Positive progression

[nmu preopt]

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I have been going to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan since the fall of 2003 with the exception of one semester which I took classes at community college. I started off ok, then took a dive for awful. My grades were litterally Ds and worse. I have for the past year gotten nothing less than a straight B in my classes and I am not just talking about liberals I mean anatomy, physiology, etc... My poor grades even with retakes however show up on my transcript. I was wondering if you think a college of optometry will look down upon my poor start or they will see that I have straightened things out and am now on the right path. Ever since the beginning of college, optometry is what I have wanted to do, Im not some failed med student, just looking for friendly advise. Thanks in advance. p.s gpa is up to 2.8 and with a 3.6+ this semester I will have a B average.

 

[luckyfool]

I have been going to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan since the fall of 2003 with the exception of one semester which I took classes at community college. I started off ok, then took a dive for awful. My grades were litterally Ds and worse. I have for the past year gotten nothing less than a straight B in my classes and I am not just talking about liberals I mean anatomy, physiology, etc... My poor grades even with retakes however show up on my transcript. I was wondering if you think a college of optometry will look down upon my poor start or they will see that I have straightened things out and am now on the right path. Ever since the beginning of college, optometry is what I have wanted to do, Im not some failed med student, just looking for friendly advise. Thanks in advance. p.s gpa is up to 2.8 and with a 3.6+ this semester I will have a B average.

Even with your grades showing a positive trend, I still think a 2.8 GPA would be nearly impossible to get into a optometry school (even with stunning OAT scores). Your GPA is one of the most important factors they take into consideration. Can you pull it up to at least 3.1?

 

[nmu preopt]

Even with your grades showing a positive trend, I still think a 2.8 GPA would be nearly impossible to get into a optometry school (even with stunning OAT scores). Your GPA is one of the most important factors they take into consideration. Can you pull it up to at least 3.1?

Well that would be basically a perfect semester, but that is the goal.

 

[jehu]

Not necessarily, they look at trends more then GPA...Im a first year and my highest gpa was under a 2.8 but i had 360 on the OAT and outstanding extracurricular activities and reference letters.
I've given a presentation for PCO to some undergraduates and I was told to mention that GPA is NOT everything. That they look at how many classes you took, which undergraduate school you went to and the trend of your grades. Someone could have a 3.5 gpa but only take 3 classes per semester will NOT get accepted. They want a full course load of 5 classes.
Again...GPA is not everything but it will make you competitive.
good luck to all

ps...i did better in my first semester of OD school then I have ever done in undergraduate 🙂

Even with your grades showing a positive trend, I still think a 2.8 GPA would be nearly impossible to get into a optometry school (even with stunning OAT scores). Your GPA is one of the most important factors they take into consideration. Can you pull it up to at least 3.1?

 

[ariel winter]

i know some schools definitely look at grade trends. however, your overall GPA will also be considered with some weight. with a solid OAT score (330 or better) along with good EC's, you will be in a good position, i think. keep working hard and you will have a good shot at an acceptance somewhere i am sure. 👍

I have been going to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan since the fall of 2003 with the exception of one semester which I took classes at community college. I started off ok, then took a dive for awful. My grades were litterally Ds and worse. I have for the past year gotten nothing less than a straight B in my classes and I am not just talking about liberals I mean anatomy, physiology, etc... My poor grades even with retakes however show up on my transcript. I was wondering if you think a college of optometry will look down upon my poor start or they will see that I have straightened things out and am now on the right path. Ever since the beginning of college, optometry is what I have wanted to do, Im not some failed med student, just looking for friendly advise. Thanks in advance. p.s gpa is up to 2.8 and with a 3.6+ this semester I will have a B average.

 

[nmu preopt]

i know some schools definitely look at grade trends. however, your overall GPA will also be considered with some weight. with a solid OAT score (330 or better) along with good EC's, you will be in a good position, i think. keep working hard and you will have a good shot at an acceptance somewhere i am sure. 👍

Sounds good, thanks.

 

[ariel winter]

no problem. good luck. 👍

Sounds good, thanks.

 

[Pco2010]

GPA is not everything, but it is something that optometry schools value. I would suggest you get at least a 3.0 or somewhere around there. Take myself as an example, my total GPA is 3.05 and I got a lot of interviews. So it is possible to get into an optometry school with around 3.0 GPA or slightly lower. However, I believe you need an above average OAT and get tons of experience in optometry field.

Good luck

 

[nmu preopt]

GPA is not everything, but it is something that optometry schools value. I would suggest you get at least a 3.0 or somewhere around there. Take myself as an example, my total GPA is 3.05 and I got a lot of interviews. So it is possible to get into an optometry school with around 3.0 GPA or slightly lower. However, I believe you need an above average OAT and get tons of experience in optometry field.

Good luck

where is your undergraduate degree from?

 

[Pco2010]

where is your undergraduate degree from?

My Stats:

Total GPA: 3.05 Prereq GPA:3.45
OAT AA:340 TS:360
UCSB Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
1 year and 3months of eye clinic experience

 

[richmond_repn]

Although GPA is important, it is also one of the worst ways to compare applicants. I think this because different universities having very different ranges in difficulties. I go to UBC which is the 2nd hardest university in Canda and we have so much grade deflation in which a lot of classes have averages of only 62-66%. The average to get into this school is approximately 88% so you can see the drop off. Pacific University already came to our school and told us they realize how difficult it is and take into consideration lower gpa's. my point being that the OAT is the only fair thing to compare applicants who are applying from 20 different schools. Get an OAT score of 350 and I am sure that will compensate a much lower GPA.