Few random questions

[uwmissy]

i just had a few questions and if anyone could help me out it'd be great!

1. i realized i might not have all the pre-req's finished in time for the application. Do school's require us to have the pre-req's finished before the application process? or will i be fine as long as i finish them when i graduate?

2. I want to start volunteering in the summer. i was considering asking places like wal-mart. But the last time i went to update my prescription, i noticed there wouldn't be much for me to do. because there were already employees working for the optometrist. i figured i could answer phones or just do any side work, but the employees are already doing that. So my question is.. what kinds of things did you guys do when volunteering?

3. if we retook a class... will the opt school average the gpa's when calculating our gpa or will they just take the highest grade? (because at the university i'm at right now they take the average of the two classes as part of our cum gpa)

4. for those who got accepted into an optometry school, did any of you guys have any "W"'s on your transcript? I'm just curious how W's will affect our admissions. (i have one W, plus my gpa isn't that grade either)

5. Lastly, i seem to have a hard time getting to know my prof's. i'm pretty shy, and i'm not the type to carry on a conversation about sciences. So, again, to those that got accepted into an opt school... how would you consider your letters of recs? Did any of you guys have weak letters of rec (meaning, you barely knew your profs) that still got accepted into a opt school?


Wow, that was a lot of questions. I originally had three.. but questions kept popping into my head . sorry! But hopefully i didn't scare anyone off.

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[pre_opt_sku]

i just had a few questions and if anyone could help me out it'd be great!

1. i realized i might not have all the pre-req's finished in time for the application. Do school's require us to have the pre-req's finished before the application process? or will i be fine as long as i finish them when i graduate?

2. I want to start volunteering in the summer. i was considering asking places like wal-mart. But the last time i went to update my prescription, i noticed there wouldn't be much for me to do. because there were already employees working for the optometrist. i figured i could answer phones or just do any side work, but the employees are already doing that. So my question is.. what kinds of things did you guys do when volunteering?

3. if we retook a class... will the opt school average the gpa's when calculating our gpa or will they just take the highest grade? (because at the university i'm at right now they take the average of the two classes as part of our cum gpa)

4. for those who got accepted into an optometry school, did any of you guys have any "W"'s on your transcript? I'm just curious how W's will affect our admissions. (i have one W, plus my gpa isn't that grade either)

5. Lastly, i seem to have a hard time getting to know my prof's. i'm pretty shy, and i'm not the type to carry on a conversation about sciences. So, again, to those that got accepted into an opt school... how would you consider your letters of recs? Did any of you guys have weak letters of rec (meaning, you barely knew your profs) that still got accepted into a opt school?


Wow, that was a lot of questions. I originally had three.. but questions kept popping into my head . sorry! But hopefully i didn't scare anyone off.

1. You do not need to have the pre-reqs finished when you apply. I had 1 pre req missing when I applied to ICO and 4 pre reqs missing when I applied to Waterloo. Each school will have their own deadline of when the classes need to be completed; I think for most schools they need to be completed in the summer before you start school. Most people don't have their pre-reqs completed when they apply.

2. I would suggest going to your own optometrist to look into volunteering (they will feel more obligated to say yes to you!!). Lots of offices aren't interested in having free help around. When I volunteered, I mostly just did some of the pre-screening for the patients.

3. I'm not sure

4. I'm not sure

5. I knew a few of my profs very well, so I didn't run into that problem, so I can't help you there. Sorry!!!

 

[diva15]

i just had a few questions and if anyone could help me out it'd be great!

1. i realized i might not have all the pre-req's finished in time for the application. Do school's require us to have the pre-req's finished before the application process? or will i be fine as long as i finish them when i graduate?

2. I want to start volunteering in the summer. i was considering asking places like wal-mart. But the last time i went to update my prescription, i noticed there wouldn't be much for me to do. because there were already employees working for the optometrist. i figured i could answer phones or just do any side work, but the employees are already doing that. So my question is.. what kinds of things did you guys do when volunteering?

3. if we retook a class... will the opt school average the gpa's when calculating our gpa or will they just take the highest grade? (because at the university i'm at right now they take the average of the two classes as part of our cum gpa)

4. for those who got accepted into an optometry school, did any of you guys have any "W"'s on your transcript? I'm just curious how W's will affect our admissions. (i have one W, plus my gpa isn't that grade either)

5. Lastly, i seem to have a hard time getting to know my prof's. i'm pretty shy, and i'm not the type to carry on a conversation about sciences. So, again, to those that got accepted into an opt school... how would you consider your letters of recs? Did any of you guys have weak letters of rec (meaning, you barely knew your profs) that still got accepted into a opt school?


Wow, that was a lot of questions. I originally had three.. but questions kept popping into my head . sorry! But hopefully i didn't scare anyone off.

Places like walmart usually aren't allowed to have volunteers. (its against their policy). your better off going to private practices. good luck!

also...from what i have heard. one - two W's are okay. More is questionable

 

[in_translation]

3. if we retook a class...
5. Lastly, i seem to have a hard time getting to know my prof's...

3. There have been previous threads on this topic... I don't know if there was any sort of consensus (by school or otherwise).

5. If you're shy, you may want to try and break out of your shell - that's something they'll ask you about in interviews. When you're an optometrist you're going to have to deal with all types of people, so an intensely shy personality is not in your best interest (not to say that you are this way, but just making a point). I too was shy when I first started at my undergrad, but the more I got into my major, the more I visited profs in their office hours, said hello to them outside of class, etc. If you go to a large school, my recommendation is to pick a class you really like and that you're doing well in and go ask the prof some questions and just generally get to chatting if you can. That way if you continue on that path, perhaps you can get a nice rec letter from someone who actually does know you - and knows you can overcome your shyness by initiating conversation!
Good luck!

 

[reba]

1. as long as you are done with pre-reqs before school starts, you are cool.

2. volunteer for a private optometrist and you will find more to do. i first started working for an optometrist filing and answering phones, and eventually was hired full time

3. scco averages all grades (as part of application you have to submit a form with all grades and calculate gpa to their standard)

4. i withdrew from like 10 classes, i don't think they really care. =o)

5. yeah, i just asked some professors, since i only switched to biology my junior year, i didn't really know anyone. and i got in, so it must not have been such a big deal. just make sure they are sincere and positive.

 

[uwmissy]

thanks for replying guys. your guys' responses are really helpful to me. =D