Masters degree before optometry?

[dancingaround52]

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Hey everyone,

I decided on optometry a little later in my academic career, so unfortunately I will be graduating without a few of the prerequisites for optometry school. I graduate next year and live in Canada btw. I was going to take the year I graduate off, complete calculus online, write the OAT etc. but was wondering if my time would be better spent completing a 1.5 year Masters degree at the same time.. then I could incorporate that last prereq into my electives? I have been looking at masters degrees in orthoptics and vision science.. and then I would apply to optometry. My GPA for my second year was a 3.29 and my GPA this year is a 3.77 however I slacked first year and my GPA was only 2.78 so its bringing my cumulative GPA down 🙁

Pretty much I am kinda stressing because I will not have completed all the prerequisites by the time I graduate (I am already overloading for next year) and am not sure what to do with my year off. I just know optometry is for me and will do anything to get there. I think a Masters degree could also help my cumulative GPA.

If anyone has any advice for me I would love to hear it!

Thank you!!

 

[epalacios]

Congratulations on choosing a great profession.
First off, I don't think that your GPA sounds bad. Average GPA's for entering classes I think are around 3.4, depending on the school. Make sure that you get a good score on the OAT, and you should do fine.
The Master's program is a pretty good idea, and should set you apart during the interview process, especially if you do it in vision science. However, make sure you do it because you really want the extra degree, not just because you wanna kill some time. That's a big added expense, and a lot of work, and it may not add to your long term income (unless you want to get into academia).