Bad GPA and OAT

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kristykan2003

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Hi. Can anyone tell me my chances of getting into optometry with a 3.O GPA. (I am not a science major). I took the OAT and have not receive it yet. (I know I am going to get below average). I have applied to 4 schools which are SCCO, Ohio, SCO, and Pacific. I volunteer at a optometric clinic every Saturday, and work part time. Does anyone have a clue or know of people that have similar background and got in? Which schools? Thanks.
 
Read my quote and relax!! =)

BTW.. I have a gpa LOWER than yours! heheh..but I"m still applying.... so have faith! hehe..I dotn' even have my recommendation letters yet! LOL


Katalio
 
kristykan2003 said:
Hi. Can anyone tell me my chances of getting into optometry with a 3.O GPA. (I am not a science major). I took the OAT and have not receive it yet. (I know I am going to get below average). I have applied to 4 schools which are SCCO, Ohio, SCO, and Pacific. I volunteer at a optometric clinic every Saturday, and work part time. Does anyone have a clue or know of people that have similar background and got in? Which schools? Thanks.
Is that a 3.0 overall, or a 3.0 science GPA? Schools look at a combination of: overall GPA, science GPA, OAT scores, LORs, and experience. It's possible to make up for not doing well in category by doing very well in another -- admissions officers consider the "total picture".
 
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kristykan2003 said:
Hi. Can anyone tell me my chances of getting into optometry with a 3.O GPA. (I am not a science major). I took the OAT and have not receive it yet. (I know I am going to get below average). I have applied to 4 schools which are SCCO, Ohio, SCO, and Pacific. I volunteer at a optometric clinic every Saturday, and work part time. Does anyone have a clue or know of people that have similar background and got in? Which schools? Thanks.

I usually encourage students to apply and let the school reject you. It's not a good idea to reject yourself.

That being said, if your science GPA is lower than 3.0 AND you do poorly on the OAT, I would say your chances of being admitted are very slim, even with good LORs.

Jenny
 
Katalio said:
Would a 2.8 gpa with a 340 OAT balance out?

I wouldn't know for sure, but I believe that it would balance out. The gpa is lower than most, yet the OAT score is higher than most. As long as the rest of your application looks strong, I think you would be ok. Also, I know that most schools don't expect applicants to have very high GPAs. Schools would rather see a student who has a good gpa with extracurricular activities. This shows the school that you can manage your time, which is very important for any graduate school. Hope this helps some! Good luck. 🙂