<p>Thank you! Yes, it did help. And, I understand exactly what you’re saying. In fact, this is why my daughter is more interested in a school such as USC (University of Southern CA) or Boston U where both offer a 5 year BS/MS in OT. Some of these schools will call it a Health Science degree. Others will simply say Pre-OT or a BS in OT. Either way, a Masters is now needed to practice as an Occupational Therapist, regardless. It does seem practical to get started right away in the field one is interested in. Even more so if they are guaranteed admission to the Grad program. Or at least made easier.</p>
<p>I was just thinking that if she doesn’t get accepted to any of these schools with this undergraduate-to-graduate degree program, it would be nice to find a school that might offer a health science major for pre-allied health professions. Or Human Development. Some schools even offer a Kinesiology degree with an emphasis on the medical aspect. </p>
<p>OT grad programs don’t require that the undergraduate degree needs to be science or health related. In fact, many of them prefer that their grad students have a well-rounded liberal education. But it also makes sense to major in something somewhat closely related to what a student plans to get their advanced degree in later, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Thanks once again for taking the time to reply! I’m a bit late with my own reply.</p>
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<p>URAdmissions replied:</p>
<p>I have to say I don’t know why we don’t see much activity for things such as OT. Perhaps students who are interested in such fields as early as 11th grade may not consider a liberal arts college experience but instead be drawn to the more comprehensive universities where the major offerings seem to link up in a more linear way to the career they hope to pursue? That would be my guess. Just from a point-of-view standpoint, we (at the pre-admission stage) don’t often spend a lot of time doing career prep–but instead have a much more broad, critical inquiry education prep–kind of outlook, so perhaps that is not appealing to students who are already so focused on a specific career. Maybe it would be worth contacting an OT admission office and talking about the differences in preparation that their students bring to the professional program from liberal arts colleges vs. comprehensive universities. That might shed some light. </p>
<p>I hope that helps!</p>