Western Acceptances

[UCIspopbot]

So I had my interview at Western for optometry and I believe it went pretty good. They said they would mail us their decisions in the mail in a week stating either yes no or maybe. At the end of the interview and info session they asked some people to stay behind and I had learned those that stayed behind all got acceptances. Does anyone know if Western sends out acceptances in the mail after or if I should prepare for bad news. As far as my stats go i had a low gpa at 2.92 but OAT of 350 AA and 330 TS.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[OATAcer]

Your stats are good for western. I doubt that those that waited were accepted, they probably had other concerns. Just wait for the letter and keep praying.

So I had my interview at Western for optometry and I believe it went pretty good. They said they would mail us their decisions in the mail in a week stating either yes no or maybe. At the end of the interview and info session they asked some people to stay behind and I had learned those that stayed behind all got acceptances. Does anyone know if Western sends out acceptances in the mail after or if I should prepare for bad news. As far as my stats go i had a low gpa at 2.92 but OAT of 350 AA and 330 TS.

 

[Tippytoe]

Wow, it's worse than I thought. You mean a new OD school is so desperate to enroll students that qualify (they probably just did a credit check on everyone to decide). And they were so afraid to lose your money........errrr.....I mean you, that they did the car salesman's oldest trick in the book--- Get you to commit before you can think about it.

You all will regret it. I can guarantee it. Any MD, DO, DDS will be better.

 

[optoapp2012]

Wow, it's worse than I thought. You mean a new OD school is so desperate to enroll students that qualify (they probably just did a credit check on everyone to decide). And they were so afraid to lose your money........errrr.....I mean you, that they did the car salesman's oldest trick in the book--- Get you to commit before you can think about it.

You all will regret it. I can guarantee it. Any MD, DO, DDS will be better.

Your posts aren't helping anyone. These kind of posts get rather annoying. I'm sorry you didn't know what you were getting into and that you are bored with your job. Every occupation has that result for some people - I know unhappy MD's, DO's, and DDS's. But some of us are really excited about it and will be successful. I have shadowed and worked for more optometrists that love their jobs than hate it (actually never shadowed one that hates it - I know they're out there, but they don't represent a majority). We get the point that there are lots of you out there that regret your decision - do something else. Please stop being Debbie Downer on these boards and insulting people who are working hard to go after what they want in life. We don't need anyone to "save us" and I don't think anyone actually benefits from that type of post. Thank you and good luck with things - I hope you find something more fulfilling.

 

[optoapp2012]

You all will regret it. I can guarantee it. Any MD, DO, DDS will be better.

PS - you're very wrong that we ALL will regret it. You most definitely can not guarantee that, because clearly not every optometrist or the majority feels the same way you do.

 

[Jason K]

Your posts aren't helping anyone. These kind of posts get rather annoying. I'm sorry you didn't know what you were getting into and that you are bored with your job. Every occupation has that result for some people - I know unhappy MD's, DO's, and DDS's. But some of us are really excited about it and will be successful. I have shadowed and worked for more optometrists that love their jobs than hate it (actually never shadowed one that hates it - I know they're out there, but they don't represent a majority). We get the point that there are lots of you out there that regret your decision - do something else. Please stop being Debbie Downer on these boards and insulting people who are working hard to go after what they want in life. We don't need anyone to "save us" and I don't think anyone actually benefits from that type of post. Thank you and good luck with things - I hope you find something more fulfilling.

You've missed the point entirely. There are plenty of ODs out there who love what THEY'RE doing. What all of you pre-ops fail to understand is that the vast majority of you, perhaps all of you, will NEVER be doing what you see them doing. You see the happy, successful OD of today and think you can have the same thing. Those days are over, my dear. Like it or not, the optometry that you're signing up for is nothing like what you see in today's high-momentum private offices. Visit your local Walmart and Sam's Club to see what you'll be getting. If you like that, then by all means, go drop 6 figures on an OD so that you can come out making 65K and working weekends next to the big screen TVs. It's all supply and demand and if you don't understand that, you may want to stay as an undergrad a little longer until you do.

