MCPHS-Optometry School Interview

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majdnaji

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Hello, my name is Majd, I applied to MCPHS College of Optometry and a couple of other schools. So far MCPHS is the only school that has reached out to me and invited me for an interview on Oct. 30. My stats are the following: 3.4 cum g.p.a; science g.p.a 3.2 and my OAT Scores were 280 AA and 280 TS, not the best scores so thats why I haven't heard from other schools yet. I do plan on retaking the OAT. I work as optician and a I am a certified vision screener and I have more than 100+ shadowing and volunteering work experience. I just graduated with a Biology degree just this past summer.

My question is, was there anyone who is a current student at the school or know anyone who got in with these similar scores and stats? I do well in interviews and I am confident going into this interview, its just I am worried about where I sit in this application. I also worried about going to that interview and they end up having my file on the standby list or on hold. I just hope that the money I spent on the plane ticket, car rental, and hotel doesn't go to waste, I work really hard for my money, I guess all I can do is hope and pray they accept me. Any advice would be great. Thank you.

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Hello! I've heard of schools accepting students on the condition that they retake their OATs and improve on their score. I would definitely still go to your interview and let them know that you're planning on retaking it. There's a chance all your other shadowing and job experience will override a bad OAT score anyway!
 
Thank you for responding, well I went to the interview and I got my acceptance letter within a week. So I guess my shadowing and work experience did override my bad OAT score. I still want to retake the OAT and see if I get offered other interviews from other schools.
 
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hi majdnaji,
I just added MCPHS to my list of schools...out of curiosity how long did it take for you to hear back?
Thanks :)
 
Thank you for responding, well I went to the interview and I got my acceptance letter within a week. So I guess my shadowing and work experience did override my bad OAT score. I still want to retake the OAT and see if I get offered other interviews from other schools.

Hey, how was the interview? Mine is this coming Thursday and I was hoping to know what to expect. Also, I was wondering how much of a deposit they had for MCPHS after you got accepted.
 
The interview is really laid back. You will start out with a writing sample, its nothing to be worried about. Then you will have a presentation on the school and its history and then you will get a tour of the campus and then comes the actual interview. My interview was probably about 8-10 min. Thats because I kept asking her questions about the school, which I believe should them that I was very interested in their program. So my biggest suggestion is to do some research on the school and find a couple things that you find is unique about there program and mention that on the interview. Best of luck to you and thank you.
 
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Current MCPHS student here (used to read this site and decided to check in now that i'm 1 semester in). Congrats on the interview and acceptance!! To everyone else, it's real laid back and the professors love when you ask them questions about the school. No curve balls.
 
Current MCPHS student here (used to read this site and decided to check in now that i'm 1 semester in). Congrats on the interview and acceptance!! To everyone else, it's real laid back and the professors love when you ask them questions about the school. No curve balls.
Hey , considering you're an MCPHS student at the moment, can you tell us what the pros and cons you've noticed as a student there so far?
 
Hey , considering you're an MCPHS student at the moment, can you tell us what the pros and cons you've noticed as a student there so far?

One pro I enjoy is early clinical experience. Your first semester is spent 2hrs/week shadowing third years in clinic and once you've passed your proficiencies in lab you can start doing skills on actual patients. This semester we started with vision screenings at nearby schools 4-5hrs/week and I'm loving it. We also have some awesome professors who really care about us which means classes aren't so bad. They schedule them well and spread out the exams so it's easier to manage. We also have less credit hours a semester compared to other schools I believe, because we have summer session.
The major con anyone will point to is that we're not accredited. Although no one here is terribly worried about it and they're coming to visit the school in a month or so, so we've been getting ready
 
I just received an interview from MCPHS and I was just wondering about the interview process? Also they sent me a prerequisite work sheet along with the letter about my interview. Is that normal?
 
Also, do optometry schools accept students before all their required classes are complete? I might be missing my microbiology class.
 
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