Waterloo Optometry 2011 Cycle

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  1. Optometry Student
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I hope this isn't a duplicate thread or anything but I ran a search and no one seems to have started one.

I just thought for the people applying to Waterloo, we can post anything relevant here. Or when people start getting part 2 of the application (i don't think they sent it out yet but some people are getting worried).

Thanks :laugh:
 
I am applying to Waterloo, I applied on OUAC on July 16th and still have not received the second part of my Application, so not to worry!

I am wondering if anyone knows about the changes to the OAT scoring and how this will affect Waterloo applicants? They stated that in the past the average OAT score for accepted students was 370.. i am wondering what this would equate to for the new scoring scale? I have only written the test once and scored a 350TS/350AA and am wondering if I should rewrite to be competitive???
 
I'm not really sure... I spoke with one of the vice presidents (or execs) of the pre-optometry club last year and said that although the scoring is a bit different, it's not going to affect us much, because the committee people are well aware of it when they see your scores and when you wrote them. Not sure if this is true or not but, just passing on the knowledge!

I haven't gotten part 2 either... neither has anyone I know. Just for anyone who wants an update!
 
I Just received my second application today, just for a heads up!
 
Me too! Hah it's EXACTLY 3 weeks after for me that they sent it out! I was wondering if everyone has lots to put down under "Non-academic awards"? I mean, if you don't have much, then you really don't...
 
I guess like sports/music/extracurricular awards go there.
 
Yeah. I guess my concern is that, like I've been in sports team, play music/been in band, and other volunteering. But none of what I did really earned an actual award.

I'm actually wondering what are the thoughts about using awards from long time ago? I've been in music competitions when I was in grade 4 or so and got first. I read somewhere on forums that if you are going to use awards from so long ago, it should at least show a "progression". Like if you started music young, and then you continued through with it in highschool and got an award, etc. I guess it kind of shows that you followed through with it. But I still have doubts because it's from so long ago but hey, if that's the only award I have then ... leaves me with little choice.
 
yea the application is a bit short and it really does not leave room for expression of who you are besides awards/honors. i would think it's better to fill it up than leave it blank? jmo.
 
for academic reference, does it matter if it's a science prof or non science prof
 
Nope, I think it can be a professor from any faculty. 🙂 I think it just so happens that half the time it ends up being a science professor because of the nature of the students applying...
 
hmm.. cause this is my 2nd time applying. first time i used the prof i did research for. and i want to use a prof that is humanities for this app. not sure if they look at both references or just the most recent? Should I ask the research prof again
 
I am fairly certain that they treat your application as completely new.. therefore it should not matter which prof wrote you a reference letter. if you know that the prof had nice things to say about you then by all means use them again 🙂.

As for extracurricular awards.. im pretty sure my section is going to be blank too... i have a lot of extracurriculars but none of them involve awards, as most are just for fun or to help out. Do you think theyre expecting a lot of stuff for that section??
 
physicslover said:
hmm.. cause this is my 2nd time applying. first time i used the prof i did research for. and i want to use a prof that is humanities for this app. not sure if they look at both references or just the most recent? Should I ask the research prof again
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking, were you granted an interview the first time you applied? What were your marks and OAT score like, and did they provide you with any explanation as to why you were not offered a spot? I am super nervous about applying bc i know it is very highly competitive at waterloo and i just want to know my chances!!
 
Today I was talking to a certain person (from Waterloo. An optometry prof) and I asked about reference letters. Thing is I did research for this "other" prof but I don't really want his letter *cough*. Not for any bad reasons, I just feel like he doesn't really know me well. I have another prof who knows me better...

And this person was all like "Oh no, you should ALWAYS use your research professors." He understood what I meant by the prof not knowing you much, but he said that it'll always raise flags as to why you don't use the prof.

Don't quote me on this though... I'm just stating what I heard even though it's counter-intuitive (ie. normally you would want a prof who knows you well to write the letter).

I also asked this person about about the non-academic awards part. He said it's not a big deal as most people don't have much. It's really just to see if you aren't a total nerd but you have lots of opportunities to write about EC in other parts of the application. I personally know people who were granted interviews even though they had no non-academic awards. (aka it's not everything guys... I mean i volunteered for library, and it's not like I'll get an award for shelving books away.)

Hope this helps!!
 
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ahh well in my situation I already used my research prof, seems kinda redundant using him again. Do they keep it on file or anything? Are their any other re-apps to Waterloo on here?
 
