Need advice about what to do (Currently in my senior year)

[Inharmonious]

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As noted, i'm currently a senior at the moment at Rutgers University New Brunswick and i'll be graduating at the end of this year with a major in Biological Sciences. As of now, my GPA is 2.5 for the first 3 of my undergraduate years. I really had my sights set on being admitted into an Optometry school but I fear that i'm way below the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. I still have 2 more semesters to go, and I was wondering what else I can do to increase my GPA. I was thinking about either staying another year or so and picking up another major, possibly Chemistry, Biochemistry or any suggestions are highly welcomed. My other idea was to take the GRE and then apply for a masters program, and apply for Optometry school afterwards.

Can anyone please help me figure out what to do? I completely ruined my first 2 years of school and since then my junior year GPA has been high. However, it obviously doesn't make up for 2 years in which I have ruined and I don't want it to ruin my career opportunity. Please give me your honest opinions, all responses will be appreciated. If there is any other information you need, feel free to ask. Thank you

 

[csandova]

Hi! I went through something pretty similar to your situation when I was in my undergrad and so I want to share my experience with you. When I graduated from undergrad with a degree in Biology, I had a GPA of ~3.3. I decided not to apply to optometry school and complete a master's first. My GPA wasn't bad at all, it would've probably gotten me into optometry school if I had tried. Being an optometrist has been my dream since I was really really young. With a 3.3 GPA, good OAT scores, and good LOR's, I had a pretty good shot of getting in. However, I would have looked exactly like 800 other applicants. There was nothing about me that would make me look above and beyond, nothing that would make an admission committee pick me over someone else. If there was even the slightest chance that I wouldn't get in, I didn't want to risk that chance because like I said, being an optometrist is my dream. So like I said, I decided on doing a master's first. The program I got into is only 30 credits, it's a NT master's in Molecular Biology/Microbiology so I don't do any research. I basically take a bunch of graduate level coursework, teach an undergrad biology lab, and it's only taking me 1.5 years to complete. This is actually my last semester, I graduate in December 😀 and so currently, my master's GPA is ~3.6, higher than it was as an undergrad. Aside from strengthening my GPA, my master's has also worked wonders for my time management and organizational skills. I can handle a lot more, I'm rarely stressed out, and more than anything I feel ready for optometry school. I feel that if I've been able to handle my master's, I can handle anything. Fast forwarding to present day, I am applying for optometry school for Fall 2013. I applied to 7 schools and received invitations to interview from all of them. I've been to 2 so far and I got into both schools, and I still have another 2 interviews coming up (I cancelled the other 3). The moral of my story is that doing a master's first really helped to strengthen my application, my GPA, and myself as a whole.

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you will eventually be successful. Putting optometry school on hold was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but today I feel like I was the best decision I've ever made.

 

[KHE]

Hi! I went through something pretty similar to your situation when I was in my undergrad and so I want to share my experience with you. When I graduated from undergrad with a degree in Biology, I had a GPA of ~3.3. I decided not to apply to optometry school and complete a master's first. My GPA wasn't bad at all, it would've probably gotten me into optometry school if I had tried. Being an optometrist has been my dream since I was really really young. With a 3.3 GPA, good OAT scores, and good LOR's, I had a pretty good shot of getting in. However, I would have looked exactly like 800 other applicants. There was nothing about me that would make me look above and beyond, nothing that would make an admission committee pick me over someone else. If there was even the slightest chance that I wouldn't get in, I didn't want to risk that chance because like I said, being an optometrist is my dream. So like I said, I decided on doing a master's first. The program I got into is only 30 credits, it's a NT master's in Molecular Biology/Microbiology so I don't do any research. I basically take a bunch of graduate level coursework, teach an undergrad biology lab, and it's only taking me 1.5 years to complete. This is actually my last semester, I graduate in December 😀 and so currently, my master's GPA is ~3.6, higher than it was as an undergrad. Aside from strengthening my GPA, my master's has also worked wonders for my time management and organizational skills. I can handle a lot more, I'm rarely stressed out, and more than anything I feel ready for optometry school. I feel that if I've been able to handle my master's, I can handle anything. Fast forwarding to present day, I am applying for optometry school for Fall 2013. I applied to 7 schools and received invitations to interview from all of them. I've been to 2 so far and I got into both schools, and I still have another 2 interviews coming up (I cancelled the other 3). The moral of my story is that doing a master's first really helped to strengthen my application, my GPA, and myself as a whole.

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you will eventually be successful. Putting optometry school on hold was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but today I feel like I was the best decision I've ever made.

I'm glad that this has worked out for this person but to me, the path chosen here was a mistake.

While it may well have been true that you would not have "stood out" from any of the 800 applicants, why would you not apply anyways if you're stats were reasonably competitive?

Even if you DID get rejected from every school, there would be no reason you couldn't do exactly what you did and then reapply. Being rejected once does not mean that you are rejected for life. In essence, you rejected yourself.

I'm not sure how much graduate school cost you, but I'll make the assumption that with that year of graduate school and living expenses you're probably in the neighborhood of forty or fifty thousand dollars.

Had you been admitted to optometry school, you would have graduated a year or two earlier than you would have now. So not only have you paid for a graduate degree that has a high probablility of not having been needed, you've missed out on potential income as an optometrist. Your decisions may well have cost you a quarter of a million dollars.

