Is Southern California College of Optometry easy to get into?

[phuongle2]

Hi,
I'm interesting in SCCO, because it is the easier school of the two in California. Is it easy to get into that school? Also, do optometry schools prefer residents over nonresidents? I look at the statistics of the 2004 entering class and it seems that optometry schools prefer residents over nonresidents. Also, do we need different application for each school? (Different essay for each school) All the schools need optometry experiences right, how did you guys get those experiences. I was aiming for pharmacy but pharmacy schools are getting so competitive. Thank you for your help.

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[heretic]

Easy and hard are relative, and it's really dependent on your stats and experiences. If you go strictly by numbers, then SCCO is "easier" to get into than Berkeley.

SCCO is a private school, so I don't think they have a bias toward CA residents.

Each school has its own application with its own set of essay questions. Although they will all ask why you want to go to optometry school (see last point).

Yes, all schools would definetely like to see optometry experience. They wouldn't want someone that freezes up when they need to interact with a patient. Also it's good to have an idea of what the profession is all about. Personally, I just asked my optometrist if I could take him out to lunch and talk about optometry because I was considering applying. From there he offered to let me work in his office for awhile. My undergrad school also had summer and school year research programs that you could apply to, so I applied to an optometry one and got it. Joining the preoptometry club at your school is also a start, they will have ideas about how to get involved, and sometimes recruiters will visit.

If you decide to pursue optometry, definetely don't say you want to do it because you used to be pre pharm, but it's too competitive. That wouldn't be a good angle to take on an essay or at an interview.

Hope this helps.

 

[J.opt]

...I was aiming for pharmacy but pharmacy schools are getting so competitive...

I had never thought about it, but are pharmacy schools more competitive than optometry schools? Is there an admissions test for pharm schools? (just wondering)