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Thu 8 Mar, 2012 09:58 am
About Me:
- Undergraduate Biology student w/Junior Standing (90 credits on quarter system).
- Wants to pursue Masters of Occupational Therapy
- Transferred over from a 2 year Community College
- Current GPA 3.0
My Situation:
I am finishing up my second quarter at the University, finals are next week. This was my first full-time quarter at this University & I found it very difficult to manage. I took Physics, Statistics, and a 3 credit Fish Biology course. I have always suffered extremely in my math courses. I don't know why I thought I could start off my first full-course load at the University with two math-based courses, but I did and it was a bad idea. The classes move at a faster pace then at the community college, and problems and concepts are not repeated for comprehension, you're just expected to get it and move on. Also, I did not place 100% focus on this quarter as I should've. I got into my first romantic relationship, thus my focus and attention was mostly spent elsewhere. I messed up this quarter, I know. But I dumped the boyfriend, and am contacting advisers and other resources to see how I can do better next quarter.
Sad thing is though, my GPA will drop significantly from a 3.0 this quarter. I will have to repeat Statistics and Physics. According to my calculations, the highest GPA I can get for each class after repeating it is a 2.0.
Most of the Masters of OT programs I've seen (including the one at my school) require at least 3.0 GPA in all pre-req. and anything lower then 2.7 will not be accepted. Statistics is one of the pre-req. for me.
I know I screwed up this quarter. I am beating up myself about it & not getting any sleep. I am scared I may have lost all chances at getting into my Graduate School of choice- University of Washington. I plan on applying to UW MOT program Winter 2013.
My Question:
If I repeat the 2 courses & get the highest GPA I can get in them, which is a 2.0. If I maintain no less then 3.7 GPA in all my courses for my remaining 6 quarters. If I get a good score on the Graduate Records Exam (GRE). If I get a lot of volunteer experience & job shadowing in by the time I apply...Do you think I will have a chance at getting into a good MOT program? (I believe if I repeat the courses and maintain a 3.7 GPA for my remaining 70 credits, I can graduate with a 3.5 GPA). Also, I plan on writing a powerful & well-written essay that'll explain my failure during 2nd quarter & how I picked myself back up and succeeded the following quarters.
I also just contacted one person I used to volunteer with who already graduated from UW MOT program. Hope to get on her good side and get a good letter of recommendation. Also I will contact & ask help from my professors more and get letter of recs. from them too.
@jt21forever,
jt21forever wrote: I am scared I may have lost all chances at getting into my Graduate School of choice- University of Washington. I plan on applying to UW MOT program Winter 2013.
I'm curious why someone who is not strong in Math/Physics would consider going into an O.T. program. That'd be one awful slog.
@ehBeth,
Any pre-requisites for the Medical or Rehabilitation field would require me to take some level of Math, Physics, Statistics, and Science courses. Truth is, at the community college I took 3 math courses in which I did below average in (but passed), or I repeated & did significantly better. Since most of my completed college courses were geared towards science and math, my adviser at the University of Washington suggested I go for a Bachelors of Science in Biology.
But once you get into the MOT program at UW, there are no math related courses in the curriculum. I've included the curriculum here:
http://rehab.washington.edu/education/degree/ot/courses.asp
It's mostly just all biological and direct OT related courses.
I know I can do it, I need to be 100% focused though. I know I messed up this quarter. But as I've said above, I am willing to do anything to get a better grade & get into the program.
@jt21forever,
jt21forever, I work with occupational therapists regularly. Receive and read their reports on a nearly daily basis.
A good basis in the hard sciences is necessary to survive in the programs - and to practice as an occupational therapist.
@ehBeth,
Thanks ehBeth,
By -hard sciences- you mean upper course biology & chemistry courses, right? If so, I am doing fine in those areas but have plenty of opportunity to do better since I am a Bachelors of Science in Biology major. :-)
@jt21forever,
No, I mean math - specifically statistics - and physics.
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