Class of 2024

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nbantz said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/22/2019
Date verified: 7/25/2019
OAT Scores: 370 AA, 370TS
Major: Chemistry
GPA: 4.0
sGPA: 4.0
Extracurricular Activities: 3 years technician at private practice, 500+ hours shadowing, Guatemala mission trip, pre-med society president, hospital volunteer 1.5 yrs, lab assistant for general chemistry, fraternity member, greek honor society, and other volunteering.
Schools applied: IUSO, OSU, ICO
Interviews extended/date: OSU 7/23/19, scheduling interview soon! IUSO 7/25/19
Interviews accepted: OSU 8/9/19, IUSO 9/6/19
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date:

So excited to be done with the application and OAT, now we wait!
Click to expand...


How was the OSU interview? And have you heard back yet?
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 08/15/2019
Date verified: 08/17/2019
OAT Scores: 370 AA/ 400 TS
Major: Health Sciences
GPA: 3.42 cum 3.77 sci
Extracurricular Activities: Pre-opt club, military, shadowing, work part time
Schools applied: UHCO, UAB, OSU,
Interviews extended/date: UAB 8/18, OSU 8/16, UHCO 9/28
Interviews accepted: UAB 10/11, OSU 11/22, UHCO 11/4
Interviews declined: Cancelled UHCO and OSU
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: UAB 10/28
 
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Eye_Chicago_Anaid said:
Has anyone heard from ICO yet? 🤔
They are my number one and I've received interviews from SCCO, OSU, SCO, NECO, Salus, Midwestern (Arizona) and MCPHS so I was feeling deflated not hearing anything at all from ICO. Do they send out interviews later than other schools?
I am deciding if I should take more interviews just in case or if I should wait it out since ICO is really my number one.

Good luck to all!!
Click to expand...


I applied to NSU, SCO, and ICO. My OAT scores were really low and I marked ill be retaking and NSU and SCO emailed me saying I'm on hold until my scores come back but ICO has emailed me nothing besides their first initial one saying it was received and they will get back to me in 3 weeks. That was a month ago though..
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/20/19
Date verified: 8/22/19 (my transcripts took forever to get to OptomCAS)
OAT Scores: 340 AA, 320 TS
Major: Anthropology & Linguistics
GPA: 3.92 overall, 3.98 science
Extracurricular Activities: Pre-optometry club, 5 years as a vision therapist, shadowing, very active in my church and volunteering with youth programs
Schools applied: UMSL
Interviews extended/date: UMSL (extended 8/23)
Interviews accepted: UMSL (interview 9/9)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date:
 
simkaxo said:
Random question, I was wondering how you guys are planning to balance the interview dates with your regular classes? From what I see most interviews are either Monday or Friday and its worrying me since I have full day of class Mondays and labs on Friday...
Click to expand...

Personally I work full time and take night classes (getting home at 11PM for class days are killer). I try to find online classes whenever possible but I only have to take pre requisites since I graduated 4 years ago. I just let the professor know in advance that I have an interview coming up and if I could take any tests or quizzes early, they're pretty understanding in my experience.
 
Eye_Chicago_Anaid said:
Has anyone heard from ICO yet? 🤔
They are my number one and I've received interviews from SCCO, OSU, SCO, NECO, Salus, Midwestern (Arizona) and MCPHS so I was feeling deflated not hearing anything at all from ICO. Do they send out interviews later than other schools?
I am deciding if I should take more interviews just in case or if I should wait it out since ICO is really my number one.

Good luck to all!!
Click to expand...
ICO has also had an issue with receiving the files from Optomcas. They should be beginning to make decisions next week
 
chicagotech said:
ICO has also had an issue with receiving the files from Optomcas. They should be beginning to make decisions next week
Click to expand...

I was getting a little worried too, did you give them a call to check!
 
bchu6 said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: 07/31/19
Date verified: 08/01/19
OAT Scores: 320AA / 300 TS
Major: Psychology
GPA: 3.43 overall; 3.71 science
Extracurricular Activities: 3 years as lead opthalmic tech, 80+ hours shadowing, hosting free basic vision screening, volunteering, VP HKSA, VP Badminton Club, 1 year marketing analyst for LG
Schools applied: ICO, PCO, SUNY (08/20), UMSL
Interviews extended/date: PCO (08/05), UMSL (08/09), SUNY (08/21), ICO (08/29)
Interviews accepted: PCO (09/09), UMSL (09/16), SUNY (9/23), ICO
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date:
Click to expand...

