Too late to apply for 2023?

[Body Corpus]

Just decided to pursue Optometry. Been undecided for awhile... Previously considered medical school, and ruled that out as I don't think I would like that vocation. Lots of pre-med/ medical volunteer hours. Had a full scholarship at large public university, graduated with 4.0 with related science degree. Participated in paid research all four years of college. However, have no optometry specific extracurriculars/ activities.

If I can take GRE in October and OAT in November and shadow 20-40 hours after the OAT test, would that be too late to apply, given most schools have rolling admission? It would be challenging to complete all the requirements, but think I could do it by January 1. Expect I will have a high OAT score since I seem to do well on those types of tests. I am interested in a combined OD/ Masters or Phd. program.

Should I wait to apply to be more competitive?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this .

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[Mr.Smile12]

My opinion: if you are trying to get a huge scholarship, don't apply late in a cycle. Do your homework about what you want with combined degrees and how really useful they are.

The more you sound desperate for admission the more leverage you give up. Do your homework in the same way you did it as a premed. Find out if GRE is preferred over OAT since the OAT would be better reflective of your science knowledge. Set up a proper application and get your experience.