I am a senior, and will be applying for optometry school this summer, I have a really strong GPA around 3.8, and have not taken the OAT yet. I am wondering what type of extracurriculars optometry schools look for. I have done a little shadowing, but that is all. I am taking an extremely intense coarse load over the next year and working, so that leaves little time for much else. Any advice for volunteering or extracurriculars? How important are those things if you have a really high GPA and OAT score?
Extracurriculars?
- Thread starter brol
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Even if you have really high GPA and OAT score... your extracurriculars matter a lot, I think. I'm in the same boat as you (except I need some major optometry volunteer/shadowing instead of extracurriculars). I've done quite a bit of things during my 4 years of undergrad, and to be frank, they have nothing to do with optometry. I don't think what type of extracurriculars will really count against you, but having a variety helps. (And maybe some academic related activities like research, but not required).
Relate your extracurriculars to how you can use your leadership skills, and so on. These are just my thoughts: at the end of the day, we should do what we enjoy best (if you want to coach a sports team at a highschool... go for it, etc) or else we'll be all applying with similar activities, just because one might look "better" on paper.
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They matter, but imo, your gpa and oat scores are the "foot in the door" type of thing you need. Think about it, schools get hundreds of apps each year. They don't have time to read through every single essay and review every aspect. GPA and OAT scores are what forces the admissions committee to open your file and look closer. As long as your essays or something mention your hard work load, then your fine. But it does seem odd that your a senior and you haven't had time to even volunteer for ONE single thing. Regardless of your upcoming workload, you should have had time for volunteering before. If you score well on your OAT (above a 330), then I believe with your GPA, you're a lock. Just my opinion though (and this is coming from someone who had a TON of extracurriculars/in fact, 9 years worth).
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I think most people will have some sort of volunteering in the undergraduate years. However, I can't really be the judge, because different people got different circumstances ie. working, have family to support, etc.
The reason I have not done any volunteering is I was unsure of my career choice for my 1st two years of undergrad. I got my Associates of Science and then stopped going to school because I didnt want to just take classes with no clue as to why, so when I went back to school after figuring it out the only classes I had to take were science classes with labs and I am also working. I will have some time over the summer, and I just want to make sure that I make the most of the little time that I have.
