a PT or OT with just a bachelor’s degree. And from what I hear, beginning in 2016, you will need a doctorate (3 year grad program) to be licensed as an OT (current masters students will be grandfathered in).</p>
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<p>To clear up any confusion here, the cc programs in laboratory science are 2 year “Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT)” programs. A four year degree is required in order to be a “Medical Technologist (MT)”. </p>
<p>That said I was a Medical Technologist (MT) for 5 years and there is good reason as why I changed careers. I would not recommend it.</p>
<p>isbean, I know this isn’t the route you are looking at but for others considering their options, from everything that I know a PTA or COTA license will make you very employable and will also probably help some with the practical end of your courses but as Fieldsport mentioned the coursework will not be a stepping stone. I went to Downstate back in the 70’s so I’m sure things have changed but while there were student activities and even back then a decent student center the typical college experience wasn’t available, but there were great opportunites to buy low priced Broadway tickets :).</p>
<p>I want to clarify that I suggested OT or PT assistant or something similar for this student because OT programs (5 years) and PT programs (equivalent of a PhD) are HIGHLY competitive programs. Job prospects for COTAs (OT assistants) and PT assistants is very good, and the programs are far less competitive. </p>
<p>As an example, we know students with far higher stats than the OP who did NOT get accepted into the OT program at Quinnipiac. </p>
<p>Just suggesting that the OP keep their options open.</p>
<p>Ithaca College has excellent programs in both PT and OT. The PTs, however, do move to another campus for their last couple of years. Not sure if this is true for the OT students as well. You may also want to look at University Of New England in Biddeford, Maine. They have a good reputation for allied health professions.</p>
<p>I understand your concerns about how competitive the combined bachelor’s / graduate degree programs are. I would, however, encourage you to look at all options since some of the combined programs offer financial aid for all of years of the program.</p>
<p>Thumper, I’d disagree that the DPT is the equivalent of a PhD. It’s a tough and respectable degree program to be sure but a three year professional degree differs greatly from a 5+ year research degree. They’re just two very different animals.</p>