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Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

The overall goal for any admissions process is to analyze criteria and identify the prospective students that have the highest potential for success in the program’s curriculum and in the field as a practicing clinician. The purpose of this study was to examine common academic and non-academic criteria utilized in occupational therapy (OT) admission processes and determine what criteria are used by programs with 100% student pass ratings on their National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam following completion of an OT program. Admissions criteria components and NBCOT pass rates were collected from the top 107 OT programs, as reported by US News and World Report, using publicly available websites for each program and the NBCOT webpage. Descriptive statistics were recorded regarding the frequency of utilizing various admissions criteria. Chi-square tests were utilized to examine the relationship between each admissions criteria component and the NBCOT pass rate. Admissions criteria frequently utilized by the top OT programs included a bachelor’s degree prior to matriculation (90.99% programs), minimum undergraduate GPA (55.86%), personal statement (90.09%), letters of recommendation (97.30%), observation hours (74.77%), and an interview (61.26%). Few programs required applicants to submit a minimum math/science GPA (11.71%) or a writing sample (40.54%). Results did not reveal a statistically significant difference between analyzed criteria groups. It is likely that NBCOT pass rates are impacted by other factors that were not publicly available or included in this study.

Biography

Zana McNeil, MHS, OTR/L was a second year occupational therapy student at Augusta University at the time of this study. She received a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services with a concentration in addictions from Alabama State University. Her level II experiences were in inpatient rehabilitation at Aiken Regional Medical Center and outpatient pediatrics at Ability Pediatric Therapy.

Mallory Babin, MHS, OTR/L was a second year occupational therapy student at Augusta University at the time of this study. She received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science from University of Louisiana. Her level II experiences were in pediatric hippotherapy at McKenna Farms Therapy Services and MUSC in cardiac acute care.

Erin Pyles, MHS, OTR/L was a second year occupational therapy student at Augusta University at the time of this study. She received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Middle Georgia State University. Her level II experiences were at Fairview Park Hospital, in an inpatient rehabilitation unit and Optim Orthopedics, an outpatient orthopedic clinic.

Bailee Cloutier, MHS, OTR/L was a second year occupational therapy student at Augusta University at the time of this study. She received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clemson University. Her level II experiences were at Lynndale Inc., a day center for adults with intellectual disabilities, and Kidnetics in Greenville, an outpatient pediatric facility.

Breanna Trueblood, MHS, OTR/L was a second year occupational therapy student at Augusta University at the time of this study. She received a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology from Valdosta State University. Her level II experiences were at Self-Regional Hospital, level 3 trauma inpatient adults, and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, level 1 trauma inpatient pediatrics.

Sharon M. Cosper, EdD, MHS, OTR/L serves as Vice Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at Augusta University and is responsible for directing the admissions processes for prospective students and applicants. She has engaged in previous scholarship specific to optimizing holistic admissions in related health science education programs.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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