Need some info

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Hey everyone,
I am a Junior biology student going to Pitt-Bradford. I was just looking for some info on the optometry programs. Like OAT strategies, when to take the OATs, and applying to optometry schools.

Basically I am not sitting very well:
I have a 2.6 GPA, I am very good at Biology but not so great at Chem had to retake it a couple times. Actually just chem 1 i did very well at chem 2. I will not be taking ochem until my senior year an I am currently taking physics which I am not too bad at.
Basically my GPA is really bad because I had a 1.9 for one semester my uncle passed away and I had to leave school a week before break and then ended up taking 4 exams in two days which basically tanked my grades. The semesters before that werent great but good and every semester after that have been good.

I plan on staying here for a 5th year to finish up my degree here so I still have time to bring my GPA up and I am willing to do post bacc (if anyone has any info on post bacc programs). After that I am looking to stay close to the pittsburgh area because I am from there, so Ohio and Salus would be my top options.

Any help would be appreciated thanks everyone

i got an interview, then hold, then reject from pco witha 2.63/310aa 300 sci. you're not going to get into pco.

Or Ohio either. Even Puerto Rico would be a stretch with that GPA. You really need to get A's in the remaining pre-reqs to boost up your GPA. And if you got anything below a C in a pre-req they will not count it. You have to re-take it.

ya i have one C- to get rid of and planning to stay an extra year to take some extra classes and get my GPA up. I know for med school there are some post bacc programs that help a lot do optometry school look at those too or is it a waste of time

i got in pr

Originally Posted by Pulse0021

ya i have one C- to get rid of and planning to stay an extra year to take some extra classes and get my GPA up. I know for med school there are some post bacc programs that help a lot do optometry school look at those too or is it a waste of time

I think it's NOVA that has a post bacc program for students that show promise but have low GPA or scores. I know one of the schools has something like that. In any case, it's part retaking info from the prereq classes and part first year of optometry school. Somewhere from 10-20 people are admitted into the program each year, and if you do well in the program, then you are automatically enrolled in the next class at their optometry school. I can't quite remember the dates that the program runs (it's a full year, I think), because I thought after one year of that, you are counted as second semester of first year OPTO.

In any case, there are quite a few post bacc programs that you can consider. Doing well in those will show the schools that you are worth taking a risk on, but only if you do very well in the programs. I agree with the other posters that you need to be getting nothing but A's from here forward, because that's a piece of proving that you have what it takes to get through Optometry school and the low scores in the past aren't something you will get again.

There are also some summer programs to consider - Berkeley has Opto Camp and Houston has one which I am forgetting the name of. Houston's is like a 6 or 8 week program that is incredibly intense - you essentially take your first semester classes for Optometry school and get actual grades in them. Doing well in that program again shows that you have what it takes - but it's incredibly intense so you need to be ready to commit a lot of time and effort to the program.

As for Organic...if Chem 1 was tough for you, I think Organic is going to be way harder. Depending on how important it is to you to get into optometry school, I would consider prepping yourself somehow before taking the course so that you are ready to excel in it. Kaplan has something called Organic Edge, which is an online class that basically covers all of Orgo 1 and 2. I'm sure there are other similar things out there. I did great in Chem 1 and 2 and still found Organic to be hard (although I took the lecture and lab at the same time during a 4 week summer course - so the speed of the course might have had something to do with that ).

Hope things work out!

Originally Posted by optohopeful123

i got an interview, then hold, then reject from pco witha 2.63/310aa 300 sci. you're not going to get into pco.

He would gain entry to PCO if he has proper connections and doesn't display acts of arrogance and have someone forwarded the evidence to Thomas.

so... its looking like post bacc program it is
anyone have any links to some post bacc programs preferably in the PA area

right, because getting in based on connections is better than getting in on merit.

i mean my low GPA can be explained but i know that that isnt enough...
anyways more on gen chem the prof for it took pleasure in failing people and like 45% of the people failed it and a lot of the people that did pass it received a C-

Originally Posted by optohopeful123

right, because getting in based on connections is better than getting in on merit.

Getting in is getting in regardless of how you get in.

I was looking at my grades and saw like 4 classes i can retake and figuring i get a B in these classes and a couple its very possible for me to get an A in i figured i would be sitting at around a 2.8 2.9 now that is without the credits I am taking now and future so theoretically if i stay on this path i could be sitting around a 3.1 3.2 by the time I am done

Originally Posted by Pulse0021

I was looking at my grades and saw like 4 classes i can retake and figuring i get a B in these classes and a couple its very possible for me to get an A in i figured i would be sitting at around a 2.8 2.9 now that is without the credits I am taking now and future so theoretically if i stay on this path i could be sitting around a 3.1 3.2 by the time I am done

Shoot. It's harder to boost your CumuGPA during your last year (due to the amount of credits you've already taken)[base on my experience]. But yea, just do the best you can.

So, you have one more year of school after this semester?

I could graduate after next year I am a junior if i took summer classes. I would be around 30 credits short after this semester. But if i retake these credits it will put me a semester behind but its basically needed to get rid of all the bad grades on my GPA

Your past GPA is said and done, no use harping on it now. Do the best you can from here on out, retake anything less than a C. Prep for the OATs NOW. Awesome scores can show the adcoms that you are serious and maybe just had a bad run early on. That's what I would be focusing on. GPA is only one element of your potential, show them the other pieces of your application.

ya all I am doing is retaking C- classes like my first bio class i could very easily get an A in now