Interviews at Waterloo?

[smellsaCan]

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Has anyone heard anything about scheduling for interviews at Waterloo, aside from internal applicants (Waterloo students)?

Also, the Waterloo website seems to say that an interview is not required to be admitted to the optometry program. Am I interpreting this correctly? Check it out:

"In certain cases, the Admissions Committee may conduct applicant interviews; however, not all applicants will receive an interview. Interviews provide an opportunity to appraise personal qualities which may bear on the applicant's success in the practice of optometry and which are not apparent in academic grades. Not being granted an interview does not adversely affect your chance of being admitted to the Optometry program. Interviews are typically scheduled between March and June of the year of admission, either at the School of Optometry in Waterloo, Ontario, or in various provinces."

Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

 

[SuperSara]

Hey smellsaCan!
I was wondering the same thing! I called Waterloo two weeks ago to ask when they'd be calling for interviews and they said next week. That means they were supposed to have called for interviews this past week. I didn't hear from them, so I figured I was not chosen. I wonder if anyone else has heard (external applicants). I know it says on their site that you can be admitted without an interview, but I would doubt that this happens very often. Maybe I'm making an incorrect assumption though? It's tough, because you can only wait around so long... It's one thing to wait for an interview, but it's another to wonder whether you just weren't called for an interview but will still be accepted. I mean, at least with a school that interviews before admitting, you can have a feel for what direction you're headed in. With Waterloo, you just don't know where you stand. If anybody's heard of external applicants being called for interviews, let us know!
🙂 Sara

Has anyone heard anything about scheduling for interviews at Waterloo, aside from internal applicants (Waterloo students)?

Also, the Waterloo website seems to say that an interview is not required to be admitted to the optometry program. Am I interpreting this correctly? Check it out:

"In certain cases, the Admissions Committee may conduct applicant interviews; however, not all applicants will receive an interview. Interviews provide an opportunity to appraise personal qualities which may bear on the applicant's success in the practice of optometry and which are not apparent in academic grades. Not being granted an interview does not adversely affect your chance of being admitted to the Optometry program. Interviews are typically scheduled between March and June of the year of admission, either at the School of Optometry in Waterloo, Ontario, or in various provinces."

Any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

 

[dragon1761]

have u applied elsewhere? Cause ive been talkin to a lot of peep and they all said that its really hard to get into and they only accept a certain amt of peep in each of the povince in canada. My best advice is to apply to as many place as possible.

 

[Tokey]

To the best of my knowledge, the Admissions commitee members do not go to certain areas of the country, and thus people from those areas do not get interviewed. I know there are people in my class from Newfoundland who did not get interviewed (but still got in). Hope this helps you out! 🙂

 

[tybuff]

Totally forgot to post this...I got called on the 14th to schedule one, i'm going in may 13th at 11:30 am (they're flying two people out to mee with people from 11-3 all day; said it should last ~1/2 hour)

 

[SuperSara]

Congrats! What province are you from?

Totally forgot to post this...I got called on the 14th to schedule one, i'm going in may 13th at 11:30 am (they're flying two people out to mee with people from 11-3 all day; said it should last ~1/2 hour)

 

[tybuff]

Congrats! What province are you from?

Manitoba.

DOes this mean they're interested, fairly interested, or just kinda interested?

 

[caliente]

I think this is how it goes: if they are interviewing in your area, you are offered an interview. Therefore, I would say they are interested (i don't know if it is 'fairly' or 'kinda' interested). If they weren't interested, you won't have received an interview.

Good luck at your interview...

 

[caliente]

Seems like they are starting to notify people about interviews. I think they might do it on a rolling basis since some people may have applied to med school or grad school and will cancel their interviews if they get in.

I got a phone call yesterday to schedule an interview. I'm an Ontario resident just finishing up my 4th year (BScH). She said it would be about 1/2 hr long. Very thankful for this as I had just recently declined an interview at PCO. Whew...

