Grades. What are my chances of being accepted?

[mupreopt]

I am currently taking pre-optometry classes at my university.
I started college doing very well (A and B) including some of my genereral science couse such as general biology and general chemistry. However, here are some of my bad grades:

Calculas: 1st time: F
Calculas: 2nd time: C
Cell Biology: C
Genetics: C
Organic Chemistry I: 1st time: withdrawed (took too many classes and was overwhelmed)
Organic Chemistry I: 2nd time: F
Organic Chemistry I: 3rd time: withdrawed (different reason than 1st. summer school, 1 month course)
Organic Chemistry I: 4th try: currently taking but may get an F due to procrastinating.

I will probably take a break from college in spring 2008 to get a job to pay a certain college expense and also to study and catch up and refresh my mind. I will return in fall 2008. When I return and if I start doing good from that point foward (A and B grades), what are my chances of getting into optometry school?
I don't want to switch to a non-science major because I really want to be an optometrist and can't see myself doing anything else.

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[eyestrain]

Even if you managed to get into optometry school, would you be able to cut it? It seems like you're having a hard time just getting through college. Not a good sign.

 

[artiSUN]

Doing well in your science curriculum is kinda important since you're gonna go from taking these science courses into the same type of courses in optometry school especially your first year...

And taking the same O. Chem class a fourth time and doing poorly STILL due to procrastination doesn't inspire confidence in your academic ability.

Still, should you be able to replace those grades with A's and B's and pull your science GPA up to an acceptable level, then you may have a chance. But I would suggest doing some GPA calculations and figuring out what you need and checking which schools (i think most) have you include all your F's and re-takes in the calculations. If you can recover from these in a reasonably acceptable time frame for yourself, then go for it. But make sure when you do start up classes again, your results reflect a stronger academic drive.... if it's still a bit shaky, it'll be hard convincing schools you'd be able to handle their curriculum.

 

[sharpshooter24]

I am currently taking pre-optometry classes at my university.
I started college doing very well (A and B) including some of my genereral science couse such as general biology and general chemistry. However, here are some of my bad grades:

Calculas: 1st time: F
Calculas: 2nd time: C
Cell Biology: C
Genetics: C
Organic Chemistry I: 1st time: withdrawed (took too many classes and was overwhelmed)
Organic Chemistry I: 2nd time: F
Organic Chemistry I: 3rd time: withdrawed (different reason than 1st. summer school, 1 month course)
Organic Chemistry I: 4th try: currently taking but may get an F due to procrastinating.

I will probably take a break from college in spring 2008 to get a job to pay a certain college expense and also to study and catch up and refresh my mind. I will return in fall 2008. When I return and if I start doing good from that point foward (A and B grades), what are my chances of getting into optometry school?
I don't want to switch to a non-science major because I really want to be an optometrist and can't see myself doing anything else.

well my friend , you had the same problem i had.. i worked 40+ hours a week to get money to finish college. i am one of the few people in my family that finished college. for the reason of my undergrad GPA not being so good, i am doing a masters degree in biomedical sciences. i have only one C in this program and will have a 3.44 grad GPA by the end of december. i was taking graduate level courses in biochem, physio, neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, histology. i basically did my first 2 years of any health professional program . i took 10-14 grad credits per semester.. if you cant handle undergrad, what makes you think you can handle the grad program i am in let alone optometry school.

i need you to forget about some of the noobs here and listen close to what i am saying because i know all about both ends of the field, doing well and doing poorly. stop worrying about how many bad grades you have because you seem depressed like i was back then. focus on learning, what learning is all about, learn your materials well, and you will succeed. dont worry about GPA's OATs' MCAT's DAT's and all that crap. let the admisssions committee people deal with that.

i am going to give you one free lesson that i have learned as a graduate student. you decide what to do with this lesson. here it is --read below.

focus on learning, focus on loving what you do, master your craft to become a master. there is a big freaking, huge, big, ( any adjative you want to add), difference between having the stats for a professional school and being prepared for professional school. what good is it to have a killer GPA , killer OAT' MCAT and going to professional school only to have poor grades and getting kicked out. NOVA is real nice where they let you take a make up. other schools will flush you down the toilet. that is why i say to people who want this buisiness to get a masters in biomedical sciences somewhere. its worth it. is it an assurance of acceptance... hell no. but it makes you respectable in front of the admissions dudes. think m8 about your options,

 

[artiSUN]

LoL sharpshooter, I feel like this is some sort of computer gaming forum w/ you using the word "noob" so often. Anyway, you make a good point about focusing on learning and forgetting about stats. You can do that to some extent but the harsh reality is that most schools do initially focus on stats and if they're not atleast on par with what they consider acceptable, then your priority gets pushed back a ton. Some schools are a little more forgiving than others so you'd have to do your HW on which ones those are. You can recover from any setback your undergrad GPA may cause, but it's just a matter of effort and time you're willing to commit. I'm impressed with your dedication, sharpshooter, as you've definitely put in a ton of effort into furthering your education and immersing yourself in the field. Ideally, committing yourself primarily to learning and enjoying what you do will in itself result in much better grades, so it'd be best if you can focus on that.

