Need Feedback !!!!

[CaliMat]

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Hello Everyone,

Need Some HELP… Although I have over 5 years of experience in working for different optometrists and volunteering at Jules Stein Eye Institute in CA as well as participating in undergrad research and also being one of the first to help form an optometry club at my school….. I ended up with a low overall GPA and I am afraid that it would be waist of time to even apply with a 2.7. I am still hoping that scoring high on my OAT might be able to help me out. I would appreciate it if I could get some input from those who have already been accepted. I want to know if there is a chance for me or am I all out of luck. I was also considering going for master’s program or maybe a post bac program or even going for a second B.A. degree to increase my chances. Any opinions and advice is greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!

 

[iiiimonica]

Hello Everyone,

Need Some HELP… Although I have over 5 years of experience in working for different optometrists and volunteering at Jules Stein Eye Institute in CA as well as participating in undergrad research and also being one of the first to help form an optometry club at my school….. I ended up with a low overall GPA and I am afraid that it would be waist of time to even apply with a 2.7. I am still hoping that scoring high on my OAT might be able to help me out. I would appreciate it if I could get some input from those who have already been accepted. I want to know if there is a chance for me or am I all out of luck. I was also considering going for master’s program or maybe a post bac program or even going for a second B.A. degree to increase my chances. Any opinions and advice is greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!

You have a lot of good things going for you. My advice would be to kill the OAT and apply. You might be able to get in if your personal statements and letters of rec are stellar. I would apply for this year starting yesterday. No really get those apps in ASAP.If you are rejected then retake your prereq's to get your GPA above 3.0. If you want to do a post bacc, or grad school, it will only raise your GPA if you retake prereq classes. good luck!

 

[rkl_OD2be]

Hello Everyone,

Need Some HELP… Although I have over 5 years of experience in working for different optometrists and volunteering at Jules Stein Eye Institute in CA as well as participating in undergrad research and also being one of the first to help form an optometry club at my school….. I ended up with a low overall GPA and I am afraid that it would be waist of time to even apply with a 2.7. I am still hoping that scoring high on my OAT might be able to help me out. I would appreciate it if I could get some input from those who have already been accepted. I want to know if there is a chance for me or am I all out of luck. I was also considering going for master’s program or maybe a post bac program or even going for a second B.A. degree to increase my chances. Any opinions and advice is greatly appreciated. THANKS!!!

It sounds to me like you're on the right track! My best advice would be to do the following:

1. Prepare well for the OAT. A high OAT score will go a long way towards helping you overcome the 2.7 GPA.
2. Contact the school(s) you are interested in attending. Tell them your situation, and ask for them to help you come up with a plan to help increase your chances of acceptance, etc.
3. Apply Early! I cannot emphasize enough how much it will help your case if you appear to be organized and have all your personal statement(s), LORs and applications in within the first week or two after the application season starts.
4. Have several people read/proofread/critique your personal statements. The schools use these as a means of getting to know you. It is imperitive that you demonstrate in the essays good communication skills, and that you do an effective job of "selling yourself" or persuading the admissions committee that you will be a successful student, etc.

I'll be starting at UMSL here in a few weeks. I'm an older "non-trad" student who has worked as a software engineer for the past twelve years. Although my GPA was always solid (3.30 undergrad, 3.72 pre-opt prereqs), I had to overcome my lack of optometric experience. The steps above seemed to work for me, and I was accepted at both schools I applied to (SCO and UMSL).

Here are my OAT scores, if you're curious:
AA: 340
QR: 380
RC: 350
PHY: 320
BIO: 330
CHEM: 340
OCHEM: 300

Best wishes with your application. 👍

 

[CaliMat]

Hi

I would like to thank those who have take the time to reply and give great advice with a very positive attitude. I feel much better now and hopeful that there is still a chance for me, further advice and opinions is appreciated.

Thank you !!!

 

[cpw]

If you're still in CA you can do what I did as a non-trad. Call the two CA schools and talk to the admissions counselor. Tell them your situation.

They'll recommend which community colleges you can re-take classes you did poorly in if they're OD pre-reqs that will count towards their schools. SCCO was EXTREMEMLY helpful to me. (UCBSO less so)

A 2.7 doesn't mean you're out of it. But, doing some extra classes to bring it up and show your committment to going back ... always impresses!
🙂

Good luck !!

 

[iiiimonica]

yeah i know i seam like a Cal cheerleader, but Sharon Joyce the new student director is awesome, she has really reenergized the office and she has the warmest personality of any admit person i have ever met (though Dawn Bunch from SCCO comes close, wait Susan Boyd from IU was pretty sweet too, hmmm) okay my point was that Sharon has made the office more user friendly and she tries to get to everyone's concerns and questions.

If you're still in CA you can do what I did as a non-trad. Call the two CA schools and talk to the admissions counselor. Tell them your situation.

They'll recommend which community colleges you can re-take classes you did poorly in if they're OD pre-reqs that will count towards their schools. SCCO was EXTREMEMLY helpful to me. (UCBSO less so)

A 2.7 doesn't mean you're out of it. But, doing some extra classes to bring it up and show your committment to going back ... always impresses!
🙂

Good luck !!

 

[cpp07]

If you're still in CA you can do what I did as a non-trad. Call the two CA schools and talk to the admissions counselor. Tell them your situation.

They'll recommend which community colleges you can re-take classes you did poorly in if they're OD pre-reqs that will count towards their schools. SCCO was EXTREMEMLY helpful to me. (UCBSO less so)

A 2.7 doesn't mean you're out of it. But, doing some extra classes to bring it up and show your committment to going back ... always impresses!
🙂

Good luck !!

which community colleges were they?