WHAT is SUNY's problem?

[Giina]

So I just received my rejection letter from SUNY. The only problem is that I'm in the joint-degree program between The College of New Jersey and SUNY. My GPA was well above the required GPA as were my OAT scores. I took the classes, I got the grades, I visited offices, I went to my interview, and I even asked Dr. Johnston if my application and classes looked alright. How could they have rejected me? I went into the program under the impression that they would accept me so long as I fulfilled their written requirements. I was committed to a biology degree and taking the classes according the the seven-year program planner for three years... why would they do this to me? If anything, they should not have led me on all this time and given me an interview that I drove three hours to attend if they were thinking about rejecting me on account of my application (the letter stated that the school would reconsider me if I strengthened my application).

At first I was depressed, but now I'm just furious.

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[nc2tarheels]

When you say your in the 7 year program.....I'm gonna guess that you don't have your bachlors yet? That's probably the main reason. SUNY is VERY high on having your bachlors prior to acceptance. Sure there are a few cases where people do not, but it's far and few in-between.

 

[afasano]

When you say your in the 7 year program.....I'm gonna guess that you don't have your bachlors yet? That's probably the main reason. SUNY is VERY high on having your bachlors prior to acceptance. Sure there are a few cases where people do not, but it's far and few in-between.

...the whole point of the program is that you don't need your bachelors.

Joint Degree, Affiliation Program
The State University of New York, State College of Optometry and 35 colleges and universities throughout the region offer an affiliation program to highly qualified students where they can receive an undergraduate degree and a Doctor of Optometry degree in just seven years instead of the usual eight.
How Does it Work?
The student attends one of the 35 affiliated colleges for three years and then attends the professional program at SUNY College of Optometry for four years. After the first or second year at SUNY College of Optometry, the student receives his or her baccalaureate degree, from the undergraduate college. The O.D. degree is awarded after completing the four years at SUNY-Optometry.
Benefits
A student saves one year in tuition, travel and books. In addition, students who are accepted into the program simultaneously establish a candidacy for admission to the professional program. The student also receives continuous guidance from both institutions throughout the seven-year program.


....

So I just received my rejection letter from SUNY. The only problem is that I'm in the joint-degree program between The College of New Jersey and SUNY. My GPA was well above the required GPA as were my OAT scores. I took the classes, I got the grades, I visited offices, I went to my interview, and I even asked Dr. Johnston if my application and classes looked alright. How could they have rejected me? I went into the program under the impression that they would accept me so long as I fulfilled their written requirements. I was committed to a biology degree and taking the classes according the the seven-year program planner for three years... why would they do this to me? If anything, they should not have led me on all this time and given me an interview that I drove three hours to attend if they were thinking about rejecting me on account of my application (the letter stated that the school would reconsider me if I strengthened my application).

At first I was depressed, but now I'm just furious.

maybe you should contact them, and ask them what the deal is... cause on the website, it doesn't say, that your accepted, but it does say that you will establish candidacy for admissions. gl, hopefully, you will move on to some more applications..

 

[Eye]

Got extra-curriculars, volunteering, shadowing, and a good personality?

 

[EyeWitness]

So I just received my rejection letter from SUNY. The only problem is that I'm in the joint-degree program between The College of New Jersey and SUNY. My GPA was well above the required GPA as were my OAT scores. I took the classes, I got the grades, I visited offices, I went to my interview, and I even asked Dr. Johnston if my application and classes looked alright. How could they have rejected me? I went into the program under the impression that they would accept me so long as I fulfilled their written requirements. I was committed to a biology degree and taking the classes according the the seven-year program planner for three years... why would they do this to me? If anything, they should not have led me on all this time and given me an interview that I drove three hours to attend if they were thinking about rejecting me on account of my application (the letter stated that the school would reconsider me if I strengthened my application).

At first I was depressed, but now I'm just furious.

