Waterloo Optometry 2011 Cycle

[dawnfirenight]

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Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if they look at you differently if you choose to do the external interview instead of the one at the school? As much as I would like to go to the school and check everything out, the whole excursion from where I live in Alberta would cost me almost $1000. I really only want to dish out that kind of cash if going to the external interview will in anyway hurt my chances of getting in. For example, maybe they think I don't care as much about the school or the facilities because I chose the external interview....

When I asked about it, they sent me an email saying that where you choose to interview will have no effect on your application status. They can't judge you on why you're not going without knowing your reasons.

 

[neuro89]

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if they look at you differently if you choose to do the external interview instead of the one at the school? As much as I would like to go to the school and check everything out, the whole excursion from where I live in Alberta would cost me almost $1000. I really only want to dish out that kind of cash if going to the external interview will in anyway hurt my chances of getting in. For example, maybe they think I don't care as much about the school or the facilities because I chose the external interview....

I had this dilemma myself as I could have attended an external interview in Fredericton (I'm from the maritimes). I ultimately decided to come to Waterloo for it, but only because I have never been to Waterloo and figured I should probably see where I could potentially be living for 4 years. My dad will be accompanying me and we'll be making a little weekend trip out of it.

I personally don't see why an external interview would or should hurt your chances in any way. I'm sure that the interviewers/admissions committee would understand why someone may not want to spend a lot of money for flights, accomodations etc, when it may all be "for nothing" as it were!!! In the case that you are admitted, you may feel a greater need to come visit the campus and spending the money would be a lot more reasonable then.

There is of course always the possibility that no external interviews end up being held (if there's not enough interest), in which case you'd have to come to Waterloo anyway. 😛

 

[OptomHope]

Does anyone have any idea of a rough estimate of how many students are given interviews? I know that approximately 250 students apply to UW optometry but does anyone know how many are interviewed? This way i can have a little bit of an idea what my chances are of being accepted?

 

[HappyMilkshake]

Does anyone have any idea of a rough estimate of how many students are given interviews? I know that approximately 250 students apply to UW optometry but does anyone know how many are interviewed? This way i can have a little bit of an idea what my chances are of being accepted?

My understanding is that they interview everyone that meets the standards they set out (minimum GPA, pre-reqs, etc). So I guess it all depends on how many people applying meet these requirements and have their applications in before the deadline. They may disclose the exact numbers when you attend your interview, or so I've heard some people say.

 

[Slapshot13]

Last year 350 students applied. They interviewed roughly 250 students. The interview day is simple. You will arrive at your designated time slot whereby you will all fill a lecture hall. You will be greeted by senior members of the staff and introduced to some of the student leaders. You will then be broken up into smaller groups of 10-15 with two student leaders. You then will either (this depends on your exact interview time which you will find out the day of) go directly to your interview in groups of three..or you will have a tour of the facilities..or you will have a Q and A session with your leaders.

The interview works as follows... there will be three rooms, and three students..you will each enter one room..have 8-10 minutes with an interviewer...and then come out of the room..rest for 3-5 minutes..and go to the next room..do that for all three rooms.

Good luck!

 

[In2Infinity]

Hi there guys! just a quick question to help me out.

In order to gain acceptance into Waterloo optometry, what do you believe your university average should be approximately. Do you need to achieve over 80% in your science courses in 4 years university to have a chance? maybe 85%?

any help would be great.

 

[OptomHope]

Last year 350 students applied. They interviewed roughly 250 students. The interview day is simple. You will arrive at your designated time slot whereby you will all fill a lecture hall. You will be greeted by senior members of the staff and introduced to some of the student leaders. You will then be broken up into smaller groups of 10-15 with two student leaders. You then will either (this depends on your exact interview time which you will find out the day of) go directly to your interview in groups of three..or you will have a tour of the facilities..or you will have a Q and A session with your leaders.

The interview works as follows... there will be three rooms, and three students..you will each enter one room..have 8-10 minutes with an interviewer...and then come out of the room..rest for 3-5 minutes..and go to the next room..do that for all three rooms.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for this!! I have not been able to find a description this detailed anywhere! So each room only has one interviewer in it?? are they all admissions officers? do they ask very different questions?? Also, who performs the facilities tours, is it the student leaders??
I am so beyond nervous!

 

[quackquack]

Man... do you guys have a lot of things to put in the "Special Training" section? I'm struggling to think of anything!

I wouldn't worry about this section... most people put down almost nothing for it. I don't want to make this sound bad but neither does the "non-academic awards" section. I have a friend who applied last year and only had one thing down for it (something along the lines of being in highschool band) and nothing for special training. He got an interview anyway so I believe if you got the marks, you'll get the interview.

