Freaken' out

[EHS1212]

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This is my first post

I graduated last May and wanted to get a job in bioinformatics or molecular biology(what I studyed). I soon found out that there are few jobs out there and they do not pay well. So I thought Optometry would be a good place to further my education.

Only I have been out of school for a year, never taken an anatomy class and my GPA is a 3.2 on a good day.

I hope that a good OAT score and, if I get that far, a good interview, will get me in. Any advice for a hopeful student with a low GPA and has been out of school for a while?

 

[PLPrincess]

This is my first post

I graduated last May and wanted to get a job in bioinformatics or molecular biology(what I studyed). I soon found out that there are few jobs out there and they do not pay well. So I thought Optometry would be a good place to further my education.

Only I have been out of school for a year, never taken an anatomy class and my GPA is a 3.2 on a good day.

I hope that a good OAT score and, if I get that far, a good interview, will get me in. Any advice for a hopeful student with a low GPA and has been out of school for a while?

Are there any pre-req courses you need to take to be considered for admission? These may help raise your pre-req GPA. Your GPA isn't bad, with the right OAT score and some experience in the field you should be fine. Just show on your application that you know what you're getting yourself into.

BTW going into optometry because it pays better than molecular biology isnt a very good reason for a career change...you might want to look into the field a little bit more than that.

 

[EHS1212]

Oh, dont get me wrong I want to get into Optometry because I enjoy working with and helping people. I am also intrested in just how the eye works and how it regesters the information that it takes in. But I still need to pay the bills.

The only pre-req that I need is a stat course. But I have no anatomy experience, do you think a course would be benificial or just getting a book so I could study for the OAT? Also, if you are in school or out, what type of work do you do on cadavers?

 

[JennyW]

This is my first post

I graduated last May and wanted to get a job in bioinformatics or molecular biology(what I studyed). I soon found out that there are few jobs out there and they do not pay well. So I thought Optometry would be a good place to further my education.

Only I have been out of school for a year, never taken an anatomy class and my GPA is a 3.2 on a good day.

I hope that a good OAT score and, if I get that far, a good interview, will get me in. Any advice for a hopeful student with a low GPA and has been out of school for a while?

Did you not have any idea what the salary or job prospects in your chosen career were before you chose it?

What makes you think that "optometry would be a good place to further your education?"

Jenny

 

[RockandRoll]

Oh, dont get me wrong I want to get into Optometry because I enjoy working with and helping people. I am also intrested in just how the eye works and how it regesters the information that it takes in. But I still need to pay the bills.

The only pre-req that I need is a stat course. But I have no anatomy experience, do you think a course would be benificial or just getting a book so I could study for the OAT? Also, if you are in school or out, what type of work do you do on cadavers?[/QUOT

Hey I was in a similar position to you, performing research in molecular biology for a year while I figured out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had a 3.4 gpa and studied only a month or so before the OAT (330). I never took any anatomy nor phisiology classes. While studying I concluded that the amount of questions actually on anatomy was so small that it was not worth my time to even attempt to study the subject. The best you can do is just to study prefixes to get an idea what they are talking about. Honestly I remember maybe 2-3 anatomy question on the OAT for last Fall, and it was well worth my time reviewing the physics instead of anatomy. Also don't be discouraged by not having anatomy or physiology when applying to schools. I got into Ferris, ICO, IU, SUNY and PCO all without anatomy. They waive the class, especially if you tell them of any research experience or other classes that included parts of anatomy. Statistics I did take and probably will help you in the long run. I recommend studying out of an MCAT book but focusing on the subjects outlined in the hard copy of the OAT review that you get when you register for the test.