So in High school besides applying to your undergrad in New Jersey, you had to apply to SUNY too to in order to get accepted to this joint program? I thought it worked kind of informally where at those 35 schools they list, you can enter suny with only 3 years and from those 35 schools you have a chance to get accepted without the bachelors, not a guarentess. Are you saying when u started college you applied to SUNY and they gave u an acceptance contigent on taking the pre reqs and scoring well gpa wise and OAT. Im confused. What are your stats anyway? Was there anything about your interview that was bad?

 

[Giina]

So in High school besides applying to your undergrad in New Jersey, you had to apply to SUNY too to in order to get accepted to this joint program? I thought it worked kind of informally where at those 35 schools they list, you can enter suny with only 3 years and from those 35 schools you have a chance to get accepted without the bachelors, not a guarentess. Are you saying when u started college you applied to SUNY and they gave u an acceptance contigent on taking the pre reqs and scoring well gpa wise and OAT. Im confused. What are your stats anyway? Was there anything about your interview that was bad?

That is correct. I applied to SUNY and TCNJ while I was in high school and actually had an interview with the SUNY dean of admissions while I was still a senior in high school. The acceptance was contingent on the prerequisites, a minimum GPA, minimum OAT scores, gaining experience at optometric offices, and completing a final interview at SUNY.

For the record I have a 3.63 GPA and 370 TS. If I said something disagreeable at the interview, it cannot be the basis of rejection because that is not listed in their requirements. I satisfied the written requirements for the joint-degree program. If the acceptance is not guaranteed regardless of the requirements, then they should have made it MUCH more clear because it was not stated in any of the letters NOR was it stated in my initial interview in high school. In this case I would say that I was terribly misled.

 

[Giina]

During the interview there were a few things that they may not have liked:

1. I did not vote.
2. Dr. Johnston stated that I seemed laid back and asked me how I would be able to handle patients, but I felt that I answered this question adequately.
3. I had dropped a history class this semester on account of not liking the subject matter and wanting to focus my time on my other requirements.

If they are serious about the rejection, I will ask for a second interview and make the trip back to New York if they give me that opportunity. If not, then life will continue, just not as planned.

 

[KHE]

During the interview there were a few things that they may not have liked:

1. I did not vote.
2. Dr. Johnston stated that I seemed laid back and asked me how I would be able to handle patients, but I felt that I answered this question adequately.
3. I had dropped a history class this semester on account of not liking the subject matter and wanting to focus my time on my other requirements.

If they are serious about the rejection, I will ask for a second interview and make the trip back to New York if they give me that opportunity. If not, then life will continue, just not as planned.

I would ask Dr. Johnston specifically what you need to do to strengthen your application. Certainly, your GPA and OAT scores seem fine. None of the things that you listed as far as the interview goes would seem to disqualify you from admission. Not voting is your right. Being laid back is not bad. (assuming you didn't show up to your interview in flip flops and a T-shirt.)

Dropping a history class because you weren't getting what you expected out of it is also legitimate.

Ask them directly.

 

[pienfoo]

obviously, your rejection is based on your interview performance. Schools don't need a reason to reject you (ask your pre-med friends). I personally know of people with 3.5+ gpa and 350+ OATs who got rejected to multiple optometry schools. Unless SUNY made a huge unlikely mistake of sending the letter to the wrong person, there's no use complaining to the school because frankly there's nothing you could do about it. I speculate from the "laid-back" comment that dr. johnston is politely suggesting that your overall demeanor seemed unprofessional. anyway, I hope you applied to other schools I'm sure you'll get into somewhere.

 

[Giina]

obviously, your rejection is based on your interview performance. Schools don't need a reason to reject you (ask your pre-med friends). I personally know of people with 3.5+ gpa and 350+ OATs who got rejected to multiple optometry schools. Unless SUNY made a huge unlikely mistake of sending the letter to the wrong person, there's no use complaining to the school because frankly there's nothing you could do about it. I speculate from the "laid-back" comment that dr. johnston is politely suggesting that your overall demeanor seemed unprofessional. anyway, I hope you applied to other schools I'm sure you'll get into somewhere.

