Caution!! OT School is no JOKE.

Hectic, sometimes fun, at times, Interesting! Does Group work? Of course, there is group work, more than you can ever imagine. I don’t think I did this much group work in my entire life.  Columbia thrives on groups! If you hate it now, you will grow to love it at Columbia. My schedule during my first semester was very hard, at times, I would write sticky notes all over my notebooks and on my door because I live for the organization. The first semester was the hardest for me, after entering my second semester, I quickly came to this conclusion. I am currently in my second semester and I have some more freedom than I did in my first semester. I had classes every day and some days I would be in school all day and at other times, I would have some early days. On days when I had more free time, I would meet up with my groups and utilize that time for group time or at times I would just find a quiet spot on campus and study. If you are considering going to OT school and wondering what the schedule is like for the first and second semesters, then read below. I hope this helps.

• Fall Semester:
• Anatomy
• Kinesiology
• Professional Foundations
• Mental Health Group Dynamics
• Clinical Conditions I
• Research Methods

• Spring Semester:
• Neuroscience
• Clinical Conditions II and Lab
• Mental Health II
• Mental Health FW Seminar
• Research Practicum
• Spring elective:Working with children in the environment

• Mental Health Fieldwork Seminar usually begins around March when I start my spring fieldwork which is usually twice a week.
• Spring Elective: I choose three options and then the school assigns you an option. I did Working with Children in the Environment as my spring option. There are others such as Yoga, Assistive Technology, Kinesiology and Barrier Free- Living.
• Research Practicum lasts throughout the program and we are assigned in groups of 8-10 people and we work on various topics. For example, my research group is working on Kickboxing to relieve stress in graduate students.