QUESTION: Does anybody know what occurs during the interview? Well...I know there are questions, lol. Also, are there any interview feedback or interview resources for Waterloo Optometry?

 

[caliente]

Seems like they are starting to notify people about interviews. I think they might do it on a rolling basis since some people may have applied to med school or grad school and will cancel their interviews if they get in.

I got a phone call yesterday to schedule an interview. I'm an Ontario resident just finishing up my 4th year (BScH). She said it would be about 1/2 hr long. Very thankful for this as I had just recently declined an interview at PCO. Whew...

QUESTION: Does anybody know what occurs during the interview? Well...I know there are questions, lol. Also, are there any interview feedback or interview resources for Waterloo Optometry?

 

[anchan]

I'm in Alberta and they gave me a ring yesterday to schedule an interview, so ....I guess they are calling around this time for interviews?

Has anyone done an interview with Waterloo before? Any advice for the "n00bs"? haha. I think I could use all the help I can get since my GPA is......rather lacklustre, I was really surprised they even granted me an interview.

 

[tybuff]

I think this is how it goes: if they are interviewing in your area, you are offered an interview. Therefore, I would say they are interested (i don't know if it is 'fairly' or 'kinda' interested). If they weren't interested, you won't have received an interview.

Good luck at your interview...

Thanks, and same to you at yours.

I suppose; I know last year they interviewed 8-10 people in my area, but one of them that I know personally whom received a request was in Europe at the time, so oddly enough another friend filled her spot! He did not get in, but did get the interview experience. Meanwhile, the friend travelling in Europe got in sans interview...so I guess they have an interest.

Given what was stated above about my friend in Europe, how much of an impact does the interview have on your chances?

 

[jefguth]

I'm in Alberta and they gave me a ring yesterday to schedule an interview, so ....I guess they are calling around this time for interviews?

Has anyone done an interview with Waterloo before? Any advice for the "n00bs"? haha. I think I could use all the help I can get since my GPA is......rather lacklustre, I was really surprised they even granted me an interview.

This thread has some recent info from interviews a few months ago, i hope it helps: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=184428&highlight=waterloo

 

[SuperSara]

I spoke to Marie Amodeo yesterday and she said that they just can't interview everybody they'd like to, especially not in Vancouver, BC where there are a ton of people to get through. She said you can still get in without an interview, even if you live in an area where they come to for interviews. I don't know how often this happens but hey, you never know!
😎

To the best of my knowledge, the Admissions commitee members do not go to certain areas of the country, and thus people from those areas do not get interviewed. I know there are people in my class from Newfoundland who did not get interviewed (but still got in). Hope this helps you out! 🙂

 

[caliente]

Wanted to say thanks to jefguth for posting the link to the interview info thread. People here are very helpful and courteous compared to other forums.

Also, just found out it is definitely possible to get into Waterloo without an interview. Was scheduled to interview later in May, but recently got offered "early admission" into Waterloo, so I won't have to interview after all (HUGE sigh of relief there). So, there should be at least one more available interview slot for an Ontario resident! Good luck to all...

 

[jefguth]

Caliente,

You got an early admission??? ....have you submitted all of your final grades for the year? Sorry, that just sounds so weird to me....like... I'm used to UWSO always being soooo retentive!

Did they send u a letter, or call you or what?

Congragulations btw.. 😀

 

[caliente]

Caliente,

You got an early admission??? ....have you submitted all of your final grades for the year? Sorry, that just sounds so weird to me....like... I'm used to UWSO always being soooo retentive!

Did they send u a letter, or call you or what?

Congragulations btw.. 😀

Thanks. I got a call from the office saying I was offered early admission and didn't need to come to my previously scheduled interview. I haven't submitted my final grades yet, but I'm just finishing up my 4th year so I already have all the prereqs (and some of the recommended courses) finished and 3.5 years of grades for them to examine with a microscope, lol. This final semester, I did a research project and only took a few courses. Considering this, I think my file as of now is more "complete" than, say, someone applying from 2nd year, or even 3rd year, despite not having my final grades from this semester (I'll have to wait until after the marks release date at my school to see my final grades). I have a 400 OAT, so that probably helped too. Apparently my research supervisor also wrote me a stellar reference, so I guess I'll have to thank him profusely next week!!

