Should i apply this year.

[hoops123]

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what are the odds of getting in without a complete degree.
if i apply this year to get in after my third so the 2012 cycle, i will be a few credits short ~ 9, so i wont have my full degree.
my gpa hopefully by then should be ~ 3.3
and i will be re-taking microbio and physics I.

my question exactly is should i not even bother applying since im not even going to have a degree. but will only be a few credits short so i dont want to sit at home and wait till 2013, since i have done my shadowing and have 3 yrs of consistent volunteer work at a hospital(about 360 hrs or so)

 

[Moptometry]

what are the odds of getting in without a complete degree.
if i apply this year to get in after my third so the 2012 cycle, i will be a few credits short ~ 9, so i wont have my full degree.
my gpa hopefully by then should be ~ 3.3
and i will be re-taking microbio and physics I.

my question exactly is should i not even bother applying since im not even going to have a degree. but will only be a few credits short so i dont want to sit at home and wait till 2013, since i have done my shadowing and have 3 yrs of consistent volunteer work at a hospital(about 360 hrs or so)

If you mean you will be done your 3rd year of undergrad by May of this year and your forth year starts in Sept...then ya you should apply. THATS how its done, for any professional school.You apply after your 3rd year so by the time your interviews are done,you are pretty much done with undergrad as well. get this education done ASAP 😀 Chop chop is my mentality. If you paid attention, its all about being DONE 👍

 

[nc2tarheels]

what's your OAT score?

 

[Mewcakes]

If I'm reading you correctly, you mean to apply to BEGIN school after finishing your 3rd year, but BEFORE having completed a fourth year and thus your degree. Is that right? Meaning that you are in your 2nd year now?

Unless your statistics are really great, I wouldn't plan on getting in. It's good experience to have an application cycle under your belt, but some would say it's a waste of energy. Depends who you talk to. I'm at SCO and out of 120 students, only two ppl don't have undergraduate degrees. 2. And they're both pretty darned smart. Statistics may be different at other schools, but I do know that a handful of the schools won't take you if you haven't finished undergrad. It's on the asco website somewhere.

Your volunteer work is good, but do you have a lot of shadowing? Most ppl go in with at least 30 hours of shadowing, so you'll have to outshine them by doing more than that. Your GPA is solid, but nothing out of the ordinary either. Take your OAT. If you're scoring really well, like 360+, then you might consider applying.

 

[hoops123]

@nc2tarheels i havnt taken the Oat YET im waiting for this semister to finish then i'll take it.
@Mewcakes yes u are correct im in my second year but should be in my third according to my age. so i took alot of summer classes to make up for being a year behind. yes my plan was to finish in 3 yrs, but unfortunately for me, i am having to re-take microbio and physics I, SO because of that i will not have enough credits to graduate in 2012 (i'll be like ~9 cerdits short) so i wont have my full degree.....i wanted to apply this yr for the 2012 cycle.

but this is where its complicated. to get those 9 credits im going to have to be in skool for another sem which means, i'll be applying in july 2012 for the sept 2013 cycle. i JUST DONT WANT TO WASTE A WHOLE YEAR.

i really dont know what to do. 😕

 

[Mewcakes]

Problem: I do believe physics is a prerequisite for optometry school. Most schools will require a year, I believe (2 semesters, 3 quarters, or whatever). So it is possible that if you do not have a year of physics with a passing grade (C or higher, none of the schools take C- anymore), that they will not let you in. :-( Consult with your favorite school and see what they would recommend.

Light physics is huge in optometry school, and while they kind of already teach you anything you need to know, they still want you to be well acquainted with it before hand. So if the school says "sorry, no way no how without a full year of physics", then it's up to you if you want to apply just for the experience (knowing you won't get in) or not. You won't be wasting a year if you put it to good use. So if you end up having to wait a cycle, do lots of volunteer work and get as much experience as possible! Don't look at it as a waste of your time. Optometry school is a butt-load of work and I personally relished the extra year to work, make a little money, and just decompress after undergrad and before OD school. Many people at my school are straight from undergrad, but just as many have waited a year or more! So don't let your age in relation to your year frustrate you.

 

[hoops123]

@Mewcakes

well i took physics I and got a C, but i am going to re-take it because i feel like i can do much better in it.
i am currently taking physics II. so by the time i attend i will have a full yr of physics completed.
what i was saying was because i am retaking physica I, i wont have enough credits by the end of 2012 to get a deg.

 

[Mewcakes]

Then at this point, it's whether or not the school will take any students who don't have BSs. As I said, I believe there is a concrete list on asco somewhere that says either YES or NO about whether they require a bachelors degree. I do not know if schools will make exceptions, you will have to call the individual schools for that.

 

[MeShe1ly]

I'm not sure if I'm completely understanding your question, nor the responses to the question.. But this is what I have:

You don't need to apply with a degree already under your belt. Most students at four-year universities apply during their third year (BEFORE they graduate), so that they can start optometry school the fall after they graduate. This is actually how many students ideally do it. You don't even need to be done with all your pre-reqs by the time you apply. The colleges just need to see that you have INTENT to take the necessary classes, as well as to graduate (usually- some school don't require a degree, but it's HIGHLY recommended).

 

[nc2tarheels]

I'm not sure if I'm completely understanding your question, nor the responses to the question.. But this is what I have:

You don't need to apply with a degree already under your belt. Most students at four-year universities apply during their third year (BEFORE they graduate), so that they can start optometry school the fall after they graduate. This is actually how many students ideally do it. You don't even need to be done with all your pre-reqs by the time you apply. The colleges just need to see that you have INTENT to take the necessary classes, as well as to graduate (usually- some school don't require a degree, but it's HIGHLY recommended).

however, a lot of schools like to see that you have some, or the majority, of your pre-reqs complete so that they can see how you handled some of those courses.