We’re here to help. If you have questions about what to do next, contact us.
Checklist for Admitted Students
Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance for Fall 2023!
Next Steps:
- Complete your FAFSA: If you’re interested in financial aid, we encourage you to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. International students are not eligible for financial aid and don’t submit the FAFSA.
- Department Scholarships: The OT department will notify all incoming students at the beginning of each fall and spring semester about our scholarship competition.
- Activate your Net ID: To access UIC systems, you will need to activate your Net ID. You will need 2 pieces of information in order to activate your account: University ID number (UIN) and Token. You can find these numbers on your official acceptance letter from the UIC Office of Admissions. If you are unable to find it, please contact Maria Larson at otdept@uic.edu.
- View Financial Aid Award Letter: Using your Net ID and password, login to the my.UIC portal. From there, students can click on the “Student” tab and then click on the portlet for “Electronic Financial Aid Notification” and select the appropriate aid year. Please note that award notifications will be sent out starting March 15th.
- Visit us: We are in the process of scheduling in-person visit days. We expect the in-person visit days to begin in March. The visit day schedule will be emailed to you as soon as it is available. If the visit day schedule is not convenient for you, please let us know. We will make sure that every student who would like to visit our department can do so! If you would like to schedule an individualized visit, please contact Dr. Dalmina Arias at arias3@uic.edu.
Save the Dates!
- New Student Open House (family and friends welcome!) – Friday, May 19, 2023; 2:00 PM CST (in-person and a live-streaming option will be available). This event is optional.
- New Student Orientation (both days are mandatory) – Wednesday, August 16 and Thursday, August 17, 2023 (Schedule TBD)
- First Day of Classes – Monday, August 21, 2023
Connect with the UIC Department of Occupational Therapy
- Department of Occupational Therapy Facebook page
- UIC Entry-level OTD Admitted Students Facebook Page
- Have a question for a current student? Contact our student liaison at ots@uic.edu.
Campus Resources:
- Office of Financial Aid
- Campus Care (Health insurance and health care for students)
- Disability Resource Center
- Parking Services
- CTA Ventra U-PASS (The Ventra U-PASS provides unlimited use of CTA trains and buses for enrolled full-time students.)
- Campus Housing
- Chicago Neighborhoods Document (a packet of information from our students about the different neighborhoods in and around Chicago)
- Urban Health Program (Recruitment and retention of minority students in health professions)
- Office of International Services
See the calendar below for a monthly guide to prepare for your enrollment at UIC:
March
- You may receive an official acceptance letter from the UIC Office of Admissions. Please disregard the note about making an appointment with an academic advisor to select your courses this fall. We will be sending out information regarding your assigned faculty advisors in late spring.
To Do:
- Start thinking about housing plans!
- Refer to the Chicago Neighborhoods document (a packet of information from our students about the different neighborhoods in and around Chicago)
- Campus Housing
- Off Campus Housing
- Activate your Net ID by April 15th
April
- Welcome packets will be sent via email . This packet will include our welcome letter and an updated 2023-24 tuition table.
- You will receive an email regarding important information and deadlines for health requirements as well as a document of frequently asked questions regarding Exaat (vendor where you will be submitting all your healthcare requirements and forms for the duration of the program).
- Prerequisite confirmation forms will be sent out to you via email by mid-April/early May. The purpose of this form is to verify the remaining prerequisites that you need to complete before enrolling in the fall.
To Do:
- Activate your Net ID by April 15th
- Review the health requirements and make a plan to complete your Exaat profile by July 15th.
- Complete and return the prerequisite confirmation form by the deadline stated in the email regardless of if you have prerequisites remaining.
May
- You will receive your OT Buddy assignment: Each incoming first-year student is paired with a second-year student liaison to support their transition into the program.
To Do:
- If you completed any prerequisites or finish your degree in the spring, please submit e-transcripts directly to our UIC Office of Admissions (gradmail@uic.edu). A copy of the e-transcript can be obtained by the Department of Occupational Therapy from the Office of Admissions.
June
- You will receive our orientation packet via email that contains information about the fall semester and registration instructions. If you have any outstanding prerequisites, a hold will be placed on your account and you will not be able to register until your transcript(s) are received.
- You will receive your Faculty Advisor assignment: Advising processes and roles will be discussed during the 2-day orientation in August.
To Do:
- Complete your Exaat profile by mid-July.
- Register for courses.
- Purchase books and supplies.
July
To Do:
- Complete your Exaat profile by mid-July if you haven’t done so already.
- Finish up completing your CPR, health, and immunization requirements.
- Register for courses.
- Purchase books and supplies.
- Finish up your CPR, health, and immunization requirements and upload documentation to Exxat.
August
The Department of Occupational Therapy will start to convert the Class of 2026 listserv to your UIC email accounts.
To Do:
- Register for courses before orientation.
- Purchase books and supplies.
- If you completed any prerequisites or finish your degree in the summer, please submit e-transcripts directly to our UIC Office of Admissions (gradmail@uic.edu). A copy of the e-transcript can be obtained by the Department of Occupational Therapy from the Office of Admissions.
- If you do not need CampusCare (UIC’s Student Health Insurance), you may waive out of coverage by completing the waiver form.
- Attend the mandatory 2-day orientation in August.
- Get ready for the 1st day of class on August 21st!
Content Section

Questions?
You can contact Maria Larson at:
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Email
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Phone
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Address
1919 W. Taylor St.
344 AHSB (MC 811)
Chicago, IL 60612