How much money did you spend on optometry school related events this year?

[longlashes]

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[ttn003]

I spent around 1,200...could be more...that includes application fees, OAT, review books, topscore, transcripts, reference file system, cost of distribution of letters, flight ticket, hotel, car rental....foood...haha....it's all worth it when u get into a school =)

 

[IDoctor]

i applied to about 10 schools. but:

Kaplan : ~1100$ (had a student organization discount)
OAT: 264$ (it was +15$ for each additional school after 5 for me)
travel: ~2000$ flights + hotel + other travel (from west coast to east for 4 different interviews)
applications: ~$500 (estimating about 50$ per app)
school's prehealth committee file : ~250$
sending transcripts all over the place: ~100-200$

Getting into the school I wanted: PRICELESS

 

[luckyfool]

So for those of you who have applied, interviewed, and accepted, how much money did you spend total on application fees, OATs, Kaplan class, traveling, etc.?

I have spent almost 1K so far!

I can't believe they raised the price for the OAT. It is now $195. To reschedule is $10 each time. Each additional school is $25 (used to be $10). God, they think we're made out of money! I don't have parents that throw cash at me, I have to work for every single penny! argh

I spent close to $200 this year.
I feel your pain longlashes. I also had to pay the expenses out of my own pocket. Just think of the expenses as an investment in yourself.

 

[aam0050]

I estimate that I've spent about $2500. Food, gas, travel to TN & PA, apps, OAT, KAPLAN! Ack!

 

[carizma12]

omg.. ridiculous...

OAT ~ $200
applications $500
transcripts ~$150
pco interview $1200
nova interview $800
neco/ico interviews $900
deposits (so far) $250


im broke

 

[longlashes]

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[luckyfool]

Hey luckyfool,

$200 is not bad at all unless you meant $2,000...

well, I live in NYC, and I only applied to SUNY. If you take into account of SUNY's app fee ($75?) and other misc transcript fees, it comes out to about 200 bucks.

 

[yvipine]

i would say about over 4k

Kaplan ~ $1000
OAT times 2 ~ $500
Transcripts to 9 schools ~ $80
Applications to 6 schools ~ $385
Express mail expenses ~ $60
Suit attire, etc ~ $500
Travel,stay, car rental etc ~ $1000
Deposit - $1000

 

[ODduck]

I haven't spent as much as any of you, however I didn't even think about it when I took out loans for this year, so I had to take out an extra one just to finish the year out at my undergrad school.

 

[KHE]

I haven't spent as much as any of you, however I didn't even think about it when I took out loans for this year, so I had to take out an extra one just to finish the year out at my undergrad school.

Most of you are probably full time students and therefore not making that much money but for many people those expenses can be deductable on your tax returns and some of them may be deductable on your parents returns.
It might be worth spending some money for 1/2 hour with a good CPA.

 

[amitakrutonz]

How are people coming up with all this money...???
i am just curious.

 

[Colonel Mitchel]

It sounds like a lot of you took the Kaplan course. Do you think it was worth it?

 

[Canadian26]

This is the reason why my Visa is maxed... I cant even count (i dont want to cause I think i'll cry)

 

[aam0050]

How are people coming up with all this money...???
i am just curious.

I'm married and my husband works full-time so he paid for it. I also work (only part-time though) and applied after I graduated from college.. so it was not as stressful as applying as a full-time student!

 

[yvipine]

How are people coming up with all this money...???
i am just curious.

i graduated from undergrad last year and am currently employed. so yup, all of that paid out of my own pocket some help would've been nice

 

[Exphesh]

I spent at least $2500 - 3000 total for apps., matriculation, travel, food, oat prep, oat, and transcript requests. But my wife came with me to my interviews. 4 interviews total and that includes doing 2 interviews on back to back days during one trip to save money. We paid for it by eating ramen and taking out the max financial aid possible for this year. But I was accepted at 3 of the schools and therefore didn't apply to two other schools I was in contact with. It was worth it to get a better feel for the different schools.

 

[vendetta319]

Yea, the optometry school process is expensive, but well worth it. I pay for everything myself and work 20hrs/wk as a full time student. I definitely saved money by NOT going the Kaplan route and requesting fee waivers.

OAT ~ $180
Examkrackers Review books - $110
Topscore OAT cd - $40
Transcripts (7) - $42
Application fee - $135, applied to 3 schools, with a fee waiver from Berkeley
Hotel (3 nights in NYC) - $300
Airfare (roundtrip NYC + roundtrip SoCal) - $400
Ground transportation (shuttle, taxi, subway in NYC + SoCal)- $100

Total = $1,300
but I also stayed longer in NYC than most ppl for a mini vacation with my bf, so it was actually $80/night + tax. With a one night stay, it'd be around $1,100 or less total.

 

[soupey]

haha oh man new york bent me over pretty good, between boston and new york with all associated OAT, transcript, and other random fees and prices ive spent a bit over 2 grand.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

OAT Test: $205.00 (with 1 test reschedule)
Kaplan OAT Review: $15.00
Application fee: $50.00
Transcript fees (5 total): $12.00
Prepaid envelopes for Letters of Recommendation(7): ~$7.00
Gas to PCO from Baltimore: $25.00
Toll fares: $7.50
Two coffees: $3.00
Pack of smokes, Snickers bar, and some teriyaki beef jerky: $8.00
Lucky Rabbitt's foot: $2.69 from a bum in N. Philly

All the books and test prep materials - paid for previously, borrowed a Physics book from friend.

So, maybe about $300 dollars total.

Pending acceptance, I will take that 2-3 grand I saved and do some traveling this summer (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Mongolia, China and back to the US through Canada)