A few years down the road, when you finally come to the realization that you were wrong, don't say someone, several people, didn't try to warn you. The math is there for all who are intelligent enough to look at it. For everyone else, there's a lot of disappointment ahead. I CAN guarantee that.

 

[optoapp2012]

You've missed the point entirely. There are plenty of ODs out there who love what THEY'RE doing. What all of you pre-ops fail to understand is that the vast majority of you, perhaps all of you, will NEVER be doing what you see them doing. You see the happy, successful OD of today and think you can have the same thing. Those days are over, my dear. Like it or not, the optometry that you're signing up for is nothing like what you see in today's high-momentum private offices. Visit your local Walmart and Sam's Club to see what you'll be getting. If you like that, then by all means, go drop 6 figures on an OD so that you can come out making 65K and working weekends next to the big screen TVs. It's all supply and demand and if you don't understand that, you may want to stay as an undergrad a little longer until you do.

A few years down the road, when you finally come to the realization that you were wrong, don't say someone, several people, didn't try to warn you. The math is there for all who are intelligent enough to look at it. For everyone else, there's a lot of disappointment ahead. I CAN guarantee that.

I would agree with you that chain opticals are really growing and taking over a large amount of the business. But I know of plenty of successful ODs that have started up in private practice in the last few years. Things are changing - ODs probably have to offer something more unique in order to keep business, but that's life if the landscape changes.

I'm not in undergrad, and I haven't been for awhile. I've been out in the workforce for awhile and am making this decision after working at a private practice where we have several new patients every day, in addition to the patients that have been with us over a decade. The docs have figured out their niche and know how to get patient referrals and keep patients. We're not cheap and realize plenty of people get their Rx and then go to Sam's for contacts or glasses - but many don't, out of loyalty to the office. It's tougher to stay in business now, but OD's who have a good sense of business will do fine, even 10, 20, 40 years from now.

Again, I'm sorry you're unhappy with the profession. In your shoes, I'd be out there doing something to get into a different industry rather than patrolling these forums with a bad attitude. I really doubt many people see these posts as anything other than an annoyance they have to scroll past in order to get to the posts that have information they are actually looking for. I appreciate the thought that you want to protect us from something that didn't end up meeting your expectations, but some of us ARE going into this with a lot of information about the current scene of optometry, ideas about how it might change over the next decade, and a good foundation for how to start a private practice (plus the understanding that it might take 10 years to really get it going)...and I think you're not giving us the credit for the research we are doing and diligent thought we're putting into this.

 

[UCIspopbot]

Your stats are good for western. I doubt that those that waited were accepted, they probably had other concerns. Just wait for the letter and keep praying.

My friends was one of those that got asked to stay behind and she was the one that told me she got accepted. I''m very glad for her. You're right though just got to keep praying I'll get accepted so definitely hoping for the best. Thank you for the feedback

 

[opto2014]

I'm right there with you. I interviewed as well and still haven't heard back, and my stats are very similar to yours. Goodluck to you (to us).

 

[optometry4meplz]

my interview date w/ western was 2/10/12. they did not ask me to stay behind as they did w/ about half of the group that day. i received my acceptance letter from western on 2/17/12. i'm not sure why they would give acceptances to some on the same day and to me much later via snail mail. good luck.

 

[UCIspopbot]

my interview date w/ western was 2/10/12. they did not ask me to stay behind as they did w/ about half of the group that day. i received my acceptance letter from western on 2/17/12. i'm not sure why they would give acceptances to some on the same day and to me much later via snail mail. good luck.

if you dont mind me asking, what were your stats?

 

[optometry4meplz]

science gpa: 3.38
overall gpa: 3.48 (my major: microbiology)
oat: AA320, TS330
extracuric's: microbio club member, volunteered at women's resource center on campus, +200 hrs shadowing optometrists, toastmasters club member

 

[Jason K]

I would agree with you that chain opticals are really growing and taking over a large amount of the business. But I know of plenty of successful ODs that have started up in private practice in the last few years.

