WATERLOO Acceptance Information up on Quest

OATBooster | The Ultimate OAT Resource
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
C

canadaoptnow

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
I am in!!!!
Waterloo Class of 2013🙂
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
awesome !!! im applying there next year, what were you gpa and OAT if you dont mind , i wanna know where i have to aim at, thanks!
 
Hey Canadaoptnow.

Congrats on your acceptance!!
I'll see you in the fall and good luck with the rest of the term.
You can totally relax now... what finals, right? 😉
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thanks for the heads-up!
Accepted 🙂

Does anyone know when they send out letters or emails?
 
Mine still says Application..
Anyone else on the same boat as me?
 
It still says "Application" for mine, as well. Marie Amodeo told me by Mid-March all decisions should be completed.
 
If someone has already been accepted, that means you must have had a very competitive application. Good job and congratulations! You must have really earned/deserve it.

I hope we will know sooner rather than later.
 
Thank you.
I think there are two of us on here who are saying our status has changed on quest...correct me if I am wrong, but x22 you are stating that you have been accepted as well right?
 
This was my first time logging on to quest. lol i didn't even know quest existed before you mentioned it ... but ya under application status it says - Admit
 
Am I the only one who reads previous Waterloo posts????
I knew from last year that was how applicants initially find out...then the frenzy starts...
 
Last edited:
I'm in too!!!!!! 👍 Where is everyone from that got accepted?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
yaa my status thing changed to admit too... it says look at paper application for any conditions.. does anyone know what those conditions are?
 
Congratulations to all of you who have already been accepted!

Nice job 🙂.

I guess the rest of us will still have to wait.

I'm just curious as to why they would set it up as rolling admissions, instead of one update for all applicants at the same time. It would reduce stress for those who have yet to get a decision.
 
Hey Guys,
Just a quick thought.

It may be due to alphabetical order... My last name begins with "Z" so maybe that's why we haven't gotten a decision, yet? Other than that I cannot understand why Waterloo would not just send one mass update on Quest for all applicants.
 
I don't think it's by alphabetical order, because I know canadaoptnow and I have last name beginning with the same letter.

But it is very very strange the rest of us hasn't gotten any updates.. is that bad news?

An idea though... I haven't heard anyone getting conditional acceptances.. any of you still finishing up pre reqs? cuz I am...
 
Congratulations to everyone that got accepted already! I'm having trouble logging on to quest. I didn't even know this thing existed hehe. The user id is the one we got in our e-mail way back in when we first applied right? I've been trying for a while now to activate my account or something but it keeps saying user ID not found. Anyone got any ideas?
 
brodimy said:
Congratulations to everyone that got accepted already! I'm having trouble logging on to quest. I didn't even know this thing existed hehe. The user id is the one we got in our e-mail way back in when we first applied right? I've been trying for a while now to activate my account or something but it keeps saying user ID not found. Anyone got any ideas?
Click to expand...

Your user ID is the UW student number you got (8 digits).

Congrats everyone that got accepted! And thank you for bringing up this topic because I didn't even know Quest existed and when I checked it I found out I got in 🙂

Does anyone know how long we have to accept the offer? I am sure it will be a few weeks after we receive the letter of admission right?

Also, for people that wanted to know, my GPA is around 3.7 and I had 390 on my OAT.
 
Aha found it! Yayy I got admitted as well. See you guys in Sept 🙂
 
I think they're selecting the best candidates at first, and then moving down the list!

I think they've selected the highest qualified of the bunch, and are now selecting within the "average" applicant range.
I'm guessing, they are trying to weed out the individuals who actually display that they want to do optometry...

I have 3.7+ GPA, with a 370 on my OAT and mine still says application 🙁.
 
Hi guys,

I was just wondering, for those of you who got accepted, did you complete all of your pre-requisite courses? I have two left to complete this term, but I'm hoping that won't screw up my application.

I had a 380 OAT with a 3.7 GPA, and mine is still saying Application. Also, does Waterloo look at your science OAT or academic average score? My science OAT is 390, but my OAT average is 380.

Thanks.
 
Yea, I have one more pre-req to complete too.
I got a 390TS/380AA as well, but my GPA is only 82%...

My status is still Application..

glau is probably right.. or maybe they haven't done the conditional admits yet.
 
