Occupational Therapy BS/MS programs

So this is my first post here on CC forums though I’ve been visiting here for quite some time. Our oldest, D17 is a rising senior and pretty much solidly decided on pursuing OT which has led us to explore freshman entry 3+2 BS/MS programs. Inasmuch as I have gathered from reading on these forums, it is the best option to pursue these combination type programs both economically (we would be full pay) and also from a convenience/ease standpoint in gaining entry as a freshman versus having to go through admissions at the graduate level.

D17 has a 96.5 GPA and a 1320 SAT (new test). I estimate she is top 25-30% at our highly ranked public hs. D17 would like to avoid the very small schools and those with the heavy female to male ratios. Our list so far includes: Scranton, Duquesne, Quinnipiac, UNH, Ithaca, Seton Hall, Sacred Heart and UDel/St. Joe’s that combine a 3/2 w/Jefferson Hospital program in Philadelphia. We are also trying to stay away from schools that require you to apply later on in sophomore, junior or senior year to be admitted into the OT program. Can anyone add to the list of schools we have generated and/or comment about experiences regarding whether stats are competitive for admissions to these programs? I don’t want her to have all ‘reaches’ but maybe that is what we have here and we need to refocus/revisit our list. Any/all advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

SUNY Buffalo has a 5 year OT program and you may look into the University of Pittsburgh (not sure if Pitt has a 3/2 program but they have OT).

I am an Occupational Therapist whose been practicing for over 30 years. I attended Towson University in Towson, Maryland( a suburb of Baltimore) They currently have an entry level BS/MS program. I’ve often supervised many Towson students , and have consistently been impressed with their skills. Another school that I would highly recommend is the Medical University of SC. They do not have a BS/MS program , but they take quite a few students from College of Charleston. Their students are also well prepared for practice IMO. I’ve included a link from AOTA of all the the BS/MS programs that are currently accredited. I hope this helps. Good luck to your daughter . It’s a great profession.
http://www.aota.org/education-careers/find-school/accreditentrylevel/otmasters.aspx

Thanks for the replies and great suggestions of Programs. SUNY Buffalo is a possibility but a little far for us and, well the weather aspect is not for the faint hearted :). We will definitely look into Pitt…details on their early assurance program are pretty limited on the website. We looked at Towson…great location, size of school and campus. From what we read online they take you in as a pre-OT but a smaller number of students (like a third or less) are actually admitted into the actual program as sophomores. Great suggestion…we should probably give it another look given it hits all of our other criteria and is a top rated program as well.

@jgirl319 When I went to Towson , we started with 42 Freshman and they accepted 30 into the program. I can say that most of the students who did not make it quit before the decisions were made often because they didn’t have a clear understanding of what OT entailed. Good luck to your daughter . They have excellent learning opportunities at Kennedy Kreiger Institute, Johns Hopkins, Union Memorial Hand Center . Definitely worth a visit.

Nova Southeastern University! My best friend is going there for OT. You get accepted dual admission, so you don’t need to reapply to get a masters degree. 6.5 year program, or 7.5 for a doctorate. It’s in Ft Lauderdale!

St. Louis University has a direct admit OT program

Thanks @lindsgal and @bhs1978 for the suggestions. We will look into these as well…both a plane ride for us but we should explore. Thanks also @carolinamom2boys for your insight and thoughts. Most of the OTs we have talked too seem to have the same great things to say about the field as you. We are very pleased and excited she has chosen to pursue OT. Our youngest received OT services in our home and at school for many years which is how we and D17 (6 years older) became familiar with the profession. From what I read we need to apply by November/December to most of these so our list needs to be firmed up in short order. We are putting Towson back on the list for a visit…too close and too great of a program to leave off :)!

Great. Good luck to your daughter.

Sounds like Saint Louis University would be a plane ride for you, but I thought I’d add on to the post above in case you might want to consider it. SLU’s OT program is a 5 year program, and as bhs1978 mentioned, it is also direct admit. My daughter about to begin her junior year in the program, and she has been incredibly happy there. I don’t know your definition of a small school, but SLU has around 8,500 undergrads, I think. We looked at a lot of schools (including Colorado State, UNC Chapel Hill, Wash U in St. Louis, Ohio State, Western Michigan, University of Kansas), and SLU was her favorite by far. Some of the others are ranked higher, but she loved the OT program, the facilities, and especially the philosophy of the OT program at SLU. In case you don’t know, it is a Jesuit school; we are not Catholic and she still feels very much at home there. Community service is big, which fits my daughter. The male/female ratio in any OT program is likely to have way more females, but the overall ratio at SLU is 50/50. She has mostly girls in her OT class but they also take a lot of sciences and gen eds with guys from all majors and intra-professional classes with guys from premed, PT, physician assistants, nursing, etc.

It is a private school, so it comes with a bigger price tag, but they also offer substantial scholarships. I think most kids get at least $14,000 and many get $16,000 to $20,000 per year. There is also a competitive scholarship for full tuition that is awarded to about 25 kids per year. Since it is a 5 year program, it actually turned out to be more cost effective than our state school where she would have had to get an undergraduate degree and then go 2 to 2.5 more years for her graduate degree.

Last, about 40% of kids get the opportunity to study abroad (and I think about 80% of her OT class went), which is an incredible experience. They make it super cheap to study abroad as they have a campus in Madrid with lower tuition and they apply their scholarships.

Sorry if I sound like a commercial. Love this school!

Thanks @swimmom87 ! Great to hear of another outstanding direct admit program and your daughter’s firsthand experience is very helpful!