By what measure of "success?" I know of about 7 or 8 OD offices, all very nice looking inside, started up in the last 6 years.....all of them closing their doors. Different cities, different states, but one common reason for closing....not enough patients coming through the doors. You guys just don't get it. The profession, itself, is diseased. You think you can avoid the certainty that exists, but you can't. The lies and deception put out by the schools, the AOA, and companies like Luxottica, are working. You'll see one day. I feel bad for you guys. I was just like you once. All convinced that optometry was something it absolutely wasn't. I ignored a few ODs who told me otherwise, but I see now that they were 100% correct.

Nobody starts optometry school with a bad taste in their mouth about optometry. Everyone's all excited and motivated....eager to learn everything they can. I was there once. It all changes when you really see inside the profession - you see what it's made of, where it's been and where it's going. You guys see what you want to see, not what's there.

I'm not in undergrad, and I haven't been for awhile. I've been out in the workforce for awhile and am making this decision after working at a private practice where we have several new patients every day, in addition to the patients that have been with us over a decade.

Jesus, I don't know how many times I can say this before someone actually begins to understand it. You can't look at high-momentum offices of today and think that you can replicate what they have done. When you look at an office that was started in the 80s or 90s, you're looking back in time. They were created in a very different optometric world. If you think you can get out of school and start an office that ends up like that, you're in for a real treat. It's not going to happen. I'm aware that there are some very successful, high-volume private offices in the US. They're partially what suckered me into the profession. I didn't believe the few private ODs who told me "Yeah, my office is great, but new people coming out these days have no way of doing what I've done....for many reasons." See, I ignored the little part that I didn't like. It didn't fit my plan, so I disregarded it. Just as you and others are doing. It'll come back to you one day.

Again, I'm sorry you're unhappy with the profession. In your shoes, I'd be out there doing something to get into a different industry rather than patrolling these forums with a bad attitude. I really doubt many people see these posts as anything other than an annoyance they have to scroll past in order to get to the posts that have information they are actually looking for.

I'm in the process of transitioning out of optometry - permanently. And for what it's worth, I get several emails per week, thanking me for informing people of the hidden lies of the optometric profession. I can't tell you how many people have written to me saying, in effect, "I read what you and others have posted, checked with a few ODs in my area, and it sounds like what you're saying has a lot of truth in it. I don't want to waste 150K or more on a degree that I'll be unhappy with...."

I appreciate the thought that you want to protect us from something that didn't end up meeting your expectations, but some of us ARE going into this with a lot of information about the current scene of optometry, ideas about how it might change over the next decade, and a good foundation for how to start a private practice (plus the understanding that it might take 10 years to really get it going)...and I think you're not giving us the credit for the research we are doing and diligent thought we're putting into this.

I'm happy to give credit when it is due. Unfortunately, when someone's research is based pretty much entirely in fantasy and lies, I can't give credit. Your "research" is based on flawed information. The AOA, the BLS, the nonsense surveys that are fed data by the AOA and the schools, the "market research" that you guys do when you visit today's high-momentum offices, it's all a fantasy. As I've said before, you can't change reality, no matter how much you'd like to. If you jump out of an airplane without a parachute, you're going to hit the ground - period. You can analyze, research, theorize, and assume all you want, but one thing is for certain - you'll hit the ground and bad things will happen. You guys will all "hit the ground" when you graduate, but you're assuming it will be in a giant bed of pillows. It won't.

 

[Tippytoe]

science gpa: 3.38
overall gpa: 3.48 (my major: microbiology)
oat: AA320, TS330
extracuric's: microbio club member, volunteered at women's resource center on campus, +200 hrs shadowing optometrists, toastmasters club member


Oh lord, dude (or dudette), with those GPAs, you will be able to find a medical school that will accept you (or possibly a DO school). Your options will be 50X greater as will your income and future.

You just gotta trust me and Jason on this one.

If optometry is all you can do because you are too slow for medicine, I guess that's okay. But I'd shoot for the stars first and fall back to second class citizen last. (Actually I'd do MD first followed by dentistry and then podiatry and then Nurse practioner and then OD).

