Applying this Summer. Please Help

[FLCBRUIN84]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey EVERYONE!

I'll be finished up at UCLA after this year but I'm applying to optometry schools this summer. I will be taking the computerized OAT this August 20, 2006. My top choice is SCCO with SUNY next.

Here are my stats:

School: UCLA
Major: Biology
GPA: 2.9-3.0-- depending on summer classes (more towards 3.0)
Experience:
Volunteer for 2 Optometry offices (2 SCCO ODs, 1 SUNY OD)
UCLA med center research associate
2 year medical practice assistant for UCLA Med School professors
UCLA jules stein eye institute volunteer

I am taking an OAT review course (Kaplan) but I don't know what a competitive score for my LOW gpa should be. Please help me out and let me know what I should be targetting my scores at and if my chances are good of even getting in in the first with my gpa.

1 more question: Of the three letters of rec, if only one is from a math professor, one from an optometrist and one from the doctors i work for, do you think that will work? Getting letters of rec from professors was REALLY hard for me! Let me know and thanks for your help. 😕 😕

 

[stompy]

why SUNY second? Did your OD influence you to put SUNY on your list?

 

[khongk]

The best thing to do would be to contact the admissions folks at the Optometry schools. Tell them your situation and they will tell you what you need to do in order to be a successful candidtate. I would try to aim for an OAT score that is the schools average score of those admitted. Hope that helps.

 

[nvega13]

why SUNY second? Did your OD influence you to put SUNY on your list?

Is SUNY not a good school?

 

[stompy]

I think it's a decent school...I'm going there this fall...I was just wondering why FLCBRUIN84 chose it as the second choice...

 

[FLCBRUIN84]

i chose it, because new york is the only other place i'd like to live for two years besides california (i am from california and prefer not to leave!) but i wouldn't mind spending 4 years of optometry school in NY!

 

[Ning]

i chose it, because new york is the only other place i'd like to live for two years besides california (i am from california and prefer not to leave!) but i wouldn't mind spending 4 years of optometry school in NY!

Hello,

You can also consider Berkeley, although the weather isn't as great as southern Cali.

Ning-Ju

 

[FLCBRUIN84]

Hello,

You can also consider Berkeley, although the weather isn't as great as southern Cali.

Ning-Ju

its hard to fulfill the requirements for berkeley here at UCLA because a lot of the physiology classes can only be taken by Physiological Science majors =( plus i don't think I can get into Berkeley with this 2.8-3.0 gpa... ahhhh i'll never get in!

 

[stompy]

Yeah, I agree, I didn't think I should bother applying to UCBSO w/ 3.0 GPA...

With SCCO and SUNY you have a chance...

The day that UCB tuition is higher than SCCO's, than that's a diff story

 

[Rosanna]

Hi FLCBRUIN84:

I’ll admit that with your current GPA, it will be tough to get into UCBSO but I think you have a good chance if you can do well on the OAT. Your volunteer experience at both the optometry offices and the Jules Stein Eye Institute will surely separate you from the other candidates and also your position as a research associate.

After this year, you mention that your GPA will be close to a 3.0 (the recommended minimum GPA to apply to UCBSO). I think to be considered at UCBSO, you probably would want your OAT scores (every section) to be around the 340+ ranges. If you can even get close to the 360+ ranges, I think you have a decent shot. I would be sure that your application and essay focuses on your volunteer experiences rather than your GPA. If you cannot complete the requirements, you can always take them before you start at UCBSO during summer session at Berkeley (several of my classmates took care of their physio and anatomy requirements then). I don’t think they have changed the application fee at UCBSO from $60, so if you do score well (above 300), I would just give it a shot.

For the other schools you are applying to (SUNY, SCCO), I think aiming for at least a 340+ on each section would be reasonable goal.

Each school has different requirements for LOR. For UCBSO, they will only accept the first three letters that come into them. There is also a specific form that needs to be filled out to be considered: http://optometry.berkeley.edu/pdf/ucbso_letter_recommend.pdf

The letters you are getting will be fine for SCCO which only asks: “All applicants to SCCO must submit three letters of recommendation from non-relatives. Your work within the community, student government, or other service organizations is considered to be important and should be included in your application.”

For SUNY: “A letter of recommendation must be prepared and sent by the Pre-professional Committee at the undergraduate school where you completed the majority of your pre-professional courses. If a Committee exist and can not submit a letter of recommendation, a letter from that Committee indicating why, is required. If there is no such committee at that undergraduate school, you must then also submit three letters of recommendation of your choice. Two of the three letters of recommendation must assess academic performance in the science areas.”

So for SUNY, you may have to look around to get a LOR from two science professors. If it’s tough to go back to your professors, I would suggest that you get a letter from a TA or GSI that you went to office hours for or was your lab instructor and have the professor co-sign it.

Good luck on the OAT!

Best wishes,

Rosanna

 

[FLCBRUIN84]

Schools say LORs from science professors (berkeley, suny)... do you think a letter from a Math (Calculus for Life Sciences) professor and Upper Div Bio Elective (its a Biological Anthropology class) will be ok? Let me know what you think? Thanks!