THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!! But after interviewing at NECO I was rejected

i am saddened and astonished to hear of this disappointing news. i admire your courage and sincerity in this post. i can only imagine how rejected you feel. i am still finding it incredibly difficult to understand how you were not accepted with open arms to NECO. if it counts for anything, i would have accepted you in a heartbeat.

it has always been my firm belief that good doctors are not defined solely by the number of A's or the utter perfection of academic endeavours. instead, good doctors are those who are unconditionally compassionate, empathetic, and sincere in what they are about. from my brief encouter with you on this wonderful forum, i know you are all of these things. and that said, you will make a wonderful doctor of optometry. your dreams of becoming an optometrist will not go unfulfilled. you have the drive, the belief, and the passion to achieve anything you desire. and if this is optometry, you will get there - even if the path is one less travelled (or one not originally anticipated).

while i was anxiously looking forwards to meeting you and becoming classmates with you at NECO, life has called you to another direction (another school in this case), and i wish you the best of luck in that regard. i say again: you will become a wonderful doctor.

sometimes life isn't fair. in fact, most of the time it isn't. but we just have to think there are harder things in life. there are always harder things than this. you will undoubtedly be given a chance to realize your dreams of becoming an optometry - this i guarantee. if you work hard, anything is possible.

it has been a pleasure conversing with you and getting to know you via the SDN network. you have presented yourself as a consummate professional who cares deeply about the profession of optometry. i can only hope for other such individuals when i attend NECO next fall. the pleasure has been all mine.

-ariel

 

NECO lady sounded pretty dry when I talked to her.

She basically said that, we are only taking the top students right now, so that's that. I'm guessing they want all the top students FIRST, before the other schools take them. That's that.

 

are you not applying to any other school in the US? while there is nothing wrong with IUAPR, you should consider applying to other US schools. I am sure there will be schools that will consider your excellent extracirriculars. If you score well on your OAT in jan, you shouldnt rule out applying to an US school!

not to put down your activities (its awesome) but i can see a school being a bit wary about the huge amount of activities you were involved in and suspect that it would be impossible for you to "give it your all" in all those activities. i heard (hearsay) that a couple activities that you stick to for a long time is better then a bunch of activities.

as far as your master program (again not to put you down in anyway) but if i am correct, that program is a web base program and it is easy to see if NECO does not respect it as much. in addition gerontolgy is not thought highly of in terms for academic difficulty, a masters in say biochemistry will have a lot more weight.

retaking the prereqs is a great idea if you are willing to wait, if not i am sure an opt school will see past your academic merits and focus on your person as a whole.

good luck! i am sure we all look forward to see what you choose to do and where you end up!

 

I agree. Why not apply to Nova and Pennsylvania as well as IAUPR. Make sure you improve your OAT though. With a 260 OAT I don't know if you can get into a mainland U.S. Opt school even with all the "super" stuff you do have. Too bad NECO wouldn't just wait to let you know on an acceptance until they got your new OAT score, seems like with an improved OAT that you'd be a super OD student for them to have in their class. Best wishes.

 

I totally agree. Retake the OAT, do well on it and apply.

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your rejection. I agree with others in that you should apply to some other US schools, and retake the OAT. While the extracurricular activities you have are outstanding, the 2.8 GPA is a strike against you. The schools want to ensure that you have been academically prepared for the rigors of optometry school. It may be very beneficial for you to retake some prereqs so that you have a better foundation of knowledge to build on. Maybe you can stay involved with only a few activities, and really take the time to focus on your studies. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! p.greeneyes

 

this might just be a blessing in disguise. you don't sound like a first tier student/applicant. why it might be a blessing? well just to let you in on a secret that i haven't shared with others....neco is near the top of my list for weedout schools. in the past, the recent past, they have been known to drop approx. 10-15% of their class in the first year and then another couple of student students in the latter years. they offer extra help to those near the 'kill zone'. so if you aren't at the top of your game i wouldn't advise applying to neco.

i would try to bring up your oat score to about the 340-360 range, with no area less than 300. your gpa for your bsc and masters has only a little rating if your prev. schools are not top tier schools. some fool who gets 3.8 at a easy school, probably would only get 3.0 at mit. so there's too much variability. the oat is a standardised test that lets them measure you against other students.

i would take one or two pre-req course and aim for an 'A' or 'A+' grade. this performance on two courses would most likely be enough of an indicator for an admissions committee to show that you're a changed person and you're t would help if you take a course from a reputable instutition.

the past will always haunt an applicant, but to rise above and elevate your game is the key. you can put the past behind and focus on the future.

lastly, i would like to share with you and all others reading this post. many students think getting accepted into an opto school is good news and possibly one of the best days in their life ...and it usually is, but if you apply to the wrong school and end up getting weeded out, it could end up being the worst day of your life ...the irony of life is often all too sad

read this thread carefully if you want to try to learn more regarding weedout schools...but you'll never really understand...http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=236236

 

warrior, which are the right schools in your opinion?

