advice please

[ray07]

Hi I am new to this forum, although i have been browsing for a while, and i must say some of the discussions here were really helpful.
anyway i will be reapplying to optometry schools in the fall of 07, and for the summer i am taking some classes to bring up my gpa and all.
i have worked with an optometrist for almost 2 yrs now, so i do have experience in the field. however, i recently found out through some relatives back home in India that there are some internship/work opportunities in one of the top hospitals in India, in the opthalmology department, where you actually get to do hands on stuff, and watch surgeries and all-things that you probably wont be able to experience until your 3rd yr of optometry school..sooooo im thinking whether to take that up for a few weeks, maybe that will be a major plus for my resume?? but then again i dont know if the committee will view it positively because its outside the US..im confused, so any advice/opinion will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance

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[ray07]

right i know..but i only have the summer term to improve my GPA cause i wana apply early this time...unlike last time when i applied in january..and i am taking 13 credits in the summer, and hoping to get all A's..lets see.
well my gpa sucked..its close to a 2.8 and my OATs were 330 TS and 340 AA..i did get an interview with nova but i still didnt get in. i am wondering what else i could do in the summer that will enhance my application, since all i have is the summer.

 

[Bulls-eye]

ray07:

Since you already applied to schools, did they give you any advice on what you can do to improve your chances of getting in? If not it might be a good idea to call the schools you are interested in and find out, although it seems you are on the right track. Taking more classes to increase your GPA seems fine, as long as you are taking upper level science classes and do well in them to show the admissions committee that you can handle tougher science classes. I would assume scoring well in very challenging classes would be looked on more favorably than taking easy lower level GPA boosters, especially since you GPA probably won't improve too much after only one semester. Also, are you going to retake the OAT? You're scores seem fine, but I'm sure with more studying you can raise them a bit. And applying early is probably a very good idea too.
Good luck!

 

[ray07]

thanks..i guess i could just call the schools and ask them, they could give me a better idea.
i dont think i want to retake the OATs because i already took it twice..so i guess i just really gota make sure i do well in the summer classes. thanks guys