Does anyone have any interest in this?

[KHE]

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It seems that this forum is populated heavily with threads where people ask questions about their stats and whether it's competitive for this, that, or the other school or whether this school or that school accept community college transcripts etc. etc.

People then respond but the people responding are usually optometry students who haven't gone to that school or worse, pre optometry students who really are no more informed than the people asking the question.

I would be willing to try to contact some of the admissions committees for the various schools and use my position as forum moderator to pose questions to them and post the responses, if they do responsd of course.

I can't guarantee any success on this but I would ask what questions you would all want to know.....

The most common questions people seem to ask are these....


1) How much weight does GPA vs OAT vs extracurriculars carry

2) What affect does taking courses at community colleges have on my application

3) I have a horrible GPA. What's the best course of action for me....retaking courses with poor grades or doing better in upper level courses.

What else? I don't want to put forth more than 5 or 6 questions to these people.

 

[syma]

I agree with this. And thought so when I saw the most recent thread asking the question. Applicants are forgetting that the most important aspect of competitiveness is the calibre of the students trying to enter the same cohort.

I found the opted website helpful when I was applying and neither myself or friends applying were surprised with acceptances for certain schools.

In any case this is a good attempt at answering the same question. But unsure of how much information schools are willing to give about their criteria.

 

[Commando303]

It seems that this forum is populated heavily with threads where people ask questions about their stats and whether it's competitive for this, that, or the other school or whether this school or that school accept community college transcripts etc. etc.

People then respond but the people responding are usually optometry students who haven't gone to that school or worse, pre optometry students who really are no more informed than the people asking the question.

I would be willing to try to contact some of the admissions committees for the various schools and use my position as forum moderator to pose questions to them and post the responses, if they do responsd of course.

I can't guarantee any success on this but I would ask what questions you would all want to know.....

The most common questions people seem to ask are these....


1) How much weight does GPA vs OAT vs extracurriculars carry

2) What affect does taking courses at community colleges have on my application

3) I have a horrible GPA. What's the best course of action for me....retaking courses with poor grades or doing better in upper level courses.

What else? I don't want to put forth more than 5 or 6 questions to these people.

A nice effort, I suppose, but something tells me we'll be seeing a string of responses (from those schools that do reply) along the lines,

"We thank you for your interest in our school and its admissions process. Although we are unable to disclose the precise details of the complex procedure by which we evaluate each individual applicant's candidacy, we wish to state we try our best to evenly balance the many factors that constitute an applicant. Neither O.A.T. scores, nor G.P.A.s, nor interviews, nor the critical intangible factors that cannot be simply quantified may be discounted in making the very difficult determination of who [blah, blah, blah]." 😎

Honestly (not to be snide: I do understand the anxiety), I think most of the answers people seek (i.e., about G.P.A.s and O.A.T. scores in relation to likelihood of acceptance) are best found in figures posted on A.S.C.O.'s Web site (http://www.opted.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3396).

 

[EyEnStein 07]

This is an excellent idea and I'm sure would help all of us a great deal.

If someone can put this in good question format please do so.

But i would hope/imagine some students who take a heavy course load would want a year off (for research/volunteering/shadowing) so that they may better prepare their applications and the OAT's. Would taking a year off have any negative impact on the application? Is there something recommended that a student should do on their year off while waiting for the next cycle?

(hopefully SUNY is included in terms of committees or admissions counselors you are hoping to ask these questions to)

 

[KHE]

Ok. If ppl are interested then, I would ask that you all post one or two questions that you would like answered. Please make them as clear, concise, and specific as possible but not specific to YOUR application.

 

[DawgOD]

if you are an applicant and don't ask admissions these types of questions anyway.. something is wrong.

i think most people come to this board knowing that the answers here MAY not be 100% correct, but just like to read different people's opinions about issues related to admissions.

 

[IndianaOD]

KHE,

I think you will get some pretty vague answers from the schools.

I got a little insight when I was a resident at one of the schools and performed some prospective student interviews etc.

GPA and OAT scores were given a point value and the students were ranked. It seemed this held much more weight than anything else. GPA scores were modified by the competitiveness of the undergraduate institution. Unfortunately I think ethnicity might have also affected your overall score which is total crap IMHO. Ethnicity should play no role in higher education.

The admissions committee would take into consideration some special circumstances but this is pretty uncommon.

The interview would rarely "make you" as it didn't have much influence. It could however "break" you. For example, one prospective student asked: "so how soon do we start performing surgeries". That interview sunk that candidate.

That is just one school.

The ASCO website should be a good guide as mentioned above.

 

[Shnurek]

Unfortunately I think ethnicity might have also affected your overall score which is total crap IMHO. Ethnicity should play no role in higher education.

Totally agree and your answer is very insightful about the whole admissions process, thanks.