I would strongly encourage people who think they have marginal stats to apply anyways. Do not reject yourselves. Let them reject you.

 

[KHE]

As noted, i'm currently a senior at the moment at Rutgers University New Brunswick and i'll be graduating at the end of this year with a major in Biological Sciences. As of now, my GPA is 2.5 for the first 3 of my undergraduate years. I really had my sights set on being admitted into an Optometry school but I fear that i'm way below the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. I still have 2 more semesters to go, and I was wondering what else I can do to increase my GPA. I was thinking about either staying another year or so and picking up another major, possibly Chemistry, Biochemistry or any suggestions are highly welcomed. My other idea was to take the GRE and then apply for a masters program, and apply for Optometry school afterwards.

Can anyone please help me figure out what to do? I completely ruined my first 2 years of school and since then my junior year GPA has been high. However, it obviously doesn't make up for 2 years in which I have ruined and I don't want it to ruin my career opportunity. Please give me your honest opinions, all responses will be appreciated. If there is any other information you need, feel free to ask. Thank you

You should call the schools you are interested in and ask them the best course of action.

 

[csandova]

I'm glad that this has worked out for this person but to me, the path chosen here was a mistake.

While it may well have been true that you would not have "stood out" from any of the 800 applicants, why would you not apply anyways if you're stats were reasonably competitive?

Even if you DID get rejected from every school, there would be no reason you couldn't do exactly what you did and then reapply. Being rejected once does not mean that you are rejected for life. In essence, you rejected yourself.

I'm not sure how much graduate school cost you, but I'll make the assumption that with that year of graduate school and living expenses you're probably in the neighborhood of forty or fifty thousand dollars.

Had you been admitted to optometry school, you would have graduated a year or two earlier than you would have now. So not only have you paid for a graduate degree that has a high probablility of not having been needed, you've missed out on potential income as an optometrist. Your decisions may well have cost you a quarter of a million dollars.

I would strongly encourage people who think they have marginal stats to apply anyways. Do not reject yourselves. Let them reject you.

I agree I should've applied anyway, but I was just too nervous. I was too afraid of being rejected. Had I been rejected, it wouldve really destroyed my self esteem and my motivation. I can't say that I wouldve tried again. I cant really explain it, that's just the way I am.

In my case, graduate school hasn't cost me a dime. Since I am in-state, my tuition is cheaper than most. Also because I am a TA, I recieve a stipend, so not only do they pay my tuition but they also pay me a salary. Furthermore, I have a bartending job on the weekends so I'm saving up a lot of money for when I leave to optometry school. I had scholarships all throughout my 4 years of undergrad so no student loans there. I also have a 2011 civic that I bought while in grad school which is completely payed off thanks to my two jobs. Lucky for me I am going into optometry school 100% debt free 😀

 

[Roffles]

With a 2.5 you'll need to do some serious work in order to bring your GPA up enough for admission. A masters degree would help, but it's not necessary. Get a 4.0 your last year (or more) to bring it up and show them you're serious.

Good luck.

 

[Dysgenics]

I'm glad that this has worked out for this person but to me, the path chosen here was a mistake.

I would strongly encourage people who think they have marginal stats to apply anyways. Do not reject yourselves. Let them reject you.

Totally agree. I'd only go for the masters if I specifically set on hard to get into schools like Waterloo, SUNY or Berkeley. You would have gotten in to other schools.

 

[csandova]

Totally agree. I'd only go for the masters if I specifically set on hard to get into schools like Waterloo, SUNY or Berkeley. You would have gotten in to other schools.

I probably would have, but I don't regret my decision. Like I said, I feel extremely prepared for what's coming in my future. Also, I had quite a few personal reasons to strengthen my decision to stay closer to home and complete a master's first 🙂

 

[Optomchick]

I probably would have, but I don't regret my decision. Like I said, I feel extremely prepared for what's coming in my future. Also, I had quite a few personal reasons to strengthen my decision to stay closer to home and complete a master's first 🙂

I gotta agree with KHE here, i think you wasted 2 years, when you would have graduated 2 years sooner, make more money in the long run. Did you end up applying to Berkeley or SUNY? Those seem like the hardest 2 to get into anyways.

 

[csandova]

I did apply to SUNY, I received an invitation to interview but cancelled because I have my heart set on a different school. I also have my reasons to not go back to New York (I use to live in Queens). Anyway I'm in no rush, I'm only 22 and will start optometry school by my 23rd birthday. After I graduate I'll have the rest of my life to work.

Anyway I shared my experience with the sole purpose of helping someone out, to show somone else what a slight fork in the road did to me as a person and as an applicant. Weigh out your pros and cons, talk to some advisors, figure out what you think would be best for you. The best decision for one person won't necessarily be ideal for another. I hope I've helped you out 🙂

 

[KHE]

I agree I should've applied anyway, but I was just too nervous. I was too afraid of being rejected. Had I been rejected, it wouldve really destroyed my self esteem and my motivation. I can't say that I wouldve tried again. I cant really explain it, that's just the way I am.

You really need to work on that because that is a quality that is going to cause you much pain the long run.