 

Have you tried applying to PCO? They tend to take a few "nontraditional" students, the type that don't fit the cookie mold but have an interesting background.

About weedout schools. What makes you think IAUPR isn't one? Problem is if you get weeded out of this one there is no place to go so the solution is to keep you around ... oh say 8 years. I've heard of these people. Once they are side tracked it's all a mess.

Have you seen their annual fees? Don't look at ASCO's list of $20,000. Their school website has the most current whopping price of $38,000 a year. The most expensive of the 19 schools of optometry. Only twice as much as the 2nd most expensive school here.

www.inter.edu/files/optometry_catalog.pdf
p. 55

Listen to the people in this thread. Improve your OAT, take a couple more BS classes, that will also strengthen your NBEO I scores in the future.

Finally that corner of the world is a whole different ball game. You've heard the News right?

 

Very interesting info... unfortunately i cannot add to this, as i have little info on their program.

 

sorry, i won't be able to provide that information to you... it's confidential at this moment

 

Lets just say I heard it right from the horse's mouth during a meeting in Florida, so from my perspective he wasn't just spreading rumor.

 

Post Op Cataract Sx Care - doesn't have a magical technique only taught in IAUPR. It is straight forward and simple. This OD who is recruiting from the NECO interviews for IAUPR sounds fishy. Good Luck

 

This admissions person who is advising you about IUAPR is a ******. First as someone on an admissions committee, it's unprofessional to advise in this area. Second he's feeding you to the fishes.

What you can do as an od depends on your state, not where you train. the only thing that you'll be doing in iuapr is doing exams in spanish - stop kidding yourself that you'll be doing more than the rest of us.

Your logic and judgement is flawed. if you don't fix this, you might become an od, but you'll never be a great one....


"Some people think of optometry school as a journey, kinda like taking a flight or trip to europe where they are going to have a blast, but when they get off the plane they realise they aren't in London, Paris or Stockholm. They are in Iraq on a one way ticket! are you ready for your journey?" have fun boys and girls.

 

Ditto!

Let me guess. This conversation wasn't infront of the other committee members right? Sounds like a double agent. Probably gets a cut from those whopping $40,000 you'll be paying q yr.

 

i'm glad my post did something to lighten up your day. wish your brother good luck for me (my brother is applying to MD school right now, hehe... coincidence). i am going to suggest you also apply to PCO (pennsylvania college of optometry). they have an extremely good program with exceptional facilities/equipment. i know they do accept people with lower gpa's, and may consider your masters gpa. also, if you do apply, do not send your oat scores until you have written it again... that way, they may not reject you based on your first one.
good luck! i know you will get in if it is what you truly want!

 

Hi BP,
I hope we didn't scare you too much but it's better to be overprepared than underprepared once you enter any optometry school because once you start the 4 year marathon there is no looking back, nobody will give you a break it seems, maybe other priviliged with more political influences may but somehow it isn't like that for the rest of us. It seems good folks finish last. So you gotta go in with your dukes up and ready for any left hook coming your way. Believe me there are some unexpected wammies! From the most unexpected people.

So this OD wasn't sitting in, in your actual interview. Sounds like he's "working you" daily at work. If you consider him a real friend I'm sorry for my assumptions, but just because they are doctors doesn't mean they're angels. As UCBSOwarrior would say they just played the game right to get to where they are today


I was looking in the internet, but now I cannot find it. There was a study done on correlations between the OAT scores and NBEO scores. And there was a direct correlation between the two... the higher the scores on the OAT, the higher the scores on the NBEO. That's why administrations are such sticklers with those scores.

Keep in contact with your new friends you made that are going into NECO so they can give you the in scoop on what first year is like.

Best of luck in whatever you decide

Oh yea and apply to PCO, They will look at your Graduate work, because they have a different judging system than the other schools have. You still have time to get in. They like people with colorful pasts like yours. BELIEVE ME!

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10795801&dopt=Abstract

 

Thanks. It was driving me nuts looking for it.

 

ditto... there is no "magic" training for cataract post-op. It's fairly simple.

 

unless you are ready for the heavy grind or you are a top student i don't think his advice for you to apply to suny is wise. once again he's feeding you to the fishes. question: is he an older od? OR a younger od that can't find real work? once again you're entering the kill zone.

advice can work both ways and you need to exercise extreme scruinty.

george bush will also tell you to go fight the iraq war, but should you goto iraq? ignorance will get you into a lot of trouble.

better tread carefully

maybe some people should consider going to england for optometry school

 

Or Australia (?) , mate!

