How do I look as a candidate?

[steviey2493]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hello everyone, new here and might be a bit of a long read, but just wondering what you think of my situation/how I look to get into optometry school.

I graduated as a Biology major, with a chemistry minor. I took every elective you could basically imagine listed on the majority of the school's websites. I graduated with a 3.23 overall GPA and a 2.95 in the sciences.

I am taking my OAT in August, and lets ASSUME I get the average-ish, a 300 or so.

The schools I am applying to are PCO, Nova, NECO, Western U, Ferris State, SCCO, and Massachusetts School of Health Sciences&pharmacy.

With that being said, I am really thinking of going back to school for a semester to do 2 or 3 retakes to get rid of a "C" and a "C+" in biology classes, pushing my GPA around a 3.3.

For extra stuff to put on my application, I shadowed an optometrist a few times, had a couple of semesters on the deans/presidents list, volunteer for a non-profit breast cancer organization, and was the captain of my rec hockey team.

So to those schools, with a 3.3 GPA and somewhere around a 300 on the OAT, how would that look?

THANK YOU for any input!👍

 

[PinkCupcake]

You will certainly get a reply from the unaccredited schools that are in need of students (though I wouldn't recommend attending any school that is not fully accredited). As for the accredited schools, that's an entirely different story.

Optometry is incredibly science-heavy. A 2.95 sGPA is not going to look impressive or give confidence to the admissions panel that is trying to admit the strongest candidates possible to ensure their pass rates are high and their school continues to look attractive for future prospective students.I would highly recommend re-taking some of your science classes to raise your GPA.

If you applied with your current GPA and had an average OAT score (let's say, 300) I'm not sure how you would fare because some schools demand a certain score be achieved in each area (or overall), some schools overlook certain sections because they feel like they aren't relevant, and some schools may overlook a bad score in certain areas if your GPA is really high in those areas (I heard from several interviewers this past cycle that physics scores were low across the board (I'm talking below the 300 mark on average) so they weren't being as strict with physics scores as they were in past years and looked more at physics grades). It's best to check out the average OAT scores that students were admitted with in past years for the schools you are interested in and to shoot for those averages to ensure you have a shot at the schools you really want to go to.

I would also advise you to apply early. You have a better chance of being admitted into a school with lower stats if you apply early. Late in the cycle when there are fewer seats to go around schools are going to only take those students with high stats across the board rather than those with mediocre ones.

Good luck!

 

[steviey2493]

You will certainly get a reply from the unaccredited schools that are in need of students (though I wouldn't recommend attending any school that is not fully accredited). As for the accredited schools, that's an entirely different story.

Optometry is incredibly science-heavy. A 2.95 sGPA is not going to look impressive or give confidence to the admissions panel that is trying to admit the strongest candidates possible to ensure their pass rates are high and their school continues to look attractive for future prospective students.I would highly recommend re-taking some of your science classes to raise your GPA.

If you applied with your current GPA and had an average OAT score (let's say, 300) I'm not sure how you would fare because some schools demand a certain score be achieved in each area (or overall), some schools overlook certain sections because they feel like they aren't relevant, and some schools may overlook a bad score in certain areas if your GPA is really high in those areas (I heard from several interviewers this past cycle that physics scores were low across the board (I'm talking below the 300 mark on average) so they weren't being as strict with physics scores as they were in past years and looked more at physics grades). It's best to check out the average OAT scores that students were admitted with in past years for the schools you are interested in and to shoot for those averages to ensure you have a shot at the schools you really want to go to.

I would also advise you to apply early. You have a better chance of being admitted into a school with lower stats if you apply early. Late in the cycle when there are fewer seats to go around schools are going to only take those students with high stats across the board rather than those with mediocre ones.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! That is why I am going to go back for a semester I think (leaning towards 90%), so my sciences will be around a 3.13-3.15ish (if I do as well as I hope on retakes) and an overall of 3.31-3.33ish.

How do those stack up you think? I am applying in December when the re-takes are done also!

 

[steviey2493]

I read someone with 20 hours of shadowing, a 2.9 in the sciences and a 3.2 overall got into Nova (my first choice). Their OAT was a TS 310 if I remember correctly. Gives me hope lol, after re-takes I would be higher than that.

 

[PinkCupcake]

I think you'll fine with those stats to get into NOVA. I may be wrong (anyone from NOVA/interviewed at NOVA correct me if I am), but I think NOVA is the one school that requires As in every course or they kick you out/make you repeat a year. If this is indeed the case then be prepared to handle that pressure.

I can't offer any personal advice about the other schools because I applied only the schools in the Midwest (family nearby and no desire to head to the west coast). Just stay away from MCPHS (unaccredited, only on their second year of operation).

 

[steviey2493]

I think you'll fine with those stats to get into NOVA. I may be wrong (anyone from NOVA/interviewed at NOVA correct me if I am), but I think NOVA is the one school that requires As in every course or they kick you out/make you repeat a year. If this is indeed the case then be prepared to handle that pressure.

I can't offer any personal advice about the other schools because I applied only the schools in the Midwest (family nearby and no desire to head to the west coast). Just stay away from MCPHS (unaccredited, only on their second year of operation).

Okay thanks for the tip, I applied there but maybe Ill pay the fee and send my scores to a couple other schools that are accredited. Didn't realize they were THAT new. I've read mixed things on NOVA, some say that is true and some say it isn't, so I have no idea. I guess calling and asking is the best way to find out!