I realize that the rejection could be based on interview performance, but I was in a joint-degree program between TCNJ and SUNY so I'm not really sure I understand why they could just reject me after I had done everything else they asked me to do. =\ When he commented that I was laid back, he continued the question to ask if I would be assertive enough to get information from patients and handle them correctly. I think his comment had more to do with being shy or tentative. Still, I'm disappointed and no, I haven't applied to other schools because I'm a junior undergrad. That would be something I'd look into next year. Sigh. I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

[blysssful]

I realize that the rejection could be based on interview performance, but I was in a joint-degree program between TCNJ and SUNY so I'm not really sure I understand why they could just reject me after I had done everything else they asked me to do. =\ When he commented that I was laid back, he continued the question to ask if I would be assertive enough to get information from patients and handle them correctly. I think his comment had more to do with being shy or tentative. Still, I'm disappointed and no, I haven't applied to other schools because I'm a junior undergrad. That would be something I'd look into next year. Sigh. I'll let you guys know what happens.

I could understand how frustrating that is. Of course the schools have the right to admit and deny based on their own agenda, but like others have said, you should definitely ask SUNY directly what the problem is. It does seem rather misleading, especially considering your stats.

Would you reapply to SUNY next year, or apply elsewhere?

 

[afasano]

I realize that the rejection could be based on interview performance, but I was in a joint-degree program between TCNJ and SUNY so I'm not really sure I understand why they could just reject me after I had done everything else they asked me to do. =\ When he commented that I was laid back, he continued the question to ask if I would be assertive enough to get information from patients and handle them correctly. I think his comment had more to do with being shy or tentative. Still, I'm disappointed and no, I haven't applied to other schools because I'm a junior undergrad. That would be something I'd look into next year. Sigh. I'll let you guys know what happens.

so you aren't going to apply to any schools for this cycle...

 

[Giina]

I could understand how frustrating that is. Of course the schools have the right to admit and deny based on their own agenda, but like others have said, you should definitely ask SUNY directly what the problem is. It does seem rather misleading, especially considering your stats.

Would you reapply to SUNY next year, or apply elsewhere?

I really do feel like I'm being misled, but if they have a legit reason then I'm not going to try to say that I deserve the spot anyway. I would definitely apply elsewhere though if I still want to continue with optometry next year. I realize that not every optometry school requires an undergraduate degree but I'm starting to think that it's a good idea to just continue with biology and look at all of my options, not just optometry. Thanks everyone for your input so far though!

 

[SarahNC]

Well then maybe the rejection was a good thing if you are now reconsidering optometry. Better now than later.

 

[Giina]

Well then maybe the rejection was a good thing if you are now reconsidering optometry. Better now than later.

As disappointing as the situation is, I really agree with you.

 

[Dr4eyes]

I am sorry that you feel misled but I do feel that you do not have all the information in front of you and that you MUST contact the school or Dr. Johnston directly to warrant any dismay against the school. I hate to play devil's advocate but until you have all the information towards why you were not accepted, can you have any clear reasoning for why you were not accepted.

Sorry again and hopefully a lot of things can become clear once you know all the facts.

Good luck with everything!!

 

[Giina]

Hey guys, I did contact Dr. Johnston and thought I'd follow up on their reasoning:

From what I can tell, I was basically too boring and too passive in interview. He even cited my not voting and used this to say that I have a laid-back attitude and that he wasn't sure I could handle patients. He also said that the committee had concerns for my ability to handle the courseload (I'm guessing that they thought about that because I said I had dropped a history class). But I didn't really understand that one because my GPA and OAT scores are fine. That's the only class I've ever dropped and I just wanted to concentrate on comparative vertebrate anatomy. He also said my answers were too brief, which I agree with because I feel like I was pretty nervous and I didn't know exactly what to say sometimes. Also, he felt like I needed more exposure to optometry. I found that one interesting, because they accepted my friend who is also in the seven-year program, and she did the same amount of shadowing as me and I even drove her to shadow one doctor. *shrug* I think the not voting turned him off the most, so if you're going to a SUNY interview, make sure you know your politics. I don't know, I explained in the interview why I didn't vote so I don't know why he would say that. I emailed him back awhile ago and wrote about the voting issue, and he never responded.