 

[Tippytoe]

Nobody starts optometry school with a bad taste in their mouth about optometry. Everyone's all excited and motivated....eager to learn everything they can. I was there once. It all changes when you really see inside the profession - you see what it's made of, where it's been and where it's going. You guys see what you want to see, not what's there.

Jason, I think maybe we give students too much credit. I just love the ones that say "I worked in an optometry office and we did this and that......". So your right, they assume that all they have to do is duplicate what those owners did. I do want to ask them one favor. When you graduate, make sure you go back to the owners and get a job. And then start to tell them everything they are doing wrong and how you will fix it. They just love that.

It's about like seeing a guy driving a Bentley and saying, all I have to do is get my drivers license and I can drive one of those.

I think we are givng too much credit when we think that most students today want to work in a private practice. This is the video-game, instant text, Facebook, Twitter "me, me, me" generation. Perhaps they will be just fine hearing the 'blep, blep, blep" at the checkouts for 10 hours straight sharing their 30 minutes lunch break with the pharmacist so they can talk about the funny smelling old man that you sent over for artifical tears today. Make sure you check out your future patients at: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/photos Your parents are going to be so proud.

Maybe the thought of shopping carts crammed into their 300 sq foot "office" doesn't bother them. Maybe the great unwashed that go to Wal-Mart deserve their quality eye care too .

In other words, they either don't believe us or they accept that they won't mind working in a big blue-vested store writing out eyeglass prescriptons all day and helping out at the cash register during down time.

We don't have to guess. We already have a model of what future optometrt will be like: PHARMACY

I'd bet a million dollars that more than one person told the guy at the website below not to go into pharmacy. They had a shortage in the 1980's so the schools ramped up. Not only did many more schools open up, they gradually moved from a bachelors degree to masters to now virtually every phamacist has a PharmD (read that more income for the schools and indentured servitude for the graduates). And they are all miserably working at a chain drug store. As much as I bash optometry, it's 100 times better than pharmacy. But thats only a matter of time. We WILL be pharmacy in 10-20 years! Check it out. It's funny reading. I think it's rated PG-13 (for adult language) so you middle schoolers might not want to read: http://angrypharmacist.com/

 

[optoapp2012]

Jason, I think maybe we give students too much credit. I just love the ones that say "I worked in an optometry office and we did this and that......". So your right, they assume that all they have to do is duplicate what those owners did. I do want to ask them one favor. When you graduate, make sure you go back to the owners and get a job. And then start to tell them everything they are doing wrong and how you will fix it. They just love that.

It's about like seeing a guy driving a Bentley and saying, all I have to do is get my drivers license and I can drive one of those.

I think we are givng too much credit when we think that most students today want to work in a private practice. This is the video-game, instant text, Facebook, Twitter "me, me, me" generation. Perhaps they will be just fine hearing the 'blep, blep, blep" at the checkouts for 10 hours straight sharing their 30 minutes lunch break with the pharmacist so they can talk about the funny smelling old man that you sent over for artifical tears today. Make sure you check out your future patients at: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/photos Your parents are going to be so proud.

Maybe the thought of shopping carts crammed into their 300 sq foot "office" doesn't bother them. Maybe the great unwashed that go to Wal-Mart deserve their quality eye care too .

In other words, they either don't believe us or they accept that they won't mind working in a big blue-vested store writing out eyeglass prescriptons all day and helping out at the cash register during down time.

We don't have to guess. We already have a model of what future optometrt will be like: PHARMACY

I'd bet a million dollars that more than one person told the guy at the website below not to go into pharmacy. They had a shortage in the 1980's so the schools ramped up. Not only did many more schools open up, they gradually moved from a bachelors degree to masters to now virtually every phamacist has a PharmD (read that more income for the schools and indentured servitude for the graduates). And they are all miserably working at a chain drug store. As much as I bash optometry, it's 100 times better than pharmacy. But thats only a matter of time. We WILL be pharmacy in 10-20 years! Check it out. It's funny reading. I think it's rated PG-13 (for adult language) so you middle schoolers might not want to read: http://angrypharmacist.com/

Again, I'm really sorry things haven't panned out for you. But you are missing the point that people on here really don't care about your bad attitude toward the profession.