 

[DawgOD]

KHE,

Unfortunately I think ethnicity might have also affected your overall score which is total crap IMHO. Ethnicity should play no role in higher education.

The admissions committee would take into consideration some special circumstances but this is pretty uncommon.

I think its hilarious that EVERYTHING a minority does, a lot of you think they only got it because they are a minority. 😏

by most schools definition, how many "ethic" classmates do you have? not many I'm sure. So out of those FEW, why can't they just earn it just like the MAJORITY did?

 

[IndianaOD]

I think its hilarious that EVERYTHING a minority does, a lot of you think they only got it because they are a minority. 😏

by most schools definition, how many "ethic" classmates do you have? not many I'm sure. So out of those FEW, why can't they just earn it just like the MAJORITY did?

All I am saying is ethnicity should not even be on the application. It should be illegal to even ask for it. Prospective students should only be judged on their scores and potential.

I think affirmative action is insulting to minorities. Basically it is saying just because you are "x" ethnicity you need a crutch to succeed. The best qualified should be taken period.

I did not say anything negative towards any minorities so take it easy. Actually, now that I re-read your reply I think you misread mine. I totally agree, everyone should just earn it.

 

[DawgOD]

All I am saying is ethnicity should not even be on the application. It should be illegal to even ask for it. Prospective students should only be judged on their scores and potential.

I think affirmative action is insulting to minorities. Basically it is saying just because you are "x" ethnicity you need a crutch to succeed. The best qualified should be taken period.

I did not say anything negative towards any minorities so take it easy.

and that's like me saying.. schools shouldn't ask for last names.. cuz there are a lot of students who's fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts were optometrist (alumni), and schools could possibly take that into consideration. #justsayin

to any prospective student.. my best advice is to worry about you, and you only. You can only control what you can control. thats your GPA, your OAT scores, and your shadowing experiences, etc. You take care of what you are suppose to, and you will have no problems getting into school.

 

[Shnurek]

Unfortunately, in this still prejudice country, you are penalized on admission panels if you are Asian/(arguably Jewish people as well) and given an advantage if you are Hispanic/African American/Native American. This is a phenomenon found almost everywhere in this country and this is not just.


http://www.joannejacobs.com/2009/10/ivy-bound-asians-need-extra-high-sats/

". . . African-American applicants with SAT scores of 1150 had the same chances of being accepted as white applicants with 1460s and Asian applicants with perfect 1600s. The results of the study come three years after Jian Li, a rejected Princeton applicant, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. He alleged in the complaint that he had been discriminated against based on his race when he was denied admission to the University."

 

[Shnurek]

Another example of something that admissions officers will probably never tell you formally. Keep this reality in mind optometry applicants. These ethnic filters stem back to socioeconomic factors. Some people had a harder time achieving higher education while those of other ethnicities had an easier time because of their culture and other supposed reasons.

On another note, SUNY offers a diversity scholarship. Does this apply to gender too? 😛
Only 18%-29% of the matriculants were male in the past 7 entering classes. http://www.sunyopt.edu/admissions/od_demographics.shtml

 

[DawgOD]

wow.. SUNY has about 4 minorities (hispanic/african american) in the c/o 2014.. and people are complaining? dang. :smh:

but back on topic.. KHE.. go ahead and hook it up.. I'm curious to see what kind of responses you will get from admissions.

 

[IndianaOD]

wow.. SUNY has about 4 minorities (hispanic/african american) in the c/o 2014.. and people are complaining? dang. :smh:

but back on topic.. KHE.. go ahead and hook it up.. I'm curious to see what kind of responses you will get from admissions.

So its cool with you if a better candidate (higher GPA and OAT) doesn't get accepted because of the color of the other person's skin?

That is the definition of racism, basically showing favoritism based on ethnicity.

People aren't complaining about the numbers of minorities (nice way to skew the discussion) but the fact that some applicants get a "bonus" because of their skin color or ethnicity. Apparently you support affirmative action, but if you took a long hard look at it all it does is hurt minorities.

 

[imemily]

wow.. SUNY has about 4 minorities (hispanic/african american) in the c/o 2014.. and people are complaining? dang. :smh:

but back on topic.. KHE.. go ahead and hook it up.. I'm curious to see what kind of responses you will get from admissions.

I am confused. Where do you see people complaining?

Personally, AA plays on stereotypes thus, it shouldn't be used in the admissions process, IMO.

 

[DawgOD]

So its cool with you if a better candidate (higher GPA and OAT) doesn't get accepted because of the color of the other person's skin?

That is the definition of racism, basically showing favoritism based on ethnicity.

People aren't complaining about the numbers of minorities (nice way to skew the discussion) but the fact that some applicants get a "bonus" because of their skin color or ethnicity. Apparently you support affirmative action, but if you took a long hard look at it all it does is hurt minorities.

1) it's not cool
2) Why can't the person of color be the better candidate? Why is it assummed that they are not?
3) All this affirmative action talk, what school does that? Let me know. Thanks.

