Under 3.0 admitted

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Congrats! which school? is it PCO? How happy are you?
 
q1we3 said:
Congrats! which school? is it PCO? How happy are you?
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dont know if you are being sarcastic or genuine--either way im going to humor myself and answer your question my letting you know i'm on hold until my mts this week
 
optohopeful123 said:
dont know if you are being sarcastic or genuine--either way im going to humor myself and answer your question my letting you know i'm on hold until my mts this week
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Me too actually but I'm on hold for much longer than this.
 
Rinnegan said:
No. I'm on hold until I graduate which is June 2012.

Also I know someone who got accepted to PCO with a 2.43 GPA and 300 OAT AA and TS.
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2.43 and 300 OAT?!😱
did they have crazy extracurriculars or apply super early?!
 
elleeccentric said:
2.43 and 300 OAT?!😱
did they have crazy extracurriculars or apply super early?!
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actually I know someone who got in with a 2.53. whhich is a lower gpa than even me, but he is african american so that plays a role. what race was your friend? i'm asian so that sucks for me
 
optohopeful123 said:
actually I know someone who got in with a 2.53. whhich is a lower gpa than even me, but he is african american so that plays a role. what race was your friend? i'm asian so that sucks for me
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So, he got in with those stats because he's african american? :eyebrow:
Did he have a lot of EC's, or apply really early? or both?...
 
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Shnurek said:
Affirmative Action
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excuse my language, but bullsh*t..

I'm african american and applied to PCO a few years ago with a GPA of about 2.8 and I had a ton of experience..

I hate when you all pull this card as the answer to why an african american with a low GPA go into optometry school..
 
DawgOD said:
excuse my language, but bullsh*t..

I'm african american and applied to PCO a few years ago with a GPA of about 2.8 and I had a ton of experience..

I hate when you all pull this card as the answer to why an african american with a low GPA go into optometry school..
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Or any professional program for that matter.
 
DawgOD said:
excuse my language, but bullsh*t..

I'm african american and applied to PCO a few years ago with a GPA of about 2.8 and I had a ton of experience..

I hate when you all pull this card as the answer to why an african american with a low GPA go into optometry school..
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Where did you get accepted?
 
elleeccentric said:
So, he got in with those stats because he's african american? :eyebrow:
Did he have a lot of EC's, or apply really early? or both?...
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Rinnegan said:
No. I'm on hold until I graduate which is June 2012.

Also I know someone who got accepted to PCO with a 2.43 GPA and 300 OAT AA and TS.
Click to expand...

Does no one seem to understand that getting in to optometry school is about 1% of the battle? You have to pass all your classes, pass proficiencies, and then pass boards. A person with a 2.43 in any grad program other than an MS in Advanced Beer Consumption is ridiculous. If you were only able to pull of a 2.43, a 2.5, a 2.7, whatever, you're going to have a very hard time making it happen in OD school. PCO, in particular, is anything but an easy program. They have one of the more stressful curricula from what I'm told. Even if you go to a "Pass-Fail" school, they often require what amounts to a B average to pass. It doesn't mean the program is easy and everyone just sits around watching TV in the lounge.

No offense to anyone, but in a time when optometry should be severely limiting the numbers of students who enter the profession, the last thing we need are loads of students with abysmal academic records and poor test scores.

Everyone in my class who failed out, with one exception, had GPAs in the low 3.0s and there was only one person sub 3.0. GPA/test scores are not a 100% predictor of success in a grad program, but I think they're pretty good overall. If you struggled academically in college, whether you tried your best or not, you're going to be in for a big surprise. People who say grad school was easier than college were not in OD programs, they were in MS teacher credentialing programs, MS psych programs, etc.

I don't mean to be blunt, but you guys need to understand that schools are not going to lose anything if you can't make it through the program. On the contrary, they stand to make even more money from you. I had quite a few classmates of mine who were either bumped into the class behind me or taken into my class from the one ahead of me. Most programs make you pay full tuition for "makeup" years. If you then get booted out after your 2nd or 3rd year, well, then you've just got to figure out how to pay those student loans while you find another career. It's hard enough to pay them with a new OD, let alone without it.