 

No, really is not magic about a cataract post op... but I don’t know why the constant punching in the face about IUAPR is. I’m going to tell all of you something, I’m recently graduated from the school and First of all, I passed all the NBEO parts at the first intent,(If is the main concern), as all optometry schools, if you study you will pass is no a "miracle or a special thing about that", second, I'm doing a residency in a VA hospital (and I was choose among other students of the other 18 schools), Third, at the time of graduation how is called the student with the lowest average? DR!!!!!!.. Ahhhh!! I almost forgot...Any one, by any chance read the October issue of Optometric management?? I think not, A little information for the people who didn’t read it, The hispanics are the largest minority group in the US and account for more than half the nation annual population growth.....and that gives you a hint...bilingual Dr. are in great demand, I'm telling you, I received a lot of offers from the US to practice.....so...maybe the IUAPR doctors are in great demand......Maybe IAUPR will be choosen among PCO, SUNY, SCO, NOVA doctors....
So, is not a bad idea to study there, and probably you are a great student but that didn’t tell that you are going to be a great doctor.....All depends on you.

 

I don't know anything about IAUPR, but the above statement has been made over and over again without any evidence. Hispanics may be the largest minority group in the US, but that does not mean that a large percentage of them do not speak English. On top of that, the majority of Hispanics in this country can be found in states like California and New York where I can assure you there is no shortage of OD's.

The bottom line is if you want (or have) to go to IAUPR that's fine. You will get an OD degree and once you pass the boards you can practice optometry just like everyone else, but don't believe you will be in any greater demand than the rest of the OD's in the country. Sure, there are practices that cater specifically to the Hispanic population. One of my classmates at Berkeley practices in one. These are few and far between, and not only IAUPR graduates are fluent in Spanish.

 

Bilingual docs are in great demand.

 

Well Im made the asumption that a lot of corporations and doctors are going the IAUPR to recruit doctors.

 

I agree with Opto2005... Ben, you should be very well aware that Hispanics are a significant portion of the population in the USA, and are projected to increase significantly. I am also a graduatefrom IAUPR and also completed a residency at SUNY. I scored the highest in my oral exams to enter the residency, over students from all the other schools and colleges. I can also give faith of the aggressive recruitment by private practitioners and coorporations for bilingual - English/Spanish - OD's. Not only from traditional Hispanic centers, but from all over the States.

I also scored very high in the NBEO's, and so did all my classmates that had the courage to take them and studied hard to pass. Obviously there are those that took them without studying, there were those that did not put the effort to pass.

Opto2005 is right... leave IAUPR alone if you have no clue regarding the school and if you cannot be objective. There are bad things said of EVERY school... and I know. Everyone has some gripe or dirty little story about their school, but I think it is grossly unprofessional to talk crap about other schools without really knowing what is going on. I think this line of critique should not be tolerated in a forum of future health care providers and current doctors.

 

Just for the record, I have never said anything bad about your school. As I stated, I don't know anything about the school and that is why I have never commented. I do, however, know quite a bit about the job market. What I think should not be tolerated in this forum is unsubstantiated claims that going to IAUPR will make you more likely to get a job because bilingual docs are more in demand. I think the future OD students should be given truthful statements in regards to where they should go to school.

With all due respect, corporate is aggressively recruiting from all schools, not just IAUPR. They may add that being bilingual is a plus when talking to IAUPR, but that is because they will use any means possible to get new grads to enter that mode of practice. Private practitioners also recruit from all schools.

 

Well, I agree, that there is aggressive recruitment at ALL schools, but when private practitioners and corporations actively recruit with the specific note that full knowledge of Spanish is preferred, I can say that fluency in Spanish is a plus.

While I was doing my residency at SUNY I frequently got called to other clinics to translate. The times I moonlighted outside the School I got offered and payed much more than my residency mates just because I am fully bilingual.

Can I say that Spanish/English fluency is a plus... DEFINITELY!!!

 

The future students are given a truthful statement in regards to where they should go to whatever school, thats why at IAUPR will have a bilingual education, a excellent clinical care with a lot of pathologies and a unremarkable education. Nothing less than other optometry schools.

 

Stop fooling yourselves, you know darn well it is not honest to try to convince someone with an OAT of 260 to go to optometry school, especially a school who is well known to have a weak Basic Science program. Those few who did pass was because they had over a 300 on their OAT and no thanks to the most unorganized anatomy class in HISTORY!!! which happens to be 45% of the NBEO I. An honest school wouldn't accept anyone below a 280 even if they had seats open. Who cares if you become an expert at pterygium gradings if you can't pass the boards. And how can you let students concentrate on studying for the boards when there are perverted professors constantly grabbing your ass and nasty secretaries inventing nasty senarios about you... you know darn well a student's worst enemy is that school itself.

