Friday, May 2, 2014

5 Year BS/MS vs. 4+2 Schooling

I thought I would write the pros and cons of attending a 5 year BS/MS Occupational Therapy Program vs. a 4 year undergrad + 2 year Occupational Therapy Graduate Program.

Some questions that you might ask are:
Are those that start OT as a 5 year degree "ahead" of those with a 4+2?
Which one is better?

I attend a 5 year BS/MS, so these are just my opinions. I know that not many individuals are able to go straight into a BS/MS program and have to do with a 4+2.

Pros: 
- The only real positive I can tell from starting OT from your first year of college is that you know from the start that the courses you take go straight into your pre requisites. A lot of times many people graduate with an undergrad degree and do not know that OT programs require a set of pre requisites for admissions.
- Slightly more exposed to the fields of OT, ability to know what your future career may look like. When I first took Introduction to Occupational Therapy, we would have to do several tasks analysis papers, learn the history of OT, learned how to converse with a client through an interview in my Therapeutic Interactions course, etc.
- Slightly easier to get into the OT program - my program asks for a minimum 3.2 to get into the program while I know many OT schools will look for a more competitive score such as a 3.5+
- My program did not require a GRE score (however this is a con for me because I want to get my DOT sometime in the future
- Ability to take Gross Anatomy earlier within college career

Cons:
- Less exposure to other courses that may be available to you through your institution. I wanted to learn another language, take various sexuality courses, take an archeology course... But I didn't have time for it. Even with having a multitude of college credits transferred from high school, I barely made the deadline to apply into the OT program because I still had many courses to take.
- No room to take GPA booster, filler classes etc. All science, all the time.
- Somewhat stuck with the same group of people until you graduate. Essentially the majority, of not all the peers you meet in your pre-requisite courses will go into the program with you and graduate with you.
- Regarding the last bullet, this could be a problem if you are the type of person who constantly needs to meet new faces.
- No undergraduate degree, aka, "fall back plan". If you do not get into the OT program, you must change your major completely, retake course requirements or apply to another school starting from square 1.  At least as a 4+2 you could make money on the side with your undergrad degree as you work through OT school vs. not having any type of degree with a 5 year BS/MS and possibly only qualify for various odd jobs.

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