Is it too late? (Waterloo)

[private246]

Yes, another one of these threads. I'm totally confused as to what to do.

My main goal is Waterloo, but I will also be applying to the States. As of now I just finished junior year and I am still searching for shadowing experience with an optometrist (I have plenty of shadowing with an ophthalmologist). After looking at Waterloo, and a few State schools I will still need to take a few courses to meet the prereqs.

When do applications for the entry year of 2014-2015 start? I am planning to write the OAT during August/September, but Waterloo states that "For September 2014 admission applications, OAT scores must be taken from August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2013." This would mean that I would have to change the date before July 31st.

Would it be better to apply for the 2015-2016 year meaning I would take a year to finish some prereqs and getting LORs, and taking the OAT at a later date for more time to study? Or squeeze in the OAT before July 31st?

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[chb64]

Hey! I am also applying to Waterloo this year and I don't think its too late at all. I am in a similar boat, I sort of just started looking into optometry, and am a bit of a noob - still looking for some optometry shadowing. However, if you can get in some decent hours (I think ~40 should be good, which is manageable for the remainder of this summer), then I think you can still get a decent LOR, though obviously the longer you've been shadowing/working with the optometrist in question, the stronger your letter will be (if they like you!).

As for OAT - how's your background knowledge for that? Have you taken first year chem/physics/bio/orgo? If so, you can probably squeeze it in for July 31st. I am writing mine on that exact day lol. But if you feel like it is too unmanageable/unbearable, then perhaps its best to wait another year.

Good luck.