finance to optometry?

[slickz]

Hello everyone,

My name is Sunny and I have a few questions and also need some opinion. I am 23 years old who graduated last year with a B.S. degree in Business Management. I am currently a mutual fund accountant. It's only been a year since I started working but now, im considering going into optometry..which is a COMPLETELY different field. My question is that I dont have much of the pre-opt courses satisfied since my undergrad degree didn't really require those science courses. Also, I took AP physics in high school and I got a 3 so I didnt need to take physics either in college.
I am sure it would be possible for me to still get into optometry but the thing is that since I dont have those pre-opt classes, am I still elegible to apply for opto school or would I have to somehow to back to my old school and take those classes OR I can still be accepted but have to take those classes as part of the OD program? As for the OAT, the last time I took those science courses was high school. I am totally confused of what I want to do with my career but optometry is defintiely something I am considering. Thanks for your time in reading this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

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[blazenmadison]

Hello everyone,

My name is Sunny and I have a few questions and also need some opinion. I am 23 years old who graduated last year with a B.S. degree in Business Management. I am currently a mutual fund accountant. It's only been a year since I started working but now, im considering going into optometry..which is a COMPLETELY different field. My question is that I dont have much of the pre-opt courses satisfied since my undergrad degree didn't really require those science courses. Also, I took AP physics in high school and I got a 3 so I didnt need to take physics either in college.
I am sure it would be possible for me to still get into optometry but the thing is that since I dont have those pre-opt classes, am I still elegible to apply for opto school or would I have to somehow to back to my old school and take those classes OR I can still be accepted but have to take those classes as part of the OD program? As for the OAT, the last time I took those science courses was high school. I am totally confused of what I want to do with my career but optometry is defintiely something I am considering. Thanks for your time in reading this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I think you need to shadow an optometrist before you make your decision to leave the business field. The grass is always greener on the other side. Some ODs would rather have been a business major.

Optometry schools encourage you to apply with all if not most of the pre-req's taken. Your high school science classes will not be sufficient for the OAT. I doubt organic chemistry was offered in high school. If you really want to enter optometry school, you need to take your pre-req's at a local college (favored) or a community college. Then take your OAT and apply for fall 07. That is you would have taken 2 semesters of bio, 2 sem of gen chem w/lab, 1 or 2 sem of organic chem with labs, biochem (maybe), and 2 sem of physics w/ lab before you enter opt school fall 07. Also required at 'some' schools are microbiology, anatomy, and physiology. Most of the other pre-reqs such as english or psychology should have been met with your undergrad business degree. A 3 on your AP physics exam might not be enough. Definitely contact the optometry schools to determine what you need to do. You need to be 100% confident you want to switch to optometry!
good luck.

 

[iiiimonica]

good job blazen! i just wanted to add to check out www.opted.org/ to get more speifics about schools, and the oat. your business backgroud will be big help to you if you decide to open your own practice, just be sure optometry is right for you

good luck

 

[ernst]

Greetings everyone. I hope you can help me with my question. I am a NYC based financial risk analyst who is thinking of switching careers and becoming an OD. I have an undergraduate degree in Finance and a masters degree in Applied Statistics. Unforunately, I have never studied biology or chemistry in college (only one semester of college physics), but I have always had a strong interest in sciences and have studied a lot of math. I am thinking of applying to SUNY School of Optometry. Any ideas of how I should go about building my background in science in order to be admited to SUNY? Should I just entrol in a local college and start taking science classes as a visiting student? Do I even have a chance of getting into SUNY with a non-science background and a few courses in bio/chem taken from a local college? Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[EyeBaller]

Greetings everyone. I hope you can help me with my question. I am a NYC based financial risk analyst who is thinking of switching careers and becoming an OD. I have an undergraduate degree in Finance and a masters degree in Applied Statistics. Unforunately, I have never studied biology or chemistry in college (only one semester of college physics), but I have always had a strong interest in sciences and have studied a lot of math. I am thinking of applying to SUNY School of Optometry. Any ideas of how I should go about building my background in science in order to be admited to SUNY? Should I just entrol in a local college and start taking science classes as a visiting student? Do I even have a chance of getting into SUNY with a non-science background and a few courses in bio/chem taken from a local college? Any feedback is appreciated.

