1. Activate your ACC email account. All correspondence regarding your application will be sent to your ACC email address. For information on how to set up your ACC email account, please see this page.
2. Complete the program-required immunizations and submit the immunization form to CastleBranch (see “Required Forms and Documents” below).
3. Register your OTACAS account at this link. You do not need to pay for the OTACAS account until you are ready to submit your application. There is no charge for making an account and entering information. For help setting up your account, please see this link.

Complete the following prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of “C” and minimum 2.5 GPA within 7 years of the application date:

• ENGL 1301: English Composition I (Not subject to 7-year rule)
• PSYC 2314: Human Growth and Development (Must cover birth to end of life)
• PSYC 2301: Introduction to Psychology
• BIOL 2404: Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology (Course substitution requires completion of BIOL 2401 and BIOL 2402 in order to cover all systems covered in BIOL 2404).

If any prerequisite courses expire in the semester prior to an application deadline, they will be accepted for the Occupational Therapy Program. The application deadline is always in the Spring semester, so if a prerequisite course expires in the preceding Fall, it will be accepted.

Prerequisites may be in progress but must be completed by the end of the Spring semester for that application year. If courses are in progress, this should be indicated in your application questions in the OTACAS. All transcripts of any coursework, whether applicable to the application or not, must be uploaded to the OTACAS for your application to be processed.

The 2 co-requisites below may be taken prior to the start of the program; however, they are not required as part of the application and are not computed in your application GPA requirement of 2.5. If the co-requisites are completed, the GPA from those courses will be included in your GPA score.

• SPCH 1318: Interpersonal Communication (SPCH 1311 accepted only if focus is for Health Sciences)
• PHIL 2306: Ethics

If co-requisites are to be included in your application, these must be completed by the end of the Spring semester. If courses are in progress, this should be indicated in your application questions in the OTACAS. Course substitutions must be reviewed by the Department Chair.

1. Complete the mandatory Occupational Therapy Assistant Information Session, then print and keep a copy of the post-test confirmation email to upload to the OTACAS system as a PDF. A face-to-face session is recommended for the most complete information.
2. Complete a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer experience with a licensed OTR or OTA within two years of the application date. Students must keep track of hours on the Observation/Volunteer Record form. This requirement is waived for the Fall 2023 application period.
3. Send an email to Rebekah Davis at [email protected] with the subject line “Work Skills Assessment Request”. In the body of your email, include the name and email address of a person with whom you have a professional relationship and can/will verify your work skills (employer, instructor, supervisor). Be sure to “cc:” the person you are referring to so they are aware of your request. Rebekah will send your reference person the Work Skills Assessment Form which they will complete and submit to the college. You are responsible for ensuring that the reference person completes the form.
4. Upload your essay to the OTACAS. The prompt is found in the “Program Materials” section of the OTACAS under “Documents.” All essays are de-identified and graded by the program’s faculty.
5. All applicants must complete the TEAS Exam (Allied Health version). For information on how to schedule your TEAS Exam through an ACC testing center, click here. You may also choose to schedule your TEAS Exam online or at a PSA testing center. There is no limit to the number of times that the TEAS test can be taken for the OTA program. There is no minimum score requirement for the OTA Program. The composite score will be used for ranking purposes using the weighted percentage assigned in the Selection Process. TEAS scores must be within 3 years of the close of the application period date (June 1). Please note that other ACC Health Science programs may have a different policy; please check the specific policy of each program. Use the following resources to aid in preparing for the TEAS Exam:
   • TEAS Exam Study Guide (Mometrix)
   • TEAS Exam Review Guide (registerednursing.org)
   • ATI Study Guide (this resource has a charge)
   • Learning Express Library (ACC campus access)
   • Learning Express Library (off-campus access)
6. Upload a PDF of your composite TEAS score to the “Program Materials” under “Documents”  section of the OTACAS.
7. Request official transcripts for any coursework to the OTACAS (even if transcripts have already been submitted to the college). Failure to submit transcripts for coursework will delay acceptance of your application (See “How to Apply” below).
8. During the application period (see “Deadline” above), go to the CastleBranch website and click the link “Place Order.”
   • Enter UL64im in the “Package Code” field. After entering your personal information, the system will prompt you to upload your 1-page immunization form for each of the four required immunizations. The cost to set up the account is $38. Re-applicants do not need to re-upload immunizations (unless your Tdap has expired).
   • Documents are approved when you receive a green check next to the requirement. All items must be approved in CastleBranch before your application will be accepted. Check your CastleBranch account frequently to ensure all submissions have been approved to enable acceptance of your application.

