Occupational Therapy Programs

How to Find Occupational Therapy Programs That Suit Your Needs

So, you’ve decided to embark on a career as an occupational therapist? Good for you! It’s a rewarding career choice that will allow you to work with people, offer assistance and make a good living at the same time. However, finding the right occupational therapy programs can be the tricky part, so here are a few of your options.

The Top Five Schools
Of course, anyone looking for occupational therapy programs is probably looking for the very best schools. Competition for entrance to these schools is tight, but their occupational therapy programs are world class, so if you have what it takes, you should definitely consider applying. The top five schools, in no particular order are:

• Washington University, St Louis
• Boston University (Sargent)
• University of Illinois, Chicago
• University of Southern California, Los Angeles
• Tufts University, Boston

A degree from any one of these prestigious schools is sure to set you on the path to success in occupational therapy, so their occupational therapy programs should be right on top of your list of options.

Best of the Rest
Of course, with competition so tight for the schools with the best occupational therapy programs, it’s worth looking at a few of the other schools that make the top twenty in the US. These include:

• Colorado State University
• University of Kansas Medical Center
• University of North Carolina
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Washington
• New York University

Bear in mind that even though these schools don’t make the top of the list, they are still very sought after, and you will find competition tight. Since they offer some of the best occupational therapy programs around, however, they’re sure to open plenty of doors in your chosen career.

What If You Don’t Make It to One of These Programs

When we choose a career, whether it’s occupational therapy or anything else, we’d all like to go to the very best possible school. However, sometimes, there are just too many applicants to the top occupational therapy programs, and you won’t make it into the school of your choice.

Instead of giving up on your dream, why not find the next best school that will grant you admission to their occupational therapy programs, and then work extra hard to knock their socks off? After all, just because you start your degree at one school, that does not mean you have to finish it there! If you can prove to any of the top schools that you have what it takes to be a star student, you’re likely to find them willing to review your application again.

Then again, even if they don’t, and you complete one of the occupational therapy programs at another school, you will be guaranteed to get really great grades, and that counts for a lot when you’re looking for your first job! So if it’s occupational therapy you want to do, whichever program you do it through, do your very best, and you should do just fine!