What are my chances of getting an interview?

[pqtran29]

Hey,
Here's my situation. I just took the OAT with scores of AA 330 , and TS 360, and my GPA is currently a 3.15 (I made a 280 in QR )

I received a BS in Information Systems and Decision Science in 2002, but decided it wasn't for me so I went back to school and am graduating with a BS in Biology this semester. When I graduated with the ISDS degree my cumulative GPA was 2.7. Ive been making all A's with the exception of 2 B's in my 3 years since I have been back and now after this spring semester it should be a 3.2 hopefully.

I haven't volunteered any hours and do not work at an optometry place. I have shadowed one corporate optometrist so far, and am looking forward to shadowing private practices.

So, say I start volunteering for the rest of the semester and keep shadowing, how are my chances of getting an interview? (I am only applying to NSU and PCO) Has anyone here gotten accepted with very few experiences and extracurricular activities? Just curious, I would love to hear any comments. Thanks

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[pienfoo]

Hey,
Here's my situation. I just took the OAT with scores of AA 330 , and TS 360, and my GPA is currently a 3.15 (I made a 280 in QR )

I received a BS in Information Systems and Decision Science in 2002, but decided it wasn't for me so I went back to school and am graduating with a BS in Biology this semester. When I graduated with the ISDS degree my cumulative GPA was 2.7. Ive been making all A's with the exception of 2 B's in my 3 years since I have been back and now after this spring semester it should be a 3.2 hopefully.

I haven't volunteered any hours and do not work at an optometry place. I have shadowed one corporate optometrist so far, and am looking forward to shadowing private practices.

So, say I start volunteering for the rest of the semester and keep shadowing, how are my chances of getting an interview? (I am only applying to NSU and PCO) Has anyone here gotten accepted with very few experiences and extracurricular activities? Just curious, I would love to hear any comments. Thanks

i'd say. 85.68%.
haha just kidding. unless you're a weirdo, i'd say you have a very good chance at getting an interview at one of those schools if you apply early in the process. ur gpa is avg/below avg, but ur OAT is well above. Grades will always matter more than the amount of "experience" and extra curics you have had (even tho they are important). After taking to admissioins officers, the bottom line is. 1. get good grades 2. good OAT scores, AND THEN 3. show us that ur dedicated and would become a good optometrist. there is no formula for how much experience would balance out a bad gpa or how high an oat would balance a bad gpa. but there is no "super" experience that'll balance out either a bad gpa or bad OAT score. just look at me, president/ vice president/ founder for a line of social, cultural, and community organizations, i worked for 4 optometrists at different settings, did a large scaled research funded by the government. most of them relate to optometry too. i applied about a month ago with a 340ts330aa and have gotten rejected from SUNY and NECO (i assume that nice letter = rejection), and no interviews anywhere else =(. im sure that experience and extra circs would be helpful, only if u have a wonderful GPA/OAT to go along with that. so in my humble opinion it's not that important to get a ton of experience cuz u may be wasting your time. while interning/shadowing is a very important indication of dedication, you could find your own ways of telling them how u are committed to optomety and how ur gonna become a great optometrist too. i typed all of this after taking a sleeping pill i hope it made sense!

 

[ICU23]

I disagree with what the above poster is saying about experience. I believe office experience whether it be a prolong period at one office or several short stints at difference office is very important when it comes to admission especially when they grill you about the profession itself. Yeah grades matter, but when you're at an interview (take SUNY) where they ask you what kind of experience you have, are you going to say I want to be in optometry because I shadowed a doctor for 5 hrs and this is what I want to do. OAT in the 330s in not above average, it might be for the general test taker, but it's only average for those accepted. My advice, just keep up the grade trends and show the admission committee that you're serious about going into the profession.

 

[pqtran29]

thanks for your comments,

so should I retake and try to improve my OAT scores? Would they recommend that I take it again? I am a late applicant for NSU and PCO. I'm really afraid I won't get the chance of an interview.

 

[ICU23]

your overall oat score is fine, no need to retake but there are some schools who want all subscores to be 300+.

 

[pienfoo]

it's obvious that ur QR score brought ur AA to a 330. in my opinion, QR is one of the easiest sections you could improve on. just do lots of problems and know which problems to skip/guess. i'd say to take it again and pull ur AA up to ur TS level (which is really good) then you'll be fine. but then again, if you apply now, it's kinda late but it never hurts to try! g'luck.