Ahh, well I see what you mean. I hope a reapplicant posts here or something, we would all love to know. But you know... if you think the other non-science prof can write you a letter just as good and knows you adequately well, then I don't think it will ever hurt. In fact it kind of shows that you've been doing 'new' things b/n last time you applied and now ie. talked to other profs, met new people. (I guess if they keep your last materials on file, then it certainly won't hurt for them to see both your research prof's and the non-science prof's letters, assuming they are both good.)
 
Does anyone know if we can send in more than 2 reference letters?
 
Where is Waterloo's phone cntact info? I can't find it on the site..
 
It's 519 888 4567 according to it's website.
 
thanks..

what do you guys think i should use for my academic reference?
a) research prof on vision science that I already used last year
b)humanity prof who knows me fairly well
c) science prof who knows me slightly well

im so confused! :S
 
physicslover said:
thanks..

what do you guys think i should use for my academic reference?
a) research prof on vision science that I already used last year
b)humanity prof who knows me fairly well
c) science prof who knows me slightly well

im so confused! :S
Click to expand...

I would suggest either the research prof or the humanities prof. There is no sense in choosing a science prof who doesn't know you very well over a humanities prof that DOES know you very well. I know for the US, the reference letters have to be from science profs, but since this is not stated for Waterloo, i would definitely pick the humanities prof. they are most likely to end up giving you a better reference! Choosing between the humanities prof and the research prof i really don't know what to tell you. My first instinct woudl be to say the research prof because of the relevance! But only you know best 🙂. Maybe ask both if they can do it, get both letters and decide after? Neither will know if their letter does or does not get sent, this will just give you more time to decide. 🙂
 
I guess also consider who is most likely to write you a better letter! One of the reasons I'm not choosing my research prof because he is really strict and although I worked for him, I don't feel like he'll give me as good of a letter. That and because the research stuff will come up at some point whether during the interview and/or application itself anyway, so I suppose the research experience is not altogether lost or anything.

But yes.. you have a lot of time to decide. I would just ask both to give them a heads up that they may have to write the letter.
 
thanks for the advice guys! I will need to call Waterloo and find out about the reapplicant info and hopefully that will clear things up for me. Has anyone sent in their app yet?
 
Is research really that important to the application? I have other decent extra-curriculars (volunteering, shadowing, etc..) and a fairly high GPA, but I've never had any interest in research so I don't have any experience in it. Considering that Waterloo's a research-based school, do you guys think that it would hurt my application?
 
ophope said:
Is research really that important to the application? I have other decent extra-curriculars (volunteering, shadowing, etc..) and a fairly high GPA, but I've never had any interest in research so I don't have any experience in it. Considering that Waterloo's a research-based school, do you guys think that it would hurt my application?
Click to expand...

No. This shouldn't be the case. If you have it, then cool. If you don't, then it's not the end of the world. There are plenty of people who have gotten in with 0 research experience. But one thing in common is that they all have volunteering/job shadow experience. The less commercial it is i heard, the better (despite the whole "shadow from different areas" thing) - something I heard directly from someone who used to be on the committee so take it for what it's worth.
 
Thanks for the response. And yeah you're right, I've also heard they don't like commercial optometry much
 
How did you calculate your GPA using the % system? Did you just go by the GPA? I'm confused as to how they calculate the percent when you don't have percentage marks on ure transcript
 
I'm talking about my own GPA from my school. Apparently, there's no conversion to their % system. I asked Marie (the admissions coordinator) about this, and she told me that they go by the letter grades and GPA on your transcript and have no conversion system.. which seems kinda strange because they can't compare grades and GPA to people from different schools.. but that's what she told me. Correct me if I'm mistaken
 
so if your GPA in your school does not equal a certain percentage - like its a range -how does that even work? They state they require a minimum of 75%, which is equivalent to a 3.0?? Still a bit confused.. sorry
 
ophope said:
Thanks for the response. And yeah you're right, I've also heard they don't like commercial optometry much
Click to expand...

Can I ask what you guys mean by commercial optometry??? Are you referring to places such as Wal Mart, Costco, etc?
 
They're looking at your GPA from your school. Even if your school uses letter grades and not percentages for courses, you must have a numerical overall GPA, and not a range. For Waterloo, it's given in percentage but other schools have it out of 4 or 9 or 10... I think they're asking for a GPA equivalent or close to 75% which is 3.0/4 or 6.5/9 (not exactly 75%) or 7.5/10 and so on depending on your school.
 
Ok what if my school uses a 12 point scale where an 8 actually corresponds to 73-76%?
 
Does your school have a chart that converts to GPA maybe? Some schools have that I think.

