lay it on me...

[geoffrey11]

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I am now a second semester jr and I have to say I have some pretty insane stories about why my grades are the way they are but without going into detail I wanted to know what my chances are of getting accepted into any of the optometry schools. I have almost entirely straight C+s in my science classes with the exception of a B in gen chem 1 and 2.

Freshman year I wanted to go to med school but like any freshman I was caught up in the social scene and my first college gpa started low. The second semester I came back and was ready to work hard, long story short I missed 5 weeks of school with a strange intestinal problem that to this day has caused me to miss class, work and overall has really set me back academically. Not to mention other obstacles that have caused me to miss classes and set me back as well as a recently diagnosed learning disability.

With all of that aside I have to say I certainly put in the time and do all of my work and I usually have a good enough handle on the subjects to where I can help out others and just when you think that I would be the one with the top test grades in the class it turns out that I have horrible test anxiety and generally score in the B/C range no matter what exam I take or how much time I put into studying.

Now 3 years into college I am extremely frustrated but I need some direction. I just dont really know what to do next. I have had the absolute worst luck during my college career and if I were to sit and tell you every twist and turn you would not believe the crazy s**t I have been through. I dont even think that the admissions office of any school would even believe the insanity that is my life.

Anyway to wrap up this tremendous post I would like to ask what you think about applying to optometry school, I am very aware with a gpa around 2.7 I cannot get into med school but I have been flirting with the idea of doing some type of masters program and then applying to med school? Again I just am not sure what to do. Thoughts on any of this?

 

[hurricaneuro]

Optometry should not be a back up for med-school. I didn't hear anything in that post about wanting to do optometry since you were a kid or shadowing an optometrist or even if you were remotely interested in the eyes.

Not to be rude, but if you want to go to med school, do the work, probably have to re-take your pre-reqs with a post bac, and then apply to med school. Don't potentially take away the spot from someone who REALLY wants this.

 

[KHE]

I am now a second semester jr and I have to say I have some pretty insane stories about why my grades are the way they are but without going into detail I wanted to know what my chances are of getting accepted into any of the optometry schools. I have almost entirely straight C+s in my science classes with the exception of a B in gen chem 1 and 2.

Freshman year I wanted to go to med school but like any freshman I was caught up in the social scene and my first college gpa started low. The second semester I came back and was ready to work hard, long story short I missed 5 weeks of school with a strange intestinal problem that to this day has caused me to miss class, work and overall has really set me back academically. Not to mention other obstacles that have caused me to miss classes and set me back as well as a recently diagnosed learning disability.

With all of that aside I have to say I certainly put in the time and do all of my work and I usually have a good enough handle on the subjects to where I can help out others and just when you think that I would be the one with the top test grades in the class it turns out that I have horrible test anxiety and generally score in the B/C range no matter what exam I take or how much time I put into studying.

Now 3 years into college I am extremely frustrated but I need some direction. I just dont really know what to do next. I have had the absolute worst luck during my college career and if I were to sit and tell you every twist and turn you would not believe the crazy s**t I have been through. I dont even think that the admissions office of any school would even believe the insanity that is my life.

Anyway to wrap up this tremendous post I would like to ask what you think about applying to optometry school, I am very aware with a gpa around 2.7 I cannot get into med school but I have been flirting with the idea of doing some type of masters program and then applying to med school? Again I just am not sure what to do. Thoughts on any of this?

1) Everyone has a sob story to tell. Yours is no different.

2) The only thing you can do is to take as many upper level science courses as you can, do as well as you can and get your GPA up over 3.00. Take the OAT and do as well as you possibly can.

3) You need to have a sincere soul searching session with yourself. You should not be pursuing optometry because you couldn't get into medical school and optometry school is "good enough." That's a recipe for 40 years of misery.

 

[geoffrey11]

Thanks, you were right I did not mention that from the start I wanted to go to med school to do ophthalmology. I have worked as a tech in several different settings and shadowed different types of optometrists and sat in on more then 5 different eye surgeries. Trust me I have been around this most of my life and I enjoy it. Even now, I am being trained by an optician so I can see yet another aspect of eye care. If I were to apply and they would ask what I have done I have about 5 years of work I could talk about. Again, if I went to med school, it would be to specialize in ophthalmology because I think the surgery aspect of it is a way of the future. So eye care is what I want to do I just want to find the best way to do it. I feel that optometry school is academically the smarter choice for me.

I have taken some of my science classes a second time around and the only improvement I got on the few I did retake was something stupid like a C- changed to a C+ but now they are both still on the transcript and I was taking around 18 credits a semester and my non science classes were suffering because of the time commitments so I was told to stop doing that.

 

[Taven7755]

You are asking for straight answers, so that is what I will try to do…

1) You have ZERO chance of getting into a reputable opt school, med school, dentistry, etc…with a much of anything near a 2.7. You will need to bring this pre-req GPA up. I suggest retaking some of the classes that you did poorly in. This shows commitment.

2) After bringing up your GPA, you must obliterate the OAT, DAT, MCAT…whatever you choose. An average score will get you nowhere.

