Optometry school admissions

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Bwilber

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How hard is to get into the optometry program at Berkeley?

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How hard is to get into the optometry program at Berkeley?

A UCBSO faculty member came and spoke to my Pre-Optometry club once in 2016, this is what he let us know:

They interview about ~120 students and about ~300 apply each year.

To choose who they interview, they get your OAT score (out of 400) and add it to your GPA multiplied by 100 (ex. 3.40 GPA x 100 = 340) to get your "academic index" (out of 800) Then they rank you based on academic index and start reviewing applications from the top down, after drawing a line after #120. If there are any red flags i.e. not enough shadowing experience, bad letters of recommendation, too many missing prereqs (you are only allowed 4 missing prereqs), etc. you get placed under the line and then they bring someone up from under the line, you get the idea...

After interview day, they offer ~80 students acceptance with the idea of ~65 seats.

Hope this gives you some insight.
 
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What are some optometry schools that are less competitive/have lower stats?
 
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A UCBSO faculty member came and spoke to my Pre-Optometry club once in 2016, this is what he let us know:

They interview about ~120 students and about ~300 apply each year.

To choose who they interview, they get your OAT score (out of 400) and add it to your GPA multiplied by 100 (ex. 3.40 GPA x 100 = 340) to get your "academic index" (out of 800) Then they rank you based on academic index and start reviewing applications from the top down, after drawing a line after #120. If there are any red flags i.e. not enough shadowing experience, bad letters of recommendation, too many missing prereqs (you are only allowed 4 missing prereqs), etc. you get placed under the line and then they bring someone up from under the line, you get the idea...

After interview day, they offer ~80 students acceptance with the idea of ~65 seats.

Hope this gives you some insight.
So if you have a red flag and you’re placed under the line that means they won’t offer you an interview at all even if you’re stats are decent?
 
So if you have a red flag and you’re placed under the line that means they won’t offer you an interview at all even if you’re stats are decent?

I don't think so, it's still a holistic approach to your application for sure! If your stats were decent I don't think you would directly go under the line if, for example, you JUST had one bad letter of rec, but you would be placed lower on the rankings. Since they don't offer multiple interview days throughout the year they have to make a cutoff at some point.
 
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I think it’s difficult to state how “hard” it is to get into a school. It’s really dependent on your application.

Berkeley receives a lot less applicants than most other schools, so for that reason your odds are much better than they otherwise would be. Getting an interview is almost 50/50, and once you interview it’s also close to 50/50 for whether or not you will get accepted.

If you have good academics and poor experiences, I’m sure your odds of getting an interview invitation are decent. The same applies for the reverse situation.
There’s a misperception that you must have stellar grades and a great OAT score to be considered, but they really look at all other aspects of your application. I know some people with 3.0 or sub-3.0 GPAs who have been accepted, so if it’s something you want I would give it a shot.
 
Berkeley receives a lot less applicants than most other schools, so for that reason your odds are much better than they otherwise would be. Getting an interview is almost 50/50, and once you interview it’s also close to 50/50 for whether or not you will get accepted.

Why do they get so few applicants?
 
Why do they get so few applicants?

I guess because Berkeley is one of the most competitive Optometry programs to get into in the states and most applicants will generally apply to schools whose averages of acceptance match up to their stats.
 
Why do they get so few applicants?
A lot of it has to do with the prerequisites for admissions, which have changed in the recent years to not include as many. In addition, applicants do tend to “self-select” - students who may perceive the program as rigorous/overly competitive decide it won’t be a good fit and don’t apply. But if you’re interested, I recommend visiting the campus yourself so you can form your own opinion.

Hope this helps!
 
How does Berkeley's program stack up to SUNY's? Is the clinical experiences comparable in your opinion? SUNY has similar entering class stats from my research
 
Why do they get so few applicants?
I personally believe it is because of the extra prerequisites they require (which they are getting rid of for the future) and the fact that they are the only program in the US that does not have a rolling application process. Most schools fill a majority of their class before Berkeley has interview day. Students who want to attend Berkeley either have to put all their eggs in one basket and not apply to any other school, or go thru the application process with other schools, pay a deposit, and lose that deposit if they choose to go to Berkeley.
 
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How does Berkeley's program stack up to SUNY's? Is the clinical experiences comparable in your opinion? SUNY has similar entering class stats from my research
I don’t think anyone can make a fair comparison of optometry school programs - we are all only familiar with the one we experience.

I can tell you that the programs are probably comparable in the end.

If you’d like more details on Berkeley’s clinic I can let you know, but only someone from SUNY can say what it’s like for them there.
 
In general, is the application super competitive or just mildly?
Not sure what this is asking - we’ve given information on #applied vs admitted, so are you talking about the application process itself? The interview? Can you clarify?
 
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