@Optomhope
Yeah, places like Lenscrafter and Walmart. Of course, it's still better than no experience at all.
 
Well if 8/12 means 73-76% at your school, then they'll see that on your transcript and that should satisfy their 75% requirement.. This is my understanding anyway. But I still don't know how they would compare people from different schools with this system so I would call Waterloo and ask about it to make sure.
 
Ya i emailed them b4 and marie was like We do not use GPA - we use your actual grades for averages. Really don't how they standarize their grades across different school..wasnt that the point of GPA? lol
 
If you want to retake your OAT, does that mean you need to wait till the OAT is done to be apply?I don't want them to reject me based on my old OAT scores but I think they review their files fairly early as they conduct interviews in November. But say if I apply now, and take my OAT in late sept can i update them later, or should I wait till Sept?
 
physicslover said:
If you want to retake your OAT, does that mean you need to wait till the OAT is done to be apply?I don't want them to reject me based on my old OAT scores but I think they review their files fairly early as they conduct interviews in November. But say if I apply now, and take my OAT in late sept can i update them later, or should I wait till Sept?
Click to expand...

Well there were people last year who hadn't even completed their OAT yet and were still granted an interview. I really wouldn't know what to do if I was you. If your GPA is good enough, then maybe it is best to wait to submit your scores until you re-take your OAT.

Oh as for the GPA to % conversion, they say that they take your GPA and standardize it to a %, and they have different conversion systems depending on which institution you did your undergraduate courses at.
 
hey, I have a quick question. The academic reference letter isn't due until novemeber correct?
 
What is the GPA to be competitive?

My current GPA is approximately 3.5, but I should be able to raise it up.

Also, if we take four courses, is that considered full time study to Waterloo still? Because on the website, it said that students must take 5 courses per semester that is equal to 15 credits to be a more competitive applicant.
 
Wait, what is a 3.5GPA in terms of %? I would say 3.7GPA (or whatever 80-84ish% is) to be competitive. It sounds crazy but yeah, that's UW for you.

And I don't know about other schools but at UW, 80% (so at least 4 courses) is considered a full course load.

@watercresent That's correct. November 30, 2010 is the deadline.
http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/prospective/od/importantdates.html
 
Strutter said:
What is the GPA to be competitive?

My current GPA is approximately 3.5, but I should be able to raise it up.

Also, if we take four courses, is that considered full time study to Waterloo still? Because on the website, it said that students must take 5 courses per semester that is equal to 15 credits to be a more competitive applicant.
Click to expand...

Four courses IS still considered a full course load but UW specifically prefers that students have taken at least 5 courses a semester. This is because the optometry program at UW is very demanding and having taken 5 courses a semester is a better indication that you are prepared for it. However, don't worry if one or two semesters you haven't taken 5 courses... i think they will overlook that.
 
I'm wondering for those that already sent in their applications, how did you find out if your application reached the school? I sent out mine few weeks ago and I tried emailing the [email protected] address like they tell us, but whoever checks this address don't reply. So... I'm left wondering.
 
does anyone else find the space in the UW app to be extremely limited?? For example where we have to fill in the Duties section for work experience, the space is soo small. I'm having a lot of difficulty putting all of the information that i want to put in.... any suggestions?
 
Put down the main points... do the best you can.
 
i'm just a little confused......does anyone know if we need to get our schools to forward our transcript to waterloo or was that already done on the on-line application?? and for our OAT scores, if we selected that waterloo receive the official scores we don't need to contact asco and get them to send the scores do we?
 
Physio101 said:
i'm just a little confused......does anyone know if we need to get our schools to forward our transcript to waterloo or was that already done on the on-line application?? and for our OAT scores, if we selected that waterloo receive the official scores we don't need to contact asco and get them to send the scores do we?
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, I think you personally have to get your school to forward your transcript to Waterloo (unless you are already a Waterloo student). However, the official OAT scores should have been sent automatically, or at least I hope so because I haven't contacted ASCO either.

Hope this helps!

I have a question too - does anyone know how long it might take to get a response from the status email Waterloo provided for us in the application instructions? I'd like to find out if they're missing any of my application requirements asap!
 
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Also (sorry to clog up the forum a bit), I have been wondering for months how Waterloo compares the GPAs of all the applicants, considering that there are quite a few different GPA scales out there. Does anyone know if they use some kind of formula to convert all of them to percentages? For example, if someone had a 3.8 on a 4.3 scale, or a 3.8 on a 4.0 scale, how would Waterloo be able to convert these to percentages remotely accurately? I'm mystified.
 
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