Finally heard back from ICO! Check your emails guys 😀
 
chicagotech said:
nice! did you get a notification on optomcas as well?
Click to expand...
No I didn't! I just got a email extending the interview and a link for a supplemental application with an essay. Already scheduled my interview for 9/30!
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/12/2019 (OSU), 8/20/2019 (SCO and MCO)
Date verified: 7/16/2019
OAT Scores: 360 AA, 360 TS
Major: Biochemistry
GPA: 3.84
Extracurricular Activities: Ultiamte Frisbee captain, global health club leadership, 40 hours shadowing, 1.5 years neurology research, 3 years volunteering with health clinics and eye clinics, chemistry TA
Schools applied: OSU, MCO, SCO
Interviews extended/date: OSU (7/15), MCO (8/21), SCO (8/21)
Interviews accepted: OSU (8/23), MCO (9/23), SCO (10/11)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: OSU (8/26)
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: June 28, 2019
Date verified: July 11, 2019
OAT Scores: 330 AA | 320 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.67 Overall Science 3.52
Extracurricular Activities: ~2 years of optometric tech, 30 hours of shadowing, 1 year of leadership, mentor
Schools applied: UHCO, UIWRSO, SCO, ICO
Interviews extended/date: UHCO (9/6) UIWRSO (8/9) SCO (8/8) ICO (9/3)
Interviews accepted: UIWRSO (9/13) UHCO (9/16)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date:

Waiting to accept SCO and ICO because I wanted to stay in Texas.
 
I had my UMSL interview today and heard back immediately (I was literally still in the parking lot when I got my acceptance email).
UMSL class of 2024!!
 
halle.nines said:
I had my UMSL interview today and heard back immediately (I was literally still in the parking lot when I got my acceptance email).
UMSL class of 2024!!
Click to expand...
Congratulations! I have an interview next monday at UMSL and was wondering what the interview was like and how you felt about the campus!
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/16/2019
Date verified: 7/17/2019
OAT Scores: 360 AA, 350 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.86
Extracurricular Activities: 200+ shadowing hours, volunteering, president of the pre-optometry club
Schools applied: SUNY
Interviews extended/date: SUNY (7/19/2019)
Interviews accepted: SUNY (9/12/2019)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: SUNY (9/12/2019)
 
Last edited:
bchu6 said:
Congratulations! I have an interview next monday at UMSL and was wondering what the interview was like and how you felt about the campus!
Click to expand...
It was great! There were 7 of us interviewing that day. There's a greeting from the dean, a long informational session, then lunch and a tour with student ambassadors, and then interviews. You get to decide within your interview group who goes first, second, etc. so if you have a plane to catch you can make it on time. The interview was very casual, very conversational. I interviewed with Dr. Simmons and Dr. Pucci. They asked about my interest in optometry, the research I did in undergrad, some of my experiences with vision therapy patients, that type of thing. They were very warm and made me feel super comfortable. You'll hear back within at least 48 hours, although the director of student services told us up front we would get the status of our application by the end of day. Good luck!!
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/29/19
Date verified: 8/1/19
OAT Scores: 320 AA 320 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.76
Extracurricular Activities: Triathlon club, Pre-optometry club
Schools applied: OSU
Interviews extended/date:
Interviews accepted: OSU (9/6)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: OSU 9/8
 
halle.nines said:
It was great! There were 7 of us interviewing that day. There's a greeting from the dean, a long informational session, then lunch and a tour with student ambassadors, and then interviews. You get to decide within your interview group who goes first, second, etc. so if you have a plane to catch you can make it on time. The interview was very casual, very conversational. I interviewed with Dr. Simmons and Dr. Pucci. They asked about my interest in optometry, the research I did in undergrad, some of my experiences with vision therapy patients, that type of thing. They were very warm and made me feel super comfortable. You'll hear back within at least 48 hours, although the director of student services told us up front we would get the status of our application by the end of day. Good luck!!
Click to expand...
Thank you for the informative response! Was it only the two doctors doing the interviews the whole time? Omg you hear back so fast though that's awesome!!
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 08/08/2019
Date verified: 08/13/2019
OAT Scores: 320/320
Major: Nutritional Sciences
GPA: 3.29
Extracurricular Activities: volunteer at free clinic, volunteer at after school program, captain of intramural teams, part time job, shadowed 4 doctors at different settings.
Schools applied: NOVA,UAB,ICO,NECO,INDIANA, SAN ANTONIO, SALUS,PACIFIC, SCO
Interviews extended/date: GOT INTERVIEW OFFERS FROM ALL SCHOOLS
Interviews accepted: Nova 09/06, San Antonio 9/13, NECO 9/20, SCO 9/27, UAB 10/4(cancelled)
Interviews declined: ICO, INDIANA, SALUS, PACIFIC
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: NOVA 9/12, UIWRSO 9/19, NECO 9/28, SCO 10/3

