Advice on schools to apply to, please

[Shnurek]

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GPA: 3.3
OAT: 320 TS/AA
A little bit of shadowing and I am in the Northeast area.

 

[jc328]

SCCO and WU are both in warm climate and suburb setting, you might want to give it a shot.

 

[eyeseeu]

whoa, your stats are just like mine! and i'm also looking to apply to schools in warmer locations. lol. def try southern california and western u; i'm also looking into the two schools in texas. good luck!

 

[Shnurek]

I decided that I will apply to SCO as well because the tuition is more manageable.

The thing about California schools I don't like is that California's scope of practice is the most hindered by legislation and the taxes there are horrible. It is a nice place to live I must admit haha.
But if I went to school there and then wanted to practice somewhere less restricting it would be difficult since they don't teach you more than they need to I was told. Also with 3 schools of optometry its very saturated in that state.

I am going to do some research on the Texas schools, thanks!

 

[socal2014]

I decided that I will apply to SCO as well because the tuition is more manageable.

The thing about California schools I don't like is that California's scope of practice is the most hindered by legislation and the taxes there are horrible. It is a nice place to live I must admit haha.
But if I went to school there and then wanted to practice somewhere less restricting it would be difficult since they don't teach you more than they need to I was told. Also with 3 schools of optometry its very saturated in that state.

I am going to do some research on the Texas schools, thanks!

Thats crazy!

Can you elaborate as to what you mean by " they don't teach you more than they need to"?

Isn't that saying, since optometry law in cali states that glaucoma is not a major concern, we will not teach our students how to diagnose glaucoma?

 

[kiwi5frog]

I decided that I will apply to SCO as well because the tuition is more manageable.

The thing about California schools I don't like is that California's scope of practice is the most hindered by legislation and the taxes there are horrible. It is a nice place to live I must admit haha.
But if I went to school there and then wanted to practice somewhere less restricting it would be difficult since they don't teach you more than they need to I was told. Also with 3 schools of optometry its very saturated in that state.

I am going to do some research on the Texas schools, thanks!

Really? CA is the MOST legislatively hindered among all 50 states? Article link please! I like to read these things and haven't seen anything that has indicated such.

and SCCO is pretty explicit about their program teaching all the skills necessary to practice in any and all states. Although surgeries are not part of the CA scope of practice, they do teach it in their curriculum in order to prepare their students to practice all over the US.

 

[Shnurek]

Well I found this out by speaking with my optometrist in NY who said California is even more restricting than NY. Maybe some obscure state out there is even more restricting but I do not know.

I wish there was a chart or something that would outline optometric legislation in every state.

What I meant was that for example if giving patients injections was illegal in your state then obviously they cannot teach you that in your state optometric college because its illegal to practice... Same with certain oral drugs and opioids.

 

[achirum]

Really? CA is the MOST legislatively hindered among all 50 states? Article link please! I like to read these things and haven't seen anything that has indicated such.

and SCCO is pretty explicit about their program teaching all the skills necessary to practice in any and all states. Although surgeries are not part of the CA scope of practice, they do teach it in their curriculum in order to prepare their students to practice all over the US.

What types of surgeries are being taught?

 

[socal2014]

What types of surgeries are being taught?

None. Optometrists are not permitted to do surgery.

 

[achirum]

None. Optometrists are not permitted to do surgery.

Yes, sounded strange to me. Unless kiwi has a different interpretation of surgery.

 

[Shnurek]

Optometrists can perform LASIK in Oklahoma and Virginia was considering enacting similar legislation.

 

[socal2014]

Optometrists can perform LASIK in Oklahoma and Virginia was considering enacting similar legislation.

That's true. Perhaps OD's may be allowed to perform surgeries in the near future.

 

[kiwi5frog]

Correct, I was referring to OK's "scalpel privileges" as they call em.