Here are the people who HAVE had an impact on my desire to do optometry:
- The 1999 grads who went into private practice together and run a very profitable one where I work now. They offer tons of tips for how to be successful in starting up a private practice and how long it takes to get out of the red.
- This dude: http://www.geeeyecare.com/aboutdrgee.html . 'Nuff said. He was a 2002 grad and started his private practice in 2004. Insanely profitable - kind of to an unfair degree Go him.
- The 2010 grads I shadowed in the Navy who all have various job offers on the table from private practices for when they finish their service (all offering about double the Navy salary)
- The 2012 grads I know that have fostered relationships with private practices since their first year in school and therefore have very lucrative job offers on the table for right after graduation (I know several of these, but they point out the importance in seeking out those relationships early and building them, rather than just expecting someone to trust you are a good and personable doc if you walk up and ask them to hire you at graduation).

I think it's getting harder and only the most ambitious and business savvy grads are seeing high success, but that's because they are putting the work in on the front end and not expecting the industry to magically make things easy.

 

[optoapp2012]

Jesus, I don't know how many times I can say this before someone actually begins to understand it. You can't look at high-momentum offices of today and think that you can replicate what they have done. When you look at an office that was started in the 80s or 90s, you're looking back in time. They were created in a very different optometric world. If you think you can get out of school and start an office that ends up like that, you're in for a real treat. It's not going to happen. I'm aware that there are some very successful, high-volume private offices in the US. They're partially what suckered me into the profession. I didn't believe the few private ODs who told me "Yeah, my office is great, but new people coming out these days have no way of doing what I've done....for many reasons." See, I ignored the little part that I didn't like. It didn't fit my plan, so I disregarded it. Just as you and others are doing. It'll come back to you one day.

The office where I work was started around 2000. The docs are just excellent about getting patients to refer others so that we get new patients all the time. They also use social media like crazy. You're absolutely right that places will close their doors if they expect to pick a "good" location and people will just start walking in. I just posted a link for an office above that was started in 2004 - that practice is insanely profitable. I've heard the numbers before, but it was awhile back and I have no idea what they are now. I think in both cases, the doctors opening the practices realized that you can't just do glasses and contacts in general - you have to have a specialty that makes people come to you over Walmart or Sams. The docs I work for offer high end glasses that no one else in town offers, plus they do a lot of LASIK co-management and specialty contacts so that other docs refer patients to them. Plus they work really hard to keep patients and get people to refer their friends. The guy in the link does lots with surgical care and sports vision, which the chain retailers can't offer to the degree that he can. I get that you simply can't compete with the chain places if you're offering the exact same services and products.

I'm glad you're talking some people out of the field that aren't as passionate about it - I think if they can be talked out of it, they probably would have hated it just like you anyway.
Or rather anyone who hasn't really explored what's going on in the field. I agree with you that I don't think schools or the AOA will accurately describe the current state of optometry to anyone. That's why those are not my main sources of information. I am getting everything I've learned from people who have started their practices within the last 10 years. Most of them DID have to work in other private practices or a short time in retail for a couple years in order to get some experience in order to feel comfortable starting up their own. I'm also glad you are working to get out of optometry and I hope you really enjoy whatever you go into.

 

[Shnurek]

"After graduating from optometry school Dr. Gee was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and Senior Staff Physician at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas where he focused on the care of patients affected with diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases like lupus and Sjogren's disease. His responsibilities involved the training of medical students and ophthalmology residents at the Scott & White Eye Institute."



Awesome! Go Dr. Gee and we need more people like him.

 

[optoapp2012]

"After graduating from optometry school Dr. Gee was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and Senior Staff Physician at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas where he focused on the care of patients affected with diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases like lupus and Sjogren's disease. His responsibilities involved the training of medical students and ophthalmology residents at the Scott & White Eye Institute."



