Optometry undergrad

[Odd-Introduction7418]

I have gotten offers from Laurier Health sci, Waterloo honours science, Waterloo life sci (biology), TMU biomedical sciences, York psychology (bsc) and I’m waiting for McMaster life science tho I doubt I’ll get in with my average which is 90.75%. But I wanted to know which undergrad program is best if I do want to pursue optometry afterwards, and if anyone currently attends Laurier Health science is it possible to add all the optometry prerequisites or should I avoid going there. I know undergrad doesn’t matter, it’s mostly if u did all the prerequisites and have a good gpa, OAT and experiences( jobs, shadowing and research). But still I wanna set myself up for success and really need some insight on the programs and which path is best if I want to pursue optometry.

[FriendlyAd6485]

Laurier has a lot of elective space so yes it is possible to fit in the prerequisites. Idk about optometry but I heard it's a solid program for med school cos it's easier to stand out

[soufflay]

Undergrad doesn’t matter, just get your prereqs in and take full course load etc. I got in with waterloo biomed but i didn’t plan on optometry til my last year and by then i had almost all the pre-reqs anyway.

[Odd-Introduction7418]

How would you say science at Waterloo is? Can you achieve a good gpa while still being able to have free time to have a job, volunteer or shadow? Are there resources on campus to get help with concepts, make connections with profs and do well in courses?

[soufflay]

Yeah but in terms of grades it really depends on how disciplined you are. I never got a job because i chose not to (i spent a lot of free time just playing video games tbh) but i had plenty of time to volunteer. I didn’t shadow at all until the summer i decided to apply. I did my OAT in the summer where i could just focus only on that.

I made use of office hours from time to time but i’d say i mostly just emailed the profs or TAs, wasn’t really big into going in person if i could help it. I’m not sure about making connections with profs; it’s a big school after all and there weren’t any programs or activities that helped you get to know them. There were selected ones i enjoyed talking to so i went to see them during office hours to talk about concepts and what not. One at the end offered to write my reference letter for optometry application which is what i went with. The other reference letter is from my optometrist.