Hi ernst,

As has been posted already, definitely start taking some pre-req classes at a local college. Also, call admissions and see what they suggest. You may need to speak to Dr Johnston, maybe even set up an appointment with him. He's really nice and will give you all the info you need to know. Again, be sure this is something you want to do. You're going to have to work very hard at subjects you haven't touched for years, SUNY has a very demanding course (trust me!! ). Also, shadow some optometrists as suggested before.

 

[ernst]

Hi ernst,

As has been posted already, definitely start taking some pre-req classes at a local college. Also, call admissions and see what they suggest. You may need to speak to Dr Johnston, maybe even set up an appointment with him. He's really nice and will give you all the info you need to know. Again, be sure this is something you want to do. You're going to have to work very hard at subjects you haven't touched for years, SUNY has a very demanding course (trust me!! ). Also, shadow some optometrists as suggested before.

Thanks for the reply. Really appreciate the feedback. I will try to get a hold of the admissions office and perhaps Dr. Johnson. One more question, does it matter what school I take the pre-rec courses from? I am thinking of one of the CUNY schools (e.g., Hunter College) because of the cost considerations. Do you think it is a good idea?

Another question, how selective is SUNY? I couldn't find any statistics on their website.

 

[EyeBaller]

Thanks for the reply. Really appreciate the feedback. I will try to get a hold of the admissions office and perhaps Dr. Johnson. One more question, does it matter what school I take the pre-rec courses from? I am thinking of one of the CUNY schools (e.g., Hunter College) because of the cost considerations. Do you think it is a good idea?

Another question, how selective is SUNY? I couldn't find any statistics on their website.

I'm not sure it would matter too much which college you took courses at, given that you're just doing them to make the pre-reqs, but again you can always ask admissions. I don't really know much about the colleges in NYC. Sorry!

What do you mean by "selective?"

 

[ernst]

What do you mean by "selective?"

I meant applicant to entrant ratio. In other words, how difficult is it to get accepted into this particular school?

 

[EyeBaller]

I meant applicant to entrant ratio. In other words, how difficult is it to get accepted into this particular school?

Umm.. I'm not sure of exact numbers.. I do know that in the last couple of years SUNY has had a huge increase in the number of applicants. The class size is reasonably small, typically 72-74. In general, most optometry schools are going to be difficult to get into, considering there's not many of them. SUNY may be one of the tougher ones.. but again admissions may give you the answer to that. Post back and let us know!

 

[rani82]

I have been hearing that SUNY has a very difficult courseload/curriculum - can anyone shed some more light on this topic?

Thanks!

 

[EyeBaller]

I have been hearing that SUNY has a very difficult courseload/curriculum - can anyone shed some more light on this topic?

Thanks!

I can confirm it's difficult curriculum, and Dr Johnston will tell you exactly the same when you talk to him about applying and throughout your admissions process. I've done tours for open house and interviews at SUNY, and they even told us not to lie about it being difficult.

It's hard work, from 1st year you're going to have at least 5/6 courses a quarter. Building to 7/8/9 courses in some quarters. There's no end of testing.. whether it's quizzes, exams or practicals.

I can't really say how it compares to other schools, and I'm not sure if anyone honestly can unless they've actually been through two different programs. There's a lot of courses, even when they're included in pre-reqs.. which may seem tedious.. but then we do have a very good (arguably the highest of all schools) 1st time NBEO Part 1 pass-rate (which by the way... I hope our class continues.. fingers crossed.. one month until results!).

I hope that helps? Feel free to ask any other questions here or in PM.