Awesome! Go Dr. Gee and we need more people like him.

 

[thericeman]

Hey UCIspopbot!

I was there on the day that you were there for the interview (2/24). I was asked to stay behind and received my acceptance from my interviewer. I believe the others were the same. I have very comparable stats to you, but you actually have a slightly better AA and TS score than I do. I'm confident you will be receiving your letter in the next week. My guess is that they want to review your entire file before they make their final decision.

Good luck to you!

 

[UCIspopbot]

Hey UCIspopbot!

I was there on the day that you were there for the interview (2/24). I was asked to stay behind and received my acceptance from my interviewer. I believe the others were the same. I have very comparable stats to you, but you actually have a slightly better AA and TS score than I do. I'm confident you will be receiving your letter in the next week. My guess is that they want to review your entire file before they make their final decision.

Good luck to you!

Thanks. Congrats on your acceptance and I wish you the best of luck in whatever school you choose.

 

[Jason K]

The office where I work was started around 2000. The docs are just excellent about getting patients to refer others so that we get new patients all the time. They also use social media like crazy. You're absolutely right that places will close their doors if they expect to pick a "good" location and people will just start walking in. I just posted a link for an office above that was started in 2004 - that practice is insanely profitable. I've heard the numbers before, but it was awhile back and I have no idea what they are now. I think in both cases, the doctors opening the practices realized that you can't just do glasses and contacts in general - you have to have a specialty that makes people come to you over Walmart or Sams. The docs I work for offer high end glasses that no one else in town offers, plus they do a lot of LASIK co-management and specialty contacts so that other docs refer patients to them. Plus they work really hard to keep patients and get people to refer their friends. The guy in the link does lots with surgical care and sports vision, which the chain retailers can't offer to the degree that he can. I get that you simply can't compete with the chain places if you're offering the exact same services and products.

I'm glad you're talking some people out of the field that aren't as passionate about it - I think if they can be talked out of it, they probably would have hated it just like you anyway.
Or rather anyone who hasn't really explored what's going on in the field. I agree with you that I don't think schools or the AOA will accurately describe the current state of optometry to anyone. That's why those are not my main sources of information. I am getting everything I've learned from people who have started their practices within the last 10 years. Most of them DID have to work in other private practices or a short time in retail for a couple years in order to get some experience in order to feel comfortable starting up their own. I'm also glad you are working to get out of optometry and I hope you really enjoy whatever you go into.

That's just fantabulastic. I think you neglected to mention the approximately 70-75% (and ever increasing) portion of new grads who enter crap commercial practice with the likes of Wallyworld, Sam's, America's Best, LC, PV, Cohen's, the list goes on..... My estimation is that within 8 years or so, that number will be closer to 90%. We'll just have to see how wrong I am on that. You guys just don't understand that what others have done/are doing does not have bearing on what YOU can/will be able to do. You're entering a different profession than someone who graduated in 2000 or even 2002. It's a different planet now and it will be a TOTALLY different world when you're graduating in 5 or more years. I can't say what all the changes will be in 5 years or so, but you can rest assured we'll all be paid even less due to Medicare fee schedule cuts which are inevitable. We'll also be paid less due to the fact that there will be literally thousands upon thousands of us who are not needed. Supply and demand, folks. It doesn't cease to exist in optometry just because you spent a lot of money on a degree you thought was a good investment.

Private offices, if they pay fairly, can be great. The Navy and IHS can be great for reasons other than pay. Some hospital settings can be wonderful. If there was a reasonable percentage of grads going into those areas, I wouldn't be on here.

But as usual, you guys look for and see only what you want to see. You see what CAN happen and assume that opportunity is waiting for all of you. Weak opportunity is waiting for a few of you. The rest will be devoured by corporate lions. You guys will be nice and fattened by the time you're fed to the animals so it'll be a feast for them.

