Application evaluation.

[pienfoo]

hey does anyone know which schools would ignore the rest of your application if your GPA isn't a 3.0? i think suny does that, and scco (although people have gotten in with lower).

also does anyone know which schools would review your entire application regardless?

thanks!!!

 

[ODduck]

hey does anyone know which schools would ignore the rest of your application if your GPA isn't a 3.0? i think suny does that, and scco (although people have gotten in with lower).

also does anyone know which schools would review your entire application regardless?

thanks!!!

I'm getting an interview at SCCO even though my GPA is 2.95, FWIW.

 

[chrissystar]

hey does anyone know which schools would ignore the rest of your application if your GPA isn't a 3.0? i think suny does that, and scco (although people have gotten in with lower).

also does anyone know which schools would review your entire application regardless?

thanks!!!

SUNY didnt even bother to look at my latest grades. just said my first year marks were too low

 

[jMoo]

i had a 2.97 undergrad and scco wouldnt offer me an interview because i didnt have a 3.0, but my masters gpa is a 3.3. when i called to ask, they said the only problem was my undergrad gpa since i have lots of extracurricular and experience in both clinical and research. i dont think their system is fair because they have offered interviews and acceptances to ppl w.lower than 3.0 gpa and lower than a 300 reading comp. suny didnt even wait for my oats coz they based it off my gpa. i did get an interview from ucbso which i think is more competitive so i think it just depends on school.

 

[itek2OD]

i had a 2.97 undergrad and scco wouldnt offer me an interview because i didnt have a 3.0, but my masters gpa is a 3.3. when i called to ask, they said the only problem was my undergrad gpa since i have lots of extracurricular and experience in both clinical and research. SNIP!

Medical schools (and I guess opt/dental schools, too) often look harder @ ugpa than grad gpa b/c of grade inflation, and less comp in master classes. I bet scco would be happy if u took three 3rd/4rth year courses for 2 semesters with above 3.0 gpa. That's something they couldn't argue with. But again as you said and I snipped (sorry) sometimes it comes down to the school.

 

[ODduck]

Medical schools (and I guess opt/dental schools, too) often look harder @ ugpa than grad gpa b/c of grade inflation, and less comp in master classes. I bet scco would be happy if u took three 3rd/4rth year courses for 2 semesters with above 3.0 gpa. That's something they couldn't argue with. But again as you said and I snipped (sorry) sometimes it comes down to the school.

That is a really good point about the 3rd/4th year classes. While my overall GPA is 2.95, my junior/senior year so far GPA in mostly upper division science classes is 3.37. There is something to be said about finishing strong in more challenging courses than the ones you struggled in early in your career.

 

[optopt]

My friend didn’t get an interview invitation from SCCO last year as well.

His undergrad GPA was 2.9. After he decided to pursue optometry, he went back to school to take some pre-opt classes, but he could only take one or two classes per semester because he is a single dad with a full time job. (Yet, he managed to shadow optometrists for about a year before he applied, and his OAT was 380) However, SCCO told him that they didn’t think he could handle the course load because the good GPA from later pre-opt courses were obtained under low course load per semester, and that can’t really prove him to be good/strong enough to handle optometry school. This reason really sucked because they didn’t really consider his status as a single dad with a full time job.

But again, each school seeks for different quality from applicants. Like everybody says, it really depends on the school.

 

[whacked07]

My friend didn’t get an interview invitation from SCCO last year as well.

His undergrad GPA was 2.9. After he decided to pursue optometry, he went back to school to take some pre-opt classes, but he could only take one or two classes per semester because he is a single dad with a full time job. (Yet, he managed to shadow optometrists for about a year before he applied, and his OAT was 380) However, SCCO told him that they didn’t think he could handle the course load because the good GPA from later pre-opt courses were obtained under low course load per semester, and that can’t really prove him to be good/strong enough to handle optometry school. This reason really sucked because they didn’t really consider his status as a single dad with a full time job.

But again, each school seeks for different quality from applicants. Like everybody says, it really depends on the school.

wow. i think that's just so unfair. Just because someone didn't do too well in their undergrad doesn't mean that they will make a good optometrist. I just hate the idea of how they look at your grades and what not to see if you could handle their course load.

 

[kylee0127]

ummm im pretty sure suny does not discriminate based on low gpa. i have a 2.9 gpa because i did very poorly my first 2 years in college. (my prerequisite gpa is a 3.4 though) but i was invited for an interview in early february and i was actually accepted that day! miracles do happen. hahaha. so best bet is to just apply where ever and just see...you really never know...

 

[Mila]

ummm im pretty sure suny does not discriminate based on low gpa. i have a 2.9 gpa because i did very poorly my first 2 years in college. (my prerequisite gpa is a 3.4 though) but i was invited for an interview in early february and i was actually accepted that day! miracles do happen. hahaha. so best bet is to just apply where ever and just see...you really never know...

Can I ask approximately when you sent them your application?

 

[ICU23]

I'm sure SUNY pays a close attention to gpa and OAT, but they do look at where you went to school. Last year they interviewed me with below 3.0, but above 350 oat and went to a top 20 school.

 

[chrissystar]

i go to one of the top ten schools in canada.. and when dr. johnston came to give his speech, he said that it was ok to have 60s beacuse our school is one of the harder schools..

but they still denied me an interview.

 

[Eye-Lover]

do you mind me asking which school in Canada you go to?? Just curious?

 

[chrissystar]

The University of Western Ontario

 

[kylee0127]

i had my application in at the end of november (thanksgiving) but there was a mixup and suny never received my transcript. so my application wasnt complete until mid december. i was sure i wouldnt get in at that point - suny was such a reach anyways. they contacted me for an interview mid january. and i interviewed early february. actually during my interview dr johnston kind of got at me about why my application took so long to complete. and at the end of the interview when i asked about my prospects at that program he told me that honestly i might be interviewing too late because seats had filled up but that he'd get back to me. went to lunch with a student tour guide and when i got back he had good news. weird huh? oh and i defnitely didnt go to a top 20 school. i think we just really never know what on earth they are looking for.