I'm in the process of changing my major right now (it's late, I know. eek) and I feel motivated to move on to new things.

 

[Dr4eyes]

Since you are deciding to change your major right now to pursue new things, you are further proving that Dr. J was right in that you do lack exposure to optometry and may not have really want to be an O.D. in the first place. Good luck with your new beginnings!!!

 

[EyeWitness]

I'm in the process of changing my major right now (it's late, I know. eek) and I feel motivated to move on to new things.


Giiina, Let us know what you end up moving onto or if anything changes with your plans, I found this thread really interesting.

 

[Giina]

Hey guys, I'm looking at some other career options including teaching (that's the major I'm trying to enter right now). It would be biology teaching so I'm still getting a biology degree and a teaching certificate also. I might have to stay in undergrad for an extra semester because I have a lot of classes to make up for teaching but I think it's worth it, because I have more career options that way. If I decide I want to go back to optometry, I still have the prereq's and the OAT scores and I'd just do some more optometry-related activities and I think it'd be pretty easy to get back into it. For now, I'm just going to explore other careers to see what I like the most. I still find the experience with SUNY very unsympathetic, because even Dr. Johnston said I did the "minimum" which still means that I did what was asked of me. I know that sounds half-assed on my part, but I did everything that was on paper. I guess in the future I just have to go further. They are affiliated with a lot of undergraduate schools for the seven-year program and they accepted 7 at my school alone, so maybe they just accepted too many overall and had to cut some here and there. I'm just speculating; I could be wrong. Either way, I should have just tried harder if I really wanted to be an optometrist, so someone else does deserve my seat no matter how bad I feel.

 

[KHE]

Hey guys, I'm looking at some other career options including teaching (that's the major I'm trying to enter right now). It would be biology teaching so I'm still getting a biology degree and a teaching certificate also. I might have to stay in undergrad for an extra semester because I have a lot of classes to make up for teaching but I think it's worth it, because I have more career options that way. If I decide I want to go back to optometry, I still have the prereq's and the OAT scores and I'd just do some more optometry-related activities and I think it'd be pretty easy to get back into it. For now, I'm just going to explore other careers to see what I like the most. I still find the experience with SUNY very unsympathetic, because even Dr. Johnston said I did the "minimum" which still means that I did what was asked of me. I know that sounds half-assed on my part, but I did everything that was on paper. I guess in the future I just have to go further. They are affiliated with a lot of undergraduate schools for the seven-year program and they accepted 7 at my school alone, so maybe they just accepted too many overall and had to cut some here and there. I'm just speculating; I could be wrong. Either way, I should have just tried harder if I really wanted to be an optometrist, so someone else does deserve my seat no matter how bad I feel.

Giina,

Please don't take this the wrong way....

But judging from this thread, I'm getting the impression that you were never really that committed to being an eye doctor. If you were, you wouldn't let something like this derail you.

While it certainly can be disappointing to not get what you expected, this is certainly not the type of set back that I would expect would cause someone who was serious about the field to immediately start looking at other career choices.

If I were to bet money, I would bet that you are the type of person who has historically excelled at everything you've done and this is the first time or one of the very few times in your life you've "failed" at something.

Because you're not used to that feeling of "rejection" or "failure", your reaction is to over react and say "well F*CK those people then. I'm going to do something else."

That's not the way to handle this scenario, or any other similar scenario. If it's something you really want, you will finish off your degree and reapply at either SUNY or another institution.

I would urge you to take a week or two and to have an honest discussion about the REAL reason you've decided to pursue something else.

 

[achirum]

Giina,

Please don't take this the wrong way....

But judging from this thread, I'm getting the impression that you were never really that committed to being an eye doctor. If you were, you wouldn't let something like this derail you.

While it certainly can be disappointing to not get what you expected, this is certainly not the type of set back that I would expect would cause someone who was serious about the field to immediately start looking at other career choices.

