<p>Speaking with my niece..who also happens to be my sweet God daughter..the discussion came up about how to become an OT.</p>
<p>I am clueless!!!</p>
<p>She is just starting high school. She is academically average. I am a math tutor so I was going to offer to tutor her in that area at least. I am not even sure what kind of undergrad majors she should look at. I would love any help or links I could pass on to her about how to work in this direction. Thanks!</p>
<p>If you go to college board .com you can do a search for OT programs. Some schools will admit directly to the OT program, some you enter as “undeclared” and have to apply after your first year. OT now requires a masters degree so it is generally a 5 or 6 year program. </p>
<p>What area of the country are you interested in? There are many 5 year OT programs as well as 3+2 programs ( 3 years at the college and 2 years elsewhere). </p>
<p>OT now requires a master’s degree but as twogirls noted, there are many 5 year and 3+2 programs. They are typically very competitive for admission. Schools need to be accredited by the AOTA and their website, <a href=“http://www.aota.org”>www.aota.org</a> is probably the best place to go for information. My first career was OT and I think the skills learned in that program have helped me excel in everything I do because of the basic principals and philosophies of Occupational Therapy. It was a really fun career 
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<p>OTs do have to pass a registration examination through NBCOT in order to practice. I would focus on schools’ pass rates. </p>
<p>I would suggest your goddaughter also see if she can shadow an occupational therapist. She would get a good feel for what the profession is really like. Plus that OT might have some suggestions about OT programs.</p>
<p>The OT programs around these parts are highly competitive. </p>
<p>It is good that she is just starting high school–she has plenty of time to get all of her ducks in a row, especially with an auntie/godmother to guide her.</p>
<p>I would start by googling for OT college programs, both the direct admit/combined programs and post-college programs, to let her see what she will need for her applications, both curricular-wise and extra curricular wise.</p>
<p>Then help her get started along the path. Obviously in high school, her academics in science and math will need to be solid. She should also investigate opportunities for working or volunteering in settings where she can learn more about the field. Anecdotally, becoming fluent in a foreign language is also a plus–especially Spanish.</p>
<p>I also second the idea of having her volunteer with an OT department. I discovered OT while volunteering in a PT department when I thought I wanted to go to medical school. Many programs require a certain number of hours volunteering in a health care setting so getting into a candy striper program would be really good. </p>
<p>Do you have a particular area of the country you’re interested in? My niece, who is only an average student, was accepted to Philadelphia University and Immaculata for OT. She ended up at Sacred Heart in Connecticut and has switched out of OT and into business.</p>
<p>We have a cousin’s daughter who is studying at Quinnipiac University’s OT program. I think it’s in their Health Sciences College and it’s supposed to be reknown all over the US. It’s a 5 or 5 1/2 year undergrad/grad program and they are supposed to be one of the best programs. Maybe look at their website and call them for more info? Not sure what the admissions requirements would be, but they could tell you!</p>