School during a pandemic? 0/10 would not recommend

When I was applying to OT school, I was excited to start anew. I was eager to go
back to school and learn with my peers on campus. Then bam, Ms. Rona (a.k.a
Covid-19) hit and she stayed throughout my first year of OT school. I am now two
weeks away from finishing my first year of OT school online.

It’s sad. It’s unfair. We were stripped from the resources provided on campus. No
gym use, no study rooms, no use of the on-campus fridges and coffee makers,
no lockers, nothing. Just Zoom. And our tuition didn’t even get us Premium Zoom
account.

We paid the same amount of tuition and received ZERO of the resources.

When we went to talk to the dean regarding this matter, he could not give us a
valid reason for why we couldn’t be reimbursed for the resources we COULDN’T
use. He moved away from the conversation and said our money was being put
into “good use”. And yet, as I finish my first year of OT, I don’t feel as confident
as my counterparts who were provided all these resources and time on campus
to learn. We also were stripped from 2 of our level 1 fieldwork experiences (first
level clinical experiences) and it felt like our department did not advocate enough
for us to receive those experiences. We are expected to also keep up with the
same amount of material, know and understand all concepts, all while being
stuck at home and utilizing online videos to teach us additional information. For
example, we’ve learned transferring techniques, intervention planning, evaluation
process and basically everything you are supposed to learn in person, via Zoom
or through videos.

Overall, despite enjoying my first year of occupational therapy school, I would not
recommend starting school during a pandemic. It has truly been an exhausting
experience.

- R.I. 

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