Summer School

[michelle_is_me]

Hello guys:

Just a quick question about what everybody thinks is good... I am currently in my 3rd year and will be applying after the end of my 4th year. I slacked off a lot in my 2nd year and has since tried a lot harder and is doing better in school...

my question is: Since i plan to apply this coming august (for entry of fall 2008).... should i take some real easy summer courses this summer just to boost up my application? and tackle the hard 4th year Bio courses after my application's been reviewed? or does that not make any difference?

Thanks!

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[vornskr1030]

what courses would you be planning on taking? I would note that while taking easy, non-prereq classes might raise your cumulative gpa, optometry schools mainly look at the prereq gpa since it's a better indicator of how well you perform in science classes.

a good OAT score can compensate for a lower gpa, as well as experience (interning, shadowing) and knowledge about the field. keep in mind also, they look at performance trend (improvement in grades over the years)...

I would suggest focusing on doing well on the OAT. with school grades, there are always a lot of external factors for each person that affect their result (institution, involvement in EC activities, schedule workload, etc). but the OAT is a standardized test, which may give a better comparison between applicants.

 

[michelle_is_me]

Thanks a lot!