 

[anchan]

Wow, congratulations. I wish I could be offered early admission and not have to worry anymore, haha. But I'm a long shot since I'm only in 3rd year and my GPA is not super stellar or anything, I was even surprised they offered me an interview I thought they would reject me right off the bat. So I think a lot is riding on my interview, hopefully it goes well.

 

[SuperSara]

Just curious, but what do you mean by your GPA not being super stellar? What ballpark are you in?
🙂 Sara

Wow, congratulations. I wish I could be offered early admission and not have to worry anymore, haha. But I'm a long shot since I'm only in 3rd year and my GPA is not super stellar or anything, I was even surprised they offered me an interview I thought they would reject me right off the bat. So I think a lot is riding on my interview, hopefully it goes well.

 

[tybuff]

Wanted to say thanks to jefguth for posting the link to the interview info thread. People here are very helpful and courteous compared to other forums.

Also, just found out it is definitely possible to get into Waterloo without an interview. Was scheduled to interview later in May, but recently got offered "early admission" into Waterloo, so I won't have to interview after all (HUGE sigh of relief there). So, there should be at least one more available interview slot for an Ontario resident! Good luck to all...

congrats!! I'm jealous. mine is coming up friday, and i'm terrified. hopefully, all will go welll....

 

[Fedz]

anybody know if the interviewers have your file in front of them? or is the first question "Tell us about yourself?"

 

[jefguth]

anybody know if the interviewers have your file in front of them? or is the first question "Tell us about yourself?"

Interviews are closed file so that question is likely. Mine opened with, "tell us what u have done to prepare for optometry."

 

[anchan]

Just curious, but what do you mean by your GPA not being super stellar? What ballpark are you in?
🙂 Sara

around B+, which is pretty sad by Canadian standards, but it's not too bad for US schools

 

[tybuff]

allrighty, had my interview today. since this site helpedme out tons, time to give back.

-they have no idea who you are, or what you've done. first question was tell us about your uni schooling, then why optometry, what makes a good optometrist, do you have these qualities and why

-lots on cheating. be prepared for that

-how do you relieve stress

-pros/cons of the profession

-governing bodies, associations, etc

interview only lasted about ~15-20 mins before i asked questions. my questions took easily as long as my portion of the interview, if not longer. I had a male and a female, no accents, both asked questions and responded, both seemed interested in what i had to say, got a couple laughs (which i didn't expect). alot more relaxed than what I have read about. questions are kinda rapid fire though.

hope that helps someone...I'll post it in the other thread too.

 

[anchan]

yep that was the same for me, the questions were pretty rapid fire which i didn't really like.

but i actually don't think i did that well, but i dont' really care because i got into the school in boston so it's not a big deal if i do'nt get into UW

 

[jefguth]

What is everyone who applied to US schools thinking of UW now? My thoughts aren't very favourable anymore...I really believe that most other programs will give us much more clinical exposure and experience. UW is soo much cheaper but I'm concerned that I would now regret going if i get in. Thoughts?

 

[ann7]

YEah, I feel the same way. For example, if we were to go to school in the states, we will have seen over 1000 patients by the time we have graduated. When I was at my interview in Waterloo I asked my interviewer how many patients a Waterloo graduate will have seen. His answer? about 200. That is a HUGE difference!!!! I dont' know.. it just seems that the clinical experience in the states is just so much better. Also, we will probably see more different cases as well as patients from different backgrounds, whereas in Waterloo there is less of a chance of that happening. What does everyone else think?

