Occupational Therapy....Help?

Question

I am going into my sophomore year of college. I am planning on going to grad school for occupational therapy, the problem is I can't seem to figure out what to study during my undergrad. I know the prerequisites that are required, but I can't pick a major. I have heard biology and psychology are the most popular. I have also heard of social work, communication, sociology, early childhood education, nursing and special education are also beneficial...I am currently a nursing student, but I don't want to continue with it because my heart just isn't in it... I would like to work with the elderly, and my schools social work program has a gerontology certificate that goes along with it, but I don't know how social work relates to occupational therapy?

Are there any occupational therapists out there that could give me some guidance on picking a major? or which one would be the easiest major for me to get the highest GPA possible to apply for grad school...sorry this is confusing/long!

Answer 1

No, our question is not confusing.  It's great first of all that you are interested in gerontology, you'll be in high demand once you become an OT.

As for an undergrad major, take this time to study something that you really find interesting.  The truth is, most OT schools will be more interested in you if they find that you are 'interesting', so study something that makes you interesting.  All the majors that you suggested are good ones, communications, psych,sociology and some areas of anthropology  are very helpful to most humans.  You dont have to major in something specific just to get into OT school.  Once you are in OT school, trust me, they'll focus on all the 'medical stuff' you'll need to know.  Enjoy your undergrad major, and chances are that the more passion you have for what you are studying, the higher your GPA will naturally be.

One more thing, it's impossible to truly separate social work from OT at times, the two field will frequently overlap.