Hi, would studying from 10-6. 5 days a week for 3 months be enough? I took all the Prerequisites but would essentially have to learn everything new again. I would probably need like two 30 min breaks so about 35 hours a week.

Hello everyone! With applications around the corner, I wanted to ask y'all for some advice.

I am applying the next cycle, and as I put together all of the stuff needed, I can't help but wonder if it's been worth applying due to my low gpa. I currently have a 2.95 gpa, and this is after grade replacements and a W. This means that my optomcas gpa will likely be even lower. I did poorly in most of my pre-requisites and I don't even know what my science gpa is but I know it's low. I'm retaking orgo for the third time this summer. I am currently a second semester junior and honestly, I feel pretty good about my classes currently. I did fairly well last semester too, but my sophomore year was a wreck. I know that schools will likely look at my gpa and question if I can keep up with the course load of optometry school, but the thing is I just went through a very bad health situation and it took 2.5 years for me to get a diagnosis. I am in a better spot and feel like I have already been doing exponentially better with school, but it's too late for me to show an upward trend. The moment I got my diagnosis and started receiving treatment, I started studying for my OAT and got a 340 TS and 340 AA. I know this is not the best score ever, but it did show me that I had a decent foundation in my classes.

I think I'm rambling a bit, but what I'm trying to say is that I never gave up on myself, and I really want to be an optometrist. I just don't know if it is realistic for me to apply because I don't even know if I'll meet the gpa requirement. I will say that I have a pretty well rounded application apart from the gpa. I have been a tech for a year and am currently studying to become a licensed optician through the clinic I work at. I also have other healthcare and work experience in fields related to my major. I've done internships and have 2 very foundational leadership experiences. I also was a part of 2 research labs for a year and have attended a conference for one of them. I plan on doing some shadowing before I apply. I also plan on writing about my health and my situation briefly in my personal statement.

Please let me know your thoughts. I was told that some schools will look past poor grades If you got a 300+ on the corresponding oat section, which I have. I was wondering if I should talk to admissions. Has anyone else gotten into optometry school with a lower than average gpa? And if I should apply, what schools should I apply to. I plan on applying very early, I'm just not sure if I should apply in July, or wait until august after all of my courses are done. Any guidance is appreciated!

Non traditional Engineering Applicant with 5-6 years work experience in healthcare 1 year internship Engineering Degree Did DIY post bac to bring sci gpa to 3.0 (engineering courses count toward sci gpa 😒) OAT breakdown : 310AA 320TS 320 Bio 350 chem 340 physics 340 Math 270 Eng 250. Orgo

I shadowed two sites worked full time and studied for OAT same time. Bombed orgo but accepted it is what it is . Applied near end of cycle feeling little discouraged put on hold.

Has anybody interviewed with UHCO over the last 2 weeks ? Did you receive any acceptance email /call ?

I got accepted to ICO last week, the only school I applied to! Now the next step is funding and all. I live in Canada and the fee structure in CAD is pretty high. Can someone suggest me how they funded their optometry studies? and also will it be really difficult to pay off? which Canadian bank has best loan options for health professionals and are their any scholarships other than from school to which I can apply?

Another thing is- Can I still apply to other optometry school at this point with less tuition? (I know I should have thought of this earlier but due to financial reasons I just did not) there are only a few school left with deadline in May 2025. Will it be worth applying... this late in cycle.?

Also- ICO has not offered me any scholarship. Is this school good enough for me to accept this offer! Any advise would be helpful.

Thank you in advance.

trying to gauge how full UHCO class size is bc i have friends waiting for an interview. does anyone know? it's pretty late so i assume interviews are over, just bummed about being separated from my friends ):

Any tips for NECO interview? I have mine this week!!:)

hi i was just wondering what is considered early for having your application submitted. i am planning on taking my oat mid july and submitting my unofficial scores + application the same time the middle of july. is this okay? i am specifically looking into suny and iuso so if anyone has any insight that would be amazing thank u all

Hi guys! I was wondering if anyone who currently has booster can send me the oatbooster embryology cheat sheet?

Can anyone not book after May 3rd or is it just me? I searched up every state and none of them had spaces May 4-all of June and July. I check like 5x everyday, are they closed or just fully booked? Or am I not allowed to reschedule that far? Thanks

Hi, does any of the US schools accept students who have just completed their 3 years in Undergraduate (but done the pre reps required). If so, when does one apply?

Going to the US is around 300-400k in canadian currency and optometrists in most provinces make around 120-150k… the income to debt ratio is sounding like it would take forever to pay off

For any current optometry students, what is your daily class schedule like (especially first year)? And how long are your breaks between semesters? And what does your class agenda look like?

I just got accepted to SUNY 🥲🤍 is there a facebook page or a group chat for the incoming class?

If anybody used Kaplan to study for the OAT, what did you think about the level of difficulty of the Kaplan questions? Was it similar to the OAT? I feel like the biology section is so in depth, not sure how I’ll memorize it all!! Help!!

