Extracurricular activities?

[prettygreeneyes]

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Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

 

[Opii]

Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

I really don't think it would negatively affect you in any way.

 

[pre_opt_sku]

Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

I think the admissions committees look for those sorts of things to see that you are a well rounded person - they want to know that you did other things besides just school and studying during your undergrad. I'm sure you'll be fine, but it's never to late to volunteer or get involved in the community if you're worried about it.

 

[rpames]

I thought the same thing when I filled out my apps. I had research and volunteering at a hospital, but not much else...no clubs, no Frat. I guess my advice to people is to find some clubs. Most of them really demand very little time. At ICO I belong to several different clubs and organizations, and unless you are an officer (which I am of one of them), they only involve you coming to speakers and social events.

Not having much extra curr. wont destroy your application if you have decent numbers, but having them can help. They are not going to say,"S/he has good numbers and they did will in the interview...but s/he was not a member of the gleek club...REJECTED!!!" 😱

GOOD LUCK!

 

[3eb4me]

Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

Similar situation to someone who begged to join my pre-health trip to Central America. She was a senior pre-med student and needed to 'do something' before it was too late. Start early! It's not just about listing all the clubs you paid dues for, but how involved you became with each. Maybe you joined one or two, but your experiences with them can be huge and usually play a part in your interview.

 

[ucbsowarrior]

Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

There were plenty of nerds in my class, heck I might even be considered one. I'm not sure what type of extracurricular activities they had, but whatever they put on their application must have been bs. 1/2 the class was as boring as hell... their only hobbies were probalby watching friends and having pot-luck dinners...but some of them were hella smart!

I would just be honest and write down what you enjoy doing in your spare time. If you don't do diddly, than I don't think that's really going to hurt you. You are becoming a healthcare professional, not a talk show host. I think that just want to make sure that you're not the nerd of the year and that you can communicate with people and groups.

one last piece of advice....if one of your past hobbies was being a guest on the video series....'girls gone wild!' ...i would probably let that one slide on the application process....you can tell them that after you get in

 

[prettygreeneyes]

No... no "Girls Gone Wild" stint... although "downtown" Reno on New's Year's Eve has probably been featured before! I'm glad that lack of extracurricular activities won't kill me, but it has made me realize that I really should get involved in something... anything! I have worked part-time and gone to school full time since my freshman year in college and not much else... I wonder what I may have missed out on! "Girls Gone Wild" here I come... (JUST KIDDING!!!!!)

 

[ucbsowarrior]

No... no "Girls Gone Wild" stint... although "downtown" Reno on New's Year's Eve has probably been featured before! I'm glad that lack of extracurricular activities won't kill me, but it has made me realize that I really should get involved in something... anything! I have worked part-time and gone to school full time since my freshman year in college and not much else... I wonder what I may have missed out on! "Girls Gone Wild" here I come... (JUST KIDDING!!!!!)

If you don't live a balanced live in school...don't expect to live one after schools over. You just cheat yourself if you do nothing but hit the books. If there's anything I regret in school is that I didn't do more outside of school....not that I did a whole lot in school 👍

 

[JennyW]

I thought the same thing when I filled out my apps. I had research and volunteering at a hospital, but not much else...no clubs, no Frat. I guess my advice to people is to find some clubs. Most of them really demand very little time. At ICO I belong to several different clubs and organizations, and unless you are an officer (which I am of one of them), they only involve you coming to speakers and social events.

Not having much extra curr. wont destroy your application if you have decent numbers, but having them can help. They are not going to say,"S/he has good numbers and they did will in the interview...but s/he was not a member of the gleek club...REJECTED!!!" 😱

GOOD LUCK!

My experience was that admissions committees are more impressed with "service" oriented organizations rather than things like the AV club, or academic clubs such as "physics club" etc. etc. I already told you about the Girl Scout who was admitted with a mediocre application. (Obviously, I'm not discouraging anyone from joining the physics club.)

The other thing that I found was that they were usually looking for people who were in just one, maybe two extracurriculars but who excelled at them or obtained leadership positions. Being involved in dozes of extracurriculars as a means of showing "time management" skills is NOT helpful. It's already going to be assumed that you have good time management skills.

 

[sco1styear]

My experience was that admissions committees are more impressed with "service" oriented organizations rather than things like the AV club, or academic clubs such as "physics club" etc. etc. I already told you about the Girl Scout who was admitted with a mediocre application. (Obviously, I'm not discouraging anyone from joining the physics club.)

The other thing that I found was that they were usually looking for people who were in just one, maybe two extracurriculars but who excelled at them or obtained leadership positions. Being involved in dozes of extracurriculars as a means of showing "time management" skills is NOT helpful. It's already going to be assumed that you have good time management skills.

I agree completely.

 

[ski2bOD]

Has anyone been accepted to optometry school without having a long list of extracurricular activities under their belt? I have read some of the application questions for each school and thought to myself, "What in the world have I been doing for the past 5 years?"

i am in the thick of the application process and only just discovered this website. better late than never, but it is great. anyways, i have been reading a few threads and saw that "prettygreeneyes" in from UNR. i also graduated from UNR last year. just wondering if we knew eachother...

i was a biochem major, my name is ben

 

[prettygreeneyes]

i am in the thick of the application process and only just discovered this website. better late than never, but it is great. anyways, i have been reading a few threads and saw that "prettygreeneyes" in from UNR. i also graduated from UNR last year. just wondering if we knew eachother...

i was a biochem major, my name is ben

Yep... good old UNR! The Wolf Pack beat UNLV.... YEAH!!! I don't know whether we've had any classes together... I am taking my first BCH class right now. (I will be graduating in May.) Plus, I'm terrible about meeting anyone in school...hence the post about lack of extracurricular activities! So, where are you applying to? Is WICHE playing a role in your decision? Good to know that there is someone from UNR interested in optometry! Best of luck... prettygreeneyes