Confusing Situation

[goodie]

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Hey everyone. Im in a sticky situation and any advise you guys can give me would be greatly appriciated. I graduated this past June from a Canadian university with an overall GPA of 3.12 (76%) and HUGE upward trend with last two years at 3.7. A lot of my pre-requisite for applying to optom are below a C due to a rough first year trying to adjust and in all honesty, just not being focussed.

My plan is to retake these courses this fall and winter which im sure will increase me GPA alot. My question is: should I wait until next cycle (Fall 2012 entry) to apply or is it worth the time and effort to try this current cycle. I havent taken the OAT yet and i feel like i will be an automatic rejection since the schools will see all of my low marks in the pre-req courses. Or is there a way to mark that off that during this year i will be repeating them.

Also, will they put my file on hold until the new marks are in therefore making my application no longer "early" (which i feel i need to be since my GPA isnt verycompetitive)

Sorry for the long post im just concerned, becuae if i dotn apply this cycle I will have to take 2 years off from school....a thought im not too fond of 🙁

 

[euphaire]

Why do you have to take TWO years off if you didn't get in this round? IF you try again for 2012 round, that's just one year isn't it?

The OPTOMCAS system calculates your overall GPA and will use your most recent grade for the course you repeated (or plan on repeating). Therefore, they will still see your old grade for the course, but only your new grade will be used in the GPA calculation. So, it does make a difference.

What's your definition of "bad grades"? A C? A D? You should consider that when deciding if you need to retake them or not.

Hope it helps.
Cherry

 

[KHE]

Hey everyone. Im in a sticky situation and any advise you guys can give me would be greatly appriciated. I graduated this past June from a Canadian university with an overall GPA of 3.12 (76%) and HUGE upward trend with last two years at 3.7. A lot of my pre-requisite for applying to optom are below a C due to a rough first year trying to adjust and in all honesty, just not being focussed.(

You need to call the schools you are interested in and specifically ask them.

Some schools will overlook a D in first year chemistry if you've gotten strong grades in upper level chemistry courses.

Other schools are rigid in their policy. You must retake any course below a C, no matter how well you've done in any subsequent coursework.

That may or may not impact which schools you apply to.

I actually had a similar experience 15 years ago. I had obtained a C- in my first semester first year chem course. All subsequent chem courses I had made As and Bs in my second and third year.

I had considered applying to a school that I won't mention but I can say that it was located in an eastern city that rhymes with Wiladelphia.

They would not accept my application unless I went back and retook first year, first semester chemistry, despite the fact that I was finishing my third year and had As and Bs in all subsequent upper level chem courses. That was "just their policy."

Needless to say, I was not interested in doing that. I was also pretty sure that my college wouldn't LET me do it even I was willing to do it. I would have gotten 100% for sure. What a waste of time and resources for everyone involved.

So I did not apply to the school in Wiladelphia.

Call the schools you're interested in and ask them.

 

[goodie]

Thanks for the replies. Well in most of my pre-reqs i either got C-'s or D's 🙁..nothing im proud of for sure..i will need to do teh gen chem sequence and the organic chem sequence and the first part of bio..although i was a bio major and did score mosly A's in my upper level bios. I havent taken many other upper level chems after organic other than biochemistry where i got an A-. considering so many of my pre-reqs are low is it worth me calling the schools? i feel like its just too much to over look 🙁

it would be TWO years because right now is for applicants wishing to start optom school in Fall 2011 right? so when i apply this upcoming year (may 2011) i am applying for Fall 2012 right? so i spend this year upgrading my courses and applying then the 2011-2012 school year working or twidling my thumbs waiting for interviews for Fall 2012 start...therefore i am off the 2010-2011 school year and the 2011-2012 school year right???

 

[Mewcakes]

Nowadays, a lot of the schools state specifically that anything under a C is not acceptable. Because it sounds like you have more than one, I would recommend that you carry through with your plan to retake courses. In the interest of time, you could apply this year and just make your intentions known that you WILL be retaking classes and getting A's. They might offer an interview if the other aspects or your application, like experience, are impressive.

I say if you have the money and have time to study the OAT and it's possible to retake all your C- and D classes before next year, then might as well give it a whack. But if you can't redo your classes, just wait. I can almost guarantee you will not be admitted with multiple C-'s and D's in prereq classes.

 

[goodie]

yea i think my best bet is to take my time and redo the pre-reqs and do my best on the OAT. But will it be looked down upon that i had to re-do so many? 😕

 

[Mewcakes]

If it was, then there would be nothing you could do anyways. Don't reject yourself, let the schools do that. If you're unsure or you don't want to do all the work, call up the schools and ask. Plenty of us end up retaking classes, but I don't know if there's a "limit" of some sort.

 

[KHE]

Nowadays, a lot of the schools state specifically that anything under a C is not acceptable. Because it sounds like you have more than one, I would recommend that you carry through with your plan to retake courses.

I would NOT do that until you confirm with the schools. It may not be necissary to do it. It may be futile even IF you do it. Before you invest all that time and money, make sure it's something that is actually required of you and make sure that it could make a potential difference to your application.

 

[kiwi5frog]

is it worth me calling the schools? i feel like its just too much to over look 🙁

there are very few excuses for not calling a school. it takes only a few minutes, you get your answers straight from the source. it's not a huge investment of time to weigh out if its "worth it"

as for applying cycle, i think diligence in your school work/OAT studying will make it very reasonable to apply during the next cycle. a year is a long time and you can get a lot done. the cycles begin on july 15.

lastly...the repeat policy concerning your GPA is VERY DIFFERENT between schools. Just because OPTOMCAS gives you a certain GPA, it does not mean the schools will use that.