It is important to submit your transcripts to the OTACAS as soon as possible in order for your application to be submitted.

1. Navigate to the “Academic History” section of the application and the “Colleges Attended” tab.
2. When you add the college or university, you will see a “Required Transcript Types” heading with an Order button. This opens another window where you will see the “Order an Electronic Transcript” option and the “Order a Mailed Paper Transcript” option. Please note that Austin Community College (ACC) uses the vendor SPEEDE for electronic transmission of transcripts. If this vendor is not available through OTACAS, a paper order must be made. If you are requesting official electronic transcripts from another college, select the vendor that college uses for transmission of transcripts or send a paper order to ensure your transcripts are sent and your application is accepted.
3. We encourage you to send electronic transcripts when possible, as they are received much faster. Click on “Order a Mailed Paper Transcript” to see the OTACAS mailing address.
4. When you order from the Registrar’s Office, include the “Transcript ID#” that you see in the mailing address. This number is unique to you and is how the OTACAS will track your transcript once it is received. Alternatively, you can use the “Transcript ID” PDF, but it is not required.
5. IMPORTANT: Transcripts must be sent by the institution (never from a student) or the OTACAS will not accept your application or submit it to the ACC OTA Department for review.
6. Request official transcripts be sent to the OTACAS from every college you have attended, including ACC and any other schools in which you completed coursework even if you will not use it for the OTA degree plan. This is a separate step from the transcripts you sent to ACC as part of your enrollment in the college (see First Steps in “Before You Apply” above).

Part of the application process is entering all courses from your transcripts into the OTACAS. You can enter them yourself for free, or if you prefer, the OTACAS staff will enter them for an additional fee. All courses need to be entered in order for the OTA Department to access your application. Use the “Academic History” section of the application and the “Transcript Entry” tab.

1. Enter each course as it shows up on each of your transcripts.
2. As you enter each course, you will be asked to include the “Subject” of the course. Some will be obvious matches, for example RHE-101 Rhetoric 1 will use the subject “Rhetoric.” Some however, may not be as obvious. For example, PBH-306 Scientific Communication is a medical terminology course. This will use the “Medical Terminology” subject, not the “Public Health” subject.
3. Errors in matching will delay access to your application by the OTA Department. In general, use the subject of the course if the course title does not describe it best. For non-OTA degree courses, the match is not as important, do your best.

The OTACAS gives you an opportunity to identify which courses you want to use for the prerequisites. You will find this in the “Program Materials” section under “Prerequisites.”

1. If you have taken a prerequisite course multiple times, be sure to select the course with the grade you want to use. The course and grade you select will be used to calculate your GPA.
2. For the Anatomy and Physiology prerequisite, you have two options: 1) If you are using BIOL-2404 Intro to A&P then match that one to this prerequisite. 2) If you are using A&P 1 and A&P 2, then match them both to this prerequisite. Using only A&P 1 is not acceptable and will not count for this prerequisite.

1. The company that manages the OTACAS also handles several other application systems. Once your transcripts have been received, you are placed in queue for verification. Your place in line is in the order it was received. The faster your transcripts are received and your application submitted, the faster the ACC OTA Department can access it.
2. Do not wait until the deadline date to request transcripts. This will significantly delay the process of selecting a new cohort.
3. Do request transcripts be sent from schools that you are no longer attending as soon as you make your OTACAS account.
4. If you are taking courses in the semester in which you are applying, request that transcripts are sent when final grades are posted. If you send transcripts that show in-progress courses, you will need to submit another one when the final grades are posted. ACC provides this option when you order transcripts in the MyACC Student portal.
5. An individual Word document of the essay and a PDF of the Information Session verification should both be uploaded to the “Program Materials” section under “Documents.”

1. You can save your progress and continue completing your application at a later time, however your application is not submitted for processing until you pay the $25 application fee.
2. Find the “Submit Application” section to complete the process.
3. Please note that the OTACAS is the only way to apply to this program. No mailed or printed documents will be accepted by the Health Sciences office or the OTA Program faculty/staff.