My Timeline for Application, OAT, and Prereqs (with poll)

[DellGirl]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi. First time poster here. I'm a post-bac student right now working on all the prerequisites. Having some trouble deciding whether to apply to optometry school for admission in fall 2011 vs. fall 2012. I realize I can try for the former and see if I can get in, but I would love some of your wisdom.

This fall I'm taking Physics 2, Bio 2, and Organic Chemistry. Technically all the classes that cover OAT material.

In the spring I'm probably taking Microbiology and Biochemistry.

Option A: I could potentially start studying for the OAT in a couple of months, and use the 4 week winter break to really crank it out. I would be applying around January then with all my materials submitted. I realize this is considered "late" in the rolling admissions process and is not recommended... but if my stats are good... I would think the classes would still have room for someone like me.

Option B: If I decide to apply to the schools that require A&P, I would have to take those in the summer 2011, or even fall 2011. I could take my time studying over the spring/summer of 2011 for the OAT, be an "early applicant to optometry school..." and use the extra year to make some money / shadow / whatever else...

Ideally I'd like to choose an option soon, by the end of September when I see how hard and time consuming Orgo is, and stick with it. Thoughts? I'll appreciate all input!!

 

[physicslover]

Depends how good ure stats are

 

[thecgrblue]

Go for it, if you don't get in you will have only lost a bit of money. If you wait, you will have lost time. As I have recently been enlightened...in the grand scheme of it...$500-1000 for apps and interviewing isn't a whole lot of money.

Think of this as well, look 5 years from now. You could be A) just finished with school and potentially earning good money or B) having one year left to go making ZERO money

Every year that you delay is costing you 60k-80k @ minimum in lost wages from not having your degree completed. Maybe its a weird way to think of it...but its what got me going.

 

[tresrisque]

There are a few questions I have. Have you shadowed any optometrists before? Also, how is your GPA?

 

[DellGirl]

wow thanks thecgrblue. of all the ways i tried to think of it, pros and cons and this and that, i didn't think of it in terms of making or not making that $60K+. even if i did take that gap year to "make some money" there's no way it would amount to near that (unless of course i went back to the job in my previous career - not interested in that anymore..). this really does seem like a good decision making factor...

 

[DellGirl]

trerisque, i have not shadowed, per se, any optometrists yet. However I have been working for one for 6 months now, which I believe is a good start to being involved in the industry, getting a feel for it. Though I realize I either need to ask him soon to do actual exam room shadowing and maybe another place or two as well.

My GPA is good, I think, although I'm not clear on which ones I should list here. My undergrad overall cumulative GPA was 3.59. I was a psych major. This includes pre-reqs like psychology, statistics, calculus, and even chemistry 1 (I did not do well in chemistry 1 the first time). Now I'm taking all the science pre-reqs at a different university, and my GPA is a 3.9 so far. (I expect it to go down because I haven't taken orgo or biochem yet, etc).