Tips to Get Great OT School Letters of Recommendation

Once you decide that you want to apply to OT school and become an occupational therapist, you will quickly discover that letters of recommendation for OT school are a critical component of your application.

In this article, we’ll explore why these OT school letters of recommendation are so important and we’ll go through tips for obtaining your letters of recommendation so that they strengthen your overall application, making your chances of getting accepted as strong as possible.

Why do you need OT school letters of recommendation?

Just about every occupational therapy school requires three letters of recommendation. One almost always needs to be from an occupational therapist along with two others. We’ll talk more about who to ask for these other two down below.

For now, it’s important to understand why letters of recommendation are an important part of the admissions process.

1. Third party validation of your abilities – A well written letter will convey what skills you bring to the table and what kind of characteristics make up your personality. The letter will help the reader understand how others see you, what your work ethic is like, and what they believe your long-term potential is in school and in the field of occupational therapy.
2. Helping you stand out – Graduate school admissions are highly competitive, and occupational therapy school is no exception. Getting a strong recommendation from a credible source will be a huge boost for you when admissions officers compare you to your peers.
3. General background – Letters of recommendation provide additional context to the reader about your background, personality, and characteristics that you can’t get from GPAs and test scores alone. It’s also helpful for the school to see how others see you – not just how you see yourself. Ideally, the letters of recommendation will highlight your strengths and characteristics that are consistent with your own narrative about yourself.
4. Indication of potential for success – Great letters of recommendation will highlight your accomplishments and will also point to the likelihood of how successful you will be in your future endeavors. This will give the reader confidence that – based on past performance – you will be able to succeed in their rigorous academic program as well.

What does a letter of recommendation typically include?

When you ask someone to write a letter of recommendation for you, it’s likely they may have done this before and have a good idea of what to write about and how to structure the letter. For your own reference, this is typically what a writer will include in the letter.

There are two major components: general background and highlights about your personal character and qualifications.

General Background

• Greeting or salutation addressing the recipient. They may also provide contact information.
• Statement of the purpose of the letter, for example “This is a letter of recommendation for ______ in support of their application for admissions to your occupational therapy program.”
• A description of how the writer knows you and how long they’ve had a relationship with you.
• Information about the nature of the relationship – the context for how you’ve gotten to know the student and what interactions have been like.

Highlights about your personal character and qualifications.

• The writer will provide specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate your strengths, abilities, and what they achieved during your time together.
• If it’s from a professor, the writer should discuss your academic performance, creativity, curiosity, creativity, leadership, work ethic, and any other relevant qualities.
• Additionally, the writer should include notable achievements or accomplishments that they feel the admissions officer should know about.
• Most importantly, the letter should focus on your most positive personal qualities like integrity, honesty, discipline, passion, tenacity, etc. 
• Lastly, the writer may want to give their opinion on why they think you will be successful in the OT program for which you are applying.

Who are the best people to ask for a letter of recommendation?

• Teachers and Professors: think of a teacher or professor that probably thinks highly of you – you did well in their class, showed strong engagement, and have a closer relationship with than your other teachers.
• Employers or Supervisors: if you have worked in any positions that are relevant to the medical field, ask your supervisor who knows how diligent and hard-working you are. If the job you held is unrelated to the medical field, it still may be OK to ask for a letter of recommendation but it may not be as impactful.
• Mentors or Coaches: think of any adult leaders you might have a relationship with from sports, clubs, extracurricular activities, or community service. These individuals can speak to your leadership abilities, dedication, teamwork, and attitude.
• Counselors or Advisors: These kinds of relationships may be helpful as they can speak to your general academic performance, interests, and goals that you’ve shared with them over the years.
• Community Leaders: Do you have experience volunteering in the community or at church? Are there any community leaders that you have a strong relationship with that would be willing to write you a letter? These kinds of relationships can be very helpful in conveying the type of character you have.
• This may seem obvious, but do not ask family or friends – letters from these individuals will be inherently biased and will not be taken seriously by the admissions office.

How to ask for a letter of recommendation for OT school:

Here are some important points to consider when asking someone for a letter of recommendation:

• Be clear and direct about what you are asking for – you need a letter of recommendation for your application into an occupational therapy program.
• Consider having in-person meetings to discuss your career goals and to refresh their memory of you when they write the letter.
• Give the recommender your resume and/or a bulleted list of accomplishments related to OT school that they can reference when they are writing your letter. Don’t be afraid to mention specific accomplishments that they might want to reference.
• Ask for letters of recommendation EARLY. I asked for mine a bit too long after the OTCAS applications opened up and didn’t get my application done until October because of my letters of recommendation, which I think hurt my chances. It’s best to get these going in the spring or summer of the year you’re applyin. Read our companion article for more OTCAS tips here: 10 OTCAS Tips For A Smooth Application Process
• Express gratitude for their time and respect for their opinion. Be prepared to politely discuss how long it might take and be willing to follow up if you don’t hear anything back from them. 
• Just in case you don’t get the letter you in time, it is a good idea to start the process with a few extra recommenders in case some do not follow through with the letter in a timely manner.

Are you the one writing an OT school letter of recommendation?

If you ended up here looking for tips about writing an occupational therapy letter of recommendation for an applicant, I’ll be sure to write a more detailed follow-up post in the near future for some added insight.

In the meantime, here are a few very helpful articles with tips and letter of recommendation templates for you to check out: 

Recommendation Letter Template (University of Washington)

How to Write a Letter of Recommendation (Template Included!)  (The Muse)

Letter of Recommendation Tips and Template (Workable)

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Letters of recommendation are a critical component to your OT school application and well-written letters that show you in a positive light can help give you an edge over the competition.

Remember to start the process early, find people in your life that can give good recommendations, have credibility, and are interested in your future success. 

If you follow these tips, you’ll be sure to get some amazing recommendations to improve your odds of getting into OT school!

What other tips would you add to prospective OT students? Let us know in the comments below!