Getting prepared for applying to schools

[dfung]

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Thanks for the wonderful resource that this board is. This is my first post, but I've been lurking around reading posts for a few weeks now.

I'm currently working as an engineer and looking to switch into optometry. I've always been very interested in the profession, but am concerned about getting into optometry school. My overall undergrad GPA was a 2.7. I still have to take about 5-6 prereqs (physio, anatomy, microbio, ochem, bchem). I'm hoping there is a chance for me to get in, but i honestly dont know what my chances are.

Ideally I'd like to apply to school in fal 2005 onwarsd and attend a school by the Fall of 2006. Until then, I'm going to take all the prereqs and hopefully find some work or something that'll be able to give me further experience and clarity about the field of optometry. I observed my optometrist last Saturday and really enjoyed my time there.

Anyways, what do you guys recommend for preparing? Would you recommend that i find a place to work at? I personally think i'll have to get good OAT scores and have some good extracurricular work to make up for my poor GPA.

I currently live in San Diego, CA, so if anyone has any insight regarding this particular area, that would be great!

 

[I-Ball]

Being an undergraduate applicant myself I'm not sure how much advice I can give you but here goes anyways. If you look at your undergrad GPA it falls within the ranges for some schools as advertised on the ASCO webiste (I don't know what the link is but I know there is one). Regardless, to become competitive you'll want to raise your GPA with the courses you're taking so do your best to focus on them and score high, Opt Schools like to see improvement! With regards to work I think something part time at an office wouldn't hurt but make sure you have more than that, the more you can get involved in the better you look as an overall applicant. Best of Luck!

I-Ball

 

[stompy]

I go to school in san diego too!

 

[dfung]

Excellent! A fellow San Diegan. 🙂

 

[polkadot]

Since you're not too far from SCCO, you might consider trying to make an appointment to bring in your transcripts and discuss requirements. I've emailed Dawn Bunch there a few times, and she's extremely helpful. I'm a returning student, too, so I met with the admissions person at Berkeley, and she told me the minimum I needed to do to get my application considered. Because you have a few pre-reqs left, you have a good chance of improving your GPA quite a bit. I have also emailed the admissions people at all the schools to which I'm applying and have gotten really good feedback. Good luck!

You can get school contact info and also stats from www.opted.org.

 

[nobodyknows]

Do you mind sharing what the minimum requirements to get your application considered are?

 

[lazgirl24]

I meet with Dawn from SCCO a few weeks ago. She is really nice and very helpful. You should talk to her.

 

[CBRider6RR]

yea im gona try to get in touch with dawn too. ive talked to her on the phone once but i want to see her in person so i know what i have to do for the next 2 years

 

[r_salis]

Since you're so close to the school, definitely go in for a visit with admissions to discuss your situation -- that's what I did when I started looking into returning to school (I was a career-changer, too).

For the most part, I wouldn't worry too much about your undergrad GPA as long as you can ace your pre-reqs.

 

[polkadot]

Do you mind sharing what the minimum requirements to get your application considered are?

Well, my situation is a little unique since I'm returning and have an MS, but for what it's worth:
I was told I would need at least a 350 OAT to be considered for an interview at Berkeley. I believe she used the words "bare minimum". My undergrad GPA was right around 3.0, and I got the feeling that I would need all A's on the rest of my pre-reqs still remaining (4 left when I had met with her). For last year's entering class (2003), 50+ of 60 seats were filled through early acceptance. So, for those of us who don't qualify/didn't submit for early acceptance, that means we're competing for fewer than 10 seats. I was told that the stuff I've done in between undergrad and now are great, but Berkeley is really focused on OAT scores and GPA. Keep in mind too that this is only Berkeley.

Everyone's situation is different, so I hope my experience doesn't change anyone's decision about applying to Berkeley. The admissions folks regularly schedule meetings/tours, so if you're in the area it would probably be a good idea to make an appointment and see what they have to say about your record. Although my meeting wasn't all good news, it did give me a lot of focus about what I needed to be doing (i.e., studying for the OAT!).

