Occupational Therapy

Curlz

Hi - I have been looking into Occupational Therapy. Has anybody done this as a Mature Student and what were the entry requirements? I have a HD3 in Biology from my leaving cert.

Larianne

You'd need to contact admissions at the relevant colleges - TCD, UCC and NUI Galway I think.

I have some classes with OT and the mature students have been either OT assistants in hospitals or have done stuff like holistic massage etc. But contact the colleges and they should give you an idea of what the college looks for in a mature student.

Have you seen the sticky I made about advice on applying as a mature student? Have a look, might be of some help: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055676871

Curlz

Hi Larianne,

I printed off all of your tips and have a checklist made up!! It was so helpful and is a good way to stay focused. I will call the collges, just thought i'd see if anyone here knew!

Nelly2

OT is really tough to get into. Mainly because there are so few places available to mature students.
Applicants are shortlisted for interview based on their application, personal statement, past education, work+life experience etc.
Definitely look at what requirements your chosen college has. I'm not sure if there are any absolute requirements - somethings may be "beneficial" but not essential.

Larianne

Nelly2 wrote: »

OT is really tough to get into. Mainly because there are so few places available to mature students.
Applicants are shortlisted for interview based on their application, personal statement, past education, work+life experience etc.
Definitely look at what requirements your chosen college has. I'm not sure if there are any absolute requirements - somethings may be "beneficial" but not essential.

Really tough, but not impossible! Research it all and then do what it takes to make your application really strong. It can be done!

Nelly2

This is a good link from UCCs website. http://www.ucc.ie/en/ot/undergrad/InformationDocuments/InformationDocuments/CK704%20Mature%20Age%20Entry%20Procedure%20June%2009.pdf

You can see that they require a HC3 in a Lab Science subject, but I think they also accept further learning, such as Fetac etc. So, if you don't have one, you could probably manage to do one between now and application/interview time.

I am also interested in hearing how other mature students were successful in getting into OT. What do you think swayed your application that lead to an offer?

Griffin1983

I a 3rd year O.T. in trinity and a mature student. your hear everyone go on about how hard it is to get into ot but its just cause a lot of people go into the subject without really doing a lot of the leg work before hand. you need to get yourself down to a few ot departments around the city. just tell them your thinking of doing it in college and they will be glad to help.

and remember your a mature student, its not about what you did in your leaving (i didn't do any science subjects at all and got passable grades in most other subjects but i still got in and get really good grades in college).

best of luck and if you need any advice about where to volunteer or visit mail me and i'll help you out.

Ps O.T. is the best course and best job in the world ever

louloubella

Griffin1983-

I recieved great solace from your super positive mature student OT experience.
I already did an undergrad degree so my only hope it seems is the postgrad in UL which is competitive.
Any advice or alternative routes??
I have good experience and am doing placements soon and a CPR course...any advice would be soooo welcome right now.

:cool:

Griffin1983 wrote: »

I a 3rd year O.T. in trinity and a mature student. your hear everyone go on about how hard it is to get into ot but its just cause a lot of people go into the subject without really doing a lot of the leg work before hand. you need to get yourself down to a few ot departments around the city. just tell them your thinking of doing it in college and they will be glad to help.

and remember your a mature student, its not about what you did in your leaving (i didn't do any science subjects at all and got passable grades in most other subjects but i still got in and get really good grades in college).

best of luck and if you need any advice about where to volunteer or visit mail me and i'll help you out.

Ps O.T. is the best course and best job in the world ever

Feu

louloubella wrote: »

Griffin1983-

I recieved great solace from your super positive mature student OT experience.
I already did an undergrad degree so my only hope it seems is the postgrad in UL which is competitive.
Any advice or alternative routes??
I have good experience and am doing placements soon and a CPR course...any advice would be soooo welcome right now.

:cool:

I thnk Griffin would agree that doing OT as a mature student is brilliant! It's one of the professions where having a bit of life experience really stands to you in terms of interpersonal relationships in dealing with clients, and just getting the most out of the course generally. Going back to the course has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I love doing it, and can't wait to be qualified!

