Worst news of my life!!!!

[Pre Opt Student]

I had an interview at PCO a month ago and today I found out I am on "hold" for spring grades. I CANNOT believe this. WHY would they make me spend like 2 grand on flights and coming to an interview, staying in a hotel etc etc. if my grades werent even GOOD ENOUGH? PLUS, at my interview they were SO POSITIVE. my exit interviewer (the admissions director) told me everything in my file was excellent - my grades, she complemented my OAT like i got 400s or something, and my letters etc. She even went as far to tell me like at least 5 times that if she were me she wouldnt worry at all!!! I cant believe they gave me such high hopes just to REJECT me in the end. I wanted to go to PCO SO BADLY. I loved the program and school when I went for the interview.

I got accepted to NOVA and they want a deposit by april 15th and I dont even want to go there anymore. I really dont know what to do. Obviously by the time I send my spring grades, (which wont be until MAY) the class will be full!!! what am i supposed to do now????????????????

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[KHE]

I had an interview at PCO a month ago and today I found out I am on "hold" for spring grades. I CANNOT believe this. WHY would they make me spend like 2 grand on flights and coming to an interview, staying in a hotel etc etc. if my grades werent even GOOD ENOUGH? PLUS, at my interview they were SO POSITIVE. my exit interviewer (the admissions director) told me everything in my file was excellent - my grades, she complemented my OAT like i got 400s or something, and my letters etc. She even went as far to tell me like at least 5 times that if she were me she wouldnt worry at all!!! I cant believe they gave me such high hopes just to REJECT me in the end. I wanted to go to PCO SO BADLY. I loved the program and school when I went for the interview.

I got accepted to NOVA and they want a deposit by april 15th and I dont even want to go there anymore. I really dont know what to do. Obviously by the time I send my spring grades, (which wont be until MAY) the class will be full!!! what am i supposed to do now????????????????

The first thing you do is calm the hell down.

Secondly, you realize that you have been admitted to a school. Send in your deposit to reserve your spot. One way or the other, you're going to optometry school. If in the end PCO takes you, you forfeit your deposit at NOVA which is annoying but in the long run won't make a single solitary lick of difference.

Thirdly, you realize that this is NOT PERSONAL. Perhaps you applied too late in the cycle. Perhaps the interviewer didn't like the color socks you wore. Perhaps you had a tiny booger hanging out of your nose. Who knows? It's not personal. Haven't you ever been turned down for admission before, or not gotten a job? It's not personal.

Lastly, you realize that you are on hold, not rejected. It may still work out the way you want. Relax a little bit.

 

[iVision]

Also, if you're really set on PCO you can request deferral on your admissions to NOVA. This way you can have a guaranteed spot for next year without re-applying and have another chance to re-apply to PCO if you don't get in this year. NOVA does grant deferral requests on a case-by-base basis. I did this last year when I didn't get into my top choice school and if I didn't get in the 2nd time around, then at least I'd still have an acceptance elsewhere. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Pre Opt Student]

The thought of sitting off for a year makes me sick to my stomach! I can't stand undergrad anymore and I dont know what I would do for a year. I feel like I would be bored out of my mind and feel like Im wasting my life away. But then if I go to NOVA, im really scared of being uphappy because for some reason I dont want to go there..mostly because of all the negativity based on this site.

I guess I will give my deposit and wait it out and PRAY that I get in to PCO in the end. Also, Khe, I haven't really been rejected from anything big before..this year was the first time..and this is alot worse than a job interview or something small. This is something that is going to determine the next four years or the rest of my life. agh this sucks. But I agree there is nothing I can do about it now but send in my grades come april..

 

[KHE]

I guess I will give my deposit and wait it out and PRAY that I get in to PCO in the end. Also, Khe, I haven't really been rejected from anything big before..this year was the first time..and this is alot worse than a job interview or something small. This is something that is going to determine the next four years or the rest of my life. agh this sucks. But I agree there is nothing I can do about it now but send in my grades come april..

Ok, so then let me assure you as someone who has been turned down for jobs, denied admissions to schools, failed exams, been turned down by girls (I know, hard to believe ) etc. etc. that the world will NOT stop spinning on it's axes, you WILL get over it, you WILL make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in and in the end, you will have NO regrets about it. I guarantee it.

 

[gochi]

The thought of sitting off for a year makes me sick to my stomach! I can't stand undergrad anymore and I dont know what I would do for a year. I feel like I would be bored out of my mind and feel like Im wasting my life away. But then if I go to NOVA, im really scared of being uphappy because for some reason I dont want to go there..mostly because of all the negativity based on this site.

I guess I will give my deposit and wait it out and PRAY that I get in to PCO in the end. Also, Khe, I haven't really been rejected from anything big before..this year was the first time..and this is alot worse than a job interview or something small. This is something that is going to determine the next four years or the rest of my life. agh this sucks. But I agree there is nothing I can do about it now but send in my grades come april..

yea, i agree. after all, i would not like it if nova stole my money by kicking me out of their program because i failed one course.

nova should be a last resort for all applicants.

 

[JeffChou]

Don't take your acceptance to NOVA for granted. While you are still on hold and may or may not make it into the fall class at PCO, you are still accepted to NOVA's OD program, a program for which you also spent money flying to, time applying to, and a profession you spent years working towards. You might not be too thrilled about going, based on what you've read here, but what did you think about the school when you went there for your interview? Students who make the most out of their education get the most out of it. Sure this changes plans for your next four years (and boy have I had some major changes throughout college), but it doesn't change the rest of your career after those 4 years.

