Career Change - Nontraditional Applicant

[shpk013]

Hi everyone! So I have a couple of questions for you guys.

I am thinking of switching careers. I've been a dental hygienist for about 6 years and I am currently finishing my MPH. Initially I was planning to go into dentistry but after working in that field for a while, I really couldn't see myself working with teeth for the rest of my life. A friend of mine recommended optometry. I looked into it, started shadowing an optometrist and really liked the field. Much more then dental

My questions are:
1) What are my changes of getting into optometry school if I apply this year, especially since I am switching careers? My gpa was around 3.2. in both undergrad and dental hygiene school. Currently my MPH gpa is higher. I have alot of experience working in the public health sector; I have worked for the UN as well as for a non-profit health organization abroad.
2) I plan on taking the OAT in august, should I wait until after my scores to apply or should I apply early? Also, what would be a reasonable OAT score to aim for regarding my situation?
3) Most of the schools require a statistics course, I plan on taking it in the fall. Would that be ok since my application will hopefully already be send or should I take it over the summer?

Sorry for all these questions but any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

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[Kurgen525]

I myself was in a similar boat as a non-traditional student when I applied to schools so here's my thoughts:

1) If you can apply this cycle, do it. That may depend on how many classes you'll still need to take before next August. As for getting in, some of that will depend on where you apply, how early you get stuff in, and how you interview. I think you've got a lot of interesting things to talk about in an essay and interview that will set you apart. Just talk those up.
2) Get your application in whenever you finish. I submitted all my application stuff before taking the OAT so all the schools were waiting on was my scores. I also took my OAT in august and had submitted all my application stuff in late July. In general, OAT scores of 300 and higher are more competitive for admission.
3) I was still taking classes until the summer before entering school so you should have no issue with the stats class. Essentially they school will offer you a "conditional" acceptance and you just have to finish all your prerequisites before enrolling in the fall. That application system should also let you include a spot to put planned courses so schools will see that as well.

 

[shpk013]

Thanks for the info!