But make sure you get an idea of exactly what you need to recover from bad grades. It's nice to be idealistic but also be realistic. Know what you need, then meet or exceed it. In sharpshooter's case, he did a lot more than most people do to overcome his undergrad GPA, but that just shows his dedication. If you don't think you can do the same, it's ok, but atleast set out a realistic plan for yourself after evaluating your situation that way you aren't surprised by anything later down the line.

 

[mupreopt]

These are two of my problems:

1.) Procrastination: I am on the computer alot and it can get addicting. This takes up alot of time. However, this can be fixed by being more discipline.

2.) This problem is a little more difficult to deal with. I can't read. Let me rephrase. I can read. However, when I read, I get very tired and sleepy and can't concentrate on what I am reading. I can read only one to two page before getting tired.

 

[Chrissy7]

hey I'm the same way, if i just read I'll fall asleep. So what I do is write stuff down, it helps a lot and actually wakes you up. Or I'll try to make a diagram of what I'm reading. Try it it might work.

 

[JeffChou]

These are two of my problems:

1.) Procrastination: I am on the computer alot and it can get addicting. This takes up alot of time. However, this can be fixed by being more discipline.

2.) This problem is a little more difficult to deal with. I can't read. Let me rephrase. I can read. However, when I read, I get very tired and sleepy and can't concentrate on what I am reading. I can read only one to two page before getting tired.

Sounds familiar. I understand what your situation is, I was similar before I committed to optometry.

Problem 1) Fix it. I have spent hours renaming .mp3s instead of writing papers and suffered the consequences. Procrastination is a matter of habit but it can be changed.

Problem 2) First, go to an optometrist to make sure your eyes are properly working. Who knows, maybe it's a problem with your visual system. In the likely case that it is not, force yourself to read.

I can't recommend with anything with authority, because I am still in undergrad, but I will tell you what I think.

Multiple Fs are terrible for your GPA, of course, and look very negative on your transcript, but I know that being a bad student doesn't mean you can't handle the material. If you're serious about optometry, then a serious change in your study habits is in order.

I'll be honest with you, I passed the AP calculus test with a 5 (it was a joke compared to my HS teacher's final exam), but retook multivariable calculus multiple times in college. It wasn't because I couldn't understand the concepts or do the work, I just didn't choose to when I should've. I realized that the only thing I was doing in college was wasting tuition money and my own time. The truth is, if you're not committed to being a student, you should not be going to school. When I got the fact that college is optional through my thick skull, my efforts in college grew to match the harvest I expected for my OWN future.

IF, you do get serious about optometry, you must realize that your intelligence isn't what they are looking for, it is the outcome of your work (transcript!) because you won't get through opt school by saying "I'm smart!" without proving it.

That said, if you do get straight A's and B's from now on, my OPINION is that you do have a chance at an interview worth going for. You are going to be going up against people who have had a good GPA all the time, so you will need to prove your competence and committment beyond a doubt to the admissions committees. There will be no pity parade. This is as much a mental challenge as it is an academic one.

Good luck to the both of us,
Jeff

 

[artiSUN]

Well said Jeff. I was about to say something similar.

I wasn't the best student in undergrad. I procrastinated (late night gaming, not knowing there was a midterm the next day) and barely cracked any text books. When I did, I fell asleep too. However, I was an engineer student and to me bio and chem texts seem a bit more interesting than text books on programming code and transistor fabrication So after working a few years and deciding to switch to optometry, I was a bit worried about going back to school especially with a sub-par performance in undergrad. However, that fear drove me to be much more studious and the fact that I took extra time to decide for myself what I wanted to do, gave me greater motivation to succeed. I was lucky in that optometry schools don't care about my poor grades in engineering classes, so they only focused on my improved science grades taken at the local community college. It also helps that you are able to show you've become a much better, more disciplined student.

So there is hope, but you need to first motivate yourself enough to overcome your current problems and get your act together. If you feel you'll only do further damage to your science GPA, take a break. Jeff is right, college is optional. So continue when you know you are better focused on your goals and capable of dedicating more effort to your classes. Straight A's and B's (mostly A's) will help. But again, do the calculations and figure out how many A's and B's you need in order to offset your C's and F's so that your GPA is at least acceptable. A number of the GPA calculations have you include the previous grades as well as the re-takes, so they're not simply replaced. This means you have to take several more related courses (not sure if you can just take any class ) and do well in them to make up for one F. It won't be easy, but if you're willing to put in the work and dedication and able to pull those grades up, you'll be fine. good luck!