Good luck everyone, we all worked hard, enjoy the process.
 
Last edited:
koalabear_09 said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: 08/08/2019
Date verified: 08/13/2019
OAT Scores: 320/320
Major: Nutritional Sciences
GPA: 3.2
Extracurricular Activities: volunteer at free clinic, volunteer at after school program, captain of intramural teams, part time job, shadowed 4 doctors at different settings.
Schools applied: NOVA,UAB,ICO,NECO,INDIANA, SAN ANTONIO, SALUS,PACIFIC, SCO
Interviews extended/date: GOT INTERVIEW OFFERS FROM ALL SCHOOLS
Interviews accepted: Nova 09/06, San Antonio 9/13, NECO 9/20, SCO 9/27, UAB 10/4
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: NOVA 9/12
most likely going to withdraw application from other programs. Good luck everyone, we all worked hard, enjoy the process.
Click to expand...
awesome that you were given interviews from all schools!!! My stats is a little bit below you with a GPA of 3.1 ~ but hoping to score around 320-340. Any tips with the OAT?
 
nbantz said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/22/2019
Date verified: 7/25/2019
OAT Scores: 370 AA, 370TS
Major: Chemistry
GPA: 4.0
sGPA: 4.0
Extracurricular Activities: 3 years technician at private practice, 500+ hours shadowing, Guatemala mission trip, pre-med society president, hospital volunteer 1.5 yrs, lab assistant for general chemistry, fraternity member, greek honor society, and other volunteering.
Schools applied: IUSO, OSU, ICO
Interviews extended/date: OSU 7/23/19, IUSO 7/25/19
Interviews accepted: OSU 8/9/19, IUSO 9/6/19
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: OSU 8/12/19, IUSO 9/9/19

So excited to be done with the application and OAT, now we wait!
Click to expand...

I’m officially a member of the Indiana University School of Optometry Class of 2024!!!
 
preopt2019 said:
awesome that you were given interviews from all schools!!! My stats is a little bit below you with a GPA of 3.1 ~ but hoping to score around 320-340. Any tips with the OAT?
Click to expand...
For physics and gen chem, focus on the basis info, when it come to calculation, PV=nrt was very much it for chem and know how to do like the zero order/first order stuff , was super disappointed with my scores on these two sessions as I focused on the hard stuff. Ochem was really easy, rather memorize the reaction, I study the reaction’s mechanism, made memorization easier.
Build a strong foundation and understand concepts, it will makes the memorization part easier.
 
Last edited:
koalabear_09 said:
For physics and gen chem, focus on the basis info, when it come to calculation, PV=nrt was very much it, was super disappointed with my scores on these two sessions as I focused on the hard stuff. Ochem was really easy, rather memorize the reaction, I study the reaction’s mechanism, made memorization easier.
Build a strong foundation and understand concepts, it will makes the memorization part easier.
Click to expand...
PV=nrt was the extent of calculation based questions for physics and gen chem?? wow
 
bchu6 said:
Thank you for the informative response! Was it only the two doctors doing the interviews the whole time? Omg you hear back so fast though that's awesome!!
Click to expand...
There were two pairs of doctors doing interviews. The 7 candidates were split into two groups and assigned one of the pairs of doctors to interview with.
 
Hi everyone,
I was searching for interview threads and I was thinking that threads like "Class of 2024" are really helpful. You just can go there and find much information from different students, and also share your information with others, therefore enriching the body of the thread more and more.
But interview comments usually are on different threads and it may take time to find what you are looking for.

As an interview could be the last part of our applications and it's just one step before entering our desired schools, some of us are really worried about it. Existence of organized information can help us to be prepared, confident and less worried.

