What is the minimum GPA one should have to have fair chance of going to Opto School ?

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Apple_Pie

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Hi,

My GPA as of now is overall 3.06 in science + nonscience. This is my last year and I don't think I will be able to increase my GPA much because I am taking all the hard biology elective classes now. I need to know what is the minimum GPA one should have to have resounable/fair chance of getting into an optometry school in Continental United states.


And what is the minimum GPA one should have to resonably expect to go to Puerto Rico Optometry School?


And in my situation how high should my OAT scores be to offset my low GPA of 3.06


Thanks
 
apple pie. I'm a pre-opt student myself but having talked to other pre-opts and opts I'd recomend you shoot for a 320-360 OAT (for the continental U.S.) and make sure you have other stuff on your application that will make you stand out. Since your gpa is a little below average you'll likely need to have the OAT and other stuff be a little above average. check out www.opted.org if you haven't already.
 
I think it depends on were your applying to. You should keep it above a 3.0. Look at www.opted.org to see what the averages are for the different schools. Also remember OAT and extracurricular activates matter a lot too.

Good Luck !!
 
I actually took another route after i realized my gpa was too low (and my overall performance over the last two years) to get into an optometry schools...im in GRAD SCHOOL! 🙁 but i figure if i have all of my Opt pre-req's (which will be btwn a 2.8 and 3), along with a M.A. degree, and a 350+ on the OAT (a 330 right now but hopefully a 350+ by the end of '06 when i take it again), i should be in good shape. but this two and a half yr wait is excruciating. im glad to be taking classes that will prepare me for the work load, but damn.lol
 
nnamdi67 said:
I actually took another route after i realized my gpa was too low (and my overall performance over the last two years) to get into an optometry schools...im in GRAD SCHOOL! 🙁 but i figure if i have all of my Opt pre-req's (which will be btwn a 2.8 and 3), along with a M.A. degree, and a 350+ on the OAT (a 330 right now but hopefully a 350+ by the end of '06 when i take it again), i should be in good shape. but this two and a half yr wait is excruciating. im glad to be taking classes that will prepare me for the work load, but damn.lol

Hey you didn't get in with a 3.0 and 330 OAT? You should have at least got an interview. What schools did you apply too? Maybe you need some more experience such as shadowing an OD. Also, what was your undergraduate major?
 
I have the the same question. I actually have a 2.9 gpa right now. I am going to have to try really hard to do well on my OAT. Is December a little bit too late to have everything turned into schools? I'm planning on applying to SUNY, ICO, SCCO, and maybe Pacific or UH. Don't know if I have a good chance at Berkeley.

Also, does anyone know how schools would look at our transcripts if we have 3 D's ..but have repeated it all with a B grade..and none of the courses being a pre-requisite class for optometry school (they were still science classes though)? Yes, it looks really bad, but I can't really do much about it now. Do you think I can still have a chance at getting in? I'm very worried about how it affects me, but it won't stop me from trying to get in. Will I be asked at interviews...or will I even have a chance to get one? 😕

Thanks in advance.
 
nansee said:
I have the the same question. I actually have a 2.9 gpa right now. I am going to have to try really hard to do well on my OAT. Is December a little bit too late to have everything turned into schools? I'm planning on applying to SUNY, ICO, SCCO, and maybe Pacific or UH. Don't know if I have a good chance at Berkeley.

Also, does anyone know how schools would look at our transcripts if we have 3 D's ..but have repeated it all with a B grade..and none of the courses being a pre-requisite class for optometry school (they were still science classes though)? Yes, it looks really bad, but I can't really do much about it now. Do you think I can still have a chance at getting in? I'm very worried about how it affects me, but it won't stop me from trying to get in. Will I be asked at interviews...or will I even have a chance to get one? 😕

Thanks in advance.
You have a chance of getting in. a friend of mine has 2.9 GPA and 310 AA, and he got in to PCO and NOVA. So dont get discouraged as long as u have 310 AA> BY the way, they dont care about Ds as long as u repeated. if I were u, I will apply to NOVA and PCO instead of SUNY and SCCO because SUNY and SCCO are very picky.
 
Apple_Pie said:
Hi,

My GPA as of now is overall 3.06 in science + nonscience. This is my last year and I don't think I will be able to increase my GPA much because I am taking all the hard biology elective classes now. I need to know what is the minimum GPA one should have to have resounable/fair chance of getting into an optometry school in Continental United states.


And what is the minimum GPA one should have to resonably expect to go to Puerto Rico Optometry School?


And in my situation how high should my OAT scores be to offset my low GPA of 3.06

Thanks

I know one person, who had a 2.9 GPA and the OAT score of 340. She didnt get in to any school, the first time she applied. Then after doing some more volunteer work, it really helped her application, and she ended up getting in to every school she applied to.
good luck. 🙂
 
hey apple pie!


schools should take into account the difficulty of classes you took/are taking so dont worry and do your best your last year.

OAT wise, you might want to take a class (or do a diagnosis yourself first to see where you stand)

you should be busy with your bio classes (good luck!) but maybe find sometime to shadow and maybe obtain some letters of recs. good letters of recs should help out.

IMO, opt school is very lenient towards granting interviews IF you have something spectacular (whether its scores, grades, letters, experience). Once you get an interview, its anyone's game (read up on the interview threads here and with a bit of practice you should be fine)

GOOD LUCK!
 
Do you guys think I'll have any luck getting into opt school with a 2.9 GPA and a 380 TS and AA OAT score?

I was also reading the letter in the mail and it said that my score will be unofficial since i took it on the computer. How might the "official" score change?
 
tecknic7 said:
Do you guys think I'll have any luck getting into opt school with a 2.9 GPA and a 380 TS and AA OAT score?

I was also reading the letter in the mail and it said that my score will be unofficial since i took it on the computer. How might the "official" score change?

I believe what they mean by unofficial is that the score report you print out would not be considered official by any of the schools. When the OAT people actually send out the OAT scores to each of the schools, those reports are "official." I think that your OAT scores are... awesome! I would think it would also depend on if that GPA is your science, cumulative, or what. My guess is that you will get some interview offers... just WOW them in the interview!!! Good luck!
 
tecknic7 said:
Do you guys think I'll have any luck getting into opt school with a 2.9 GPA and a 380 TS and AA OAT score?

I was also reading the letter in the mail and it said that my score will be unofficial since i took it on the computer. How might the "official" score change?

If the rest of your application is good (LOR'S, interview, and extracurricular activities), you'll have a very good chance. Even Berkeley has been known to take people with less than a 3.0. It would probably help if you went to a competitive school and had a hard major.
 
I know of one person you got in with a 2.4 (he played college sports), and of another who got in with a 2.7.
 
Being from Vancouver, BC, A lot of my university friends have gone to Pacific University of Optometry outside of Portland. And they have told me that if you have a 70% average, with an OAT score round 330 you should be good to go......
 
richmond_repn said:
Being from Vancouver, BC, A lot of my university friends have gone to Pacific University of Optometry outside of Portland. And they have told me that if you have a 70% average, with an OAT score round 330 you should be good to go......

I'm just curious... what does a 70% average represent in terms of GPA? Thanks!
 
4.33 scale? Man, that's weird!!

I think 70.0-72 is 2.7 on a 4.0 scale in Canada from using OMSAS (Ontario Medical School A-Something S-Something)
 
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