What are my chances? Please help!

[reflectances]

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Hi, I'm currently a first-year master student in liberal arts. I was originally a biology/pre-health during my undergrad, before I was drawn to the discipline that I'm currently studying. I came to do my masters to test the waters as well as to learn about the subject matter in more depth. And it turns out neither prospects look promising; with my chances of getting a decent financial aid from school being close to zero, I lack the necessary resources to carry out my original plans. Long story short, I've finally learned my lesson and decided to "come back" to pursue career as a health profession.

I didn't think about going to optometry school seriously back when I was doing my undergrad, and that's only because I was much more (and unnecessarily) worried about professional refutation than I do now. Helping people with their vision sounds much better to me than anything else that I can do with my life now. And the relatively short duration of study compared to medicine makes the field even more appealing, not to mention the reduced amount of school loans.

Before taking another step, I need, more than anything else, a realistic feedback on my current stats and plans for optometry admissions. I did my undergrad in a big state school and graduated with two separate degrees, including a B.S. in biological sciences. My bio major GPA is around 3.2, and I completed most of my pre-reqs, save for anatomy, physiology, statistics, microbiology, etc. When I did calculation couple days ago, the pre-req GPA came to 3.1ish, which will be (hopefully) raised to 3.3 if I could get A's in above-mentioned courses. I plan to go back home early next year, and start taking pre-reqs at a local college while doing my EC.

Here are my questions:

1. Can I expect to get into optometry schools with my current stats, with a decent OAT score along with positive LOR's? I'm especially interested in SUNY.

2. Are there any disadvantages or things that I need to be wary about taking pre-reqs in two different schools?

3. I hope to apply for Fall 2014, and that gives me a semester to finish my pre-reqs, get the EC and LOR's, and prepare for my OAT. Would you say that it's a realistic timeframe? I'm already overloaded with classes in grad school now, so the earliest I can start would be this winter break.

The comments from those of you who are in a similar situation as mine would be especially helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[Loptometriste]

I'd say shadow some doctors. I have worked as an assistant for several years both in private practice and in mayo clinic system. I love eye care, but I'd suggest shadowing and talking to a few optometrists to decide if you do before you spend the money and take the time.

 

[EyeLuvOptometry]

I think you have a chance. Your GPA doesn't seem too low, and it probably helps that you are a mater student. I think you should really do some shadowing before you invest time and money because 1. you would never know if you like the career unless you observe first hand and 2. It will greatly increase your chance of acceptance if schools see that you have shadowed because its shows that you really know what you are getting yourself into. Also, I would recommend on doing extremely well on your OAT. Things happen during undergrad that may not reflect your academic ability, and the OAT is a great chance for you to show that you are capable of those science course. Good luck!

 

[missbrightside]

I think you have a good chance as long as you do well on the OAT and shadow shadow shadow! I have a 3.3 biology GPA very similar to yours. I'd say with grades like that, they are decent, but not as competitive as those other people with 3.8 GPA's, so to compensate I will try to do well on the OAT and get more optometry/shadow experience. I am also applying July 2013 for the Fall 2014 class start time. I'd say get everything together by July and apply then for the best chances since its rolling admissions.