OTA Program Admission Policies and Procedures

How to Apply to the OTA Program

  • You must have an MCC student ID number to apply to the Occupational Therapy Assistant program. If you do not have an MCC student ID number, complete and submit your MCC application online. ($15 fee).
  • Submit official transcripts from every college or university you attended to MCC's admissions office at MCC, Admissions Office, 8900 US Highway 14, Crystal Lake, Illinois 60012
  • Complete the online OTA program application. List prerequisite courses completed, academic institutions where completed, grades, and credit hours earned.

Criteria for OTA Program Selection

  • Academic history of post-secondary coursework to include a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.75 for prerequisite courses.
  • Preference in ranking will be given to applicants who have completed all prerequisite courses before acceptance into the program.
  • Preference in ranking will be given to in-district residents of McHenry County College District #528 who meet the entrance criteria. Out-of-district students' applications are eligible for review.
  • The Occupational Therapy Assistant Admissions Committee will rank the applicants. The ranking of applicants will be based on:
    • GPA of the prerequisite courses
    • academic history and completion of general education and support courses
    • group interview
    • online essay
    • in-district residency

An admissions committee of MCC OTA faculty and advisory board members will review files. If there are more qualified applicants than class space available, applicants will be placed on a waiting list and accepted as space becomes available. The waitlist is not to be carried through to the following year. The OTA Program Director will notify students with complete application files of the decision of the Admissions Committee and continue admitting students until the class has been filled.

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OTA Program Accreditation Status

The occupational therapy assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-3449. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-6611, and its web address is www.acoteonline.org.

Graduates will be eligible to sit for the National certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, most states require licensure to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

See the NBCOT Certification Examination Handbook for OTR and COTA Candidates

Admission to McHenry County College does not guarantee admission to the OTA program. You may reapply the following year if you are not accepted into the program. We will not retain declined applications and will dispose of them per MCC disposal guidelines for student information.

Occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant courses from other institutions will not be accepted toward OTA course equivalency.