 

[tybuff]

YEah, I feel the same way. For example, if we were to go to school in the states, we will have seen over 1000 patients by the time we have graduated. When I was at my interview in Waterloo I asked my interviewer how many patients a Waterloo graduate will have seen. His answer? about 200. That is a HUGE difference!!!! I dont' know.. it just seems that the clinical experience in the states is just so much better. Also, we will probably see more different cases as well as patients from different backgrounds, whereas in Waterloo there is less of a chance of that happening. What does everyone else think?

This is most likely true. one of my questions was how well does waterloo prepare you for running your pratice, and doing the daily things (bookkeping hiring, etc) cause one of the grads up here felt he did not get a good learning experience in about that. as for seeing patients, we do what, 3 4 month terms, one at a surgical centre, one in a private practice and one at the waterloo clinic. the surgical centre is most often in the states, due to the fact theyr'e huge and you can see how it operates. for numbers of patients, i am not sure.

I would be confident the quality of education would be on par, if not better than the americans (often have heard from canadians who go down south that school is much more stringent and difficult up here) but the clinical experiences, i have no clue.

still, cost is huge for me. 7K CDN a yr vs what, 15-20K US per year?

 

[tybuff]

YEah, I feel the same way. For example, if we were to go to school in the states, we will have seen over 1000 patients by the time we have graduated. When I was at my interview in Waterloo I asked my interviewer how many patients a Waterloo graduate will have seen. His answer? about 200. That is a HUGE difference!!!! I dont' know.. it just seems that the clinical experience in the states is just so much better. Also, we will probably see more different cases as well as patients from different backgrounds, whereas in Waterloo there is less of a chance of that happening. What does everyone else think?

This is most likely true. one of my questions was how well does waterloo prepare you for running your pratice, and doing the daily things (bookkeping hiring, etc) cause one of the grads up here felt he did not get a good learning experience in about that. as for seeing patients, we do what, 3 4 month terms, one at a surgical centre, one in a private practice and one at the waterloo clinic. the surgical centre is most often in the states, due to the fact theyr'e huge and you can see how it operates. for numbers of patients, i am not sure.

I would be confident the quality of education would be on par, if not better than the americans (often have heard from canadians who go down south that school is much more stringent and difficult up here) but the clinical experiences, i have no clue.

still, cost is huge for me. 7K CDN a yr vs what, 15-20K US per year?

 

[caliente]

Cost is the ultimate factor for me. The tuition and living expenses for a US school are just too high. EVEN IF you accept that a US school would give you more or better "experience", I don't think this increase is worth the extra $$$. That's why I withdrew my application from PCO...I was putting all my eggs in the Canadian basket, so to speak, because the cost as an international student would be near impossible for me to justify at this time in my life. Luckily things turned out well for me this year so I won't have to consider any alternatives. But, if it hadn't, I would have most definitely give US schools serious consideration the next time around.

I agree that the quality of education at UW is probably on par or superior to US schools. Patient contact/exposure may be less at Waterloo, but you'll be able to make up for it for the rest of your career as an optometrist AND I believe the program at UW does adequately prepare you for dealing with patients even though there may be less patient exposure compared to US schools.

Personally, I feel the extra money is a lot to pay. My OD told me not to consider any US schools over UW unless it was UC Berkeley because apparently that school has a good reputation (I only applied to PCO and tend not to like this reputation stuff, but oh well, he gave me a reference so I couldn't argue outright with him, lol).

Basically, UW is the only english OD school in Canada so there is nearly no competition if you want to practice in Canada... does this make any sense to anyone? I know I'm not expression myself as clearly as I should - sorry. Even if UW is somehow subpar (which it IS NOT!), most Canadian patients don't really have a choice since almost all ODs in Canada will be graduates of UW, lol.

 

[xmattODx]

Basically, UW is the only english OD school in Canada so there is nearly no competition if you want to practice in Canada... does this make any sense to anyone? I know I'm not expression myself as clearly as I should - sorry. Even if UW is somehow subpar (which it IS NOT!), most Canadian patients don't really have a choice since almost all ODs in Canada will be graduates of UW, lol.