I made specific threads just about interviews. I will be thankful if you share your interview experience on these pages:
forums.studentdoctor.net

My Interview Experience-ICO

Hi everyone, I was searching for interview threads and I was thinking that threads like "Class of 2024" are really helpful. You just can go there and find much information from different students, and also share your information with others, therefore enriching the body of the thread more and...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net
forums.studentdoctor.net

My Interview Experience-NSUCO

Hi everyone, I was searching for interview threads and I was thinking that threads like "Class of 2024" are really helpful. You just can go there and find much information from different students, and also share your information with others, therefore enriching the body of the thread more and...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net
forums.studentdoctor.net

My Interview Experience-SUNY

Hi everyone, I was searching for interview threads and I was thinking that threads like "Class of 2024" are really helpful. You just can go there and find much information from different students, and also share your information with others, therefore enriching the body of the thread more and...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net

Please feel free to make such a thread for other schools with the title of "My Interview Experience-(each school that you want except what that made before).
 
To those accepted by SCO, did you receive your acceptance through email? I interviewed there last Friday so I am anxiously awaiting their answer this week!
 
dmc198 said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: 7/29/19
Date verified: 8/1/19
OAT Scores: 320 AA 320 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.76
Extracurricular Activities: Triathlon club, Pre-optometry club
Schools applied: OSU
Interviews extended/date:
Interviews accepted: OSU (9/6)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: OSU 9/8
Click to expand...

Yo! We must have interviewed on the same day.
I was also admitted to OSU. Are you taking your offer?
 
hey guys! Has anyone had any issues with AP credits? In my case, my unofficial transcript from my undergrad school shows that my AP credits were used to receive credit for certain courses at my school. For example, on my unofficial transcript it directly states that I received credit for ENGL 100 and ENGL 180 from one of my AP test scores. What I recently found out is that my official transcript that gets sent to OptomCAS, as well as all optometry schools, doesn't reflect the individual courses that my school gave credit towards as a result of my AP scores. On my official transcript it just shows that I have 21 credits received from AP tests. I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what they ended up doing. Do I send AP scores from collegeboard directly to optometry schools? Thank you! And just as a side note, I already called OptomCAS and asked them if there was some way to verify my unofficial transcript and they said no 🙁
 
Woopto said:
Date OptomCAS submitted: June 28, 2019
Date verified: July 11, 2019
OAT Scores: 330 AA | 320 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.67 Overall Science 3.52
Extracurricular Activities: ~2 years of optometric tech, 30 hours of shadowing, 1 year of leadership, mentor
Schools applied: UHCO, UIWRSO, SCO, ICO
Interviews extended/date: UHCO (9/6) UIWRSO (8/9) SCO (8/8) ICO (9/3)
Interviews accepted: UIWRSO (9/13) UHCO (9/16)
Interviews declined:
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date:

Waiting to accept SCO and ICO because I wanted to stay in Texas.
Click to expand...

Hey! Did you hear back from UHCO yet? They're on my list!
 
Date OptomCAS submitted: 6/29/19
Date verified: 7/15/19
OAT Scores: 330 AA 330 TS
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.69
Extracurricular Activities: student government, pre optometry VP, student philanthropy council, patient ambassador program, worked as tech at optometrist office
Schools applied: SCO and UAB
Interviews extended/date: SCO 7/26 and UAB 7/29
Interviews accepted: SCO 9/13
Interviews declined: UAB after getting accepted to SCO
Rejections/date:
Acceptance/date: SCO 9/18 yay!!!
 
eyesenberg said:
Congratulations on your acceptance! How was the interview?
Click to expand...
Thank you!
The interview was pretty laid back. The interview day in general was pretty chill. The interview is one on one and should be about 35 minutes long. However, my interview think went up to 45 minutes long just cause me and my interviewer were enjoying our conversation. I missed half of my campus tour cause of it haha. All in all, the interviewer just wants to know you and what makes you motivated and such, so just be yourself. Questions are pretty standard like, "tell me about yourself", "why optometry?", "Why SCCO?", "do you feel prepared for graduate school?", ethical issue I've experienced and how I handled it, etc. My interviewer was pretty easy to talk to so the interview felt like a conversation more than anything. However, my experience can possibly differ for anyone else depending on your interviewer. You hear back the monday after! Hope this helps!
 
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