SUNY interview seeking advice

[bchu6]

I received an interview offer from SUNY a few weeks ago and it's coming up fast but I'm super nervous. It's my top choice of school and honestly I was surprised that I got an offer with my less then stellar OAT score (320AA / 300TS). I had a 330+ on all the sections but physics and bio were lack luster at 280 and 290 respectively. For those who have had an interview there, any advice would be greatly appreciated. What was the interview like for you? I heard they revamped their interview so there no longer a essay and it's more conversational. I looked at the interview forum but there weren't many up to date posting. Thank you in advance!

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[re.signed]

Congratulations on getting the interview! I was wondering how you ended up doing on the interview. SUNY is also my top choice and I am applying to begin in 2021. Do you mind sharing what your GPA was? And in regards to your OAT score, what aspect of your application do you think made your application stand out strongly enough for SUNY to offer an interview? Wishing the best and hopefully the interview went well and you got in!

 

[bchu6]

Congratulations on getting the interview! I was wondering how you ended up doing on the interview. SUNY is also my top choice and I am applying to begin in 2021. Do you mind sharing what your GPA was? And in regards to your OAT score, what aspect of your application do you think made your application stand out strongly enough for SUNY to offer an interview? Wishing the best and hopefully the interview went well and you got in!

Hi! So academically I definitely don't consider myself to be a super strong candidate. My GPA overall was a 3.43 with a science GPA of 3.8 and Pre-req of 4.0. However I did demonstrate a huge change in attitude for how I approached school after committing to optometry school and my transcript went from A's and B's (even 3 Cs) to all As after returning to school as a post bacc (They actually took note of that change during my interview too!). In Terms of my OAT I had a (320AA/300TS) which is a lot lower compared to SUNY's average applicant. This was b/c I got a 280 in phys and 290 in bio due to never having taken either courses prior to the OAT which i addressed in my personal statement. I think what really set me aside as a strong candidate would be the experiences I've accumulated these last 3 years working full time as a lead optometric tech in a private practice. I've also lead a big volunteer effort to provide free vision screening services. It helped a ton during the interview since I talked a bunch about the things I learned while working at the practice since I spend almost every day evaluating patients with the doctor in the exam room so they really appreciated my commitment to the field. They also asked me about my school involvement as vice president of HKSA and the badminton team! I personally believe that once you receive an interview, you have practically gotten a foot in the door and they just want to know you as a person! If you have any other questions just let me know.

 

[re.signed]

Wow, that's amazing. Your GPA is great! Kudos to you for returning and doing very well during your post bacc. I was curious about your GPA because I'm starting to get more worried as I start the journey to applying for 2021 considering my GPA is a 2.87 unfortunately as a biology major. I went to a specialized high school and did very well but I spent more time on my extracurriculars and honestly did not put my all in for classes which I regret so much. I'm afraid schools will dismiss me right off the bat. I have been interested in optometry since high school, getting into the joint degree optometry program that my university had with SUNY, but my grades didn't fare too well. I worked as an optometrist's assistant and receptionist and am currently working as an ophthalmologist's assistant/technician and I am learning so much every day. My doctors know I want to go to optometry school so they teach me a lesson with almost every single patient. My KAPLAN OAT book is coming tomorrow and I'm determined to study extremely hard and score a competitive score to offset my GPA. That's just where I'm at right now. Do you happen to hear of applicants with a low GPA get an interview, let alone get into optometry school?

 

[bchu6]

Wow, that's amazing. Your GPA is great! Kudos to you for returning and doing very well during your post bacc. I was curious about your GPA because I'm starting to get more worried as I start the journey to applying for 2021 considering my GPA is a 2.87 unfortunately as a biology major. I went to a specialized high school and did very well but I spent more time on my extracurricular and honestly did not put my all in for classes which I regret so much. I'm afraid schools will dismiss me right off the bat. I have been interested in optometry since high school, getting into the joint degree optometry program that my university had with SUNY, but my grades didn't fare too well. I worked as an optometrist's assistant and receptionist and am currently working as an ophthalmologist's assistant/technician and I am learning so much every day. My doctors know I want to go to optometry school so they teach me a lesson with almost every single patient. My KAPLAN OAT book is coming tomorrow and I'm determined to study extremely hard and score a competitive score to offset my GPA. That's just where I'm at right now. Do you happen to hear of applicants with a low GPA get an interview, let alone get into optometry school?

Thank you! I was honestly worried too since SUNY gpa for entering students is around a 3.5 typically. In your case however, I think they have a lot more then just your gpa to evaluate you as an applicant! You would be surprised by how big a difference a strong rec letter and personal statement can make. There are plenty of occasions where students who are slightly lower in academic standings get in, I saw a applicant who got into Berkley that had a GPA of 2.7! But they had to absolutely kill the OAT. Unfortunately, you can consider your GPA and OAT score as the first phase of them evaluating you as an applicant. You definitely got this though, just try your hardest on the OAT! There's a reason your doctors are spending so much time with you and it gives you all the more reason to work even harder. In terms of studying for it, don't use your Kaplan OAT practice scores as a way to assess your readiness (of course if you do good thats great). I only used the kaplan book for bio since their other sections are far too difficult to warrant as proper study material for the other sections of OAT. You 100% need to purchase the Chads videos series, he covers ALL the fundamentals of ochem, chem, and physics. IT's only $50 a month and well worth the value. DAT bootcamp is the best form of practice problems and practice tests to really reflect the OAT so I would get that too (their physics practice problems really resembles the OAT!). Lastly, if you want extra practice, I would consider OAT destroyer for Ochem and chem. Other then that, just practice practice practice! Space out your practice tests accordingly (one a week) so you can learn time management. You got this!

 

[re.signed]

Thank you so much for providing many different resources to study from! I will definitely look into those. I will try my best to kill this OAT and keep striving towards a great application. Your response gave me more encouragement and hope!!! Goodluck in your first year.