Some stats and questions

[xsonixs]

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Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum but have lurked around for some time.
I decided I want to go into optometry but am not sure I "qualify". I'm a second year at UC Irvine and plan on fixing my GPA in the following quarters and years.

Here are my stats:


Science GPA - 2.6
Overall GPA - 2.8
Have worked jobs ever since high school, where I had 4.0s LOL.

Right now I work 2 jobs, and am involved in a club that volunteers and puts on health-related programs for elementary schools (I'm also an officer).

I plan on being an RA (resident advisor) for the next two years (don't know if that helps but being an RA means having the maturity to handle stressful situations and all that).

I am also an immigrant to the US. I came to California in 2004 from Romania.


Now the questions:

1. What are my chances with my current stats?
2. What would be my chances if I got my gpa to a 3.0?
3. How do you go about finding an OD to shadow? do you just randomly call offices?
4. Should I wait and apply my 4th year or try it even 3rd year. The schools I am looking at right now are SCCO and SUNY.
5. Would you guys have any school recommendations?


Thanks for reading and for any future answers.

 

[mupreopt]

Hey guys,

2. What would be my chances if I got my gpa to a 3.0?

You need to do alot better than 3.0. I don't know exact number but I am guessing about 3.4 or more at the least.
The good news is that you are only 2nd year. You have 2 to 3 more years to complete college. How may pre-reqs have you taken?
To get into opt school after 3 years of undergrad, you need a great GPA and OAT. Since your GPA is bad, I would recommend getting your bachelors degree.
Just curious, what is the cause of your bad grades?

 

[xsonixs]

the reason for bad grades is bad time management. I'm involved in way to many things which leads to less sleep and less time for academics....LOL...i know....i'm stupid. But having to pay for your own education and your own car and living expenses isn't an easy thing

 

[BS310]

You can get an interview at SCCO with a 3.0 (I think that's their minimum). And your grades aren't even looked at there once you get an interview. A 3.0 is a liability, but you can offset it with a high OAT score. I made it into SUNY with a 3.2 and nothing too special in terms of extracurriculars.

A good way to find OD's is through a hospital volunteer office.

 

[pienfoo]

ok don't listen to mu (he dosen't know anything). u don't need a 3.4 to get in.

right now your gpa is too low to have a shot anywhere, but i would recommend that you drop some of your activities and try very hard in the next two years to bring up your grades. You can't justify a low gpa by doing a bunch of extra things on the side (that includes work) which supposedly show maturity. your top priority right now should be bringing your GPA up to a 3.0, and doing well on the OATs. your numbers side of the application determines if you get an interview or not. g'luck.

PS. don't narrow your choices down to two schools, especially when you don't have the best grades. apply to as many as you can.

 

[EyeGotIt]

I agree with pienfoo. I had roughly a 3.15 science gpa when I applied this past fall, minimal extracurriculars, but a good OAT score. I was offered interviews everywhere I applied, and offered acceptance at the schools that I interviewed at. Don't kill yourself on extracurriculars, bring your grades up a bit and you should have a good shot at getting into optometry school.

 

[xsonixs]

sounds good. I guess I will drop some of my extra curriculars and bring that GPA up. I'm definitely shooting for an over 3.0 but I just said that 3.0 because its not a 2.x 🙂 2 years is enough time to bring my GPA up.

As far as applying...do you guys recommend doing it my senior year? I plan on starting to take the OATs my junior year, after some prep classes or prep time with books and the such.

Thank you all

 

[JMU07]

What the majority of applicants do is apply the summer after (at the earliest) or during their junior year, which allows them to start the fall after senior year. Some people try and get in during their sophomore year, some people wait a year or two. I took the OAT the summer after junior year.

 

[xsonixs]

hmmm...ok...so a good track would be OATs summer after and also send in applications beginning senior year (summer after junior)?
That means I have 1 year left to bring my GPA up 🙂

correct me if I'm wrong

 

[mthwong]

If you want to go to optometry school, the year following your 4th year at UCI, then yes you should plan to take the OAT the summer before your 4th year, and apply to schools around that time. That leaves you one year to bring your GPA up for the applications to start.

You don't necessarily have to finish all the pre-reqs before applying, as long as you indicate to the school you're applying to when you'll be taking the pre-reqs. But, the benefit of finishing them before allows the grade to affect the GPA they see when you're applying, and not after they've considered your application.

But yeah, focus on bringing up your GPA, I applied with a 3.2 overall and I think a 3.0 science. But my OAT was 360. I got into SCCO, and was offered an interview at SUNY (which I declined), and am waiting to hear back from Berkeley. Focus on getting good recommendations as well. See if the internship office at UCI can help you with a local optometrist to observe or shadow, or you can always try to contact them on your own. It doesn't hurt to call an office and leave a message with the O.D.

hmmm...ok...so a good track would be OATs summer after and also send in applications beginning senior year (summer after junior)?
That means I have 1 year left to bring my GPA up 🙂

correct me if I'm wrong

 

[xsonixs]

thank you all for your advice!!

one more question:

Would doing research improve my chances in any way? Lets say I have at least a 3.0. Would research help me better than extra EXTRA shadowing experience?
I plan on doing 2 years of research that has nothing to do with optometry.

 

[mupreopt]

thank you all for your advice!!

Would doing research improve my chances in any way? Lets say I have at least a 3.0. Would research help me better than extra EXTRA shadowing experience?

It might. I asked this question to one of the optometry schools about 3 years ago. It could help.

 

[mthwong]

thank you all for your advice!!

one more question:

Would doing research improve my chances in any way? Lets say I have at least a 3.0. Would research help me better than extra EXTRA shadowing experience?
I plan on doing 2 years of research that has nothing to do with optometry.

My advice is do what you're interested in. Some schools do require you to shadow/observe in an office and if you have the opportunity to work/volunteer compared to doing research, choose which one you want to do. Admissions committees understand that pre-opt students come from all walks of life and different backgrounds and interests. The reason you want to do something your passionate about is because when your asked in an interview why you did what you did, whether it's work in an optometry office or do research in a lab, you can convey your interest and reason for doing what you did. The same applies with extra-curriculars. So do what you enjoy doing, and when it comes to optometry school, think how you can apply what you learned or what you like to do in the field of optometry.

 

[JeffChou]

I also think you should focus on your GPA. Since you're a second year, you still have time left to raise it. Your goal should be to get nothing less than a B throughout the rest of your time. Don't rush it, and don't overwhelm yourself with too many extracurriculars if you can't keep up with your classes. Having some ECs is important, but mending your GPA is a necessity.

I would also recommend going to some of your school's pre-optometry club meetings. It's a great way to see what your peers are doing to improve their applications. You'll find some information on their website at http://www.useeeyes.org. Just a couple of weeks ago, they had a panel of optometrists come in to talk about their expeirences and answer questions students may have about applying to SCCO and and optometry in general.

Also, for your ECs, I'd say at least one should be optometry related (shadowing, work), the others (research) should be in something that interests you. Leadership in any activity definitely looks good.

Good luck!