USA optometry schools

[Mamali_111]

Hi guys,

I am going to my third year of undergrad this fall. My GPA is 3.5 with the possibility of it going up or down a bit. Initially, I wanted to study I/O Psychology and get a Ph.D. in it. However, it's been a couple of months that I fell in love with optometry and I genuinely enjoy doing what optometrists do. I haven't taken the OAT yet but I think I'm going to do a decent job on it, note that I'm not the best at taking standardized tests (average student here). I have also volunteered in some related fields and in-clinic setting. also have a lot of extracurriculars. I have a couple of concern:

1-I'm currently in Canada, I know that there is no way for me to get into the University of Waterloo by seeing the competitive nature of the program and the lack of optometry schools in Canada. I wanna know if there is a good chance for me to get into a decent OD program in the States? What are some decent optometry schools in the state for my situation?

2- I have heard from multiple people that only in your first year you have to pay out of state tuition and after one year it's back to in-state tuition. Is that true? Also If I wanna go to a decent program, could you provide me with an approximation $$ for each year. I have done some research and some schools are very different than each other.

3- My last concern might sound stupid but it kind of stresses me out. What is the average age to get into an optometry school? I'm currently 20 yrs old and moved to Canada when I was 17 from the middle east. This may sound stupid for the majority but I'm coming from ridiculously highly educated family/ relatives and they always ask me "when are you going to optometry school".

I'd really appreciate your insights,

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[deleted1029384]

1. Your overall GPA is decent, you just need to complete all the prerequisite courses before you matriculate into your first year of optometry school. You'll have a better benchmark after taking the OAT. Some schools may require a minimum OAT score before they offer you an interview. As for decent optometry schools, you should look at the schools accredited by the AOA if you plan on practicing in Canada after graduation. It will be hard to practice in the Canada and the US if you go to a non-accredited optometry school (i.e. the UK or Australia) because you'll need to do a bridging program after optom school. On top of being accredited, research the school's NBEO pass rates or the history of the school. Older schools tend to have better reputations than newer schools. I recommend you research the schools you like and apply to it if you think you meet their criteria. There are usually more Canadians that go to the schools closer to the Canada/US border (i.e. NECO, Salus, ICO).

2. I think the in-state and out-of-state tuition thing only applies to public optometry schools (i.e. SUNY). There are private optometry schools that will have the same tuition cost for all students, regardless if they are international, in-state, or out-of-state. You will have to do more research on your own to find out which schools are private/public. Private school tuition only is around US$40-45k/year. Living expenses will depend on the area you live in.

3. The average age is around 22-24. Optometry programs will accept non-traditional students, which will increase the average age. You should be able to find class profiles when you research schools to get an idea of the class demographic.

Many of the schools recommend finishing at least finishing your 3rd year of uni before entering optometry school. This means you can apply now during your third year and enter optom school the year after without finishing your bachelor degree, provided you finish all the prereqs before optom school. Keep in mind that if you want to do a master's or PhD program in vision science after earning your OD, you might not be eligible without a bachelor's degree.

Don't feel pressured by your family members to apply early! Many students take a gap year (or more) and it can even make their application stand out. And also with this pandemic, many students aren't getting the same clinical experience as before, so this might be something you want to think about before applying. There might also be some issues with immigration because of online classes. You should email the schools you're interested in to see how they are accommodating Canadian students during this time.

I hoped this helped! I am a Canadian student currently in the US. You can PM me if you have any other questions

 

[ardenlyn]

What is your average so far? You might have somewhat of a chance at Waterloo

 

[Mamali_111]

1. Your overall GPA is decent, you just need to complete all the prerequisite courses before you matriculate into your first year of optometry school. You'll have a better benchmark after taking the OAT. Some schools may require a minimum OAT score before they offer you an interview. As for decent optometry schools, you should look at the schools accredited by the AOA if you plan on practicing in Canada after graduation. It will be hard to practice in the Canada and the US if you go to a non-accredited optometry school (i.e. the UK or Australia) because you'll need to do a bridging program after optom school. On top of being accredited, research the school's NBEO pass rates or the history of the school. Older schools tend to have better reputations than newer schools. I recommend you research the schools you like and apply to it if you think you meet their criteria. There are usually more Canadians that go to the schools closer to the Canada/US border (i.e. NECO, Salus, ICO).

2. I think the in-state and out-of-state tuition thing only applies to public optometry schools (i.e. SUNY). There are private optometry schools that will have the same tuition cost for all students, regardless if they are international, in-state, or out-of-state. You will have to do more research on your own to find out which schools are private/public. Private school tuition only is around US$40-45k/year. Living expenses will depend on the area you live in.

3. The average age is around 22-24. Optometry programs will accept non-traditional students, which will increase the average age. You should be able to find class profiles when you research schools to get an idea of the class demographic.

Many of the schools recommend finishing at least finishing your 3rd year of uni before entering optometry school. This means you can apply now during your third year and enter optom school the year after without finishing your bachelor degree, provided you finish all the prereqs before optom school. Keep in mind that if you want to do a master's or PhD program in vision science after earning your OD, you might not be eligible without a bachelor's degree.

Don't feel pressured by your family members to apply early! Many students take a gap year (or more) and it can even make their application stand out. And also with this pandemic, many students aren't getting the same clinical experience as before, so this might be something you want to think about before applying. There might also be some issues with immigration because of online classes. You should email the schools you're interested in to see how they are accommodating Canadian students during this time.

I hoped this helped! I am a Canadian student currently in the US. You can PM me if you have any other questions

Really appreciated your reply. Thank you

 

[Mamali_111]

What is your average so far? You might have somewhat of a chance at Waterloo

I'm sitting on 3.5 at the moment.

 

[DoctorOD]

I agree with Eyedoc_2024. State schools may be harder to get into if you’re heading back to Canada after graduation. Most private schools have plenty of Canadians. NECO and ICO come to mind, and I know they have ~30% Canadian students. If you’re looking to stay in America and/or continue with academia, you could appeal to state schools to invest in you.

Congrats on joining the dark side!

 

[meeeeeededed]

Hi, are there any school specific threads for optometry or is the a general forum?