If I were to bet money, I would bet that you are the type of person who has historically excelled at everything you've done and this is the first time or one of the very few times in your life you've "failed" at something.

Because you're not used to that feeling of "rejection" or "failure", your reaction is to over react and say "well F*CK those people then. I'm going to do something else."

That's not the way to handle this scenario, or any other similar scenario. If it's something you really want, you will finish off your degree and reapply at either SUNY or another institution.

I would urge you to take a week or two and to have an honest discussion about the REAL reason you've decided to pursue something else.

Good post, that is my interpretation as well.

 

[Giina]

I'm not reapplying. It was a mistake to even be in this program in the first place. It's been awhile now and I'm still sticking by my decision... and I didn't use that language about SUNY so don't put it on me. My posts have been humble and I've learned a lot from the experience, so don't judge me. I said Dr. Johnston was right and that I really never was that interested in optometry. So don't judge me, that's really rude... I never said "**** SUNY" as you put it. I already wrote that I really am not interested in optometry after all and I hope you took my career change plans seriously. I already wrote that I would reapply if I still wanted to do optometry but at this point I think Dr. Johnston was right and that I wasn't interested so I don't see what the problem is in me exploring other careers. I wouldn't put that as being derailed, more like getting a reality check. Optometry isn't for everyone. Of course I'm sad that they rejected me. But you should respect what I write and my decisions to try out other things.

 

[KHE]

I'm not reapplying. It was a mistake to even be in this program in the first place. It's been awhile now and I'm still sticking by my decision... and I didn't use that language about SUNY so don't put it on me. My posts have been humble and I've learned a lot from the experience, so don't judge me. I said Dr. Johnston was right and that I really never was that interested in optometry. So don't judge me, that's really rude... I never said "**** SUNY" as you put it. I already wrote that I really am not interested in optometry after all and I hope you took my career change plans seriously. I already wrote that I would reapply if I still wanted to do optometry but at this point I think Dr. Johnston was right and that I wasn't interested so I don't see what the problem is in me exploring other careers. I wouldn't put that as being derailed, more like getting a reality check. Optometry isn't for everyone. Of course I'm sad that they rejected me. But you should respect what I write and my decisions to try out other things.

So then if you weren't serious, why did you apply in the first place? Why bother taking the OAT? Why bother showing up for the interview?

Are you also then saying that if you had been accepted that you would have turned them down and pursued teaching anyways?

 

[achirum]

I'm not reapplying. It was a mistake to even be in this program in the first place. It's been awhile now and I'm still sticking by my decision... and I didn't use that language about SUNY so don't put it on me. My posts have been humble and I've learned a lot from the experience, so don't judge me. I said Dr. Johnston was right and that I really never was that interested in optometry. So don't judge me, that's really rude... I never said "**** SUNY" as you put it. I already wrote that I really am not interested in optometry after all and I hope you took my career change plans seriously. I already wrote that I would reapply if I still wanted to do optometry but at this point I think Dr. Johnston was right and that I wasn't interested so I don't see what the problem is in me exploring other careers. I wouldn't put that as being derailed, more like getting a reality check. Optometry isn't for everyone. Of course I'm sad that they rejected me. But you should respect what I write and my decisions to try out other things.

I think you need to give KHE's post a re-read because he nor anyone else in this thread has stated any of the things you apparently have misinterpreted. No one has judged you nor did anyone say you said anything. Nobody said they had a problem with you exploring other career decisions. If anything, people have supported you in your decision to explore other careers. You seem to contradict yourself by stating the fact it was a mistake to begin your program in the first place and by then alluding to perhaps still going the optometry route. If you decided you were not interested in optometry following the interview at SUNY in the least bit, why would optometry still have any type of potential for future aspirations?

If I decide I want to go back to optometry, I still have the prereq's and the OAT scores and I'd just do some more optometry-related activities and I think it'd be pretty easy to get back into it.

