Desperate???

[NonTrad2Med]

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Hey All

I'm just confused what about what to do at this stage. I'm also new to SDN....I'm really confused when it comes to applying to schools....I'm applying for the starting class of 2008. My stats are pretty low....3.1 overall GPA and 3.0 sci. and my OATS are 320 for AA and TS....my GPA includes a few repeated courses that i didn't do good in, I have several W's which were caused by many incidents in my life, I have 2 F's and 4 D's (I repeated these F's and D's but only managed to "pass" the class not ace them the second time)....I really wanna get into an optometry school....with these "horrible" stats i initially planned to apply to all the schools in the U.S, until recently someone told me that some states only admit students from certain states, for example NSU (Oklahoma) only admits students from AR,NM,TX, etc....is it true that some states only accept students from certain states.....does it mean that i can't apply to ALL the schools....i wanna apply to all coz i really wanna get in somewhere....I can't sleep at nights from all this stresssssss....but i don't wanna give up!

 

[JeffChou]

I think an important thing to consider is what your transcript looks like--whether you have been improving or not, etc. If you are getting D's and F's into your latest years of college, it is a bad sign. If that is all behind you, well, the forecast is better. To my knowledge, NSU Oklahoma is the only one with that restriction. Applying to all 16 other US schools will be very expensive but I suppose that is one way to maximize your chances. I'm sure people with your stats are still getting in so perhaps things will work out for you this year.

If they dont:
Without know what your grades are really like, I would just generically recommend you take more classes (post-bac/masters) or retake your pre-req's and a couple other classes you have time for. If you don't get in this year (don't worry it won't be the end of the world), call or email the schools to find out what elements of your application need improvement and then improve them! Also, maybe take the OAT again, of course to get as high as possible if your school of choice has higher averages.

Definitely relax, and think everything through. Instead of mass-applying too any and all the schools, it might be better for you to take a year to improve your application and go to a school you are more interested in going to.

Hey All

I'm just confused what about what to do at this stage. I'm also new to SDN....I'm really confused when it comes to applying to schools....I'm applying for the starting class of 2008. My stats are pretty low....3.1 overall GPA and 3.0 sci. and my OATS are 320 for AA and TS....my GPA includes a few repeated courses that i didn't do good in, I have several W's which were caused by many incidents in my life, I have 2 F's and 4 D's (I repeated these F's and D's but only managed to "pass" the class not ace them the second time)....I really wanna get into an optometry school....with these "horrible" stats i initially planned to apply to all the schools in the U.S, until recently someone told me that some states only admit students from certain states, for example NSU (Oklahoma) only admits students from AR,NM,TX, etc....is it true that some states only accept students from certain states.....does it mean that i can't apply to ALL the schools....i wanna apply to all coz i really wanna get in somewhere....I can't sleep at nights from all this stresssssss....but i don't wanna give up!

 

[NonTrad2Med]

Thanx Jeff....I'm probably going to apply for next year now.....would you suggest any master's or post bacc. work? I can't seem to find a master's that will finish in a year....and i have no idea how post bacc. works....thanx a lot for your help!

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Thanx Jeff....I'm probably going to apply for next year now.....would you suggest any master's or post bacc. work? I can't seem to find a master's that will finish in a year....and i have no idea how post bacc. works....thanx a lot for your help!

SDN has a forum dedicated entirely to post bacc discussion. Check it out here. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71 Most of the students in that forum are probably applying to medical school, but the general discussions and FAQs would still be valuable to you.

 

[DRCM]

;

 

[eyestrain]

Also, volunteer, volunteer, volunteer!!!!!! Shadow optometrists, do some work in hospitals, optometric offices, etc etc. Join groups at your school that deal with medicines. The more activities you have relating to optometry, the better your chances are.

I tend to disagree. I think people should do less volunteer work and get their grades up. Personally, i wouldn't care how much volunteering someone did if their GPA was below a 3.0. That application would go straight to the trashcan. Your job in school is to be a student and get good grades. If you can do that while volunteering a little, great. If not, stop volunteering, get the grades up and do whatever minimum shadowing you have to do.

 

[EyeDontNo]

Desperate, whatever u do, whether it be more community service-volunteering, shadowing, working, or retaking courses... have faith and good luck=) .... and study hard for the OATs???

 

[jaguilar]

I think its really important to show the school that optometry is what you want to do. I don't necessarily think that doing tons of random volunteer work is worth it. It is never a bad thing to have but if it takes away from school than its not worth the time. But workign a few hours a week in an optometrists office or having more shadowing hours than is requires helps in the interview. It definatley did for my interview, the board was really impressed that i have done close to double the required observation hours. So I think its important to show them, in what ever way represent you, that it is your passion. Alot of school value that in a student