Candidate Information
Occupational Therapy Program Information
Key Points
A new class enters each year in late August. The Traditional program admits 40 students per year. The Hybrid program admits 22 students per year. By the application deadline, all candidates must have completed at least 9 credit hours of the prerequisite requirements (the elective and statistics course do not count towards this total) and at least 50 hours of volunteer experience with a licensed OTR. Candidates must submit a plan for completion of any remaining prerequisite courses that includes the name of institution as well as the anticipated completion date.
GVSU has transitioned to OTCAS for the 2023 application cycle. The application deadline is January 15. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all application materials are VERIFIED by OTCAS by January 17. Refer to OTCAS for definition of Verified Status.
There are two phases to the admission process.
Phase I includes a review of:
· Prerequisite GPA
· GPA in last 60 credit hours earned
· Achievement Profile form
· Two Recommendation forms - one from a professor or employer if degree is already completed and one from an OTR
· Documentation of OT Experience form(s)
Phase II includes:
· An individual interview with a faculty member
· A 1 ½ - hour writing exercise.
All eligible candidates will be invited to take part in the interview and writing exercise. Phase II is typically conducted in mid-March; all candidates are notified of the admission decisions by late March or early April.
Degree
Many students who are admitted to the program are psychology majors. However, we have students who have degrees in behavioral sciences, health sciences, sociology, social work, anthropology, therapeutic recreation, and kinesiology. These are all excellent degrees, which provide a solid background for occupational therapy. As long as the prerequisite courses are completed, the undergraduate degree may be in any field. We have had students with business, art, and information technology degrees, to name a few others.
Prerequisites
The Prerequisite GPA Calculation Form details the prerequisite course requirements for the program and allows you to document your progress.
If you have any questions regarding the prerequisites you may contact the College of Health Professions (CHP) Student Services office at: https://www.gvsu.edu/chpss/ The OT Program Admissions Committee must approve any prerequisite not posted on https://www.gvsu.edu/ot/guide-list.htm or https://www.gvsu.edu/studentapps/mtn/ The OT program accepts prerequisite courses that have been taken at accredited community colleges and/or universities. All non-GVSU prerequisite courses not found in either of these guides should can be reviewed by a Student Services advisor; a member of the OT Program Admissions Committee may be consulted to ensure the course meets our admissions standards. It is better to ask questions and have the prerequisite course reviewed/approved prior to your enrollment in the course. This will avoid potential barriers in the admission process.
Some of the prerequisites might be available online through Michigan Colleges Online at https://www.micollegesonline.org/ or through the following community colleges and universities: Link to list of eligible evening, weekend and online courses
Please note: This list of eligible courses is provided as a courtesy and it remains the candidate’s responsibility to confer with the CHP Student Services Office for accuracy.
Course Equivalencies
Courses that fulfill GVSU’s OT prerequisites for all Michigan 4-year colleges/universities are located on the OT webpage, under Prospective Students.
Course equivalencies for all Michigan 4-year colleges/universities, community colleges, and some out-of-state schools can be found on the GVSU Registrar’s webpage www.gvsu.edu/registrar/:
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click on Additional Resources;
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click on Course Equivalencies: https://www.gvsu.edu/studentapps/mtn/
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Select a college or university
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Use “CTRL F” to locate specific course equivalency
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This will bring you to the GVSU course list (right side) and equivalent from designated school (left side)
GPA Requirements
At a minimum each candidate must have at least a 3.0 GPA average in the last 60 hours of coursework completed prior to the application. Additionally, each candidate must have at least a 3.0 GPA average in the prerequisite coursework with no individual course below a “C”. If a student elects to repeat a course, the program will use the higher grade of the two courses in the prerequisite GPA calculation. The program does not consider courses that have been repeated more than once. The OT Program Admissions Committee will not review applications with GPA scores lower than 3.0 in either category.
5 year Prerequisite Requirement
All prerequisite courses must be taken with 5 years prior to application to the OT program. The 5 year period is determined based on the date of graduation; provided the graduation date is within 5 years of application, all coursework taken during the undergraduate career will be accepted. Applicants who are currently working in healthcare fields can request a waiver for the 5 year timeline. All waiver requests need to be made in advance of the application and can be sent to any of the faculty listed on the bottom of this page.
Competitive GPA
To be most competitive for admission a candidate should have a prerequisite GPA in the 3.6 - 3.8 range and a last 60 hour GPA in the 3.6 - 3.8 range. It is very difficult to gain admission to the program with a last 60 hour GPA and prerequisite GPA of between 3.0 - 3.3.
Grades account for approximately 30% of the total consideration for admission to the program. The GVSU admissions process looks at multiple factors besides grades for admission.
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After reading through this Candidate Information sheet and reviewing the www.gvsu.edu/ot website, if you have any questions regarding the application process or the prerequisite course requirements, please contact:
Ashley McKnight, DrOT, OTRL, ATC
Assistant Professor
OT Program Admissions Coordinator
(616) 331-3128