Admission

OTD Admission Requirements

Minimal requirements for admission:

1. A bachelor’s or master’s degree from a regionally accrediting higher education institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale. For students with a degree in progress and admitted on a conditional basis, evidence of completing the bachelor’s degree must be submitted to the Kettering College Occupational Therapy Department prior to the first day of class.
2. Completion of the prerequisite courses outlined below, within the past 5 years, with a minimum grade of C (a C- or below does not meet the requirement). If a prerequisite course was taken longer than 5 years ago, the applicant must provide evidence of use of the prerequisite course content in work or applicant must retake the required prerequisite course. Note: Applicants earning less than a C during a retake of any of the prerequisite courses will not be considered for admission. Evidence of completion of all prerequisite courses must be submitted to the Occupational Therapy Department prior to the first day of class.
   

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   Anatomy and Physiology with lab – 8 semester credits
   Developmental Psychology – 3 semester  credits
   Abnormal Psychology – 3 semester credits
   Sociology – 3 semester credits
   Statistics – 3 semester credits
   Writing and Rhetoric II – 3 semester credits
   Medical Terminology – 1 semester credit

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3. Three letters of recommendations from individuals with direct experience in evaluating your academic or work performance (e.g. work supervisor, course instructor).
4. Twenty (20) hours of observation of an occupational therapist (OTR). (Click here to download OT observation tracking form) You may also submit your own form/documentation that includes signature and date of occupational therapist (OTR). Note: Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the observation hours requirement has been waived for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle.

OTD Application Process

Application Openings –We will begin accepting applications in OTCAS for the Fall 2023 cohort on July 21, 2022

Applicants must complete the application process on the Occupational Therapy Centralized Admission System (OTCAS) at https://portal.otcas.org/ and have their application completed and verified by the deadline published on www.kc.lionandpanda.com/occupational-therapy to be considered for admissions. It can take several weeks for applications to be verified by OTCAS, please plan accordingly.

To be an effective occupational therapist one needs to be socio-culturally aware and sensitive and that occurs when the workforce mirrors the community it serves. Establishing a representative workforce begins with our admissions process by admitting students who have a diversity of life experiences, backgrounds, and cultures. Therefore, the Kettering College OTD Program uses a holistic approach in viewing each application and addresses this through the Exceptional Applicant Policy.

During the application process, all official transcripts should be sent directly to OTCAS. However, if an applicant received college credit from any international college or university, official transcripts need to be mailed to OTCAS and Kettering College directly from the institution(s), and the applicant needs to have the transcript(s) officially translated by a company that provides credential evaluation, such as WES, ECE, or Josef Silny (www.wes.org, www.ece.org, www.jsilny.com).

***It is our policy to use the cumulative GPA calculated by OTCAS when assigning admission points. This applies to those who have completed either their Bachelor’s degree and/or their Master’s degree, as well as those who have degrees in progress. OTCAS calculates GPAs based on all academic course work completed. For more information on how OTCAS calculates GPAs, please read the OTCAS frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the OTCAS website.

The Kettering College OTD Program values exceptional professional skills and endeavors to hold all faculty, staff, and students to the highest levels of professionalism as ambassadors for the profession of occupational therapy and the Kettering Health Network brand of care.

Once completed the applications are reviewed and verified. Selected applicants are then contacted to provide the final component of the application, which is a timed writing sample.

Scores are compiled based on:

• Overall GPA
• Prerequisite GPA
• GPA of last 60 credits completed
• Three letters of recommendation
• Exceptional Applicant Policy Points, if applicable
• Previous enrollment and/or a degree from Kettering College or a college/university accredited by the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Colleges, Schools, and Universities (AAA)
• Kettering Health Network employment

A rolling admissions process will be used to extend early program offers between September 12, 2022 and January 31, 2023.

• New completed applications will be reviewed monthly
• Candidates who receive or exceed a predetermined minimum score will automatically receive an offer until all available positions within the program have been filled.
• Candidates who receive lower than the predetermined minimum score or apply after the cohort is full will be placed on  an internally maintained wait list.
• Due to the rolling admissions process, all available seats in the program could be filled prior to January 31, 2023, therefore candidates are encouraged to apply early.
• Candidates may be considered from the time of application until the close of the application cycle on April 30, 2023.

If on February 1, 2023, all the positions within the program have not been filled, the remaining candidates will be ranked from highest score to lowest score. Positions in the program will then be offered to the highest scoring candidate(s). As new applications are verified and reviewed, the Admissions Counselor will add the candidate(s) to the internally maintained wait list, placed in the appropriate sequence relative to the other candidates based on the total OTCAS score.

Applicants accepting the offers will be required to submit a time-sensitive formal written acceptance and a $500 non-refundable deposit.  The $500 will be applied to the first semester’s tuition.

International Applicant Requirements

1. Citizenship requirements: The College does not discriminate on the basis of legal residency/visa status in the US. However, it is the responsibility of the applicant to inquire with the board that regulates occupational therapy licensure in the state in which the applicant intends to practice, as to whether the inability to meet citizenship, or other, requirements may limit or prevent the applicant’s ability to obtain licensure as an occupational therapist or practice in certain settings.
2. TOEFL score requirements:  Students from a non-English-speaking country need to submit TOEFL scores. A minimum total score of 90 is required for all Internet-based tests; a minimum total score of 577 is required for all written tests. The TOEFL exam must be taken within the past two years, and the official test scores must be mailed directly from the testing site to the Kettering College Admissions Office 3737 Southern Blvd., Kettering, Ohio 45429.
3. International students must provide proof of ability to pay for at least one academic year at Kettering College.