Do I have a chance?

[OD_Wannabe]

I'm a non-traditional undergrad; I've gone back to school part time with the express purpose of becoming an Optometrist. I recently uprooted my family from the (comfortable) middle of nowhere to greater Chicago in preparation for (hopefully) entering ICO in '07. My wife has an excellent job, and we've saved enough money that I can get through Optometry school debt-free.

The bad news is that my early undergrad career, which ended about 12 years ago, is significantly less than stellar. I dropped out with about a 2.1 GPA and became an IT person; I could make all kinds of excuses, but the fact is that I have about 45 credits of royal crap on my transcript. I have had straight A's for my last 25 credits, and expect to maintain a 4.0 for the rest of my time in college, but am afraid that my youthful indiscretions will come back to haunt me.

My wife and I are anxious to return to our comfortable small(er) town, and so I'd like to enter school before completing my Bachelors. Assuming a stellar score on the OAT and an entry GPA of somewhere around 3.2, should I even bother to apply once my prereqs are completed, or should I perservere until I have completed a BA and risk the wrath of the spousal unit for not getting back home fast enough? Will repeated applications hurt my chances? ICO is my only option, as Chicago is where my wife has a stable job.

Thanks for the advice.

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[r_salis]

I'm a non-traditional undergrad; I've gone back to school part time with the express purpose of becoming an Optometrist.

I am a non-trad OD student, also from the World of IT.

I think that given your current straight-A streak (assuming that you are taking most of the pre-req courses now, and/or re-taking the ones you did not do well in during your first undergrad career) and the length of time since your less-than-straight-A streak, you can be a competitive applicant. I would assume that having a BA/BS when you apply would definitely be preferred (the less "special-exception-ish" things in your application, the better), but it really depends on how close you are to the degree and how ICO views that.

If I were you, I'd absolutely go in to talk to admissions at ICO -- if you haven't already -- and talk to someone there about your situation. Chart out your plan for them -- the classes you've taken, the ones you're going to take, when you plan to take the OAT, when you plan to submit your application -- and outline the situations in your past. They should be able to tell you flat out what your chances are for getting in for '07 and give you suggestions on how to make your application more competitive.

Good luck!

 

[OD_Wannabe]

I am a non-trad OD student, also from the World of IT.

So you escaped, eh? Congrats... I'm afraid the OD/DDS/Pharmacy/Chiropractic market will be flooded with disenchanted techies soon...

...re-taking the ones you did not do well in during your first undergrad career

Fortunately, I was a CS major, so the only thing that applies is Calculus, and I did well in that. Interestingly, it was CS that I didn't do so well in... thought I knew more than the professors.

If I were you, I'd absolutely go in to talk to admissions at ICO -- if you haven't already -- and talk to someone there about your situation. Chart out your plan for them -- the classes you've taken, the ones you're going to take, when you plan to take the OAT, when you plan to submit your application -- and outline the situations in your past. They should be able to tell you flat out what your chances are for getting in for '07 and give you suggestions on how to make your application more competitive.

An excellent idea; while I did attend their summer open house, I was one of a large herd; I will make it a point to contact them and get some more detailed direction ASAP. (I had always intended to contact them, but had put it off--I guess I was hoping the statute of limitations on majoring in beer would run out or something)

Thanks for your tips!