I have an undergrad already, as does another mature student in our class, so we are doing a second undergrad :eek:, and paying fees. Yes it's not ideal, but i applied for Limerick and didn't get the course. In retrospect I am so glad i didn't as I think the Trinity course suits me much better, it's over a longer period, so not as rushed, and you're not up and down the length of the country as is the possibility with the Limerick course.

Obviously I applied for the Limerick course, so attractive to a graduate interested in OT!!! However, couple of things to note: It appears that the majority that get into the course have been working as OT assistants. In many cases I have heard of people applying, getting rejected and then going working as an OT assistant for a year, then re-applying. So the minimum requirements (of a social science etc) aren't really enough, if that makes sense? I had tons of volunteer experience but it wasn;t enough, in fact, i didnt even get an interview. Gutted!

Also, altho they have changed the structure of the course since i applied, in the beginning, students were in class in limerick 2/3 days a week, then on placement 2/3 days a week anywhere in the country. Now afaik they have changed the placments to blocks, so 6-8 week placements at a time, which is superior, but you could still be placed anywhere, just depends where they can get you in. So you could be in Limerick say for 3 months, then Meath on placement for 6 weeks, then back to Limerick, then placement in Kildare. etc. When i applied they told me that they tried to place people within an hour of "where they are from" but can't guarantee it.
The UL course is so appealing, but there's definitely drawbacks, and they definitely cover less than the 4 year course, I think most OTs would tell you that. It's very rushed - 24 months on the trot, with very few breaks, but obvious benefits to graduates of being qualified in 2 years, not having to pay fees, depending on your situation etc.

Other options would be the accelerated courses in England, Scotland, Wales, same as UL course more or less, but i think the english ones are 3 years and the scottish/welsh 2 years, iirc? You can check that out!! Also, and someone may be able to correct me here, but Irish (EU residents) get some sort of free fees in scotland, under some exchange programme, so that's always attractive

3rd option is of course 4 year degree course. I applied for and got into the one in Trinity. I see someone mentioned above that the courses were hard to get into. I'm not sure, definitely UL is hard, but that is due to the demand - 400+ graduates applying for 25 places! For Trinity i think they go more on apptitude and your understanding of OT rather than whether you've worked as an OT assistant, and i'm sure fewer people apply, so maybe it's less competitive than UL

For Trinity, the can take anywhere up to 10 mature students out of a class of 40, so 25%, i think it might be the highest mature student rate in Trinity. You need to apply through CAO, as well as do your whole mature student application, you know why you want to do the course etc. You don't need any major results from your Leaving or anything, especially if you are a relatively recent graduate with decent degree results. If you're a good while graduated, then you just need to be able to prove [and this goes for UL too] that you can do the workload. So any night classes, fetac etc that you have done would help in this regard. I'm not sure how many applied my year, but iirc correctly, 19 people were called for interview, and they took 8. At the interviews they asked questions about funding yourself for 4 years, the workload, being in a class with younger people, what disability means to you, what is your experience of working with people with disabilities, what does OT mean to you, things like that.

I would say the three main factors in applying are: ability to tackle workload, cost/funding, and understanding of OT/relevant work experience. So make sure you know that you have these bases covered and get applying! Furthermore as Larianne is always recommending if you apply, and don't get course, badger them until they give you some feedback so you can strengthen your application for the following year.

Sorry, i just realised this is a really long post! Please louloubella, or anyone else interested PM me if you have any specific queries regarding OT in general or doing the course, i'm happy to help, and give advice if i can!

louloubella

Feu-
Thank you for your super optimistic reply. I cannot afford to put myself through undergrad education again so Wales or UL are my only options.
I will defenetly enquire about funding in Scottland and Wales. Ill make a decent crack at applying to UL- honestly that high octane approach...scares me a bit!!
Ok - bonne chance with the rest of your course!!!!

