IIRC, Duquesne has one of the oldest music therapy degree programs (maybe it’s their masters program) in the country. Pittsburgh is a great city, in my opinion. Not sure how easy to combine these two interests your student has.
Re: university of Hartford…I think academic admission is very likely. But admission to the OT program is a bit harder, and I thought was a masters level program…actually I thought it was a five year program. Not sure how easy that would be to combine with music as a second major.
IOW what I’m saying is make sure your son can actually in reality DO what he wants to do at each of these colleges. It’s not easy to double major with these two fields.
Slippery Rock is the “true safety” I mentioned above. The OT program might not be a safety but the RT/OT major is because it’s an auto admit with a 3.3, and the tuition is low.
I didnt put it on the list because my question about admissions doesn’t apply, but he is definitely interested in it. There’s also an instate option without the early assurance that he doesn’t love but will probably apply to.
He doesn’t expect to be able to double major, but he does want to be in a place where he has access to other musicians, and can do private lessons, or ensembles and maybe a music therapy or music ed elective or two.
The one exception seems to be Sacred Heart which has a 4+2 option where you can pick any major in the school for the undergrad. So, that’s intriguing.
All of these programs are MSOT programs, or a few have an OTD option as well. You start off in a Bachelor’s program, and then they shave a year off the total by allowing you to count your first year of graduate school for the last year of your B.A. or B.S… They range between 4.5 and 6 years total.
Applying to a direct entry BS/MSOT will likely be more competitive than applying to the school in general…imo. I can’t tell you how much more…because I don’t know. It really depends on the applicant pool and the program requirements.
Is there information about the number of applications they receive versus the number of available spots? Can your son set up an appointment to speak with somebody, find out more information about the program, etc?
I would apply to direct entry programs and also have 2 safeties where he can apply the traditional route. Keep in mind that those programs can also be competitive.
You’ve done a great job of finding programs! I suspect they’re all likely or extremely likely admits with respect to general admission, but as for the assured OT programs, I have no clue.
Duquesne, Ithaca, Nazareth, and Hartford were some of the schools I was considering suggesting, except they were already on your list. One school that wasn’t on the list that your family might want to consider is U. of New Hampshire which has a bit over 11k undergrads.
My daughter’s good friend just graduated with her DPT from Duquesne. She really enjoyed it. We visited for BSN and it’s a really cute campus inside the city.
Some, or maybe all of the programs, if you’re rejected from Early Assurance you are considered for regular admittance. Some of the programs you then get a second chance at a combined degree, and all of them you can finish a B.A. and apply for the grad program alone.
So, I think that something like St. Joseph’s, that has a high acceptance rate for general admissions, can be both a likely and maybe a match for the combined degree program.
I don’t know much about Nazareth outside of the fact that it’s a school with around 2k undergrads with a pretty popular OT program and fairly popular music majors for its size. Here’s its College Navigator profile: College Navigator - Nazareth University
One thing I find hard is figuring out how the difference in private schools vs public schools figures in. For example, for many schools I can only find GPA ranges for weighted GPA. I can apply the weighting formula our local public schools use to his GPA and he’d have about a 4.3.
On the other hand, I think that if he attended public schools and had 0-1 AP class, that would be held against him as “lack of rigor”. But maybe it won’t be since his school doesn’t offer any?
I don’t have admissions statistics. We asked at a few places, but didn’t get answers.
I assume there will be open houses or admissions events in the fall when students are back on campus, but until we get the fall sports and arts calendars we can’t start scheduling visits.
I would say the critical question is how many students are accepted into the OT Masters or Doctoral Program from the OT focused undergrad program at a particular school.
It sounds as there is the opportunity to transition to the graduate program at various time points in their undergraduate program. But what percentage of those undergrad students actually are selected? And what are the selection criteria?
I am not familiar with these programs. But I do know (as a PT and Rehab Director) that PT and OT grad programs tend to be very small (less than 50 students) as the school needs to have clinical opportunities, faculty and mentors in the surrounding clinics to support student practicums. Thus, they are also quite selective. I know back when I applied the acceptance rate was around 10 percent. I will say there are many more programs now compared to when I applied, so I would assume the acceptance rates are higher. But in these combined degree programs, it would be helpful to know the acceptance rate for the grad OT program.
I do feel that Allied Health grad programs look for students who have good academics, but also show a passion for the field and an understanding of what it entails. Your son certainly seems to demonstrate passion and understanding.
The schools I listed all have what are called “Early Assurance” programs where, if you are accepted into the program as an incoming freshman, complete the coursework, and meet GPA and shadowing requirements then you are guaranteed a spot in the grad program.
It would help to know what the acceptance rate is to the assured OT program versus entering as a regular 4 year applicant.
If I understood what you reported earlier, the question was asked and there was no response from the program(s).
I found some information about Shenandoah. It looks like the accelerated pathway offers 8 seats each year.
There is also an articulation agreement (priority status) for those who are applying from within the school- 5 students are accepted to the MSOT. It seems they rank the applicants and take 5- the remaining students apply through the traditional route.
He asked some of the schools not all. The answers were vague. “Keep your grades up and you wil have a good chance!”
A lot of the programs have a list of requirements on the website, and other than Sacred Heart which says “4 years of math and science” they are all things he expects to meet.
He is worried that the 3 years of science will be held against him at other places, so he may double up on science senior year.
I would treat these programs as a reach (doesn’t mean he won’t get in) and keep grades up, continue volunteering, focus on essays etc.- interview skills and ability to articulate clearly why you want to be an OT are also important.