Does which college you graduated from have effect?

[blueberryboat]

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Hi everybody. I have no idea which field I want to get into but I have been reading this forum for a while. Does the university one graduates from affect ones chances of getting into a school of optometry? Would a UC grad have preference over say a CSU grad?

 

[aisforangie]

I'm not sure about the whole UC vs. CSU thing, but the UHCO dean says that the more competitive your undergraduate school, the more preference they give you (essentially a 3.6 at a very competitive school is better than a 3.6 at a state school...). At UHCO, they have a ranking system that rates your undergrad school from 1-7, 7 being the most competitive, 4 being a state school.

I'm sure that this applies to all optometry (and probably all graduate) schools.

Hope that helps. Good luck! 🙂

 

[sportsdude00]

I know for sure that all of the optometry schools distinguish between junior/community colleges and universities. However, distinguishing between universities is all dependent upon the school. Some schools that I have spoken to weigh each schools difficulty, while some schools don't. Just call the school and ask and they should give you a definite answer.

 

[blueberryboat]

what do you mean they distinguish b/w junior/community colleges and universities? Does that mean they count it against you if u went to a community college and transfer to a university?

 

[sportsdude00]

what do you mean they distinguish b/w junior/community colleges and universities? Does that mean they count it against you if u went to a community college and transfer to a university?

Schools may require that your prerequisite coursework be done at a university, but it all depends on the school. As for transferring, I know that the majority of the schools will only consider a certain number of those credits (again, all depending on the school). Take a look at their websites under prerequisite work and most have information on what they are looking for. If your gpa is 3.xx from a university and someone else has a 3.xx at a junior college, the schools would favor the university student.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

This is tough to answer, but as far as 4 year colleges and universities go, im not sure if it makes too much of a difference. Im would imagine they wouldnt give a Harvard student with a 2.5gpa and a 250 OAT score an interview at SUNY or something.

Also keep in mind a lot of optometry schools have joint degree programs...and i have only seen maybe 2 or 3 "good" schools on there
ranking wise.