Except for the vast number of ODs returning to Canada after getting a US education.

 

[caliente]

Except for the vast number of ODs returning to Canada after getting a US education.

Oops, I guess I forgot about this! Is this a recent trend? I haven't personally met any ODs that have been US-educated.

 

[anchan]

It's a lot to pay, but in the end, if Optometry is what you want to do then it's well worth it. I've talked to several Optometrists in my area who went to the US for school and have all said they have no regrets.

While the cost is huge, it's not unbearable, there are alot of loans to help you out and after it's all said and done, Optometrists tend to make a decent salary and it shouldn't be a problem having to pay off your loans. I would have to say that US schools do have several advantages over UW and also their facilities are incredible, Canadian campuses just do not compare to the ones the US.

If UW does end up accepting me......well....it's going to be difficult to make a decision, but the ONLY advantage UW holds is cost, nothign else, but I am almost willing to pay to go the US anyway.

 

[caliente]

Perhaps if I had absolutely no concerns about money, I would consider a US school over UW. UW has a fairly unattractive campus and it would be nice to get away from the awful winters.

However, I have never given the US serious thought because the cost is daunting. Some of us already have massive loans from just undergrad!!

 

[jefguth]

Basically, UW is the only english OD school in Canada so there is nearly no competition if you want to practice in Canada... does this make any sense to anyone? I know I'm not expression myself as clearly as I should - sorry. Even if UW is somehow subpar (which it IS NOT!), most Canadian patients don't really have a choice since almost all ODs in Canada will be graduates of UW, lol.

This would be true, except more than 40% (almost half actually) of the people writing the Canadian licensing exam in recent years are students from US schools. Granted however that their pass rate is lower than UW.

 

[anchan]

Perhaps if I had absolutely no concerns about money, I would consider a US school over UW. UW has a fairly unattractive campus and it would be nice to get away from the awful winters.

However, I have never given the US serious thought because the cost is daunting. Some of us already have massive loans from just undergrad!!

UW honestly looks horrid compared to some of the US schools, not to put UW down, I go to UC and I will be the first to admit it is the saddest excuse for a post-secondary institution possibly in all of Canada. The school in Boston just blew me away and it was beyond anything I could have imagined, some of the US students here may not find it all that impressive, but I was in awe when I went there for the interview and tour, I'm really glad that I was given the chance to attend school there. But most of all I'm just glad I won't have to attend another year of university at UC in the fall (it is seriously that bad).

Fortunately for me my parents have been able to help me out with tuition in undergrad thus far, but it's going to be pretty tight when I go down to the US. Even if I had loans from undergrad I think I would still consider the US, it's really worth it in my opinion, and also tuition in Canada is a joke compared to the US so tacking on another 20-30k from previous student loans to a 200-300k bill for Optometry school wouldn't really make a difference. But I wish you the best with UW and I do hope you get in.

 

[caliente]

UW honestly looks horrid compared to some of the US schools, not to put UW down, I go to UC and I will be the first to admit it is the saddest excuse for a post-secondary institution possibly in all of Canada. The school in Boston just blew me away and it was beyond anything I could have imagined, some of the US students here may not find it all that impressive, but I was in awe when I went there for the interview and tour, I'm really glad that I was given the chance to attend school there. But most of all I'm just glad I won't have to attend another year of university at UC in the fall (it is seriously that bad).

Never been to the optometry school in Boston, but the city is fabulous. Probably has enough things to make anybody happy. Lots of professional sports teams, if you are into that kind of thing. I really like New England, in general, though. And the clam chowder really is good there!

Following cost, location/city is definitely the second criterion I use for schools. I know some people may say this is stupid, that I should be using quality of education, class size, etc., but I'm not affected adversely by small or large classes and I'm not aiming for "top quality", if such a thing even exists.

I'm almost positive you will enjoy life in Boston, should you decide to go. I actually have always been drawn to Boston in particular, so I'm starting to get jealous...