It might be that they're looking at school equivilents?
I don't come from UW, and aparently it's rare for my university to have applicants to optometry (I am only 1 of 2 individuals and the other person still says application, he too has a GPA that is considerable, and did extreamly well on OAT). I'm hypothesizing that UW is having a hard time confirming course equvilents because the way my university is set up, alot of the credits are placed together into single full year courses, while UW has alot of half year courses.

If everyone is wondering, I have finished all the pre-requisites, but I did so last semester.
 
I think its over for us, we didn't make. Most of UW's decisions are made in February, it takes about 2-3 weeks to get these decisions processed, which is why you get them in the mail by Mid-March.

For those of you still with application status, including myself, I think the game is over. We're done.
 
ya im not sure i wouldn't give up all hope though... i've talked to a few ppl in already n they say a few people always get in on the waiting list
 
But don't get me wrong, I don't think its the end of world if you don't get into UW. Considering that optometrists can only earn a maximum of $80000 per year, I don't think its worth going through 4 more years of brutal and expensive schooling for that kind of money, which isn't even guaranteed (i.e. insurance plans might cut back on eye services in 2013 and beyond).
Hell, most plans only cover up to $50 per visit, which is ****! This is why most people usually prolong their vists to the eye doctor, and when they do get any problems, their doctors usually refer them to an opthamologist, NOT an optometrist!


It takes a half-hour for a full eye vist so an optometrist can earn a maximum of $100/hr of insured claims. Deduct all the expenses (i.e. interest loans, rent, tax, receptionist), and you're left with $60/hr or less.


Compare this to a massage therapist's salary or even a physiotherapist! If you open your own practice (as an optometrist would), they could earn upto $160 for seeing two people only per hour, AND they would have alot less debt and crap to pay for in the end. In addition, insurance plans cover upto 80% of the costs, which translates into more clients.

Hell, I could earn an optometrist's salary with a nursing degree or even prostitution. It's ridiculous how hard society makes you work when you blindly "follow" the rest of the crowd!

Bottom line guys, if you don't get into UW, don't fret. If the Almighty has destined you for wealth and prosperity, the money will flow. Just be patient.
 
I haven't lost all hope yet.
Look, no one has gotten any conditional acceptances nor has anyone gotten denied.

And it just puzzles me why they would turn down applicants like Believer128, with a 3.7GPA and nearly perfect OAT scores.

Anyone tried to contact Marie? She hasn't replied my email..

Anyhow, I guess we do have to prepare for the worst.. So if rejected, what are you guys doing next year to improve your application?
 
Could you please report what Marie replies back with 5221133?

To Believer128, would you state your sources? How do you know it takes 3 weeks to process a acceptance letter?
 
I'm probably going to apply to an Australian medical school, I have a friend who just graduated and he's clicking in over $200000/yr (in US currency) and that's just in his first year! Apparently, there's a huge shortage of doctors or something over there and its really easy to get into.

And, to make things even more interesting, the chicks in Australia are alot hotter than they are here, so talk about a win-win situation!
 
Obviously, not everyone posts in this forum, but only a handful of people have mentioned being accepted. Doesn't seem like anyone has been rejected post interview, and for whatever reason they could be sending out acceptances in waves ... everyone has really competitive stats so other factors such as your interview/ref letters could be a factor?
 
Believer128 said:
I'm probably going to apply to an Australian medical school, I have a friend who just graduated and he's clicking in over $200000/yr (in US currency) and that's just in his first year! Apparently, there's a huge shortage of doctors or something over there and its really easy to get into.

And, to make things even more interesting, the chicks in Australia are alot hotter than they are here, so talk about a win-win situation!
Click to expand...

:S you shouldn't be choosing professions based on salary......
 
I've worked on an admissions council before, and what happens is, after a decision is made, it is first inputted into a computer, "formulated" into a letter, the letter gets folded and packaged in the mail room, and finally shipped out.

This entire process takes about 3 weeks. But, in this case, when the decision is inputted into the computer, the applicant is immediately able to see the decision. At this point, I suspect that everyone with "application" status has been denied admission into UW optometry.

I have a feeling the applicant pool was extremely competitive this year. No one with a 3.7 GPA will likely get in, no matter what you scored on the OAT.

To answer your question Glau about salaries, it's not worth screwing your life for 4 years and not getting as much value out of those years as you possibly can. Remember, any education is an investment, and the more value you can obtain from an investment, the better off you'll be.

