Sooooo, I just graduated with my bachelor's in Biology and Im trying to decide what I should do with this GAP YEAR to increase my chances of getting into Optometry School. To give you a better idea of where I stand...here are some stats:
-2.9 Overall GPA, 3.2 Science
(Yeah, I know its LOW & thats b/c I played basketball my 1st 2 years)
-I studied for 1 month after graduation and took the OAT just to get a feel for it and got the following scores:
AA-290
TS-300
BIO-310
OCHEM-350
CHEM-280
PHYS-260🙁
QR-260🙁
Yeah, I know the scores are low and Im definitely retaking it. But, I really just wanna know what can I do to pick up that score(ESPECIALLY PHYSICS & QR)? Should I enroll in some retake classes, take some upper level bio classes, start a Masters, or just focus on the OAT? It took me a long time to decide that this is what I want to do. And I just want to make sure a have the best shot possible at achieving my goal.🙂
In your shoes, I'd do the following:
1. Prep hard for the OAT - this can really help overcome a low GPA (the 3.2 is fine, but the 2.9 is in the iffy range). Personally I recommend the Kaplan course (especially all the online and book materials that come with it - but you need to enroll in the course to get access to the online stuff). The classroom bit didn't really do so much for me, but I'm sure there were tidbits that helped and I didn't realize it. Plus going regularly allowed me to get an extension on my access to the online stuff (usually it expires - make sure to tell them you are taking the test way in the future, because they set the expiration for soon after your exam). The flashcards, lecture notes (big book of info on all subject areas), and practice quizzes/tests are what I used to prep and it raised my score a LOT. I was studying anywhere from 2 to 7 hours a day for the month and a half leading up to my OAT. It pays off BIG, I promise!
2. Retake a few pre-req's where your grades are the lowest. You can retake them at community colleges or a local state university. That will raise your GPA a little (3.2 isn't bad at all, but every little bit helps!), and have the much more important benefit of teaching you some of the science concepts that will boost your OAT as well. How were your physics grades? If they weren't outstanding, that's probably the best place to get double benefits for grades and the OAT!
3. Shadow optometrists. If you don't need the money from a job, then shadowing is actually a little preferred to working for one. That's because when you work for one, you spend more time doing the office and support role, and less time seeing what the doc actually does. Working in an office is GREAT too - that's definitely incredibly valuable experience. But I think shadowing lots will give you so much to talk about at your interview that you will really be able to blow them away. Plus all that time with the doc will give you an outstanding rec letter that is highly personalized to you.
4. Talk to the admissions offices for the schools you want to go to. They are really helpful (at least if it's a school that you want to end up at anyway - if they aren't helpful, then would you want to be there?). Lots of them will help you figure out what they want to see you do in order to improve your chances for admission.
5. Be BUSY. I think that's one of the toughest things about a year "off". You want to pack your schedule full of things. Otherwise optometry schools might worry that so much time off will leave you unprepared for the course load shock. Showing that you can balance a job (or regularly scheduled shadowing experiences), taking classes, and studying independently for the OAT will really show them that you can in fact handle optometry school. Plus if you do well in all of them (really improve your OAT and get solid grades from retaking the classes), then that is the more important, current performance that is pertinent for them (whatever happened in your first 1-2 years of college will become more insignificant).
Best of luck!