 

[IndianaOD]

1) it's not cool
2) Why can't the person of color be the better candidate? Why is it assummed that they are not?
3) All this affirmative action talk, what school does that? Let me know. Thanks.

2) The only one assuming that is you.

 

[DawgOD]

I am confused. Where do you see people complaining?

Personally, AA plays on stereotypes thus, it shouldn't be used in the admissions process, IMO.

Indiana complained about it.. thats how it got introduced in the thread.

 

[DawgOD]

2) The only one assuming that is you.

child please..

 

[Shnurek]

1) it's not cool
2) Why can't the person of color be the better candidate? Why is it assummed that they are not?
3) All this affirmative action talk, what school does that? Let me know. Thanks.

1) I agree.

2) Your question is irrelevant and pointless. Of course a person of color can be the better candidate. But NOT because of the amount of melanin in his/her skin. It should be ONLY because of standardized tests, GPAs ,rec's, essays etc.

3) Try almost every undergraduate top tier institution. It is not a secret. Also medical schools do it. I'm sure Optometry schools do it to a certain extent too, as IndianaOD mention when he/she served on the admissions panel.

California for example banned Affirmative Action and so did Michigan. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/02/affirmative-action-ban-up_n_667763.html

I hope more states follow suit.

Affirmative Action is legal racism/sexism and everyone knows it.

 

[DawgOD]

Affirmative Action is legal racism/sexism and everyone knows it.

Racism involves hatred for a race. How does affirmative action do that?

This world operates on rights & wrongs.. there is a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes which I have stated earlier in this thread, which you all ignored, that is not right. We could argue this, and everything else about admissions for all eternity. It's a waste of time.

Your opinions are your opinions.. cool.. My opinions are my opinions. I just hate it when this topic is brought up and you all act like they are doing us a favor. WE EARNED IT!! Nothing is ever just given to you in this world.

again.. my thing is this.. WORRY ABOUT YOU.. take care of YOUR business.. and YOU will not have any problems getting into school.

 

[Commando303]

Affirmative Action is legal racism/sexism and everyone knows it.

Reel in your unbounded ego with that sort of statement: "[...]and everyone knows it." If "everyone" agreed with you, such laws wouldn't ever have been put into effect; and I hope you don't sincerely feel anyone who holds any support for such legislation is a simple "racist" or "sexist."

No, I'm not coming out in favor of affirmative-action (equal-opportunity — call it what you will) policies, in this post, but I find it hardheaded and unfair to suggest such things are just the hare-brained experiments of a bunch of *****s without an ethical pulse in their skulls — a sentiment far too many opponents of the position seem to casually announce.

 

[syma]

Reel in your unbounded ego with that sort of statement: "[...]and everyone knows it." If "everyone" agreed with you, such laws wouldn't ever have been put into effect; and I hope you don't sincerely feel anyone who holds any support for such legislation is a simple "racist" or "sexist."

No, I'm not coming out in favor of affirmative-action (equal-opportunity — call it what you will) policies, in this post, but I find it hardheaded and unfair to suggest such things are just the hare-brained experiments of a bunch of *****s without an ethical pulse in their skulls — a sentiment far too many opponents of the position seem to casually announce.

+1

Affirmative action was put in place because of the blatant racism in selecting candidates.

When no such racism exists and there is no discrimation and all people are afforded the same opportunities there will be no need for affirmative action.

Aside: Nobody has complained about the policies in place to increase opportunities for women. 🙄 (Also Affirmative Action)

 

[Shnurek]

OK I respect your opinions but is not giving preference to one racial group and discriminating against another racial group racism by definition?

Hence my statement, "...everyone knows it."


If you read the article you would have actually seen that the graduation percentage of African-Americans increased after Affirmative Action was repealed. So it does hurt them in some ways just like IndianaOD stated.

But whatever I have an ego and so what? I believe in something and I like voicing my opinions. I grew up in a multicultural city. My elementary/junior high school was ~80% hispanic, my high school was ~65% asian, my college was ~60% white. I volunteered in East Harlem at a kids summer camp where ~80% of the children were African-American. I've been in all the different scenarios so I feel as though I have a more valid opinion than others who might have been more racially isolated.

But hey at least this makes for a good discussion 🙂 If it happened anywhere but online it'd probably get heated really fast.

Here's an interesting read: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/24/scitech/main20065864.shtml

 

[DawgOD]

If it happened anywhere but online it'd probably get heated really fast.

we agree on one thing.. lmao..

 

[KHE]

Ok. I'm closing this thread down. After 25 postings, I don't see a single person taking any interest in the original question. No one has posted any questions and it seems as if this thread has just devolved into a debate over affirmative action so I'll drop this idea. If you want to continue debating affirmative action, start a new thread or do it by PM. (Preferably by PM)