Getting an OD degree, especially nowadays, is not as worthwhile as it was in the past. According to various research papers I've read and recent economic events, an OD degree might be worthless in a couple of years.

I'll explain in another post.
 
*Continued from previous article:

I've learned from sources that a new profession titled "refractors" is being developed in British Columbia, Canada to help fill the need for eye prescriptions in elderly people. These people are simply trained to use the exact same equipment that optometrists use to calculate prescription values.

I think is one of the reasons why insurance companies have sharply decreased their insurance coverage for eye visits. It sucks for an optometrist, especially if you've been accepted into optometry school!

I don't know why these things happen to me, but the bottom line is, don't be fooled by the competitive nature of a program. I was accepted into a very competitive university program and I assumed that the reason for the competition was because it was a top program and I would have a good job in the end. But, as I soon found out, this was not the case and the same thing can be said about alot of professional programs including optometry.

Beware!!!
 
"According to various research papers I've read and recent economic events, an OD degree might be worthless in a couple of years.

I'll explain in another post."






SO if you get in im guessin you'll decline? Also, please do share these "research papers"
 
Well still, the anomaly still stands, why havn't we been all been "denied" yet? (it'll be pretty funny if we all get the "denied" setting right after I post this).

But yeah, I'm still keeping my hopes up. My GPA is extreamly competitive (3.7+), and my OAT are average to the acceptance average.

The only other factor that I can think messed me up is the fact that I dont' have alot of job shadowing experience, and the fact that I handed in my application really late. Expanding on the latter, I think the admissions committee took it as a sign that I am not really "interested" in optometry.
 
Believer128 said:
*Continued from previous article:

I've learned from sources that a new profession titled "refractors" is being developed in British Columbia, Canada to help fill the need for eye prescriptions in elderly people. These people are simply trained to use the exact same equipment that optometrists use to calculate prescription values.

I think is one of the reasons why insurance companies have sharply decreased their insurance coverage for eye visits. It sucks for an optometrist, especially if you've been accepted into optometry school!

I don't know why these things happen to me, but the bottom line is, don't be fooled by the competitive nature of a program. I was accepted into a very competitive university program and I assumed that the reason for the competition was because it was a top program and I would have a good job in the end. But, as I soon found out, this was not the case and the same thing can be said about alot of professional programs including optometry.

Beware!!!
Click to expand...



I think your talking about an auto-refractor ... its a machine, not a person. And yes it can be used by opticians to do "sight testing" in BC
 
Last edited:
glau said:
Well still, the anomaly still stands, why havn't we been all been "denied" yet? (it'll be pretty funny if we all get the "denied" setting right after I post this).

But yeah, I'm still keeping my hopes up. My GPA is extreamly competitive (3.7+), and my OAT are average to the acceptance average.

The only other factor that I can think messed me up is the fact that I dont' have alot of job shadowing experience, and the fact that I handed in my application really late. Expanding on the latter, I think the admissions committee took it as a sign that I am not really "interested" in optometry.
Click to expand...

Probably not the case. I mailed my application in on the last day, GPA ~3.6, OAT 370. Im sure you'll get in
 
Whatever the case x22, the bottom line is that optometrists earn the lowest amount of insurance covered fees, simply because insurance plans are lowering peoples' coverage.

Alot of my classmates are only covered for an eye visit every 3 years, and only upto $50. It's pathetic. It wasn't like this a couple of years ago. And, OHIP only pays about $40 per person if you're under 20, which is also crap.

All I'm saying is, when you graduate from UW, don't be surprised if you're stuck in a dirty apartment building for another 7 years. The crapload of debt that UW will throw on you combined with their MANDATORY US residency rotation will throw alot of people into massive debt. Heck, even teacher's college sounds better!

Later.
 
Believer128 said:
Whatever the case x22, the bottom line is that optometrists earn the lowest amount of insurance covered fees, simply because insurance plans are lowering peoples' coverage.

Alot of my classmates are only covered for an eye visit every 3 years, and only upto $50. It's pathetic. It wasn't like this a couple of years ago. And, OHIP only pays about $40 per person if you're under 20, which is also crap.

All I'm saying is, when you graduate from UW, don't be surprised if you're stuck in a dirty apartment building for another 7 years. The crapload of debt that UW will throw on you combined with their MANDATORY US residency rotation will throw alot of people into massive debt. Heck, even teacher's college sounds better!

