Advice

[JoshDunc]

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Okay so I have finished my application and ready to submit ($460 is a budget killer!) I take the OAT on August 16th. I have worked in 2 offices and shadowed 4 doctors. I have 40 hours or unpaid shadow experience, over 700 hours of paid experience, and 8 hours of optometric community service. I have a GPA of 3.0 right now. I'm actually pleased with it given my brother has passed away, mom diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and my grandma being dignosed with colon cancer. It's been a tough undergraduate career but my wife has kept me optimistic about getting in. I took the OAT my sophomore year of college and I made a 270 without cracking open a single study material and without key courses. My goal is a 310. Is this feasible? I just now got my study material in so I'm starting tomorrow. Any advice would be great! I got into Chiropractic School but honestly I would much rather be an optometrist since my uncle is one in Texas and my cousin just finished his 1st year. Thanks!

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[amt1209]

I'm so sorry about the unfortunate news with your family. I think 310 is without question an achievable goal as long as you study a bit before the test! Make sure you provide some insight about your family situation on the application, they like to know things like this and usually have an area on the supplemental apps where you can provide info that you'd like to tell them. Best of luck!!

 

[ac12345]

Okay so I have finished my application and ready to submit ($460 is a budget killer!) I take the OAT on August 16th. I have worked in 2 offices and shadowed 4 doctors. I have 40 hours or unpaid shadow experience, over 700 hours of paid experience, and 8 hours of optometric community service. I have a GPA of 3.0 right now. I'm actually pleased with it given my brother has passed away, mom diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and my grandma being dignosed with colon cancer. It's been a tough undergraduate career but my wife has kept me optimistic about getting in. I took the OAT my sophomore year of college and I made a 270 without cracking open a single study material and without key courses. My goal is a 310. Is this feasible? I just now got my study material in so I'm starting tomorrow. Any advice would be great! I got into Chiropractic School but honestly I would much rather be an optometrist since my uncle is one in Texas and my cousin just finished his 1st year. Thanks!

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Best of luck with your applications. Sorry about the recent rough years you've had. I applied to OD programs his previous admission cycle. Had a slightly lower GPA but got a 320 on my academic average and total science scores. It's definitely achievable. Just put in some time in reviewing. I'll suggest you try out chads videos through course saver. After you update your scores and get them sent out you should hear back from schools. I got into two programs and will be starting next month. Good luck.

 

[JoshDunc]

I'm so sorry about the unfortunate news with your family. I think 310 is without question an achievable goal as long as you study a bit before the test! Make sure you provide some insight about your family situation on the application, they like to know things like this and usually have an area on the supplemental apps where you can provide info that you'd like to tell them. Best of luck!!

Thank you! I've submitted my application. I started on it July 1st and finished last night. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect. So far I have only filled out 1 supplemental application but indeed it did ask for information like that which makes me feel hopeful! 🙂

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[caitlinfollansbee]

I'd say that if you study and prepare with some test strategies, you can get beyond a 310. Shadowing/experience is extremely important and you've done great with that. I'm in a similar position as you. I have a 3.3 prereq GPA, got a 310 on the OAT, and have over 2000 shadowing/working hours, all while my mom was in the hospital about 8 times. I'd suggest really using Kaplan's test strategies..they helped me a TON. But I struggled with physics and QR so I'm taking it again in October. My advice: take as MANY times practice tests that you can get your hands on. I ran out of time on physics and QR and ended up having to just pick an answer before time ran out. What schools are you applying to?

 

[JoshDunc]

I'd say that if you study and prepare with some test strategies, you can get beyond a 310. Shadowing/experience is extremely important and you've done great with that. I'm in a similar position as you. I have a 3.3 prereq GPA, got a 310 on the OAT, and have over 2000 shadowing/working hours, all while my mom was in the hospital about 8 times. I'd suggest really using Kaplan's test strategies..they helped me a TON. But I struggled with physics and QR so I'm taking it again in October. My advice: take as MANY times practice tests that you can get your hands on. I ran out of time on physics and QR and ended up having to just pick an answer before time ran out. What schools are you applying to?

I'm applying to:

Northeastern State University
Western University
Midwestern University
Rosenberg

Ultimately though since I am from Oklahoma my #1 goal is to get into NSUOCO. My uncle went there and my cousin is a 2nd year. My optometrist who wrote me a letter is big at NSUOCO. He donates and gives lectures. He took me to meet the dean of the optometry college there. So hopefully that means something! How about you?

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[caitlinfollansbee]

I'm all about knowing the right people! A good word goes a long way. The two Drs I work for are alumni of SCO, and I just love the school. My #1 is Southern College of Optometry, but also applying to Pacific, SCCO, NOVA, and SUNY. So basically all over the US haha.

 

[JoshDunc]

I'm all about knowing the right people! A good word goes a long way. The two Drs I work for are alumni of SCO, and I just love the school. My #1 is Southern College of Optometry, but also applying to Pacific, SCCO, NOVA, and SUNY. So basically all over the US haha.

I was also going to apply to SCO, NOVA, and Pacific but $350 in supplementals, $520 OptomCAS, and $458 OAT was unreal lol I couldn't afford it. So I'm applying to 4 this cycle. We will see how it goes. Hopefully it all works out. I have gone to NSUOCO twice now and met with all of the admissions staff. My cousin always talks about me and he said they ask if I am still applying. So I think it is good that they ask about me.

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