Did any one had such a hard time 1st semester?

[ODGrl25]

Hey guys... am in the Nova OD1 class... I was so excited when I found out I was accepted!!! I though it was going to be the best!
But now am having such a hard time surviving here I knew it was going to be hard but damn! Its crazy...
There are exams you think you did great and you get a 70
Others you passed & you dont even know how & those that you should pass and still fail... What the h*ll is this?
Am so frustated right now because I dont seem to be getting it at all... I was a pretty good student in undergrad & now am struggling to surivive
I was just wondering if there is any one out there who has the secret to making it here
how can it all be done?
thanks

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[odstudent]

Hey guys... am in the Nova OD1 class... I was so excited when I found out I was accepted!!! I though it was going to be the best!
But now am having such a hard time surviving here I knew it was going to be hard but damn! Its crazy...
There are exams you think you did great and you get a 70
Others you passed & you dont even know how & those that you should pass and still fail... What the h*ll is this?
Am so frustated right now because I dont seem to be getting it at all... I was a pretty good student in undergrad & now am struggling to surivive
I was just wondering if there is any one out there who has the secret to making it here
how can it all be done?
thanks

I know a student that's a first year at NOVA that was having a hard time during undergrad, but really stepped it up this year in Opt school. Shes has mostly A's so far, and even got the highest grade in one of her classes (100).
The only secret she has is that she studies ALOT. (8-10 hours a day)

 

[subtractrock]

Review everything you covered in class that day and make sure you understand it. If you don't, get help right away. You can't afford to get behind because much of the material builds on previous information and concepts. It is a lot of material that you will be learning, and you no doubt have a lot of courses, so make sure you do a little (or a lot) of each subject every day, that way you will keep it fresh in your head and you won't have to cram for a test.

Your school likely wouldn't have accepted you if they thought you couldn't make it through, because doing so would result in a major loss of revenue if you failed out.

Also, asking for advice on these forums can get you some good advice, but I would reccommend you go talk to an academic advisor or counselor at your school and tell them what is going on. They will help you figure out a strategy that will be best for you to succeed.

 

[vtrain]

Grades mean very little in optometry school, even when applying for residency is concerned. Don't sweat being the top in your class, being BSK, etc....that's all crap in the end. Focus on understanding the material and learn how to be a personable, astute optometrist. Those who do best in clinicals tend to make the best optometrists.

 

[gsinccom]

how do you get the best OD residencies then?
I noticed your a med student and an OD...why not a practicing OD? As far as med goes it is about 1/2 grades and 1/2 clinical to obtain the "best" residencies.
best wishes.

 

[vtrain]

how do you get the best OD residencies then?
I noticed your a med student and an OD...why not a practicing OD? As far as med goes it is about 1/2 grades and 1/2 clinical to obtain the "best" residencies.
best wishes.

Keep in mind, only about 25% of an optometry school class will go on to residency, so the competition simply isn't as extreme as in medicine. To a certain extent, grades do play some bearing for the more competitive residencies, but more often than not, the residency that you apply to will only have maybe a handful, if that, of applicants. You may even be the only one applying to the residency. When I applied, and they knew I didn't match, a few PD's called me asking if I was still interested. Overall, I'm not saying you should settle for C's and who really cares, I'm just saying that grades aren't everything and they sure don't predict how good an optometrist you'll become. A professor once told me that she maybe uses 10% of what she learned in optometry school - I didn't believe her then, but now I realize that is so true.

I made the switch because I did a 4th year rotation at a hopsital in Miami and fell in love with surgery and the cases that ophthalmologists handled. I hope to eventually be active in both professions one day.

As for med school, from what I hear, it's more about board scores and class ranking as most schools are H/P/F marking system now. Clinical grades play an increasingly important role as well. I'm only a second year now, so my info is all word of mouth.