Hey guys, I'm looking at some other career options including teaching (that's the major I'm trying to enter right now). It would be biology teaching so I'm still getting a biology degree and a teaching certificate also.

My only concern is that perhaps in the midst of this self actualization you may be doing the same with teaching. Do you really know what being a teacher entails? Do you sincerely want to do it? Or is it just the next plan, something that sounds like a good alternative right now?

 

[Giina]

Like I said, I'm looking at all of my career options. KHE did say that I said, "F*CK SUNY." I never used this language. I have already admitted that I was fooling myself about optometry and I'm not going to let that happen again. It's my fault for screwing up, but I'm not irrational. This is a chance for me to get out there. Everyone is restating things I already said (like that Dr. Johnston was right and that I'm not that interested in optometry) and I'm not so foolish as to make the same mistake again when it comes to my career. I'm not a perfect person but I know how to introspect and tell if I'm fooling myself because I'm feeling discouraged by rejection or other bad feelings, and that's why I haven't completely thrown optometry out of the window. I studied all summer for the OAT and woke up at 4 AM to get to my interview on time. I know what I did, and that it took a lot of time. But I still want to look at my other options and that is what I'm doing, end of story. I'm young and I have time, and that is something that I seem to have forgotten and that no one seems to be considering. I'm still getting my degree and I'm going to have a great career. If you want to just write about how much I'm contradicting myself, then do so. I'm not going to stop you now. I already know what I'm doing, and I'm going to do it.

I will not be reading this thread anymore, but thanks everyone for your input. Perhaps I'll see you around someday.

- Gina

 

[KHE]

Like I said, I'm looking at all of my career options. KHE did say that I said, "F*CK SUNY." I never used this language.
- Gina

For the record, my posting was not meant to imply that you LITERALLY said it. It was meant to be taken as a soliloquy.

 

[achirum]

^^^ Somehow I suppose she overlooked that. For the record, she yet again contradicted herself in her last post.

 

[Dr4eyes]

She's young, 'nuff said...good luck in whatever you decide to do in life =)

 

[EyeWitness]

Giiina, we want an update!

 

[gochi]

Hey guys, I'm looking at some other career options including teaching (that's the major I'm trying to enter right now). It would be biology teaching so I'm still getting a biology degree and a teaching certificate also. I might have to stay in undergrad for an extra semester because I have a lot of classes to make up for teaching but I think it's worth it, because I have more career options that way. If I decide I want to go back to optometry, I still have the prereq's and the OAT scores and I'd just do some more optometry-related activities and I think it'd be pretty easy to get back into it. For now, I'm just going to explore other careers to see what I like the most. I still find the experience with SUNY very unsympathetic, because even Dr. Johnston said I did the "minimum" which still means that I did what was asked of me. I know that sounds half-assed on my part, but I did everything that was on paper. I guess in the future I just have to go further. They are affiliated with a lot of undergraduate schools for the seven-year program and they accepted 7 at my school alone, so maybe they just accepted too many overall and had to cut some here and there. I'm just speculating; I could be wrong. Either way, I should have just tried harder if I really wanted to be an optometrist, so someone else does deserve my seat no matter how bad I feel.

This really sucks. I still believe you can get into SUNY, provided that you consult with every source available. Anyhow, can you not apply to other optometry schools still?

 

[gochi]

She's young, 'nuff said...good luck in whatever you decide to do in life =)

wtf is that supposed to mean?

 

[blysssful]

wtf is that supposed to mean?

Probably that she has time to make mistakes and figure out what it is she wants to do with her life. What's with the hostility?

 

[gochi]

Probably that she has time to make mistakes and figure out what it is she wants to do with her life. What's with the hostility?

what hostility?

 

[blysssful]

Generally speaking, a question that starts with "what the f*ck" has some underlying tones of hostility. It is unnecessary, as is hoping to get through to someone who doesn't immediately recognize that.

 

[gochi]

Generally speaking, a question that starts with "what the f*ck" has some underlying tones of hostility. It is unnecessary, as is hoping to get through to someone who doesn't immediately recognize that.

wtf?