Littlell

Hi griffin just got into Ot as a maturr student delighted and over the moon just have a few questions and was hoping you might still be around if so fantastic thought your posts so useful

Feu

Congratulations Littlell, great news. I hope the course will go really well for you

pm me either if you need

Littlell

Hey feu thanks a lot that's really good to know ot's so great how helpful everyone is here griffin great at forking out advice too and saw some of your posts too brilliant and thanks a lot have been doing lots if celebrating :)

Feu

the celebrating is well deserved! Huge accomplishment to put in an application and get an interview, let alone be accepted for course, so well done!

i'm just finished the course, but let me know if you've any questions, OTs are a pretty helpful bunch

claire_d

Congrats Littlell!!!! Another mature student ere can't wait.

Also thanks to Feu, Larianne and co, your posts have been a huge help

Littlell

Thanks Claire it's soooo exciting and your right they're posts are so helpful you'd pay for good career advice like that. Couldnr be more helpful are you starting in sept too I cant wait tooit's brilliant

claire_d

Yip Littlell, starting OT in Sept!!! Really looking forward to it now

Littlell

Great see you there enjoy rest of summer I just cant wait 

micko4

Hi there,I know this is an old thread but didn't want to start up a new one with the same subject,plus it seems a lot of the people in this one have a good idea about it.

I'm just asking on behalf of my girlfriend who has applied to trinity as her first choice for OT.

We are wondering is it difficult to get a place here? And will she be lucky to even get called for an interview?

She has a basic leaving cert with a pass in a science subject and a fetac cert in social studies,and some experience working with the elderly wether that would help or not?

Feu

Hi Mick,

I think probably most of your questions are answered already in this thread, but it's great that your girlfriend has applied, I loved the course, ups and downs like any, but it's such a varied mix of subjects, that there's always something interesting and creative to keep you going!! In my class there was 7 other matures, so really lucky with that - think ours was the most, the year ahead had 5 i thnk, and the year behind 5 as well i think. But it is really geared towards mature students in a way. As in it is just a really great course to do if you know that it's really what you want to do!


It is uncertain how competitive it is at the moment, we know the UL course is extremely competitive, but I don't think the Trinity one is as competitive to get into, I would say that there are approximately 40-50 applications from mature students, of which they will select about 20 for interview.

They wouldn't bother to interview you if they weren't happy enough with your application. So my biggest advice i'd say is try not to be too nervous if you do get selected for interview. I know that sounds impossible, but the more you can come across as yourself, and like a nice normal person, who's gonna get on well with the rest of the class, and be a good OT, the better.

Therefore, you would be lucky to get called for interview, but that said, if you do get called for interview, your chances are very good of getting the course

Don't know if ive put this up on any of the other threads, so i'll do so here: FOR THE TRINITY INTERVIEWS:
they consist of 2 mini interviews:
As in, you go into one room, and there's 2 interviewers, and you're there for maybe 15mins, then you've to wait for the next one for maybe a half hour, then you're into you're next one with 2 different interviewers. you don't need any results and stuff, cus they'll have your whole mature student entry form, but you could bring duplicates if you want to. My first one consisted mainly of questions to do with a, how will i fund myself? b, can you hack it? [i.e. have you done other courses since you finished school etc] c, do you love the idea of OT and working with people? [you don't have to know too much, just generally, like working closely with clients, and very team orientated profession]

the other one was a bit trickier, even tho i was prepared for it!!! It was more questions to do with a, what was my experience of disability?b, What is disability? Why do you want to work with people with disabilities? More that kind of thing.

So if you just kind of have an idea of some answers for those kind of questions. Not really rehearsed or anything, just that you've thought about it. THey could be in either order too, like the disability one could be first. From talking to the others in the class, they had similar experiences, however, they could vary slightly in format. And maybe have a question or two prepared yourself. It kind of looks good to ask a question!!!

Your girlfriends FETAC course will be well regarded, they will ask her about it at interview. Likewise her volunteer work, but as Griffen says above, the most important thing is to show that you've a real interest, by reading up a little on OT, and particularly disability issues, and visiting a few OT departments.

hope this is helpful, you or your lady can PM me for more info if needed, i try to do all I can to support mature students in this regard.

micko4

Thanks for the help seems you know your stuff have you any idea when they Send the letters for interview and if they send you one to let you know you haven't been short listed?