It astonishes me to see those who were not in favor of having mainland americans attend that school suddenly become so assertive in recreuting them today. Why? Is there a sudden immediate interest in getting even more money? Is your deadline really in 2007 rather than 2113... you know what I mean . ... SO STOP LYING TO PEOPLE!!!

When employees of that pathetic school don't treat students with a minimum of human respect you can't blame these threads for existing. This is the only salvation poor naive students have when the accreditors themselves have some pathetic alterior motive... ie dumping their own trash when they don't want them anymore... aka weedout schools.

And don't you think it is a nasty coincidence that one of the accreditors is now nominated by the ASCO's current president (IAUPR's dean) for ASCO's president elect position? Ahhh nasty politics at their best.

Another pathetic coincidence is the same accreditors going to check out the "new school's progress" right in your deadline 2007. Just in time to cover up again its lack of EXISTANCE.

And stop bragging about your pathetic "accomplishments with your residency" you know darn well you didn't pass the boards when they took you in ... your miraculous "scores" came a couple of years later. So get over yourself. .... Get off your "Mania Phase" it's pathetically long.

And if nobody else can be honest in this pathetic thread I will. I came out of that school spitting out a half assed spanish exam, long way from calling myself fluent so how dare you claim to make people into bilinguals. THAT'S A LIE.

Like the people upstairs say all the time .... "GROW UP" .... and this is a quote from your coworkers.

 

your honesty is admirable, but please try to be nice. thanks for your insight, it is appreciated i am sure!

 

Donethat... can you provide any evidence to back up your allegations? I get the impression that you are trying to soothe your bitter soul as opposed to doing a service to those on this forum and provide them with constructive comments about this school.

 

Donethat... You don't know me and I don't know you. I did pass the Boards on time... All of them: BS after 2nd year, CS during 4th year and so on. No "miraculos scores". I studied hard to get the results I got. I took my Boards only once each and passed. Please don't write about people or things you don't know.

I agree with prettygreeneyes. You are just bitter. If you passed through IAU doing half-assed Spanish exams then that is your problem. You must be an excellent liar to have given the illusion that you were performing ocular examinations in Spanish.

But you know what will haunt you for the rest of your professional life??? That your OD diploma will always say Interamerican University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry. That is, if you did graduate from IAUPR.

I recall some time back some false allegations were posted here regarding IAUPR. By any chance are you maddi again?

No point arguing with liars and bitter people.

 

we can all discuss pros/cons to a school without the flame throwers. (please)

please stop attacking others and discuss like adults.

 

Hello Bhartiben! I can really feel for your situation. I am in currently applying to Optometry schools for the second time around. But, I have to agree with Donethat, with what he said about OAT scores. I have come to realize through my own experiences with applying, no matter how much experience you have, if you do not have at least a 280 on the OAT, you can forget it. Your grades from school, and other activities sound very impressive, but won't smooth over the low oat score. So just try to retake the OAT. Now that they offer it only on computer now anyway, you can reschedule to take it before the application deadlines. So best of luck to you!!

 

best of luck to you as well drsax! i hope it all works out for you! where are you applying?

 

How about if you go there yourself, check for us and bring back your evidence to contraddict it.

Right, I'll go right up to that lying secretary and say "would you please say it a little louder again so the microphone can pick it up" - you all are a bunch of dopes, this is why there can never be proof of anything.

 

Donethat: Please stop flaming the other users. You can discuss the merits of IAUPR without slamming the other guests. This was a calm discussion of the merits of bilingual ODs. Can we return to that discussion now ?? Please.

 

no delete buttons

 

Thanks Arial! I am applying to PCO and ICO. Both are really good schools when it comes academics and especially keeping me updated throughtout the admissions process. Right now, I am taking their advice and taking some extra classes to help my application. I even spent the entire summer volunteering at the eye clinic at our local VA hospital.

With my finals this week, I pretty sure that I am showing improvements that they are looking for. I took the oat again and improved my score...lets just say my overall jumped 20 points, so things are looking pretty good for my chances this time around. That is why I can definately understand Bhartiben. The schools want to make sure you can handle the academic load. This time around, I can truly say that I have done everything I can possibly do to show them that even though I have average scores, I do have the love for the profession.

 

yes, pco and ico are both wonderful schools. i am glad to see that your passion for optometry is strong! this will take you far! have confidence and the rest will take care of itself! good luck again!