For example, SCCO's policy is that if you get a C, repeat the course for an A, then they will average the two and say you get a B for that subject. This system actually makes it fairly difficult to raise your GPA and impossible to get it to a 4.0

However, Western's policy is that they will take your HIGHEST grade and count that. so for that school, you could very easily take your 2.0 to a 4.0 (given you get all A's of course)

Good luck and work hard! ^_^ 👍

 

[Mewcakes]

I have nothing but respect for KHE, he's a long time member and his opinion is often very helpful and insightful. But I still think that if you can confirm that retaking "most of your prereqs" at cc will be ok, then you should. C-'s and D's are not passing grades, and if you submit as is, having C-'s and D's in MOST of your prereqs (as you've put it) will not be acceptable. If it was one, as in KHE's case, then maybe you'd be ok. But not if it's "most", whatever your definition of the word may be. Do the research first, but I would plan to retake classes as the start of the semester is almost upon us.

 

[physicslover]

C-'s are acceptable at some schools as the minimum grade. I think PCO said they required each and every student to redo courses with D's for accreditation purposes, so they had no choice.

 

[goodie]

So I have been in contact with most of the schools i intend on applying to and so far they have all said they follow hte policy that the new grade (if the course is retaken at the same instituition) is used in the GPA calculations and the old one as a 0.0 credit 🙂

Now my situation is this: i read that you have one opportunity to update your application file at the end of the fall quarter to input your fall grades. By that time i will have retaken 5/7 courses i need to. However i have not written my OAT nor shadowed much SO do i bust my bum and go crazy this semester juggling shadowing, studying for oat and redoing the courses so that i have a chance this cycle and dont waste ANOTHER year next year having everything done applying in may 2011 and just waiting all of the 2011-2012 school year working and interviewing. Or will my application not be competitive anyhow since my grades will be in by like jan and my oat wont be taken until liek nov/dec anyways?

Thanks alot for any advice i really really appriciate it!!

 

[Mewcakes]

C-'s are acceptable at some schools as the minimum grade. I think PCO said they required each and every student to redo courses with D's for accreditation purposes, so they had no choice.

PCO doesn't take C-'s. I clearly remember them telling me that I need to retake a class because of the C-.

To OP:

I say bust your butt. Unless you're really ok with waiting another year, which it doesn't sound like. The worst that could happen is the schools all say no, but then you'll have the experience of an application cycle under your belt and will know what you have to do to improve for next year. No doubt it's going to be like 10 solid months of work, but wouldn't it be worth it if you got in?

 

[physicslover]

If you can handle all the pressure of applications, OAT studying and courses, I would recommend doing it (if money is not an issue). If you can get accepted a year earlier, that would be great! If not, at least you are familiar with the application process/etc. Just make sure that you don't let the pressure overwhelm you. Doing OATs, courses, shadowing and apps at the same time requires a lot of time management, motivated and dedication. If you think you can handle it go for it!

 

[physicslover]

PCO (SALUS) told me that I didn't have to redo a course that I had a C- in.

So I have been in contact with most of the schools i intend on applying to and so far they have all said they follow hte policy that the new grade (if the course is retaken at the same instituition) is used in the GPA calculations and the old one as a 0.0 credit 🙂

Now my situation is this: i read that you have one opportunity to update your application file at the end of the fall quarter to input your fall grades. By that time i will have retaken 5/7 courses i need to. However i have not written my OAT nor shadowed much SO do i bust my bum and go crazy this semester juggling shadowing, studying for oat and redoing the courses so that i have a chance this cycle and dont waste ANOTHER year next year having everything done applying in may 2011 and just waiting all of the 2011-2012 school year working and interviewing. Or will my application not be competitive anyhow since my grades will be in by like jan and my oat wont be taken until liek nov/dec anyways?

Thanks alot for any advice i really really appriciate it!!

PCO doesn't take C-'s. I clearly remember them telling me that I need to retake a class because of the C-.

To OP:

I say bust your butt. Unless you're really ok with waiting another year, which it doesn't sound like. The worst that could happen is the schools all say no, but then you'll have the experience of an application cycle under your belt and will know what you have to do to improve for next year. No doubt it's going to be like 10 solid months of work, but wouldn't it be worth it if you got in?

 

[goodie]

Alright. im trying to be realistic here. Say i go ahead and decide i want to bust my butt and try to pull this off. My fall looks like this: 5 courses (redoing them so its not fresh material), shadowing (it'd be my first shadowing experience), doing OAT (hopefully write in november? i have a lot of studying to do).

My app in december would still have 2 more courses needed to be redone as well. I also dont have letters of reference from a optometrist since i havent shadowed yet so wouldnt my application be deemed incomplete until i get that?

Is this too much of a long shot for this cycle? My GPA isnt even that competitive to start with. ughh so stressed 🙁

 

[kiwi5frog]

Is this too much of a long shot for this cycle? My GPA isnt even that competitive to start with. ughh so stressed 🙁

I thought you were applying for the 2012 admit cycle? (from your previous post)

I also dont have letters of reference from a optometrist since i havent shadowed yet so wouldnt my application be deemed incomplete until i get that?

This kinda stood out to me. are you SURE you want to be an optometrist before you've really explored all that they do? it's entirely possible that in your shadowing, you may find out that maybe this might not be for you. At that point, you may have sacrificed a lot of time, money, and stress towards something you maybe didn't fully explore.

Just a thought.

 

[Mewcakes]

PCO (SALUS) told me that I didn't have to redo a course that I had a C- in.

Lame, I thought they told me I had to! Well, whatever it was, I had to take ochem again. Didn't go there. 😛