 

[neuro89]

I wouldn't worry about this section... most people put down almost nothing for it. I don't want to make this sound bad but neither does the "non-academic awards" section. I have a friend who applied last year and only had one thing down for it (something along the lines of being in highschool band) and nothing for special training. He got an interview anyway so I believe if you got the marks, you'll get the interview.

Agreed. I don't know many people who would be able to fill these sections. For the "special training section" I put things like First AID/CPR. There isn't much else that I've been specially trained for!

 

[outsidechance]

I just received my waterloo interview invitation this afternoon for Nov 27.

 

[Anjaani]

I still haven't received an interview yet...I applied about two weeks ago...do you guys think its too late to receive interviews now or is there still hope? I'm sooo anxious

 

[quackquack]

Last year someone from my program got her interview around end of October, so it's still possible.

 

[Shy]

I got an interview for Nov.27! I sent my application in on Oct 15 (sooo last minute haha) and got an email for the interview on Oct 19. Does anybody know how many people were offered interviews this year??

Thanks 🙂

Ps. I believe they are still sending emails for interviews so hopefully there are still some on the way. Good luck to everyone waiting!

 

[quackquack]

Well from the above posts, there were around 250 interviews and 90 people accepted for last year so that's about 36% acceptance rate (They used to advertise for 45% I think they took that down...) ... so my guess is that there are more and more people applying every year. This may translate to more interviews also but who knows. I say this because they seem to give interviews to anyone with a good GPA (they don't look at OAT scores til later).

 

[neuro89]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked already - but does anyone know if the interviews are closed or open file at Waterloo? I realize that it might change from year to year, but it'd be nice to know!

 

[dawnfirenight]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked already - but does anyone know if the interviews are closed or open file at Waterloo? I realize that it might change from year to year, but it'd be nice to know!

Last I heard, they are closed file.

 

[outsidechance]

I'm not sure if this question has been asked already - but does anyone know if the interviews are closed or open file at Waterloo? I realize that it might change from year to year, but it'd be nice to know!

what does that mean? closed and open file?

 

[dawnfirenight]

what does that mean? closed and open file?

Closed file means the interviewer doesn't know anything about you before interviewing you - they don't know your grades, OAT score, extracurriculars, etc. So they won't have any pre-existing opinion of you before they interview you. Open file means they will have all this information beforehand.

 

[Premed3]

Just got my interview today. Oct. 31 lol, they received my application on Oct. 15, too.

My interview is for 1pm Saturday Nov. 27, 2010.

Could I ask a favor from the rest of you? Share your interview experiences! I'll share what I go through (even though I'm probably one of the last).

But one of my friends is interviewing before me, can't remember what date. I'll let you all know what happens with him!

PS: Buck up if you haven't received an interview email. I haven't done OATs or sent my LORs. Also, when I emailed them asking if they had received all my documents, they informed me that interview decisions will be going out until early-mid November. So lots of time.

 

[neuro89]

Just got my interview today. Oct. 31 lol, they received my application on Oct. 15, too.

My interview is for 1pm Saturday Nov. 27, 2010.

Could I ask a favor from the rest of you? Share your interview experiences! I'll share what I go through (even though I'm probably one of the last).

But one of my friends is interviewing before me, can't remember what date. I'll let you all know what happens with him!

PS: Buck up if you haven't received an interview email. I haven't done OATs or sent my LORs. Also, when I emailed them asking if they had received all my documents, they informed me that interview decisions will be going out until early-mid November. So lots of time.

Congratulations on getting an interview! (and good luck to those still waiting!)

From what I've seen on this board, it appears that interviews are being conducted on only two days - November 27th (my interview day, 8:30am!) and 28th.

Is anyone interviewing on a day other than those two? Seems like there will be a lot of people running around in suits that weekend - well, except for me because I have no appropriate suit and will be opting for a dress pants and blazer combo. I hope this won't be frowned upon! 🙂

 

[quackquack]

I plan on wearing dress pants and blazer also! I thought about wearing a dress/skirt but it's getting too cold up in waterloo nowadays. As long as you look professional and neat I think that's fine.

 

[Premed3]

I'm thinking about wearing a suit...but I signed up for the campus tour as well, which is about 2 hrs before the interview starts. Won't it be weird touring around with high school students looking at Waterloo in a suit?

If it's just potential Optometry students in he tour, then I guess I won't mind too much.

 

[quackquack]

I'm thinking about wearing a suit...but I signed up for the campus tour as well, which is about 2 hrs before the interview starts. Won't it be weird touring around with high school students looking at Waterloo in a suit?

If it's just potential Optometry students in he tour, then I guess I won't mind too much.