The fact that OD programs are even interviewing people under 3.0 is evidence that they are not able to get enough quality applicants. Just more evidence that the profession is sinking.
 
Jason K said:
Does no one seem to understand that getting in to optometry school is about 1% of the battle? You have to pass all your classes, pass proficiencies, and then pass boards. A person with a 2.43 in any grad program other than an MS in Advanced Beer Consumption is ridiculous. If you were only able to pull of a 2.43, a 2.5, a 2.7, whatever, you're going to have a very hard time making it happen in OD school. PCO, in particular, is anything but an easy program. They have one of the more stressful curricula from what I'm told. Even if you go to a "Pass-Fail" school, they often require what amounts to a B average to pass. It doesn't mean the program is easy and everyone just sits around watching TV in the lounge.

No offense to anyone, but in a time when optometry should be severely limiting the numbers of students who enter the profession, the last thing we need are loads of students with abysmal academic records and poor test scores.

Everyone in my class who failed out, with one exception, had GPAs in the low 3.0s and there was only one person sub 3.0. GPA/test scores are not a 100% predictor of success in a grad program, but I think they're pretty good overall. If you struggled academically in college, whether you tried your best or not, you're going to be in for a big surprise. People who say grad school was easier than college were not in OD programs, they were in MS teacher credentialing programs, MS psych programs, etc.

I don't mean to be blunt, but you guys need to understand that schools are not going to lose anything if you can't make it through the program. On the contrary, they stand to make even more money from you. I had quite a few classmates of mine who were either bumped into the class behind me or taken into my class from the one ahead of me. Most programs make you pay full tuition for "makeup" years. If you then get booted out after your 2nd or 3rd year, well, then you've just got to figure out how to pay those student loans while you find another career. It's hard enough to pay them with a new OD, let alone without it.

The fact that OD programs are even interviewing people under 3.0 is evidence that they are not able to get enough quality applicants. Just more evidence that the profession is sinking.
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Agreed.
 
Jason K said:
Does no one seem to understand that getting in to optometry school is about 1% of the battle? You have to pass all your classes, pass proficiencies, and then pass boards. A person with a 2.43 in any grad program other than an MS in Advanced Beer Consumption is ridiculous. If you were only able to pull of a 2.43, a 2.5, a 2.7, whatever, you're going to have a very hard time making it happen in OD school. PCO, in particular, is anything but an easy program. They have one of the more stressful curricula from what I'm told. Even if you go to a "Pass-Fail" school, they often require what amounts to a B average to pass. It doesn't mean the program is easy and everyone just sits around watching TV in the lounge.

No offense to anyone, but in a time when optometry should be severely limiting the numbers of students who enter the profession, the last thing we need are loads of students with abysmal academic records and poor test scores.

Everyone in my class who failed out, with one exception, had GPAs in the low 3.0s and there was only one person sub 3.0. GPA/test scores are not a 100% predictor of success in a grad program, but I think they're pretty good overall. If you struggled academically in college, whether you tried your best or not, you're going to be in for a big surprise. People who say grad school was easier than college were not in OD programs, they were in MS teacher credentialing programs, MS psych programs, etc.

I don't mean to be blunt, but you guys need to understand that schools are not going to lose anything if you can't make it through the program. On the contrary, they stand to make even more money from you. I had quite a few classmates of mine who were either bumped into the class behind me or taken into my class from the one ahead of me. Most programs make you pay full tuition for "makeup" years. If you then get booted out after your 2nd or 3rd year, well, then you've just got to figure out how to pay those student loans while you find another career. It's hard enough to pay them with a new OD, let alone without it.

The fact that OD programs are even interviewing people under 3.0 is evidence that they are not able to get enough quality applicants. Just more evidence that the profession is sinking.
Click to expand...

tumblr_lq14wekmBg1qd4qvx.gif
 
I definitely agree with Jason K on this one. More and more of these posts seem to be about "what's the lowest GPA/OAT I can attain and still get into OD school", "what is the minimum I can do/get and still get into OD school". We seemed to have gotten it backwards...and its a little frightening.

