Most important pre-req course admissions look at

[cjf]

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What is the most important undergrad prereq course that admissions look at for optometry? Would it be Ochem or physics? Or do they weight everything equally?

 

[EyeWitness]

What is the most important undergrad prereq course that admissions look at for optometry? Would it be Ochem or physics? Or do they weight everything equally?

this question is irrelevant, call the schools and ask them, there is no universal cookie cutter listw here schools rank their pre-reqs

 

[cjf]

this question is irrelevant, call the schools and ask them, there is no universal cookie cutter listw here schools rank their pre-reqs

I disagree. I knew an admissions officer that told me that in general, medical and dental schools look at OChem first as the most important pre-requisite.

I'm sure there is a pattern of what Optometry schools look at.

 

[Habitual Rx]

I disagree. I knew an admissions officer that told me that in general, medical and dental schools look at OChem first as the most important pre-requisite.

I'm sure there is a pattern of what Optometry schools look at.

This is probably close to correct. At my undergraduate University, the number of pre-medical students changed by a large number after Organic Chemistry. They either gave p their idea of going to medical school or switched from science majors to arts majors to get their averages up.

 

[cjf]

This is probably close to correct. At my undergraduate University, the number of pre-medical students changed by a large number after Organic Chemistry. They either gave p their idea of going to medical school or switched from science majors to arts majors to get their averages up.

OChem is infamously known as the 'weeding' out course for most health science degrees. But I'm not sure for optometry, due to some of the high level physics that are part of Opt school curriculum.

 

[ryan86]

What is the most important undergrad prereq course that admissions look at for optometry? Would it be Ochem or physics? Or do they weight everything equally?

I would have to say its Physics because you will be dealing with Optics which involves physics.

 

[KHE]

OChem is infamously known as the 'weeding' out course for most health science degrees. But I'm not sure for optometry, due to some of the high level physics that are part of Opt school curriculum.

To call the physics required in optometry school "high level" is being fairly generous.

 

[pienfoo]

ALL prereq courses are important. my personal opinion is that ochem/calculus are not weighted as heavily as biology or physics, since you'll probably use very little ochem/ calculus in optometry school. Nevertheless, you can't get straight Cs in those courses and expect to be accepted. gluck

 

[cystapharm]

do well in physics and take an optics/vision elective and do well in that if you want to impress them.

 

[blysssful]

IMO, I believe the weight placed on doing well in physics or organic is less about the relativity of the content towards the profession and much, much more about being an indicator of higher level thinking. As someone mentioned before, the actual physics required at the undergrad level for optics is hardly "higher level physics". Physics and organic are both applied sciences, which requires a different level of thinking compared to the majority of undergraduate biology, which is generally "memorize and regurgitate".

As for which one is weighted more heavily, it probably varies from school to school, or maybe even between different application reviewers (i.e. someone who remembered physics being excruciating and organic being easy might be more impressed with a high grade in physics).

Moral of the story: they're both important, but still only parts of a whole.