u/Valuable_Potato4224

Hello everyone.

I am currently applying to grad school for O&P (orthotics and prosthetics).

I have not been in university, officially, long. I came in with 2 Associates Degrees that I acquired before high school graduation.

I've only been out of high school 2.5 years. I even graduated early, in the winter rather than the spring.

I'm graduating with a Bachelor in Exercise Science (Motor and Rehabilitation Science), with a minor in Clinical Psychology this spring (2027).

I have a few questions about this process:

1. Recommendation Letters (academic)****: I have not had much time to build relationships with professors. My classes are the degree-specific advanced classes, so I have not had the chance to take classes with professors multiple times.

I already have a definite recommendation letter from 2 O&P clinicians. I am waiting on responses but I should have additional letters:

Maybes: 1 professor from the college I went to for dual credit in high school, 2 professors I've had at my university, 4 through an academic program you commit to from 6th grade to high school graduation

Backup options: 3 really good letters from my high school teachers, 2 good ones from other high school teachers.

My high school teachers know me well enough because I like to text them to check in on them on occassion. My best letter would probably come through my Cal 1/2 dual credit teacher. He always responds saying he has "good memories" of me in his calculus class and "couldn't believe how smart" I was. I put quotations because those are his exact words. For context, he thought I was a senior when I took his dual credit cal 1 and 2 classes my sophomore year. A bit into the school year, my birthday popped up on the system they use for attendance. He asked me how old I was turning, and I said 15. He was absolutely 100% shocked.

However, even though they know me well still, my worry is that it might look bad to have them write some rec letters. Is this correct? Should I keep them strictly as backup still? I was mainly thinking about my calculus teacher as a recommendation letter I actually use, and not just use it for backup.

2. Recommendation Letters (personal): I have a conceirge doctor. He started seeing me last year and was the only one that listened to me. I was told for 9 months that my pain was in my head. He finally listened, ordered a test again (original done improperly in major ways), which then proved I had a rare condition. This condition is so rare that there are few surgeons who do the surgery (only current treatment), so we had to fly across the US. This concerige doc (complex care doc) listened to me and believed me when I got super detailed with medical terms and the like when describing things. I'm curious. He has never actually treated me with anything other than prescriptions, imaging tests, and referrals to other doctors. Because I've talked so much medical with him and he knows I have good critical thinking skills, and my research is thorough, I was thinking about asking him for a rec letter. Would this cross ethical boundaries, since he is an active doctor in my care? I am only thinking about him since he knows me well AND I pay him, as he doesn't accept insurance as a conceirge doctor. Additionally, whenever I bring something up, he allows me to explain it and explain WHY I think it is that. He has always said I have great explanations and thinking/research processes, and actively teaches me the anatomy/physiology behind it (which is very rare in doctors).

Edit to add clarity about education.

Hello! I'm an aspiring prosthetist, and I've wanted to enter the field since I was around 11–12. My personal favorite type of prosthesis to learn about is AK, and I'm especially interested in eventually working with pediatric patients.

I'm applying to O&P master's programs this cycle and have a few questions:

1. **GRE/UTSW**: One of the programs I'm considering is UTSW, and it is currently the only program I'm considering that requires the GRE. I haven't taken it yet and will need testing accommodations, which may take several weeks to arrange. I also have a limited amount of time remaining in my application timeline.

UTSW is the best option for me geographically, but I prefer some of the other programs I'm considering in other respects, particularly their O&P-specific education and clinical opportunities. Given that the GRE is only required for UTSW, should I be stressing about fitting the GRE into my timeline, or would it make more sense to prioritize my other applications and treat UTSW as more of a secondary option?

2. **GPA/prerequisite GPA**: How can I get a rough idea of how OPCAS will calculate my cumulative and prerequisite GPA when a large portion of my coursework was completed through a community college before I officially started university?

I will be submitting both my community college and university transcripts. My university transcript shows my transfer credits, but the transfer courses don't have grades on the university transcript, so I'm not sure how OPCAS will calculate everything.

Academically, my record is strong overall. I have mostly A's, with only a couple of B's across all my coursework. Importantly, only one of my O&P prerequisite courses was a B; all of my other prerequisite courses were A's. I'm mainly trying to figure out how the separate transcripts and transfer coursework will affect the calculated GPA.

3. **Shadowing**: I have 300+ hours of O&P observation experience across two clinics, but both experiences are now a couple of years old. Medical circumstances prevented me from continuing shadowing afterward.

How would you recommend explaining this in an application without oversharing medical information? Would older shadowing experience still be viewed positively?

4. **Recommendations**: I completed extensive college coursework through dual credit before officially starting university, so I've only been enrolled at my current university for a relatively short time despite being close to graduation. This has made it harder to establish long-term relationships with university professors.

I have recommendations available from people I've worked with in other academic/professional settings, and I've already had one clinician I previously shadowed agree to write a recommendation. I'm also working on obtaining additional recommendations from professors, teachers, and other academic mentors.

How much of a concern would having fewer established relationships with current university professors be?

5. **Applying younger than typical**: I'm applying to O&P programs somewhat younger than I understand many applicants do. Does applying at a younger age stand out to admissions committees, either positively or negatively? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to being younger when applying, assuming the applicant is academically and otherwise prepared for graduate school?

I'm also wondering whether this affects how admissions committees view high-school activities. Some of my high-school competitions and extracurriculars occurred relatively recently compared with someone applying several years after high school. Does that make them more relevant, or are high-school activities generally considered too old regardless of the applicant's age?

Does participating in something at an unusually young age add any meaningful value, or is it better to focus almost entirely on college experiences?

For some additional context, I completed extensive dual-credit coursework before officially starting university, including enough coursework to earn associate degrees. My major is exercise science and my minor is clinical psychology.

I've participated in activities including HOSA (medical based competitions/events) and dance, among others. I also had an internship relatively early in my education that played a significant role in sparking my interest in prosthetics. Is something like that worth mentioning on an application even though it happened quite a while ago, particularly given that it directly contributed to my interest in O&P?

Finally, I'm trying to decide how heavily to weigh location versus program fit. UTSW is particularly convenient for me geographically, but some of the other programs I'm considering seem stronger for me in terms of O&P-specific education and clinical experience. For those who have applied to multiple O&P programs, how much weight would you give location/logistics versus the specific strengths and environment of a program? Is one program particularly more impressive to future employers than others?

I'm mainly looking for advice on how to present these circumstances effectively and what I should prioritize before applications are submitted. Thanks!