Grades in Optometry School- please give honest feedback

[kkwngl]

I’m a second year opto student and was wondering how relevant my grades and GPA are if I want a job after scho ( not considering residency)
I started off decent with a 3.5 GPA but as time went on, I currently have a 2.9 GPA. I feel pretty inadequate in school, and have even gone as far as reconsidering my decision to join the program.
current ODs, did your GPA matter? Do Cs really get degrees? Is it ok that I’m just trying to get through school, or should I try to aim for joining honor society programs like BSK? I know I have to kill boards, and I plan to work really hard to do that. But what about my GPA? Any insight would be helpful.

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[KHE]

Your grades will not matter for employment in most instances.

What will matter much more is your ability to get along with staff. Your ability to make patients comfortable and your ability to generate revenue for the practice you are working in.

 

[E_wen]

If you don’t care about residency then grades done matter, as long as you feel prepared for boards. It’s more on yourself to work towards being as good of a doctor as you care to be. That doesn’t necessarily correlate with GPA but do what you need to feel good about your skills as a doctor.

 

[AcademicEyes]

No one will ask about your grades, but your grades may reflect your understanding of what you need to know to provide care to your patients. I would say it depends on where you plan to work and what kind of patients you think you’ll be seeing.

 

[maisv]

Cs do really get degrees, just pass boards !! I also struggled during my 1st year of optometry school, it was all my fault really, I could've studied more and had a hard time adjusting to living hours away from from home. I think my GPA was 2.8 or something pathetic. It'll get better when you go to clinic 3rd and 4th year. I got lucky and all of my preceptors were chill so I got all A's for my clinic scores which were like 20 something credit hours. Also helps that I truly enjoy being in clinic and seeing patients so that might be it too. I think I walked away from optometry school with a smacking 3.0 lol and guess what , my now employer didn't even care about my GPA during our interview, at all !!

 

[chelle111]

I’m a second year opto student and was wondering how relevant my grades and GPA are if I want a job after scho ( not considering residency)
I started off decent with a 3.5 GPA but as time went on, I currently have a 2.9 GPA. I feel pretty inadequate in school, and have even gone as far as reconsidering my decision to join the program.
current ODs, did your GPA matter? Do Cs really get degrees? Is it ok that I’m just trying to get through school, or should I try to aim for joining honor society programs like BSK? I know I have to kill boards, and I plan to work really hard to do that. But what about my GPA? Any insight would be helpful.

BSK is worthless - I have classmates who graduated with 2.8-3.0 area, still pass all boards first attempt, and have better jobs and earning than some of my classmates with had 3.5+. Focus on having a strong well rounded CV/resume. Network. Network. Network. If you are wanting to do residency - I would encourage you to increase your GPA to at least a 3.0 however if you are fairly well rounded and have good NBEO scores - I don't think you should rule residency out! Goodluck!