Feu

Well, i did the course as a mature student, but i also did another course in TCD too, so I know a bit about the place.

iirc correctly the letter was about 6 weeks after the closing date, for an interview about 3 weeks from then, but they may have changed that. I obviously don't know if they send you something if you haven't been shortlisted, but presume they would as it is common courtesy.

claire_d

Hi micko4!

I know this is a bit late but if you guys have any questions please don't hesitate to contact. I'm currently in my final few weeks of placement in 3rd year and from what I recall interviews were held in mid April

micko4

Cheers appreciate it! Still no letter for the interview hopefully soon

micko4

She got a reply saying her application was unsuccessful she's really upset..why would this be what do you have to do to be successful?

paperclip2

To be honest Mick04 submitting an applicant isn't a guarantee of an interview for any college, especially if you are applying to a very popular course which TCD's OT course is.

It could be that in the colleges view, her level of education/ insight/ experience was less than that of other applicants and they had a full interview list from those. It might be worthwhile contacting the college to see why she wasn't offered an interview. It could have been something very simple that she could work on with a view to applying next year.

Was the quality of her application up to scratch? How were her statement sections? Did she have top notch references? Getting feedback on these would be a good place to start.

Priya77

Hello,

I am planning to study occupational therapy next year. The clinical hours in 4th year are paid like nursing clinical placements

Thanks in advance

Feu

Priya77 wrote: »

Hello,

I am planning to study occupational therapy next year. The clinical hours in 4th year are paid like nursing clinical placements

Thanks in advance

Hi priya,
Are you asking if the 4th year placement is paid? It is not. As far as I know they also plan to phase this out for nursing precisely as the other professional courses students do not get paid

Hope that helps

cactuspaw

Hi guys, I'm looking into do this course, prefably up north if I can't get it here. I'm not sure what the story is re fees and grant and the mature student route as I already have a degree, but have been on social welfare for at least 3 years, so if anyone can enlighten me.
From what I can see if I was to go north/uk fees are covered by the nhs, but I'm not sure if I would get any other supports.
I'm basic degree is in social science and I did work in a hospital/voluntary environment for a few years, so I would have sufficient experience. It is an area I am really passionate about, only thing holding me back is money. So if anyone can give me a heads up as to if I can receive BTEA or a grant it would be great. Cheers.

paperclip2

cactuspaw wrote: »

Hi guys, I'm looking into do this course, prefably up north if I can't get it here. I'm not sure what the story is re fees and grant and the mature student route as I already have a degree, but have been on social welfare for at least 3 years, so if anyone can enlighten me.
From what I can see if I was to go north/uk fees are covered by the nhs, but I'm not sure if I would get any other supports.
I'm basic degree is in social science and I did work in a hospital/voluntary environment for a few years, so I would have sufficient experience. It is an area I am really passionate about, only thing holding me back is money. So if anyone can give me a heads up as to if I can receive BTEA or a grant it would be great. Cheers.

Usually DSP or SUSI won't fund a repeat level of study. You would have to be progressing in education. If you have a level 8 degree already then you likely won't be eligible for BTEA or the grant as they aren't available for postgrad courses.

caillaigh

Hi guys,

I'm applying to study MSc Occupational Therapy (pre-reg) at Brighton university this forthcoming September as a mature student. It's not an area I've never previously worked in so have limited experience but it's one that I've given a lot of thought to and tried to do as much research as possible.

As part of my application I have to submit two separate 500-word reports on visits to occupational therapy settings, to include a mental health and physical health setting, one of which should be with adults. So far I have only been able to get a quick meeting with an OT working in the mental health area. I'm struggling to get a shadowing placement which would be ideal or even a proper visit to an OT department for the 1st April deadline.

Have you any advice or ideas on who or where I would be best to approach? Any help would be greatly appreciated!