I think the tour consists of other potential opts as well, since it's more productive that way (ie. if 100 people are touring...makes no sense that there are 100 tour guides). And you won't look that weird, because on saturday/sundays there aren't that many people on campus (except for people studying in libraries).

And people in suits walk in UW all the time bc of coop interviews. 😀

 

[HAFCB]

Hi everybody,
I'm from Montreal and I applied at Waterloo. I think they got my application october 5th and I still didn't get a response. For those who aren't new at this, do you know if they send you a refusal letter, or they just leave you hanging there..?

 

[Firefly13]

My application was rejected last year. They sent me an e-mail just after November 15th to let me know...and then snail mail a while later, just to rub salt in the wound 🙂 You should know one way or the other by 'mid-month', as they say.

 

[quackquack]

sent me an e-mail just after November 15th to let me know...and then snail mail a while later, just to rub salt in the wound

ouch. What were your OAT/GPA if you don't mind me asking? Hope you had better luck this year!

 

[HAFCB]

Yeah thnx Firefly13.My university GPA which is of 3.25. It's not great but I thought it would still be worth applying with. But my problem is not there. In Quebec we have the oh so! crappy system which is called CEGEP. I got a catastrophic average there. And worse off is that my pre-reqs were done there. So I wouldn't be surprised if I met the same fate as you did last year...

 

[HAFCB]

Yeah thnx Firefly13.My university GPA is of 3.25. It's not great but I thought it would still be worth applying with. But my problem is not there. In Quebec we have the oh so! crappy system which is called CEGEP. I got a catastrophic average there. And worse off is that my pre-reqs were done there. So I wouldn't be surprised if I met the same fate as you did last year...

 

[HAFCB]

Sorry for double post...

 

[WaterlooOptom]

.

 

[pastaboy]

Oh sweet, i can't beleive i just discovered this forum.
This will .definitely . remedy my paranoia, (or worsen it)

 

[neuro89]

Oh sweet, i can't beleive i just discovered this forum.
This will .definitely .remedy my paranoia, (or worsen it)

It'll worsen it, definitely. 😛 Despite this forum having a wealth of information, I'd probably be better off not looking at it during the week before interview weekend... hahaha.

 

[OptomHope]

What will you guys be bringing to the interview?? I know it says we only need our health cards but is it acceptable to bring a portfolio so that we can take notes, etc? Also for females, is it ok to bring a purse?? I know this is a really silly question but I don't want to wind up looking silly 😛

 

[quackquack]

No I don't think a portfolio is needed. I know for UW pharmacy they actually tell you to bring/prepare one. I emailed Maria few weeks ago if anything extra is needed and she said if it was needed, they would have already told us...

I'm thinking of bringing a small purse, just something so I can put my cellphone in at the very least. However I haven't given too much thought into this...

 

[neuro89]

No I don't think a portfolio is needed. I know for UW pharmacy they actually tell you to bring/prepare one. I emailed Maria few weeks ago if anything extra is needed and she said if it was needed, they would have already told us...

I'm thinking of bringing a small purse, just something so I can put my cellphone in at the very least. However I haven't given too much thought into this...

I'm definitely not bringing a portfolio/note-taking materials, mostly because I don't want to be carrying around too much clutter. 😛 I will be bringing a purse to hold my wallet with health card/cell phone, and that's it.

I'm trying not to make myself panicky over very minor details like this (ie "where do I put my coat when I arrive? is my purse too big and therefore inappropriate?"). 😛

 

[quackquack]

Yeah lol, I'm having a friend coming in with me (he's going to sit in the lobby while he studies XD) so he's holding onto my stuff, but from what I've seen they have hangers for jackets anyway.

Anyone nervous yet?? lol

 

[OptomHope]

Yeah lol, I'm having a friend coming in with me (he's going to sit in the lobby while he studies XD) so he's holding onto my stuff, but from what I've seen they have hangers for jackets anyway.

Anyone nervous yet?? lol

I have been nervous since the day I got the interview!!!

 

[quackquack]

Today I talked to my career adviser and felt a little bit better. Apparently the interview process is a lot better than it was "3 years ago" - more conversational, the interviewers don't take notes while you talk, questions not that challenging, etc. I talked to a student from the school and said the interview is not that bad and that she actually found it relaxing. But then again she got in, so take it for what it's worth lol. It's nice to know the interviewers sound somewhat nice, but I'm still nervous anyway.

 

[quackquack]

Oh and in case anyone is wondering - the interview is not structured in a way so that there is time for you at the end to ask questions like in a normal panel. I mean i have 1 or 2 prepped anyway but just letting you all know!

 

[neuro89]

Oh and in case anyone is wondering - the interview is not structured in a way so that there is time for you at the end to ask questions like in a normal panel. I mean i have 1 or 2 prepped anyway but just letting you all know!