Like it was previously stated - It isn't enough to just get in, you have to successfully complete the program as well.

Good luck! 🙂
 
Actually, race can play a part in matriculation. If you looked into Salus website, there's a section where they talk about recruiting minorities and disadvantage students. I know many colleges would accept a student becasue of race. Might be unfair but the reason is, minorities would probably work in their own communities and serve other minorities after graduation. Colleges take into account that minorities/disadvantage students might had a harder time because they have no money for tutors or have a family to take care of. Abuse, violence, being judge all your life... it takes courage to not give in and get an education to change your life. Of course their GPA might be low and they might not even complete the four years but doesn't mean all of them will fail. And those doctors would probably be better doctors that ones who had everything handed to them on a silver platter.
 
sya said:
I know many colleges would accept a student becasue of race. Might be unfair but the reason is, minorities would probably work in their own communities and serve other minorities after graduation. Colleges take into account that minorities/disadvantage students might had a harder time because they have no money for tutors or have a family to take care of. Abuse, violence, being judge all your life... it takes courage to not give in and get an education to change your life. Of course their GPA might be low and they might not even complete the four years but doesn't mean all of them will fail. And those doctors would probably be better doctors that ones who had everything handed to them on a silver platter.
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One cannot assume that because a student is of another race, that he/she will be disadvantaged, that he/she is from an abusive background, or that he'll have a low GPA, etc. Most importantly, schools cannot assume that a student who is of minority descent will be more likely to practice in underserved areas. I actually think minority students from disadvantaged upbringings are those who are most likely NOT to want to practice in those settings; they're trying to get out of a bad situation and provide something better for their families.

As a side note, there was a black student in my class who went through $80K-$100K sports cars like most people change underwear. Let's just say he's not practicing in a disadvantaged area. Actually, he's not practicing at all - he decided to leave optometry shortly after graduation.....go figure.
 
optohopeful123 said:
isnt pco's cutoff 2.5?
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If schools start being unable to fill their classes with quality applicants, they start to dip into the third and fourth tier applicants. They're not going to leave a 220K seat unfilled just because there aren't enough good applicants to pick from. It's not about producing quality doctors, it's about selling very expensive degrees to naive students who are willing to take out the loans.

I can't believe what this profession is becoming, good thing everyone's going to be heading into walmart. With the continuing reduction in admission standards, the caliber of everyone coming out in a few years will be well-matched for that type of practice.
 
Jason K said:
If schools start being unable to fill their classes with quality applicants, they start to dip into the third and fourth tier applicants. They're not going to leave a 220K seat unfilled just because there aren't enough good applicants to pick from. It's not about producing quality doctors, it's about selling very expensive degrees to naive students who are willing to take out the loans.

I can't believe what this profession is becoming, good thing everyone's going to be heading into walmart. With the continuing reduction in admission standards, the caliber of everyone coming out in a few years will be well-matched for that type of practice.
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Does this guy ever shut-up? Like seriously.
 
Haha seems like some of you guys are really bitter that some students with lower GPA's get in. Grades are a big part of being admitted but they also don't mean everything. Schools look at all aspects of the application. I think the people that are getting so upset are the ones who thought they were better than everyone in undergrad because they had a 3.7+ GPA 🙄
 
Honestly, if you had 3.7+ in undergrad then you are vastly overqualified for optometry so yea I assume they are bitter that they made the wrong life choice.
 
Shnurek said:
Honestly, if you had 3.7+ in undergrad then you are vastly overqualified for optometry so yea I assume they are bitter that they made the wrong life choice.
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Just because you have good grades doesn't mean you are overqualified for optometry, it could mean they don't want to go to medical or dental school.
 