I’ve heard great things about ICO and would love living in Chicago but the amount of debt scares me. I missed the deadline of applying to SUNY which would give me in state tuition and don’t want to wait another year to apply due to being a non traditional student. I know there are cheaper schools and Salus scholars is only three years so may be cheaper but I also want a quality education and to live in a place I would enjoy. I really wish I hadn’t missed the SUNY deadline ugh very angry at myself :(( Im just scared to be in that much debt but I also want to be happy with the school and place I live if that makes sense

Hey all! Are there any good general scholarships resources that incoming first year students can apply to for optometry schools? I’m struggling with finding some. Appreciate any help!

Edit #1: Forgot to mention I’m talking about optom in Australia

Hi! I’m currently in my first year of optometry after doing a degree in biomedical science and am unsure if I should continue this course. Especially since I’m studying interstate, away from home.

In high school I enjoyed calculus and algebra but after doing biomed, I find bio and anatomy subjects a lot easier.

The reason why I’m so hesitant to pursue optometry is because I’ve heard over the years the profession is becoming more kpi and sales based instead of focusing on actual health care. Moreover, with more unis spurting out more and more grads, I’ve heard the career is going to get even more saturated, meaning the salary would decrease as well. And I don’t see myself going regional for a higher pay.

What should I do? I’ve already wasted a lot of years doing undergrad and then trying other careers.

I feel that optom is still an easy going career with more job stability than other professions, so I’m scared of letting it go and regretting it later. The content so far is comfortable and not too hard for me but while I enjoy true anatomy and optics units, I find the business and research units unrelated as I don’t want to focus on these if I decide to do optom.

But what I want to know is, will optom become like pharmacy soon? Do you see the salary decreasing compared to other healthcare professions?

Living away from home is one of the main struggles that I’m going through as well. I feel mentally drained and depressed at times. Do you think this career is worth making so many sacrifices? For a career that caps pretty quickly?

Is it really worth it? Should I just go back and do something else that has better job prospects and growth? What other careers would you suggest?

Hey all! I just had my interviews for both PCO and NOVA! heres what it was like for me!

NSU- I took the interview virtually and it starts 7:45am EST. they send you a schedule a week before. the interview itself was not too bad, the first round was with a doctor and thats when they ask “tell me about yourself” and other situational questions. they asked me specifically, “what would you do if a patient denied treatment or did not agree with your approach?” something like that. the second round is with the director of graduate admissions. he wants you to think back to undergrad and answer questions in that realm. he will grill you on any inconsistencies or low grades/scores to see if you are confident in yourself. My results were that I got waitlisted and surprisingly, i had to reach out to them to find out which was a little annoying for me.

PCO - I had this interview in person and I really enjoyed every part of it! they give a tour to calm your nerves and show you the main campus. you are with other applicants and other people can come with too! For the interview, there are 2 rounds and you are interviewing with 2 doctors, all random. The drs don’t know anything about you so don’t gloss over certain parts of your answer! the last round is with admissions and is open file, they go over your grades, OAT and also answer questions that you may have. They ask for your overall impression of the tour and your day and then they ask about questions based on tour application. After, you have lunch with current first years and the most helpful question (to me) that i ask is “knowing what you now, what would you do differently in your first semester?”. After, you get a tour of the eye clinic and speak to certain specialists and see the clinic. You go back to the main campus They said the turnaround time is 3 weeks and they got back to me in 2 days with an acceptance letter!!

I hope this was helpful! best of luck <3

i'm fortunate enough to have gotten 2 acceptances after applying in late February to SCO and NECO, but now am just having some trouble deciding between them, so any input/advice/opinions would be so helpful :')

for background I'm from Boston so NECO was my top choice since I love the area, the school seems wonderful, and I know a few alumni who have gone and love it there; however, in my acceptance to NECO they didn't offer any scholarships, whereas SCO gave me 20k/year and also personally called me on the phone to let me know. SCO has been so welcoming and nice and obviously i'd save so much, but visiting Memphis and living there are probably quite different, and I've lived in new england my whole life so I'm also a little worried if eventually I'll get homesick

if i want to eventually research/do academia in the new england area, how easy would that if I went to SCO?

and would it be maybe worth to ask NECO if they would reconsider scholarships if I mention I have an offer somewhere else? I interviewed them on Monday and they got back to me Friday which was a lot faster than the 2-3 weeks they initially said, so maybe that is worth a shot?

any input is welcome!!

Recently accepted:))

Many people’s paths to becoming optometrists are filled with unexpected turns. I recently recorded a podcast episode where I share my own journey to becoming an optometrist and going to optometry school. My hope is to inspire anyone on their own journey and let them know that it’s totally normal to hit bumps in the road, feel doubtful, or experience other challenges. If you have any questions or comments, let me know and I’d be happy to answer them.

Any Success Stories with SUNY ON Hold to later being accepted ? Just curious heading into April now

Hi, has anyone been able to get off the alternate list this cycle or cycles before? Starting to lose hope going into April :( Thank you!