Thanks for posting the additional info, quackquack! I too have heard these things and I'm glad because there's nothing more off-putting than having my interviewer scribbling notes while I'm trying to converse about something. Hopefully it won't be too bad! 🙂

I'm sure we'll all be fine as long as we can control our nerves and remember that all of us are in the exact same boat- although this is easier said than done in the heat of the moment! 😛

Sooooooo, who can't wait until it's over? Hahahah.

 

[quackquack]

I absolutely cannot wait until this is all over! (And then oh yes, we all go crazy until March =P) I'm just wondering why the interview is like 3.5 hours long... the "interview" portion is altogether 30min approx, give or take. Table discussions + tour of school = remaining 3 hours? Am I missing something here?

 

[HappyMilkshake]

Just trying to help out with the last question of what were doing all day - I had an interview at Pacific University in Oregon on Monday and for the first couple hours we had talks from the lady that was head of admissions, the dean, and one of the professors just kind of introducing the school and talking about the facilities and things like financial aid. I'm thinking maybe some of the day will make up things like that? Just a guess, anyway.

 

[pastaboy]

can't wait to hear some interview experiences.

I still need to apply in the summer

When the UW looks at your overall average, do they look at your overall average from all years and are they weighted equally? Because my first year grades are poop but my second and third year grades are great, this is causing me grief.

 

[outsidechance]

this is totally speculation, but i did hear from a source that for regular students that apply with 4 year degrees, they drop your worst and best gpa year and take the average of the other two....

can't wait to hear some interview experiences.

I still need to apply in the summer

When the UW looks at your overall average, do they look at your overall average from all years and are they weighted equally? Because my first year grades are poop but my second and third year grades are great, this is causing me grief.

 

[quackquack]

this is totally speculation, but i did hear from a source that for regular students that apply with 4 year degrees, they drop your worst and best gpa year and take the average of the other two....

I fail to see how that is fair at all... especially for those with rising trend in grades but get their best year dropped?

 

[outsidechance]

I fail to see how that is fair at all... especially for those with rising trend in grades but get their best year dropped?

Yeah I hear ya.. that is just what someone told me from the school. Safest bet, get above a 3.85 cgpa and I am sure you'll be fine for getting an interview. Gl to everyone attending the interviews tomorrow, I for one am excited to see how the day plays out.

 

[Miru]

Yeah I hear ya.. that is just what someone told me from the school. Safest bet, get above a 3.85 cgpa and I am sure you'll be fine for getting an interview. Gl to everyone attending the interviews tomorrow, I for one am excited to see how the day plays out.

I've never heard that before...
I applied last year and during the round table discussion with the 2 student leaders, one of the leaders told us that she didn't get in when she applied the first time because of a low GPA, and then in her 4th undergrad year she got an average in the 90s and was able to get into Waterloo on the 2nd try.

Anyway, my interview is tomorrow at 1pm, I am shaking from nervousness!! I hope the interviews will be similar to last year. I just can't imagine myself answering questions like "so tell me about a time when you..."

 

[OptomHope]

For those of you that have interviewed last year, i know they have the three mini interviews but i have a couple questions.

1) is each "mini interview" just one question, ie. we have the whole 10 minutes or so to answer just the one question??
2) do we go in and introduce ourselves/shake the interviewers hand or is it just straight to the point?

Good luck to everyone interviewing tomorrow!!!!

 

[Miru]

For those of you that have interviewed last year, i know they have the three mini interviews but i have a couple questions.

1) is each "mini interview" just one question, ie. we have the whole 10 minutes or so to answer just the one question??
2) do we go in and introduce ourselves/shake the interviewers hand or is it just straight to the point?

Good luck to everyone interviewing tomorrow!!!!

1) The interviewers will respond to you and ask you more questions after the initial one. It was 8 minutes each with 2 minute break in between = 28 min total.
2) You shake hands and say your name.

 

[quackquack]

I've never heard that before...
I applied last year and during the round table discussion with the 2 student leaders, one of the leaders told us that she didn't get in when she applied the first time because of a low GPA, and then in her 4th undergrad year she got an average in the 90s and was able to get into Waterloo on the 2nd try.

Anyway, my interview is tomorrow at 1pm, I am shaking from nervousness!! I hope the interviews will be similar to last year. I just can't imagine myself answering questions like "so tell me about a time when you..."

Hey Miru,

Were there a lot of questions that's like "so tell me about a time when you"..? My friend applied 2 years ago and told me she got none of those! But of course questions change... just wondering.

As for the part that's like after you respond to question, and they ask you "follow up" questions on your answers... i've been told they only keep asking you if they think you didn't say "enough" for the first question, otherwise they just move on to the next. So tip guys, give thorough answers!

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!