Various Levels of Difficulty of Acceptance

[Commando303]

Does anyone have an idea as to the various levels of difficulty of being accepted to optometry schools (in the United States)? I don't mean to sound like a wimp, but it seems your O.A.T. score(s) can be sent, at no additional charge, to only four colleges. Beyond those in which I'm specifically interested, I'd like to feel in my options with a couple of relatively "safe" choices.

I was interested in Berkeley, but I've reviewed their pre-reqs., and I'll have to complete another year of under-graduate study just to qualify to apply, which I'm not eager (read, am rather unwilling) to do.

I expect the quality of education at any of these institutions will be comparable to that offered at any other. Is this correct?

Thank you.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Tizzle]

There is a pdf on the opted.org website that has class profiles for 2008 of all optometry colleges. It lists average GPA and OAT scores.

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

http://www.opted.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3449

One of the most important pdfs for pre-optometry students!

As for the quality of education, you can try looking for board exam pass rates for each schools (a lot of schools don't release their rates, so it's harder to find) on previous threads.

 

[JMU07]

I expect the quality of education at any of these institutions will be comparable to that offered at any other. Is this correct?

Thank you.

Basically. No matter where you graduate from you will have a degree.

However - some schools are very clinic-based, while others are very involved in research, so that may play a factor as to which schools you want to apply to. It just depends on what you're interested in doing after graduation.

 

[Commando303]

Thanks. By "difficulty," I also meant, which schools have the strictest pre-requisites (e.g., Berkeley) and which have the fewest?

 

[blysssful]

That information can be found on opted.org.

 

[Oogilily]

All schools have about the same pre-reqs. There is a lot of variability, but the core pre-reqs are about the same. As far as how hard it is to get accepted, one thing to look at is that PDF everybody is talking about. First, you can look at GPAs and OAT scores. That gives you a good guess what you need to get in. Also, look at how many people applied and how many people got accepted. This will tell you how competetive it is to get in. So I would start there. I have no idea what else to go off of or who has "harder" pre reqs etc. You'll just have to manually look up all of the pre-reqs on the schools websites to get that info.

 

[JMU07]

That information can be found on opted.org.

I really think we need a sticky up in this forum with the opted PDF. It would save people a lot of time.

 

[canucksstanley]

Here's my opinion in degree of difficulty on getting in (for 2013 and 2014 classes). I know all schools are not listed because I don't really know that much about every single school.

1) Waterloo
2) Berkeley
3) Southern
4) SUNY
5) SCCO
6) ICO
7) NECO
8) Midwestern
9) Western

 

[bobbio]

Here's my opinion in degree of difficulty on getting in (for 2013 and 2014 classes). I know all schools are not listed because I don't really know that much about every single school.

1) Waterloo
2) Berkeley
3) Southern
4) SUNY
5) SCCO
6) ICO
7) NECO
8) Midwestern
9) Western

How did you figure this? Just curious.

 

[canucksstanley]

How did you figure this? Just curious.

I didn't really figure it out, its just my perceived opinion based on average gpa, oat scores, applications/interviews/acceptances, etc.

 

[blysssful]

Okay, there is so much wrong with that list, starting with two of the newer schools being on the list. Absolutely not. The rest is very speculative & subjective; you have to consider that the different class sizes, passing board rates, clinical experiences and among a slew of other things are also factors.

For example: NSU has an extremely small class size, but only pulls from certain states... BUT NSU has an average 3.7 GPA and lower average OAT scores... Just pointing out that there's a reason why the schools aren't ranked, and this is a better reason why someone who has self-disclosed a lack of information of the schools should not be doing the ranking.

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

Okay, there is so much wrong with that list, starting with two of the newer schools being on the list. Absolutely not. The rest is very speculative & subjective; you have to consider that the different class sizes, passing board rates, clinical experiences and among a slew of other things are also factors.

For example: NSU has an extremely small class size, but only pulls from certain states... BUT NSU has an average 3.7 GPA and lower average OAT scores... Just pointing out that there's a reason why the schools aren't ranked, and this is a better reason why someone who has self-disclosed a lack of information of the schools should not be doing the ranking.

I think those two schools were included at the end of the list to denote that they're the "easiest" to get into. Of course, we don't even have the slightest idea of their average OAT/GPA/etc. for their entering class, so it's impossible to tell.