Later.
Click to expand...



I don't understand why you wanted to go to Optometry school at all if you feel this way. Since you became convinced you didn't get in to Waterloo (and discouraged others who are still waiting and may very well get accepted), you've gone off about how terrible the profession is and a listed a number of others that are much better. Why would you apply in the first place??
 
Last edited:
Believer128 said:
But don't get me wrong, I don't think its the end of world if you don't get into UW. Considering that optometrists can only earn a maximum of $80000 per year, I don't think its worth going through 4 more years of brutal and expensive schooling for that kind of money, which isn't even guaranteed (i.e. insurance plans might cut back on eye services in 2013 and beyond).
Click to expand...

You are far too uneducated to be in a pre-professional program.

Believer128 said:
Bottom line guys, if you don't get into UW, don't fret. If the Almighty has destined you for wealth and prosperity, the money will flow. Just be patient.
Click to expand...

Don't even get me started on this blind statement.
 
Believer128 said:
Whatever the case x22, the bottom line is that optometrists earn the lowest amount of insurance covered fees, simply because insurance plans are lowering peoples' coverage.

Alot of my classmates are only covered for an eye visit every 3 years, and only upto $50. It's pathetic. It wasn't like this a couple of years ago. And, OHIP only pays about $40 per person if you're under 20, which is also crap.

All I'm saying is, when you graduate from UW, don't be surprised if you're stuck in a dirty apartment building for another 7 years. The crapload of debt that UW will throw on you combined with their MANDATORY US residency rotation will throw alot of people into massive debt. Heck, even teacher's college sounds better!

Later.
Click to expand...

I'm in my 3rd year at UW. I know the school does have some problems, but just want to clear up a few things from your post. There is no MANDATORY US residency. Residency = something you do after your OD degree if you want to. You do have to do 3 externships in your 4th year, none of which are mandatory to do in the US. This does not throw you into "massive debt". You choose from a list of sites where you go for your externship whether it be in the US or Canada and you can make it as expensive or cheap as you choose (going to Florida will cost more than going to small town Indiana).

As for wage after graduation, plenty of OD's make AT LEAST $80 000 in their first year and then it increases after that. I know many recent graduates personally that make more than that! Obviously, it may be more difficult to practice in places like Toronto or Waterloo which has lots of OD's. You can easily practice in small town Saskatchewan or Alberta and make over $100 000.

I know that optometry as a profession has problems, but I don't feel that it is as bleak as you are making it seem. Just my opinion. I know that I definitely won't be "living in a dirty apartment for 7 years" when I graduate. As for the "crapload of debt from UW", I will have under $30 000 of debt (and did NOT have any help with $$ from my parents). That is TINY compared to US schools, or even some other professional schools.

Just my 2 cents....
 
I agree with peyton.
If you want money, just go into business, accounting, or law, I'm sure they make way more than most health professions.
For optometry, I enjoy the patient interaction. I like the visual system. I didn't choose opthalmology because I believe opthalamologists are just not as accesssible or approachable, in comparision to an optometrist

A professor once told me about choosing a professional career solely for the salary: "One day you'll wake up after 30 years, look at your new SUV, your large house, and your big screen TV, and realize that you're really unhappy because you're dreading going to work everyday".
 
pre_opt_sku, do you mind sharing the problems that UW have?
 
5221133 said:
pre_opt_sku, do you mind sharing the problems that UW have?
Click to expand...

Admissions has been a bit of an issue in the past (ie focusing so much on marks). I think that has changed a bit over the past few years.

Space! Although, they are building an expansion which should be complete right when I'm leaving😉

Clinic! We get into clinic later than the US schools which has been a concern for several years. The curriculum has recently been changed, so I think eventually students will be seeing their first patients sooner.

Just a few off the top of my head....
 
I'm getting the vibe that the selection process is over. 🙁. Does anyone know if Waterloo actually does acceptances in waves? How did it work last year?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Waterloo
Replies
4
Views
2K
kooldude
K
K
waterloo optometry
Replies
1
Views
2K
CalicoJack1131
C
K
Waterloo application
Replies
1
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
K
Waterloo Meet and Greet
Replies
1
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
B
Waterloo Optometry class of 2027
Replies
19
Views
11K
veragenesis
veragenesis
Top