I don't know Tippytoe, I think there's a few of these neophytes who are fully accepting of a career with a blue vest and yellow smiley button......the rest are in for a biiiiiiiiiiig surprise

 

[netmag]

I agree with your comment about the optometry profession changing. Change is going to happen in most professions. That's just how it is in this country especially if your profession has any proximity with corporate entities. If you can't cope with the fact that big business is constantly changing things to grow bigger, reduce competition, and increase profit, then you're in the wrong society. Big business includes post graduate schools as well. People that can't cope with the change or find ways to succeed within the change will probably end up here whining about how they were robbed of what they were supposed to be entitled to. That's not to say that one should "like" the change, but getting into the fetal position to cry and lash out at others on the internet isn't going to help either. It's true that Dentists and MDs/DOs probably are the only ones that aren't quite as affected by such changes, but not everyone can (or wants to) be a dentist or MD/DO. The two entities that troll these boards don't seem to get that, but I think that's by design.

However, I don't agree with your comment about feeling sorry for them. These two posters portray themselves as "professionals" that you should listen too. They may in fact truly be ODs but they certainly don't represent their profession very well. Some of the posts border on high school level responses. Lashing out at people you're trying to discourage probably isn't the most intelligent or professional way of getting your point across. People that feel like it's ok to bash others because their gpa is .08 below an arbitrary self made threshold would make me wonder if they themselves are really fit for a health care profession. Not that grades don't matter, but it's the lack of professionalism in the response and the need to ridicule others for even trying that reveals some deep seeded personal insecurity issues. Even if these people claim that they aren't like that outside of the internet, that alone shows you how much their comments are worth here.

If you look back into the history of one in particular, you'll notice that every single post made on this site from the time that he signed up constitutes the exact same theme. Also, within the first few posts here, he posted a link to a custom made anti-optometry youtube video. He was also exposed for blatantly copying salary data another site and "accidentally" leaving out a part that explained what the chart was really showing and then "accidentally" representing it as meaning something completely different (and of course much more negative). I would be careful about reading too much into anything these two entities post without confirming it from various sources. While some of what is said is based in truth, their poor attitude and childishly obvious agenda make it difficult to trust their brand of "helping pre-optoms" or to accept such posts as just purely altruistic "help".

Again, I'm really sorry things haven't panned out for you. But you are missing the point that people on here really don't care about your bad attitude toward the profession.

I think it's getting harder and only the most ambitious and business savvy grads are seeing high success, but that's because they are putting the work in on the front end and not expecting the industry to magically make things easy.

 

[Jason K]

I agree with your comment about the optometry profession changing. Change is going to happen in most professions. That's just how it is in this country especially if your profession has any proximity with corporate entities. If you can't cope with the fact that big business is constantly changing things to grow bigger, reduce competition, and increase profit, then you're in the wrong society. Big business includes post graduate schools as well. People that can't cope with the change or find ways to succeed within the change will probably end up here whining about how they were robbed of what they were supposed to be entitled to. That's not to say that one should "like" the change, but getting into the fetal position to cry and lash out at others on the internet isn't going to help either. It's true that Dentists and MDs/DOs probably are the only ones that aren't quite as affected by such changes, but not everyone can (or wants to) be a dentist or MD/DO. The two entities that troll these boards don't seem to get that, but I think that's by design.

However, I don't agree with your comment about feeling sorry for them. These two posters portray themselves as "professionals" that you should listen too. They may in fact truly be ODs but they certainly don't represent their profession very well. Some of the posts border on high school level responses. Lashing out at people you're trying to discourage probably isn't the most intelligent or professional way of getting your point across. People that feel like it's ok to bash others because their gpa is .08 below an arbitrary self made threshold would make me wonder if they themselves are really fit for a health care profession. Not that grades don't matter, but it's the lack of professionalism in the response and the need to ridicule others for even trying that reveals some deep seeded personal insecurity issues. Even if these people claim that they aren't like that outside of the internet, that alone shows you how much their comments are worth here.