3) I’m not trying to be mean-spirited here…but what makes you believe that you can do any of these options? TEST ANQUIETY!!!! You telling me you’re thinking about any medical program when you are a consistently poor test-taker is like me telling you I want to be a marine biologist, but that I am deathly afraid of deep water. Med school (opt, dentistry, law, you name it) is ALL TESTS. Whatever is wrong, you’d better fix it. Otherwise, think of something else to do with your life besides medicine.

4) Outside of close friends, do not tell people the reasons behind your performance, ever… again, I am only saying what many people are thinking. I do not know of anyone that has gone into any of this and had it totally easy. Everyone has life throw stuff in your face, and we all accept that it is the ability to perform despite all of this that sets anyone apart. ( A guy I knew was diag with Hodgekins lymphoma, had 2 years of chemo, lost both sisters in a car accident, and had to pay his own way through undergrad…and he’s been at Miami med school for 2 years now) I’m not being mean, just letting you know that everyone has a story, and most of them are tough. Normal people don’t choose medicine. Most of us are masochists.

5) Going the post-bac route to improve your GPA and doing med school is generally a bad idea. There are a lot of posts about this on the med school forums. You WILL NOT get straight A’s in 500/600 level bio courses, and you run the risk of wasting a lot of time. If you are really serious about this, spend a year retaking your classes (to the tune of about 20 hours of classes) and blast your MCAT/OAT/DAT. If you can’t get straight A’s doing this, get out while you’re ahead.

6) If you’re not already shadowing or working in medicine, you’d best start. Having one year of work in the field (assuming you’re not working in it and you start now) will put you behind 90 percent of your competitors. Low GPA plus below average experience puts too much pressure on your test scores…

7) The worst thing you could do would be to get into something you’re unsure of. Whatever you choose, it will make you miserable, at least for awhile. Going in half- hearted is the reason most people fail.

8) I wish you the best of luck…I’m just trying to stop you from wasting your time.

 

[blysssful]

I have taken some of my science classes a second time around and the only improvement I got on the few I did retake was something stupid like a C- changed to a C+ but now they are both still on the transcript and I was taking around 18 credits a semester and my non science classes were suffering because of the time commitments so I was told to stop doing that.

I definitely understand that some semesters are harder than others, especially when personal lives are factored in. However, what makes you think you'll be able to survive ANY professional school if the best you can do in the pre-reqs is a C+/B? You need to realize that when you get to medical or optometry school, you will be in a class full of students who are determined and bright (hopefully, anyway). If you can't keep up with your undergrad classmates, who probably have a broad range of futures ahead of them, how will you be able to keep up with people who may be smarter and more determined than you in professional school?

 

[Oogilily]

I feel that optometry school is academically the smarter choice for me.

I'm sorry, but with that much struggle with pre-reqs, you will not do well in optometry school, especially academically. Opt school is NOT easier than undergrad. It is tough work! I don't know why people who do so poorly in undergrad think that it will get better in optometry school. You will be taking 20+ credit hours a semester. Do you have any idea what that is like? We have already had a couple of people drop out in the first semester. it is intense. I think you should rethink your carrer path or seriously pull your grades up (which is going to be tough), no matter your situation.

 

[mrfunnyman]

Agreeing with the posters above,
you need to get a hold on your "crazy s**t" before you even think of applying anywhere. You seem to be having a rough time already, why add so much more stress with med/opt school on top of that?

 

[gochi]

The only reason why OD school is easier than undergrad is due to the types of courses. In undergrand, you can take a whole bunch of bullsh*t courses, whereas in OD school you are taking specific, targeted courses.

So in other words, its hard to be focused/determined in undergrad compared to OD school, which is why some people have poor GPA's in undergrad.

 

[Absolute Vision]

Unfortunately with all of your personal health and academic problems, it will be a very long and difficult road ahead of you if you want to further pursue a career in either medicine or optometry. I agree with others that you will DEFINITELY have difficulty with professional/graduate school if you cannot handle undergrad pre-req/work. Also, you'll definitely need to improve your test taking skills to successfully complete either the MCAT or OAT...and all of the future board exams. What concerns me most is that you are still considering a career in optometry, since you mentioned that you believe the future of eye care is SURGERY....if that's your belief as the major way of eye care/treatment, then you should focus on becoming an eye surgeon (OMD), and stop convincing yourself that optometry is the way to go. Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[itek2OD]

Decide what you want to do, then go for it all the way. Everything above this post is true. It is difficult to find post-baccs to improve science grades. Good luck on that. It may help to:

i) Calculate what your marks need to be to raise your GPA above 3.0, 3.2, 3.4. Especially look at how many credits you will need to do that. Check it out, and ideally, it will look better if you do it with upper division science (read: more difficult) science courses.
ii) Talk frankly with an eyeMD, or OD on what you want to do. Ophthalmology is a very competitive match for interns.
iii) DO school may be an option for you.
iv) The sooner you decide what you want to do, the better.

Good luck.