Also, I was at SCCO today and had a chance to clarify with the students concerning the surgeries topic. Yes, they do teach procedures that are not legalized in CA at SCCO within the curriculum, but not in clinic. So you'll learn to remove sutures and things, but you won't be a be able to practice doing so on a live human being

 

[Shnurek]

oooo ok thanks for clarifying that up Kiwi Frog 🙂

 

[kiwi5frog]

oooo ok thanks for clarifying that up Kiwi Frog 🙂

Absolutely. Glad I could help🙂

it was really nice being on scco campus today and being able to ask them in person. on the downside, i was reminded why so many people dislike dilation ugh...it looked like i was on drugs having pupils that big. not to mention being blurry eyed for hours (please ignore my griping >.<)

 

[Shnurek]

Haha they need one of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaofXHpwovU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpRi03jVuOQ

 

[lsmc888]

this is quite a discussion here lol

based on what i have been told by various schools, it doesnt matter how restricting a particular state is, every school will still teach the full scope of optometry so that a student is well prepared for wherever they choose to practice. so just because u go to college in cali doesnt mean that it will only teach based on cali's legislation

 

[kiwi5frog]

Haha they need one of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaofXHpwovU&feature=related

sweeeeeeeeeeet

 

[Commando303]

So I just took the OAT today and I got:
QR: 300
Reading Comp: 370
Bio:340
GChem: 330
OChem: 290
Physics: 350
Total Science: 330
Academic Average: 330

I have a bachelors in bio with a 3.18 GPA from a university.

Now I am from NYC so I am applying to SUNY even though I probably won't get in.

I also sent out my scores to NECO, NOVA, AZCOPT, and PCO.

I am looking to go apply to more schools that are in warmer climates and are not located in urban environments, kinda tired of NYC to be honest lol

Is this a competent strategy you guys think? What other schools should I apply to?

Thank you so much for your help and I know there are a lot of people posting "what are my chances" topics.

A quick preface: I know I'm digging up an oldish thread here, and I don't want it to be construed I'm doing so to pick on the original poster.

Now, Shnurek, if I may ask, were there any "special" circumstances in which you were accepted to S.U.N.Y. Optometry's program? I ask because — and you, yourself, acknowledge this in the above-quoted post — your candidacy does look to be below what S.U.N.Y. tends to favor. Had you gained an atypically large amount of clinical experience (e.g., through shadowing) prior to applying?

Forgive me if this seems forward, but I'm curious to how the numbers you've shared were accepted by S.U.N.Y.: I've known the college to reject applicants with better ones (of course, this was not in the same admissions-year as yours).

 

[Shnurek]

'

 

[Shnurek]

Its kind of cool to see how things were just a few months ago with that old post 🙂 I actually prepared myself psychologically by being pessimistic about my application to SUNY so:
A) If I didn't get in, I would not get depressed.
B) I would study harder for the OAT and about the profession of optometry to prepare for my interview.

For me personally, when I am optimistic, I stop caring and I do not try as hard because I believe everything will be fine either way. There's some psychoanalysis for ya.

 

[thecgrblue]

Its kind of cool to see how things were just a few months ago with that old post 🙂 I actually prepared myself psychologically by being pessimistic about my application to SUNY so:
A) If I didn't get in, I would not get depressed.
B) I would study harder for the OAT and about the profession of optometry to prepare for my interview.

For me personally, when I am optimistic, I stop caring and I do not try as hard because I believe everything will be fine either way. There's some psychoanalysis for ya.

Learn that from the Psych pre-req they make us do? 😀 I'm still trying to understand the point of that stupid class.

 

[Commando303]

I applied early. I researched optometry extensively. I knew what gonioscopy was during my interview for example. I had a 3.9 GPA in Physics I and II along with 91st percentile physics score on the OAT so I played on that as my strength and one of the reasons why I chose optometry. I have a strong and extrovertive personality. I smiled and even joked around a little bit during my interview. I went to Stuyvesant High School which is the #1 specialized high school in NYC. And finally my whole GPA rose from 2.77 in freshman year (when I didn't know what I wanted to do) to a 3.5 GPA senior year taking purely science classes. Also, my course-load per semester varied from a minimum of 18 credits to a maximum of 21 credits.

I believe they take all of these things into account when choosing candidates. Hopefully that helps. And no, I did not have any special circumstances/accommodations for my application.

Thanks for sharing. I think your familiarity with the field, then, likely did have a strong influence on the school's decision to accept you.

As to joking around during the interview, I, too, recall myself being casual, but, considering the ones I went on, I feel S.U.N.Y.'s was one of the less pleasant.

Anyway, best of luck.

 

[Shnurek]

Thanks for sharing. I think your familiarity with the field, then, likely did have a strong influence on the school's decision to accept you.

As to joking around during the interview, I, too, recall myself being casual, but, considering the ones I went on, I feel S.U.N.Y.'s was one of the less pleasant.

Anyway, best of luck.

Thanks, by the way if there was a way we could switch externship privileges I'd let you take my spot in a NY externship because I plan to do one or more outside of NYS.