Yes you can get into opt school with average GPA/OAT

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eyecare88

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letters of recommendation. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.


Update- Check with the schools to see if they will be checking for OAT scores since many applicants are unable to take the OAT during this time. Perhaps schools will let you opt out of taking the OAT? Best of luck!
 
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dentalstudents

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good person statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letter of recommendations. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.
I'm so glad you posted this!
 

2020Focus

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No problem. Here to help!

300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letter of recommendations. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.

Hi there!

Are these your stats and the schools you applied to? Which schools extended you an interview/acceptance?
 

eyecare88

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Hi there!

Are these your stats and the schools you applied to? Which schools extended you an interview/acceptance?
Yes, these are my stats and all the schools I listed were the schools I applied to and got accepted to all of them. In the end it was having to decide which one out of them was right for me.
 

pre-optom guy

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letter of recommendations. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.
300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letter of recommendations. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.
I had a similar experience. Going into the application process, I thought I wouldnt get accepted anywhere. I had a pretty low gpa like around 2.80 but I did well on the OAT (340) with plenty of shadowing experience. I ended up getting accepted to my top choice, as well as many other schools. I think one thing that is important that many applicants dont pay attention to is applying EARLY. Many schools work on rolling admissions so if you are worried about getting into schools, get your applications in as soon as you can
 
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futureoptt

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I had a similar experience. Going into the application process, I thought I wouldnt get accepted anywhere. I had a pretty low gpa like around 2.80 but I did well on the OAT (340) with plenty of shadowing experience. I ended up getting accepted to my top choice, as well as many other schools. I think one thing that is important that many applicants dont pay attention to is applying EARLY. Many schools work on rolling admissions so if you are worried about getting into schools, get your applications in as soon as you can
When did you apply? which month
 

2020Focus

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Yes, these are my stats and all the schools I listed were the schools I applied to and got accepted to all of them. In the end it was having to decide which one out of them was right for me.

Good for you! Where did you end up deciding on? What type of/length of experience did you have? When did you apply in the cycle? Sorry to bombard you, haha.
 

eyecare88

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Good for you! Where did you end up deciding on? What type of/length of experience did you have? When did you apply in the cycle? Sorry to bombard you, haha.
Midwestern in Chicago. I shadowed for a few months first at a private practice. Worked at a corporate office and private practice for over a year. I applied at the end of July through beginning of August. Started getting interviews in September. I didn't get an interview with NECO until around February. My interview was on a Monday with UIWRSO the following Friday I got my acceptance letter. The other schools took about 2-3 weeks to send my acceptance letters. NECO sent my acceptance letter at the end of June. Hope this helps.
 
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bio_student95

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I had a similar experience. Going into the application process, I thought I wouldnt get accepted anywhere. I had a pretty low gpa like around 2.80 but I did well on the OAT (340) with plenty of shadowing experience. I ended up getting accepted to my top choice, as well as many other schools. I think one thing that is important that many applicants dont pay attention to is applying EARLY. Many schools work on rolling admissions so if you are worried about getting into schools, get your applications in as soon as you can
Which school did you get accepted to?
 

neverdidflinch

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letters of recommendation. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.


Update- Check with the schools to see if they will be checking for OAT scores since many applicants are unable to take the OAT during this time. Perhaps schools will let you opt out of taking the OAT? Best of luck!

Thanks for posting this! Had you already taken the OAT before you applied? Do you know why NECO took so long in getting back to you?
 

LUC78

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I think I had around a 2.9 GPA and either a 300 or slightly lower OAT. Got into both PCO and MWU-IL. It is definitely, definitely doable and I know a lot of my classmates w similar stats at MWU.
 

visionary2020

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Has anyone of you guys had a low section score in one of the subjects on OAT and had any luck getting acceptance into schools? My RC score is very low(250), I have no idea how it happened tbh but I'm very scared ... my TS is 320, AA 310, sGPA ~3.2, have had 100 volunteer hours at a hospital, 100 in an optometry clinic, over 40 shadowing hours, been a working student and active on campus... any advice what to do from here?
 

Dhwn1231

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letters of recommendation. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.


Update- Check with the schools to see if they will be checking for OAT scores since many applicants are unable to take the OAT during this time. Perhaps schools will let you opt out of taking the OAT? Best of luck!
How many shadowing hours did you have? It's been very difficult to get hours due to COVID :(
 

shevchenko277

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Has anyone of you guys had a low section score in one of the subjects on OAT and had any luck getting acceptance into schools? My RC score is very low(250), I have no idea how it happened tbh but I'm very scared ... my TS is 320, AA 310, sGPA ~3.2, have had 100 volunteer hours at a hospital, 100 in an optometry clinic, over 40 shadowing hours, been a working student and active on campus... any advice what to do from here?
The RC is kinda low but your TS and AA is good enough. You should still apply.
 
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sooyaaa

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300 OAT? Less than 3.2 GPA? Yes, you can still get into optometry school. Write a good personal statement, gain experience either by shadowing or working, and 2-3 letters of recommendation. Apply early on to be sure you get a seat. Around or before August is a good time to apply to the next cycle. Schools such as WesternU, UIWRSO, Midwestern, NECO, and MCPHS are easier to get into.


Update- Check with the schools to see if they will be checking for OAT scores since many applicants are unable to take the OAT during this time. Perhaps schools will let you opt out of taking the OAT? Best of luck!
I'll be applying at the end of December with similar stats(minus the OAT bc i'll be taking it in two weeks). is that too late or have you heard of other people(friends ,etc.) applying around the time I am and still being accepted to most of the schools they applied?

also, congrats! saw that you were accepted to all of these schools...
 
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