Here's what you do: send in your seat deposit, send in your transcript when you can, go to whichever school this fall, graduate 4 years later with an OD, the same OD they grant at PCO, ICO, SCCO, NOVA, or wherever. With the economy as it is, there are two things I'm sure of: it will be hard to find a job, and the total number of applicants to all the health fields will rise (because no one will be going into ibanking anytime soon!). Needless to say, there are also many people who would love to be in your slightly less-than-perfect situation.

 

[Pre Opt Student]

Don't take your acceptance to NOVA for granted. While you are still on hold and may or may not make it into the fall class at PCO, you are still accepted to NOVA's OD program, a program for which you also spent money flying to, time applying to, and a profession you spent years working towards. You might not be too thrilled about going, based on what you've read here, but what did you think about the school when you went there for your interview? Students who make the most out of their education get the most out of it. Sure this changes plans for your next four years (and boy have I had some major changes throughout college), but it doesn't change the rest of your career after those 4 years.

Here's what you do: send in your seat deposit, send in your transcript when you can, go to whichever school this fall, graduate 4 years later with an OD, the same OD they grant at PCO, ICO, SCCO, NOVA, or wherever. With the economy as it is, there are two things I'm sure of: it will be hard to find a job, and the total number of applicants to all the health fields will rise (because no one will be going into ibanking anytime soon!). Needless to say, there are also many people who would love to be in your slightly less-than-perfect situation.

Thanks guys! These posts actually made me feel alot better. And you are right, Nova IS a good school. When I first went to NOVA for an interview, I had hardly read anything on SDN and so I was very unbiased. To me, the campus actually blew me away and the technology seemed really up to date and the school overall WAS impressive. I was actually really happy because the OD school was part of a big campus, and with other health professions. I hate feeling isolated and the campus definately didnt give me that feeling. So you are right, I should not take my nova acceptance for granted. I think most of the people that say negative things about it, have never visited the campus or seen the facilities.

But after my pco interview, I was definately leaning towards pco. I think most of it was "gut feeling" To me it just felt right. I liked the program/curriculum alot.

But anyways you are right, the only thing I can do is send in my deposit for NOVA and send PCO my transcript in the spring and then I just hope that whatever happens works out for the best.

 

[eorion]

yea, i agree. after all, i would not like it if nova stole my money by kicking me out of their program because i failed one course.

nova should be a last resort for all applicants.

Where are you getting the information the Nova kicks out people for failing one class? I asked someone who goes there about that, and they said that wasn't true, and even had examples of people that failed a class that weren't kicked out. I really would like to know whose telling the truth and what the exact circumstances have to be to be kicked out...

 

[gochi]

Where are you getting the information the Nova kicks out people for failing one class? I asked someone who goes there about that, and they said that wasn't true, and even had examples of people that failed a class that weren't kicked out. I really would like to know whose telling the truth and what the exact circumstances have to be to be kicked out...

Several people have claimed that. You can search by using keywords such as "NOVA Sucks."

 

[tbiv81]

As mentioned above, send your deposit to NOVA so that if you do not want to sit out a year, you have an option. In the meantime, let the admission committee here at PCO know that this is where you want to attend. Send them letters updating them on your progress in school. Shadow multiple practice settings (retail, private, group), showing how much you really want this. I took the OAT in Jan, didn't do so well on it, so I took the OAT again the first week of April. Did well on it, and was accepted April 19th last year (class still not full then). Like you, I was accepted to NOVA as well, and even though I'm from Florida and would have been paying less, I felt PCO was a better school. PCO did end up giving me a very generous scholarship as well, so in the end, it really isn't costing me a lot more than NOVA would have.

 

[student47]

Why do people have such negative feelings towards Nova? Gochi, please don't reply to this because I know that you failed a course there and got rejected so you feel that the school did you wrong (even though they didn't).

Anyway, be happy you got accepted to Nova. It's an amazing school and has amazing optometry technology. The staff is incredible and the fellow students are very supportive. I got all this feel from my interview as well as from the people who go there!

 

[tbiv81]

It started with communication with Fran. I didn't do so well on my first OAT, and after trying to email and call her many, many times I gave up. The day after taking my OAT again (370), I received multiple emails, and messages on my phone from her beginning the day after and continuing for weeks after my interview about needing a decision. I realize she is probably pretty busy, but if she is that busy, hire another person!

The majority of my interview was not impressive at NOVA. Most was pretty typical until the student guided tour. The facilities were awesome, and I enjoyed speaking with the faculty as well. However, there were two girls and two guys on the student tour. One guy, who had a mo-hawk walked with a few of us towards the back. He told us not to worry about studying except a couple days before exams. He was very proud he was passing with a 70, and rambled on about everything but things about NOVA or the program. I began to ask him about getting involved in clinic and learning various procedures, and he did not have a clue. So, I asked another student leading the group and they didn't know either. I know they were first years, but these guides are representing the school and program. I'm sure most of the student body is not like this guy, but if the faculty allow students like this to give tours and represent the OD program, that is a red flag to me. I emailed them and gave them my opinion, so maybe they've changed some things.

During my interview, I asked the two interviewing me if they were NOVA graduates. One said yes, and the other said no. I asked them why I should choose NOVA over other schools including the one the interviewer had graduated from. I guess she wasn't prepared to answer that one, and gave me a long description of how the two schools differ....?

Overall, I just felt the students at PCO (and other schools) were more focused and driven.