If you look back into the history of one in particular, you'll notice that every single post made on this site from the time that he signed up constitutes the exact same theme. Also, within the first few posts here, he posted a link to a custom made anti-optometry youtube video. He was also exposed for blatantly copying salary data another site and "accidentally" leaving out a part that explained what the chart was really showing and then "accidentally" representing it as meaning something completely different (and of course much more negative). I would be careful about reading too much into anything these two entities post without confirming it from various sources. While some of what is said is based in truth, their poor attitude and childishly obvious agenda make it difficult to trust their brand of "helping pre-optoms" or to accept such posts as just purely altruistic "help".

God netmag, you really make this too easy for me. Can you just grow a pair and say what you want to say? What's with this shrouded code speak you employ? Are you afraid of me or something? When I pick apart your posts for being utter nonsense, does it hurt your feelings or make you feel blue? I'd stop, but honestly, I can't help myself.

And are we still really on the pre-tax vs post tax definition of net income? I've made hundreds of posts on here and you have to go back to a minute error made in a post over 6 months ago? That's hilarious, chief.....no seriously, it actually makes me feel even more solid in my predictions. Even my greatest on-screen nemesis can't come up with anything of substance to dispute what I've been saying all along. If that doesn't solidify my position, I don't know what will. I'm sorry you have no other legs to stand on when it comes to shooting holes in my arguments. If you tried a little harder, I'd bet you could come up with something, anything better than that. Is that really your only real "criticism" of me that you're able to come up with? Really? I at least figured you'd bring up the post with the Elton John glasses, but no, you go right for one with an accounting error that was also made by a retinal specialist and several others on this forum. Funny how you don't bring up his name regarding that error - wouldn't you say? Why exactly is that? Oh, wait, I promised myself I'd stop asking you to back up your claims a long time ago. I grew tired of asking you to substantiate your outright lies about posts I've made. It's funny how people like you never seem to use the "quote" function. You just summarize with different wording to lie and make a false point.

I come on this site to inform would-be victims of the great scam that is optometry school. You're a pharmacist who, for some reason which I fail to understand, comes onto an OPTOMETRY FORUM and makes like he actually knows what he's talking about. Can you please explain again....why it is that you continue to wander around this forum offering nonsense opinions that are not grounded in reality? Oh, wait, you're "friend" is applying to optometry school.....I forgot....that explains it perfectly.

So folks. I'll leave it to you all. You can listen to practicing ODs who actually know what they're talking about. Or, you can listen to windbag pharmacist who follows the same pattern with every post. Swoop in, make an unfounded comment, and then run and hide for a few weeks. Oh, not before inventing a few new screen names, getting called out for making up said screen names, and then returning to the original screen name after being exposed as a fraud.

You lie, netmag. You lie, hide, change your name, and return. It's a familiar pattern employed by another pathetic former visitor we all grew to love. You've been exposed as a liar before and I'm sure it will continue well on into the future. You'll disappear, wait for a new crop of students, and then come back and try again. Once a liar, always a liar.

Please explain your function here, netmag. You're obviously not here to share your wealth of understanding of the optometric field because there are pre-ops on here who know more than you do. You've proven that you can't be trusted with your countless false and misleading posts. So.....why are you here? Please, do tell?

Can you please point to a single slide on the powerpoint that is anti-optometry? Please tell me where in the powerpoint there is false, misleading, or anti-optomery information. Damn, there I go again....asking for a constructive response.

So is that it? Is that all you have? Please tell the preops on this forum what you're pinning their hopes to. I sincerely hope, for their sake, that you have something for them. I think they'd be a little upset if all you have to offer them is a personal beef with an OD who tears apart every post you've ever made on here because it's either ridiculous, false and misleading, or both.

 

[janedoe88]

I'm right there with you. I interviewed as well and still haven't heard back, and my stats are very similar to yours. Goodluck to you (to us).

No one in my interview group was "asked to stay behind" because I was one of the last ones to leave. When I called to ask the status of my application the admissions staff told me that they were really behind on reviewing applications so that's probably what the hold up is...anyways good luck! Everyone at Western was really nice and made me feel at home.