all 2012 PCO students..

[hoops123]

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hi
i will be applying to PCO, this summer, IT IS MT 1ST CHOICE
just wanted get to know other students who are also wanting to go there.

 

[Moptometry]

hi
i will be applying to PCO, this summer, IT IS MT 1ST CHOICE
just wanted get to know other students who are also wanting to go there.

I will be applying to PCO as well, dont know what my first choice is as of now but I know PCO is a great school and is worth the money

 

[hoops123]

oh..ok
im in my 3rd yr and the last thing i wana do is waste another yr so hopefully i can get in this yr.
im applying from canada though.
do u know if PCO has a preference for instate residents?

 

[Moptometry]

I am in my 3rd year as well.I am from Canada too. I was reading the comments about oversupply in US and i got abit worried, you think Canada is gona be like that in 5-10 years? PCO doesnt really care, Optom schools unlike dental schools dont care where you are coming from, as long as you have the marks and money.

 

[hoops123]

i think i remember you. u're from U of C, am i right?
ya i read that too, about the oversupply, i don't think the situation is like that in Canada, yet. my optometrist in Edmonton Alberta told he he was making ~200,000/ yr!!! (he's a berkely graduate, ~ 40 yrs, has in own practice in a mall).. he's really involved in the business side as well.

But i dont know if i wanna come back here after i get an OD.
i was actually thinking of staying in the US. what about u?

 

[Moptometry]

i think i remember you. u're from U of C, am i right?
ya i read that too, about the oversupply, i don't think the situation is like that in Canada, yet. my optometrist in Edmonton Alberta told he he was making ~200,000/ yr!!! (he's a berkely graduate, ~ 40 yrs, has in own practice in a mall).. he's really involved in the business side as well.

But i dont know if i wanna come back here after i get an OD.
i was actually thinking of staying in the US. what about u?

Ya, I go to UofC, how do you know 😀 well, lets hope It is not gona be like that. These US OD's sounded so depressed and upset , I was actually worried for them and myself.The way they were describing it is like they see 5 patients a day, and make like $4000/month. Actually, I was planning on staying in US and maybe teaching at a Optom School, but after all this oversupply business....i am not sure. ODs in US actually do alot more than ODs in Canada,in other words, its more medical that commercial in US. With regards to Canada, i have shadowed a couple ODs who graduated in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and they all had like 5+ interviews and all have jobs, well paying jobs. But now I gota sit down and think,decide if optometry is secure enough for me. It is a great profession, but the future is not looking so good as if now? i mean you do all this work and........I am gona ask my OD about all this oversupply business in canada next week.

Ps, Government of canada listed Optometry as a high demand profession, apparently there is 1 OD for every 8000 canadians or so. 🙄

 

[hoops123]

yes u have a point..
but there is also a huge population of individuals (baby boomer pop.) getting older which will increase the demand for health care(including vision).(at least that's what i've heard).....
The thing is no matter what profession you look it, they are experiencing the exact same problem. My sister just applied for dentistry and they are also having the oversupply issue..

 

[Moptometry]

yes u have a point..
but there is also a huge population of individuals (baby boomer pop.) getting older which will increase the demand for health care(including vision).(at least that's what i've heard).....
The thing is no matter what profession you look it, they are experiencing the exact same problem. My sister just applied for dentistry and they are also having the oversupply issue..

You are definitely right about the baby boomer issue, Most of the patients i have seen are about 45-55 years old. Canada wont be a young nation like egypt or mexico in about 5-10 years or so. People are definitely getting old and the demand is high. Unlike US ODs we dont have to deal with insurance companies either. Age 1-19, 65+ is paid fully by the government and all in between ages simply pay the 100 buck exam fee. But the thinking is, we are not optometrist yet....we gota think this one through. Your sister is going to Dentistry and there is oversupply for that? People visit the dentist atleast every 6 months if they are fine , and they have 32 teeth lol not 2, and they pay way more than 100 bucks. atleast 300 if your are just doing the cleaning. Their profession is not threatened by online sales, you simply gota use your hands to cut the tissue, remove or add stuff to it, something that basically NOBODY can do but a DDS. This online sales,and being dependent on them ,big companies and increasing ODs number is an issue. As i said, i will see what the OD has to say next week 🙂 hopefully words of encouragement

 

[hoops123]

yes i completely agree with you in that.
today i feel a bit discouraged, i just came bak from volunteer and the guy i was volunteering graduated with a double psyc major and bio minor. from The u of A and will also be applying this yr., he spend this whole year working in eye-care obviously im not even close to that.... it worries me, last sem my gpa was really low. i took 4 classes Microbio😀/ Physics 1:C/ Ochem 2:B/ Biochem:B/ SO THE C AND D JUST RUINED MY GPA.
THE LAST THING I WANNA DO IS WASTE ANOTHER YR. I AM RE-TAKING MICRO AND PHYSICS IN THE SPRING AND APPLYING.

 

[Moptometry]

yes i completely agree with you in that.
today i feel a bit discouraged, i just came bak from volunteer and the guy i was volunteering graduated with a double psyc major and bio minor. from The u of A and will also be applying this yr., he spend this whole year working in eye-care obviously im not even close to that.... it worries me, last sem my gpa was really low. i took 4 classes Microbio😀/ Physics 1:C/ Ochem 2:B/ Biochem:B/ SO THE C AND D JUST RUINED MY GPA.
THE LAST THING I WANNA DO IS WASTE ANOTHER YR. I AM RE-TAKING MICRO AND PHYSICS IN THE SPRING AND APPLYING.

I know what you mean, he is got abit more experience compared to us but he was done with undergrad i am assuming, hes got nothing better to do. I have alot of volunteering and Ext Cri as well, and have shadowed 5+ optometrists...i dont think hes got anything on US in terms of not optometry related stuff 😀 I was gona take Micro this summer but U of C doenst offer it, nor does Mount royal university...so i am thinking i gota go to some college up north around edmonton to take it. 🙁 This sucks. Good luck with your application, i will have to see what i am gona do, gota make sure optometry is right for me.

 

[hoops123]

your shadowing is good.
i just started shadowing, literally today!!.. most of the optometrists that work in are in private practice, so far i haven't seen any other type here in Edmonton.
Pacific came down to our school a few months ago, they said that is one part where they're Canadian applicants are weak, because they only shadow optometrists in private practice.

 

[hoops123]

i am also having trouble getting reference letters, all my profs have a stick up their ass!!!

 

[hoops123]

one question for u.
u shadowed 5 optometrists, so how many hours do u have in total?

 

[Moptometry]

Pacific uni sent reps to U of C as well. I have around 300 hours of community/emergency room/uni club volunteering and around 55 hours of shadowing. 35 hours with the OD who is gona write me my letter, then 5 hours or so with 4 others who have specialized in Sport, Pediatrics and contact lenses. In terms of the letter, I am thinking of asking one of my Biochem prof...Hes pretty cool so i hope he accepts, if not i will ask another younger prof. I am not too worried about optom school application...seems like if you have a 3.2-3.3 and decent hours, you are good to go.

 

[hoops123]

that's good
i am still stressed though, i do have 350 hrs+ of volunteer at a hospital. im guna try my best to get ~50 hrs + of shadowing. some skools require 3 reference letters from science profs. im still working on getting those.
my gpa isnt that great it was a 3.1 until i got that D in microbio which murdered my gpa. that stresses me out.