Applying to OT in the future

[Dreams123]

I am a Kinesiology major at the University of Lethbridge and I'm currently in the last 60 credits of my degree. The last bit of my degree will not follow the standard 5 courses a semester, and I was wondering how this would affect my application into any Canadian occupational theory program in the future. 

- This semester will have a withdraw (W) on my transcript and I was wondering how this would impact my application?

- My school is giving us the option to take Credit (CR on transcript - credit toward the undergraduate degree but won't go towards GPA) instead of a letter grade. I do have a B+ in one of my courses (A and A+ in the other 2), and can't decide if it would be beneficial to take the CR in order to potentially increase my subGPA. 

- My last 60 credits would involve 3 courses spring 2022, 3 fall 2021, 4 spring 2021, 4 fall 2020, 2 summer 2020, 3 spring 2020, and then I would need one more course to complete the last 20 courses. Would they take this last course from my fall 2019? Or would this last course be the average of my fall 2019 semester? 

 

If anyone has any answers to any of these questions please let me know. I want to be able to set myself up the best I can for my future and knowing these would help! 

 thanks 

[rehabhopeful]

I can only speak to U of A because that is where I applied. In their FAQ section they have stated that they will not be considering any grades from Winter 2020 in the GPA calculation, so I don't think taking a credit or grade will matter in that context. As for your last credits, I'm not sure how the calculation would be done, I would email admissions about that because it can be complex depending on what courses are included etc. However, if it all possible you may want to do at least one or two semesters with 5 courses if you have not done so at some point during your undergrad. From the website:

The OT program is academically challenging which is why preference is given to applicants who have completed 30 credits (a full course load or 5 courses/semester) over two consecutive terms or semesters at some point during their academic career while maintaining a strong GPA. 

That said, they say they do consider applicants who have a few semesters of 4 courses.

[natOT]

As rehabhopeful said, for U of A it'd be great to have at least 2 semesters back-to-back where you're taking 5 courses, so if you have done that at some point (and maintained a strong GPA), then you should be good. If not, I would consider changing your schedule around a bit (if you can). Rehabhopeful correctly said that they do consider applicants with 4 course semesters, but in my opinion it would be safer if you could get a few 5-course semesters (if you haven't already).

As far as I remember, your 60th credit will be calculated based on your Fall 2019 average. 

I don't think a single 'W' on your transcript during the "covid semester" will matter that much to be honest. Rehabhopeful has it right about them not considering Winter 2020 (or for U of L students, Spring 2020) courses in their calculations, so I'm sure a withdrawal won't matter either. I had a WC on my final semester of undergrad and it didn't seem to matter.

I just recently got into U of A for OT so that's what I'm basing my answers on. I am unsure how it'll work with other schools. 

If you have any other questions feel free to ask! I graduated from the U of L too! 

 

[Dreams123]

On 5/1/2020 at 4:06 PM, natOT said:

As rehabhopeful said, for U of A it'd be great to have at least 2 semesters back-to-back where you're taking 5 courses, so if you have done that at some point (and maintained a strong GPA), then you should be good. If not, I would consider changing your schedule around a bit (if you can). Rehabhopeful correctly said that they do consider applicants with 4 course semesters, but in my opinion it would be safer if you could get a few 5-course semesters (if you haven't already).

As far as I remember, your 60th credit will be calculated based on your Fall 2019 average. 

I don't think a single 'W' on your transcript during the "covid semester" will matter that much to be honest. Rehabhopeful has it right about them not considering Winter 2020 (or for U of L students, Spring 2020) courses in their calculations, so I'm sure a withdrawal won't matter either. I had a WC on my final semester of undergrad and it didn't seem to matter.

I just recently got into U of A for OT so that's what I'm basing my answers on. I am unsure how it'll work with other schools. 

If you have any other questions feel free to ask! I graduated from the U of L too! 

 

Thank you so much for all your help! I do have one more question. Do you know roughly what they mean by a strong GPA? I have taken 3 semesters with 5 courses in my undergrad so far and the GPA for them were 3.4, 3.3 and 3.6. Would it be beneficial for me to take the entire next year with 5 courses a semester and try to get a better GPA? 

[natOT]

On 5/2/2020 at 6:02 PM, Dreams123 said:

Thank you so much for all your help! I do have one more question. Do you know roughly what they mean by a strong GPA? I have taken 3 semesters with 5 courses in my undergrad so far and the GPA for them were 3.4, 3.3 and 3.6. Would it be beneficial for me to take the entire next year with 5 courses a semester and try to get a better GPA? 

No problem! I am not sure exactly what they mean by "strong GPA". The last couple years the minimum admission GPA for U of A was 3.7, so I think close to that would be a safe bet. What that means for you regarding next years schedule is up to you! If it was me, I would probably try to take a full course load and get as high a GPA as possible.