Will they accept C-s?

[iiis]

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Hi all,

I'm planning to apply to optometry school this summer. I'm in the process of studying for my OAT. With my current GPA, at what schools would I have a decent chance of getting in? For those with lower GPAs, please tell me your experiences of where you applied with your OAT scores and which schools accepted/granted you interviews.

My other dilemma is that I retook my Bio 1 and 2 lectures and made As in them, but currently have C- in the labs. Has anyone gotten in with C-s in any of their prereq courses? I've checked each school's websites, and most stated that they accept nothing lower than Cs. I've graduated with a Biology degree. I called some schools and they have mentioned that I have to retake them, but I just wanted to know if any of you guys have gotten in with C-s.

Please give me hope 🙂 Thanks for your responses!

 

[physicslover]

i think PCO accepts C-'s. i dnno of any other places....

 

[dontlikephysics]

Hi all,

I'm planning to apply to optometry school this summer. My GPA is 2.81 and I'm in the process of studying for my OAT. With my current GPA, at what schools would I have a decent chance of getting in? For those with lower GPAs, please tell me your experiences of where you applied with your OAT scores and which schools accepted/granted you interviews.

My other dilemma is that I retook my Bio 1 and 2 lectures and made As in them, but currently have C- in the labs. Has anyone gotten in with C-s in any of their prereq courses? I've checked each school's websites, and most stated that they accept nothing lower than Cs. I've graduated with a Biology degree. I called some schools and they have mentioned that I have to retake them, but I just wanted to know if any of you guys have gotten in with C-s.

Please give me hope 🙂 Thanks for your responses!

Are you applying for next year? If so, why not retake those classes you got a C- in for a higher grade? 2.81 may be a little low compared to the other applicants (you are always competeting with everyone else) so you really need a good OAT score to help your chances. And retaking labs wouldn't be as bad as taking the course again IMO. I think if you retake those, take some more science courses to show them you really want this and make 300+ on the OAT you have a good chance.

 

[Mewcakes]

Welll, a DECENT chance of getting in? Like...maybe PR and the new schools. A chance *at all*? Add a few other schools on there. But only if the rest of your app (OATs, ECAs, Shadowing/Experience) is like totally stellar. So remember can't do a lateral comparison to yourself using just these numbers, they will consider the rest of your app when deciding to offer an interview/admission. That said:
Overall GPA: 2.89
OAT: 330
Interview: UMSL, SCO, AZCOPT
Admission: All of them.

See this thread for other ppl's numbers:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=691316

The schools aren't lying to you. To my knowledge, I don't know any schools that will let you get away with C-s for their prereqs. My situation is I had C- in like...one of my 2 semesters of Ochem. But then the school I applied to only req'd 1 semester. Same thing with Calc. Also, I was retaking some classes at the time of my app/interview. But labs are pretty tough, almost all the schools want classes with their associated labs. You might have to retake them. :-\ BUT you have lots of time, a year to do it! Just has to be done by the time you matriculate (or Spring before you matriculate, read fine print very carefully). Make sure when you interview that they know you're retaking classes (unless it's closed file, then it may or may not hurt you).

 

[Mewcakes]

i think PCO accepts C-'s. i dnno of any other places....

They don't. My friend has a C- in Ochem and they offered him an interview and put him on the waitlist, but it was a conditional status. He could matriculate only if/when he completed OChem with C or higher and procured another LOR. So be careful, just because they offer you interviews, you'll still need to retake some stuff.

 

[caitsiex]

I don't know if any school will accept you with a C- in a pre-req without asking you to retake it. I had a low gpa also and actually didn't do well on the OAT, but I took 20+ credits every semester and have been doing vision therapy for the past 5 years. There definitely still is hope if the rest of your package is great (extracurriculars, experience, course load, articulation during your interview, etc.). I would try applying to schools with larger class sizes (like ICO for example) and maybe some of the new schools.

 

[iiis]

Thank you for all of your responses! I really appreciate all of your help 🙂

I've had 5+ years of experience in the optometry field through shadowing, working, and volunteering. I also volunteer through other non-optometry organizations. I retook a few of my prereq courses and with the new system (Optomcas replaces grades taken at the same institute- RIGHT??), my prereq GPA should be

I guess the safest bet is for me to retake my bio lab courses. Do you think it'd matter if I retook them at a community college? As for taking more courses, that is ideal, but I'm in a financial bind right now 🙁 Do you have any suggestions/advice on how I can make myself stronger as an applicant? I've called several schools, but as fellow applicants, can you give me some of your experiences on what else I can do?

Mewcakes,
Can I ask you how your extracurricular activities/experiences/shadowing were?

 

[physicslover]

They don't. My friend has a C- in Ochem and they offered him an interview and put him on the waitlist, but it was a conditional status. He could matriculate only if/when he completed OChem with C or higher and procured another LOR. So be careful, just because they offer you interviews, you'll still need to retake some stuff.

hmm..well when they send out that form of what my file was missing, they put courses that did not qualify for prereqs and my C- course was not on there. when i asked them, they said that it qualified as C or above.

Dno why that happened to ure friend. Anyone else have this same thing happen to them?

 

[chewbacca4321]

hmm..well when they send out that form of what my file was missing, they put courses that did not qualify for prereqs and my C- course was not on there. when i asked them, they said that it qualified as C or above.

Dno why that happened to ure friend. Anyone else have this same thing happen to them?

Some schools do not count the plus/minus. Therefore, a C- or a C+ will just count as a C. I believe PCO does this. Not sure of the others.

 

[optojake]

When I applied a few years ago (4th year now), PCO counted them all the same regardless of the +/-.

If you really want to get accepted, make SURE you apply the day they start accepting applications. Get everything in a row prior to that day so you can submit everything ASAP. Schools look favorably upon early submitted applications. (Not sure if this is still true since I didnt use the OptomCAS application).

 

[pienfoo]

you need the numbers, regardless of whatever your passions/experience in the field are. i was involved in just about anything and everything optometry but didn't get in w/ my 2.8 until I retook all my Cs and scored a 370/380 on the OAT. if you don't have the GPA, get the OAT score, and w/ everything above a 300.