Blondiechick919 said:
Just because you have good grades doesn't mean you are overqualified for optometry, it could mean they don't want to go to medical or dental school.
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Haha, ask any current optometrist and they'll tell you to shoot way higher. I had a way lower GPA than that and the VA optometrist I shadowed kept trying to convince me to go to DO school. In the back of my mind I feel that I will be overqualified when I actually practice because pretty much every OD I talked to said they can do their job in their sleep. So I can't imagine somebody working hard and pulling off a 3.7 in the sciences to be satisfied doing refractions for the next 50 years or so.
 
iCandy said:
I definitely agree with Jason K on this one. More and more of these posts seem to be about "what's the lowest GPA/OAT I can attain and still get into OD school", "what is the minimum I can do/get and still get into OD school". We seemed to have gotten it backwards...and its a little frightening.

Like it was previously stated - It isn't enough to just get in, you have to successfully complete the program as well.

Good luck! 🙂
Click to expand...

you do realize that some students get bad grades not bc of bad study habits or slacking off, but because of extenuating circumstances right?
 
optohopeful123 said:
you do realize that some students get bad grades not bc of bad study habits or slacking off, but because of extenuating circumstances right?
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programs will usually look over one bad semester if you state that a relative died, you got mono, etc. but an overall horrible GPA over 4 years isn't due to any extenuating circumstances.
 
optom123 said:
Does this guy ever shut-up? Like seriously.
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"Like seriously....."? Are you kidding me? What is this, a middle school playground in the valley in 1983?

Like, oh my god, like I totally can't believe how unbelievably naive some pre-OD students are. Like totally, it's amazing.

Is that how your summary letters are going to read?

Dear Endocrinologist:

Like, my patient came in to see me today and he, like, had totally bad diabetic retinopathy or something. It was like really bad n' stuff. Like, should I send him out to you or should I, like, just watch him for a while. I only barely made it like through optometry school 'cause I was let in by a program that couldn't get anyone with decent grades so like I don't really know what to do."

Thanks,

Optom123

51DK0MMMR5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
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Jason K said:
"Like seriously....."? Are you kidding me? What is this, a middle school playground in the valley in 1983?

"like, oh my god, like I totally can't believe how unbelievably naive some pre-OD students are. Like totally, it's amazing."

51DK0MMMR5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Click to expand...

I think Optom123 has a valid point...
 
Jason K said:
"Like seriously....."? Are you kidding me? What is this, a middle school playground in the valley in 1983?

Like, oh my god, like I totally can't believe how unbelievably naive some pre-OD students are. Like totally, it's amazing.

Is that how your summary letters are going to read?

Dear Endocrinologist:

Like, my patient came in to see me today and he, like, had totally bad diabetic retinopathy or something. It was like really bad n' stuff. Like, should I send him out to you or should I, like, just watch him for a while. I only barely made it like through optometry school 'cause I was let in by a program that couldn't get anyone with decent grades so like I don't really know what to do."

Thanks,

Optom123

51DK0MMMR5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Click to expand...

What the heck? Is this post REALLY written by an Optometrist 😕
 
janedoe88 said:
you both seem like really negative people.
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Negativity and realism are closer together than you think. You'll all see very soon where the negativity comes from. The optometry you are signing up for is even worse than the current one. If you truly understand the world you're entering, then great - go for it. Most of you don't understand what you're getting yourselves into, though. You'll see - enjoy the ride.....like.... totally 😀
 
Jason K said:
Negativity and realism are closer together than you think. You'll all see very soon where the negativity comes from. The optometry you are signing up for is even worse than the current one. If you truly understand the world you're entering, then great - go for it. Most of you don't understand what you're getting yourselves into, though. You'll see - enjoy the ride.....like.... totally 😀
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have a nice life with that attitude. :laugh:
 
DawgOD said:
excuse my language, but bullsh*t..

I'm african american and applied to PCO a few years ago with a GPA of about 2.8 and I had a ton of experience..

I hate when you all pull this card as the answer to why an african american with a low GPA go into optometry school..
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Dawg,

No one is going to begrudge you your acceptance but the issue there is why does optometry need to even consider someone with "about" a 2.8? Why can optometry schools not attact enough qualified applicants of all races who are much higher than 2.8?
 
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