- p.dot

 

[Rosanna]

I was told I would need at least a 350 OAT to be considered for an interview at Berkeley. I believe she used the words "bare minimum". My undergrad GPA was right around 3.0, and I got the feeling that I would need all A's on the rest of my pre-reqs still remaining (4 left when I had met with her). For last year's entering class (2003), 50+ of 60 seats were filled through early acceptance. So, for those of us who don't qualify/didn't submit for early acceptance, that means we're competing for fewer than 10 seats. I was told that the stuff I've done in between undergrad and now are great, but Berkeley is really focused on OAT scores and GPA. Keep in mind too that this is only Berkeley.

Everyone's situation is different, so I hope my experience doesn't change anyone's decision about applying to Berkeley. The admissions folks regularly schedule meetings/tours, so if you're in the area it would probably be a good idea to make an appointment and see what they have to say about your record. Although my meeting wasn't all good news, it did give me a lot of focus about what I needed to be doing (i.e., studying for the OAT!).

- p.dot

Hello:

My stats when applying:

OAT-
Total Science: 350
Bio: 360
G Chem: 340
O Chem: 330
Physics: 330
Reading Comp: 310
Quantitative Reasoning: 330
Academic Average: 330

Overall/Science GPA: 3.2

I was accepted into Berkeley although I thought I had no chance. For the entering class of 2003 (which I am a part of), about 25-30 students were early acceptance students. For the entering class of 2004, I know that number is much higher although I'm not sure. Your chances are much higher through early acceptance. I don't think they accepted 50-60 students through pre-acceptance. During the last interview cycle, we had nearly 80+ applicants on the interview day. I'm fairly sure they would not invite THAT many prospective students for an interview if there were only 10 spots in the class available.

OAT and GPA are focused on a lot, but I personally think that your interview will count a lot (IMHO, some people will disagree with me) if you can make it to that stage. Although my grades and OAT scores were a lot lower than two friends who were applying at the same time with me, I was only one that got in (one of my friends was applying with a 3.6GPA and 390 OAT, she was rejected and is now at SUNY - the other had applied with a 3.4GPA and a 360 OAT, he is at SCCO).

For any school, I would say just apply and see what happens. I almost did not apply to Berkeley because of my low stats, but here I am now. =) You'll never know unless you try.

The student affairs office is quite understaffed (we are a public school), so it will be sometimes difficult to get questions answered. However, Sharmila and Dr. Ledesma are quite helpful if you can get through to them on the phone or through e-mail.

Best of luck,

Rosanna

 

[dfung]

Thanks for all the helpful info guys!

I will see if i can get in contact with the admissions/counseling dept at a bunch of the schools. Right now I'm about ready to start looking for optometry offices where i can volunteer or even work part time at. It would give me a greater idea of what it's all about.

I've called various opt practices that I know of through my friends, but have yet to hear anything. I'm currently an engineer and have no health related background. I am extremely capable and have a lot of customer service experience, too. But i dunno if any practice would want to take someone like me. I'm just going to call and find out! Gotta try and rack up as much experience and exposure i can before applying

How'd the rest of you go about gaining pre-admissions experience?

 

[r_salis]

How'd the rest of you go about gaining pre-admissions experience?

I never worked for an optometrist, but I did shadow quite a few. The way I did it was to follow my friends/family to their appointments, which gave me an easy introduction to the doctors I met. I was lucky that the people I went with had a lot of specialty stuff going on -- contacts, keratoconus, pre/post-LASIK, cataract, and regular eye exam -- so I got to see a variety of practice types and specialties.

 

[polkadot]

For the entering class of 2003 (which I am a part of), about 25-30 students were early acceptance students. For the entering class of 2004, I know that number is much higher although I'm not sure. Your chances are much higher through early acceptance. I don't think they accepted 50-60 students through pre-acceptance. During the last interview cycle, we had nearly 80+ applicants on the interview day. I'm fairly sure they would not invite THAT many prospective students for an interview if there were only 10 spots in the class available.

Sharmila probably told me 50+ percent and I thought she meant people were accepted to UCB under the early acceptance program. Sorry to be the distributor of misinformation, and thanks Rosanna for setting it straight.

- p.dot

 

[Tortugabebe]

Rosanna,
I applied to Berkeley on October 18th I think. Is this in time for the early acceptance?

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Rosanna,
I applied to Berkeley on October 18th I think. Is this in time for the early acceptance?

😱

Whoa. This is an OLD thread.