Many of you probably havent heard of FIU as it is a commuter University in Miami. I went here for undergrad and is the only Occupational Therapy school in South Florida. I live at home so getting in here would save me lots of money and be convenient all around. It is absolutely imperative I get into this school.
I talked with the Occupational Therapy advisor for the FIU graduate school and she said I have a good chance. But here is the rundown of my current application ranks so you guys could help me see if I have an honest chance of getting in.
My Stats:
GPA: 3.38 (Advisor said 3.0 minimum to get in but avg of candidates is 3.4-3.5)
All A’s and B’s for my four years in undergrad. Only 1 C in a low level Chemistry class (Heard they dont look at that anyway)
Deans list 3 semesters 2 of which were my last two semesters of my senior year
And an overall rundown of the program requirements:
50 students admitted each Fall. (2013-2014 school year 129 applied, 53 got in)
Also needed is a personal essay, GRE (no minimum score), 3 letters of recommendation, and optional volunteer hours
They look at overall science GPA more than overall undergrad GPA (which i guess is a good thing for me as my high grades came my last two years)
They also look at your upper division GPA (your 3000-4000 level classes all of which are A’s and B’s for me)
The full requirements etc. can be seen here: https://portal.otcas.org/otcasHelpPages/participating-programs/florida-international-university/index.html
So with everything said, despite a low GPA from my freshman/sophmore year, I feel that my upper division science courses all of which I had A’s and B’s saved my butt.
WHAT IM WORRIED ABOUT: is that the actual prerequisite classes for OT (11 classes including labs) are mostly B’s. Most of my A’s from my upper division undergrad courses are from my undergrad major (Psychology). Of the 11 OT pre-req courses 7 are B’s and 4 are A’s and of THOSE four, 2 are labs.
Then theres the GRE. Im planning on taking it in October. FIU requires no minimum score. So I just have to take it but obviously a higher score the better so factor that into my chances.
And volunteering IS NOT mandatory but also can very well help. I am volunteering at a hospital in the therapy department which I think looks good so I am planning to rack up the hours.
If you guys could help it would be much appreciated. What are my honest chances and what can I do to make my application stand out?
(This post formatting is all over the place so ask any questions and ill be free to clarify)