<p>Would like to know from experience how your kid fared going to a lesser tier college(meaning lesser than where they could have gone) because of a certain program or merit aid? My D will not be applying for need based add, so we are looking at schools that will give good merit aid and have the program my D wants... Frosh entry level OT program.</p>
<p>We are looking at Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart. Of course, some people just don't get it and are wondering why my D isn't applying to more prestigious schools..including her guidance counselor. It's quite simple, we want good merit aid and acceptance into the program.</p>
<p>Applying to a career-focused program like OT is more like applying to grad school than it is like applying to a standard undergrad program. The student definitely wants that specific field, so the quality of the OT program and its relative affordability are much more important than the overall school name.</p>
<p>Lots of evidence on CC of folks very happy with the choice … for example, there are about a million threads of parents of full-scholarship Alabama students who are ecstatic with their kid’s education.</p>
<p>On a more personal level … SecondToGo started out at UVM … and had a great experience … UVM lit his intellectual fire and a couple profs took him under their wing. After one year he transfered to my alma mater, Cornell … he is very happy with the move … however, to be totally honest, if it was my choice I think it’s possible that staying at UVM might have led to a better overall academic experience (including interactions with profs out of class).</p>
<p>I think that it is very reasonable to attend a lower-ranked school in order to get merit aid. The pre-professional programs at any reputable school will have their programs meet the professional standards for content, and the classes will be challenging because of that.</p>
<p>My top 2% of her HS class daughter went to a lower-ranked school for their 5 year Physician Assistant program. She ended up with a reasonable amount of student debt and had a couple of job offers before she graduated. She took the national licensing exam and passed it with no problem.</p>
<p>S1 wanted to attend the largest (but not flagship) state u. in our state. It is also DH’s alma mater. It is a fine university but was a def. safety for S1. He didn’t even apply to higher ranked schools. S1 was awarded a NROTC scholarship. He was looking for a very strong NROTC program. This school has the largest/best unit in our state. In addition to his NROTC scholarship, he also received two merit scholarships which when added together made for a full ride. </p>
<p>More importantly, S1 found a mentor in his unit who helped S1 prepare/be competitive for the specialty Navy assignment that he desperately wanted.<br>
Maybe it was just dumb luck but I like to think it was some sort of kismet that he went there when he could have picked from lots of other schools nationwide using his NROTC scholarship. He has never for one minute regretted his college choice. He would do it the same way if he had a redo. He absolutely loved his four years there.</p>
<p>I just peeked at what my kids’ undergrad has listed for pre-OT…</p>
<p>Any major is acceptable as long as students meet the entrance requirements including pre-*‐requisite course requirements. Popular majors are psychology, sociology, and kinesiology.</p>
<p>All schools look at the applicant as a whole. They generally want to see competitive test scores and GPAs as well as experience in the field through shadowing or volunteering.</p>
<p>(about 48 credit hours below are the pre-reqs)
English/ Literature
General Biology with lab or General Chemistry with Lab
Anatomy and Physiology
General Physics with lab
Math/ Statistics
Psychology
Computer Science</p>
<p>what are her stats? How much merit do you want? How much do you want to pay?</p>
<p>UA-Birmingham has a very good pre-OT/OT program…it may have an early acceptance program…and also good merit.</p>
<p>some schools admit students as frosh and they are then guaranteed a spot in the grad program without any further applications. Some schools offer 5-1/2 or 6 year programs ending in a masters degree. This can cut a year or more off of tuition and elevates all the stress of applying to grad school. </p>
<p>Quinnipiac’s merit aid is good for 5 years we were told.</p>
<p>I think it’s a smart move on the part of these lower-tiered schools. The guaranteed grad school admission “carrot” attracts a lot of higher-qualified students. Yes, there is a risk that the student might change their mind. If my son would have changed his mind, he would have transferred to another school. I’ve seen the worst-case scenario being played out here on cc. Some of the same posters, who chose other non-guaranteed schools, are crying the blues now because their students, with very good GPAs, can’t get into any grad schools, PERIOD, for their chosen health care field.</p>
<p>Health care professional degree programs are generally heavily impacted, so any student aiming for them needs to consider a “safety” career option in case s/he is unable to gain admission to such a degree program.</p>
<p>Note, however, that the “guaranteed” admission to professional degree programs often comes with conditions like maintaining a GPA worthy of normal admission and getting a high enough standardized test score on the usual exam for admission.</p>
<p>Just piping in to say that Quinnipiac’s occupational therapy program is highly regarded here in CT, and is NOT always an easy admit! </p>
<p>Mom2, there are a number of OT programs where students are admitted as freshmen to a five year program for OT, culminating in a masters degree. OT students must also do a year of rotations in various settings…and this is done once all courses are completed. These are rotations where the OT student does not get paid, but they are a required part of the program for licensure.</p>
<p>A friend of my son is a Soph in the OT program at Quinnipiac and as far as I know she is very happy there. I’m pretty sure must have gotten a very nice merit aid package as her family would never have been able to send her there otherwise.</p>
<p>A lot of those specialty programs are much more selective than general admission to the same University, so Naviance scattergrams and stats (such as found in college guides and in the Common Data Set) can be misleading. Don’t get overconfident about admission into special programs, and have a backup plan in case you’re only offered general admission.</p>
<p>My daughter chose a “lesser” school than her stats might have indicated. However, that “lesser” school was the campus that excited her the most when we visited. The more “prestigious” school she was accepted at offered her $7,000 in aid. Not nearly enough to be affordable - $50K/year was way outside the range of what we could do. The “lesser” school accepted her in to their honors program, and between that and a tuition exchange scholarship (for which she was wait-listed at the more “prestigious” school), she’ll graduate in sound financial condition. She’s finding being in the Honors program challenging and stimulating and is loving life. We’ve taught our kids that the best education is one from a good school where you graduate with little or no debt. They always knew that going into huge amounts of debt to attend a bigger brand-name school was not an option. Most of the schools she applied to were ones where she was in the top 25% of score ranges and the merit offers were very generous.</p>