To apply or not to apply....?

[vornskr1030]

I'm a fourth year at UC Berkeley, and I still haven't decided whether to apply or not. My OAT is strong (AA 370, TS 390), and my prereq GPA is 3.5-3.6ish. I would say that my weak points are my work experience (worked over this past summer twice a week for six weeks), my LOR from my optometrist, and my extracurriculars. I had asked the optometrist whose office I had worked under, but I didn't get too much of a chance to talk to him since he was always busy with appointments, so I'm not sure if I made much of an impression for him to write a strong LOR.

As for my extracurriculars, I don't have much, though I've been involved in them for awhile now. I'm on leadership for my religious fellowship (is it okay to include religious activities on the app?), and I've been involved since my sophomore year. I'm currently an officer for our pre-optometry club, which I joined at the end of my sophomore year. Another thing I've started this semester is being a UGSI (undergraduate student instructor; sort of a TA) for the anatomy lab.

Plus, is it too late to apply now? I haven't even started on the applications.... I'll be applying to UCBSO for sure, and they don't have rolling admissions. But I'm also thinking about applying to SUNY, but they opened rolling admissions in May...

What do you guys think? I'm going into UCBSO's office of student affairs/admissions tomorrow with the same questions...but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Argus]

I don't feel qualified to give you advice about your career plans, but I'll point out that you're misspelling the word 'extracurricular'. When writing anything important -- for instance, something having to do with your career -- it's a good idea to check your spelling. This is worth the minute it takes even if you rarely misspell anything. A single mistake in something short can create a bad impression (or at least the impression that you're not as careful as you ought to be). I realize, of course, that some optometrists are careless in their spelling but careful in matters more directly related to doing their job well. Spelling correctly, though, is one of the few things you can do in a short communication that will show that details matter to you. I'd take advantage of it if I were you.

[This part was added later to see if editing changes the time stamp. The rest has not been modified.]

 

[vornskr1030]

Oops...I was typing a bit fast to get to class on time. Thanks for catching it!

 

[Argus]

You're welcome.

 

[Eve:)]

Oh come on,
this is a forum....not a resume. So what if he/she misspelled a word?

 

[Argus]

Eve, my aim was not to put anybody down (I recognized the possibility that this mistake wasn't typical -- "...even if you rarely misspell anything"). Also I wasn't trying to puff myself up by showing off my own spelling prowess. It doesn't take much prowess to spot a misspelled word occasionally, or use a program that will. 'Extracurricular' might well be needed later on a resume, though, and I didn't want to take the chance that it would be written 'extracirricular' there too.

I'm not some young smart aleck who's trying to put down a peer. I'm probably old enough to be the grandfather of many of you (and who knows, maybe I am -- just kidding, no offense intended . Please excuse my giving advice in the one area in which I might be helpful. I'm retired now, but I used to be a teacher of English (and other languages), and for the last couple of decades I was a technical writer. Vornskr1030 seemed to be seeking advice, so I passed some on, following as I usually do Oscar Wilde's practice (in this respect anyway) -- "I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it."

Looking at the post now, though, I see that the word is spelled correctly the first time it occurs. I would have sworn that it was misspelled both times when I looked at it last night (that's why I wrote "you're misspelling the word" rather than "you misspelled the word"). I wouldn't have bothered to write my post if I'd thought that the error was merely a typo and not likely to be repeated. Apparently the greater carelessness was on my own part (my only excuse is that it was after 2:00 in the morning here). I agree that an isolated typo isn't worth mentioning on an internet forum.

[By the way, thanks for your response to my question in the other thread. I'll wait to see if there are any others -- I hope, without references to BVD adjustments -- and then make a response.]

 

[vornskr1030]

(To Argus: yes it was misspelled originally, but I edited it after you pointed it out)

So I went to the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions to talk it over, and I'm leaning more towards taking a year off. The biggest factor is my optometrist's LOR, which I think is a pretty critical part of the application. I have been in contact with his office, so I may return to my summer position next semester, schedule permitting. Or, I could try to find experience in other settings (group, VA, etc), since it seems optometry schools like to look for that, and plus it would be informative for myself as well. However, I'd still love to hear any suggestions and advice (preferrably asap) about my situation!

 

[darling]

How are your other lors? If the only thing is a non-personal lor from the optometrsit, I'd say to give it a try anyways if Berkeley is your first choice. Since you're already in the area, it's pretty inexpensive bc there's no transportation for the interview. Apply to Berkeley this year, then if it doesn't work out, apply again next year but to more schools.

 

[ericlemonster]

Are you very certain of this career choice?

If so, apply. If you don't get in, just reapply. It'll only cost you a small application fee.

If you're not certain of this career choice, take some time exploring it. Volunteer/work @ an optometrist's office, read more professional magazines or message boards, volunteer with community service type programs aimed towards vision (I'm sure Berkeley must have some), etc.