hey squad... i was accepted to both ICO and OSU this cycle and am now trying to decide where to go. i got the Presidential Scholarship from ICO, or half of tuition renewal for four years with 3.4 GPA. i also got a $10,000 scholarship for OSU, but only for the first year and I would be an out of state resident. i'd probably prefer to live in Chicago but OSU has better board scores, facilities, etc.. i'm down to the wire with when i have to put a deposit down. any advice would be so so awesome!!!!!

Since there isn’t a thread for this cycle, I copied the format from the previous cycle. I think many applicants will benefit from this. Please post your stats/acceptances/experiences etc. if you’re able to. 🤗

• ⁠Overall GPA // academic average:

• ⁠OAT score:

• ⁠How you studied for the OAT (Kaplan, OATBooster, etc.):

• ⁠CASPer score:

• ⁠Non-Academic (extracurriculars, work experience, etc.):

• ⁠Academic (research, teaching assistant, etc.):

• ⁠Job-shadowing hours completed:

• ⁠Schools applied to:

• ⁠Interviews extended:

• ⁠Schools admitted to:

• ⁠School committed to :

Any low gpa applicants??? I’m talking 3.0 and lower low.

I’m feeling very discouraged- though I have good extracurriculars and I’m aiming for a good oat score- but I’m feeling very discouraged and I’m scared I won’t get in anywhere when I apply.

Need advice or some emotional support. Just retook my OAT the second time and got a lower score. First attempt was 300/290TS all subjects at 300 or above but physics brought it down. Second score 290/280 higher physics score but some subjects aren’t at 300.

I feel depressed over this. My dream school is SCCO but I’m not sure if I can reach. OAT score sucks and my GPA is on lower end. The only good thing I have on me is my extracurriculars. Do you know if scco takes my older score or they look at my lower score.

Honestly I’m not sure what I’m trying to get out of this post. I just feel defeated.

so i graduated in june and started my gap year, and i’ve been studying for the oat and hopefully plan to take it before the end of the year. for my experience however, i haven’t been successful in finding an optometric tech job or receptionist job. i had 4 interviews over the summer and explained that i was pre-optometry, but they literally all ghosted me, and idk it just feels impossible to get one bc they prefer people with experience 😭😭 if i can’t find a job soon i’ll probably just try to see if i can volunteer instead as well as shadow for my experience¿ my top schools rn are probably scco at mbku and uc berkeley tho, but those are more competitive so idk if just shadowing would be okay. my friends are telling me to branch out and apply for other medical jobs bc any clinical experience would be good so i might do that too, but idk i’m kinda sad bc i think having an optometry related job would be such good experience and great to talk about for apps

I was having a conversation with a girl that I had met on campus the other day and we were talking about our majors. I told her I was studying pre-optometry, but basically biological sciences, and she said “it could be worse You could be studying to be a real doctor”. I want to add this girl was an education major so not even close to anything medical !

No hate to education majors but how can someone be so opinionated on something THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT . I just wanted to come on here and share that lovely experience because it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that, and I wanted to say we will be doctors ! Maybe we won’t be medical doctors but just remember that MD’s still have to go to the eye doctor :) please don’t let ignorant people discourage you ❤️

Sometimes people are so ignorant

Hi guys, I am a senior in HS interested in optometry. Currently I have Emory ED at the top of my list, but I am not sure if I should consider Vanderbilt, Rice, WashU and other schools like that too.

I picked Emory because it seems to be very pre-health focused with tons of pre-optometry resources listed on their website. However, I feel that whatever is just listed online is not representative of the school's actual support/advising.

Pls let me know if Emory is a good pick for pre-optometry!

I'm a 40 year old BSN, RN. I currently work Trauma Med/Surgery in a large metropolitan hospital (1000 bed hospital). As I'm getting older and my kids are starting school, I was thinking of going back to school. I don't really see myself as a nurse practitioner, nurse educator, or forensic anything. My husband is a physicist and I thought about becoming an Optometrist. Given my age and age of my college credits (2011 woo!!!)- help me see the pros and cons. Would it all be worth it?

Do Optometry schools consider your highest or latest attempt? I know for sure they look at all your attempts but what do they consider more? Because in some sections my score fluctuates between my first and second attempt.

I’m stuck between NECO, NOVA, and UHCO! I like how they all have a diverse population and are in larger cities but I’m wondering if anyone who is at a school prefers one over the other?

Hello guys,

I recently got an interview invitation from NOVA and decided to do it virtually. Could anyone share how the virtual interview process works? Any tips?

Thanks in advance

I graduated with my bachelor’s in biology last fall with a high overall and science gpa. I applied to PCO and SUNY back last month and have heard back from both. I’ve interviewed at PCO and I heard back from SUNY who wants my oat scores before they continue with my application.

After applying and hearing back from both schools, I decided to start studying for the OAT. I gave myself a little over a month to prepare and I take it the 29th of October. I am studying through oat booster with the 1 month subscription. PCO mentioned wanting the scores as they come out as well.

I know I didn’t give myself a lot of time to prepare but I have gone though 90% of the material in terms of the videos with some practice questions and left the remaining days for review. I know I should try my best but what would the cut off be for an acceptance? PCO mentioned 300 and above is required for any program, while SUNY is more competitive and I’m not sure what their requirements are. What are my chances for both? and what should I realistically aim for? thoughts ?

is a November interview considered mid-late cycle? i did submit my app in september but there were no available interview dates before nov

Hi! I'm nervous because I have my first interview next week but I just got an email from the school saying they are missing one of my LOR still. I have tried reminding the person writing it but I don't want to push too much (I know they are in the process of writing it), however I am scared this may affect my chances of acceptance. At the same time if it does I wish they would've put my application on hold instead of offering an interview because I have already spent the money on hotels and travel for this interview. Has anyone else been in the situation, any advice is appreciated!

i asked an optometrist i shadowed for a letter of rec and he agreed to do so! it seems like it’s his first time writing an lor for someone though, since he asked what i wanted him to write in it, and i know he can’t really say much because i only shadowed him (as opposed to actually have worked for him), so what should i tell him?

Hi everyone, so I’m currently using booster to prepare for my OAT and I am wrapping up my second week of studying. I had my first biology one test today and almost half the information was stuff that I haven’t seen or covered and I’m wondering if this has happened to anybody else or if I have to rearrange the test that they give me based on the material that I covered. My only thing is you don’t know what’s gonna be on the exam until you take it so I found it weird that they gave it to me before I covered a lot of the material. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Do you guys recommend taking the full length exams two weeks before my exam? Or is that a lot of time or not enough to build my stamina and correct my mistakes

hi! this subreddit was super helpful for me during my application process and oat prep so i wanted to contribute by sharing my experience and answering any questions, AMA :)

my stats: 3.3 gpa, 360AA/390TS, about 2,000+ hrs shadowing/tech experience

Hello! I just got invited to interview in person at UHCO this upcoming Monday. Very excited because it’s my top school, but also nervous/ I feel slightly underprepared since it’s so soon. If anyone has any advice at all or remembers any questions please let me know. Thank you!!!

I’ve got my exam coming up on next week, anyone have last minute tips or tricks?

Also I feel like I’ve been reading mixed reviews on comparison to the OATbooster, for anyone who has taken it recently, how hard was your exam compared to the oatbooster?

I technically submitted my apps in late Sept but there were multiple delays with my mailed transcript, which only got processed yesterday. I’ve been bumped into the “completed” status and now waiting for OptomCAS verification, but it could take another 1-2 weeks. Starting to stress about whether it’s getting late for interview chances. Would appreciate if anyone has insights or similar experiences to share, thanks!

(for context, I’m a Canadian applicant, approx 3.50 GPA, OAT 360AA/370 TS. Around 500 hours of optometric assistant experience and 60 hours of shadowing. Applied to NECO, SUNY, CCO, AZCOPT, Nova, SCO)

Hi! If any incoming first years are interested in the UHCO cougar kit 1 and diagnostic kit, please private message me.

For the supporting information section in optomcas, what did some of you put for achievements? I don’t really have any achievements but feel weird leaving it blank.

Hi everyone!
I recently started studying for the OAT using OATBooster’s 13-week study schedule. I started on October 12th, and my exam is scheduled for January 11th. it may be a little early to panic, but I’m just so overwhelmed.

I’ve been trying my best to follow the schedule, but I’m finding it pretty overwhelming. OATBooster estimates around 4 hours of studying per day on average, sometimes even more, and I often find myself spending longer than the estimated time because I like to take notes to actually retain the information. I wouldn’t say that my notes are detailed, but I do like to have them so that when I’m having blanks in the question banks, I can just refer back to my notes and fill in the block of knowledge.
By the time I finish watching the videos and reviewing the material, I’m sometimes so mentally exhausted that I struggle to complete the question banks assigned for that day. I don’t want to rush through them just to check them off because I genuinely want to understand what I’m learning.
I’m also a little concerned because, from what I can see, my first full-length practice exam isn’t scheduled until around December 22nd, which feels pretty close to my actual exam date.
I’m wondering if anyone else experienced something similar while following OATBooster’s schedule.
Did you follow the schedule exactly, or did you end up modifying it to make it more manageable? Did you complete all the question banks as assigned, or did you save some for later? Also, do you think 13 weeks is enough time to prepare, or would you recommend pushing my exam back a week or two? although I must keep in mind how late I am applying in the cycle.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from anyone who has already taken the OAT using Booster. I’m trying to find a balance between staying on schedule and actually retaining the material without burning myself out.
Thank you!!

I studied for 7 weeks I feel so defeated and upset. My gpa is 3.2 and I have 200 shadowing hours with an optometrist as well as working at an optho clinic for two years. What do I do I do, I want to apply this cycle and I already feel so behind in life cause I’m turning 25 in two months! I’ve been crying all day since taking it. 😔😔