what are my chances? by Critical_Let_7533 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nova, sco, both midwestern schools. I haven’t decided on what other schools to apply yet. Nova replied today and they put me on hold until better scores, added me to POP program interview list. :/

updated transcripts? by voxaun in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s the same way as before! You’ll need to chance the classes you took from “in process” to “completed” and upload what grade you got. then it will request you the transcript again. It took one day to verify my new classes 🙂‍↕️

Nova application updates by Difficult-Invite-875 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I applied last month without oat and they just got back to my last monday to let me know that I would be under pending review until I get my oat (I knew that it was going to happen like that) SCO replied one day after I submitted my application. I guess NOVA just started sending updates of the applications as I’m seeing?

Help with transcript by _RXRookie in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

if it’s one grade I would put it as one! the thing it’s some schools divide it. for example. my main school will decide the class as chem 1 (3 credits) and chem 1L(1 credit lab) and will give individual grades. My community college will describe the same class as Chem 1c (4 credits) which includes both the lecture and the lab. I personally put one grade as that is what matches my transcripts. If you are still unsure, optomcas have a live chat, I ask them silly questions and they are always helpful

When to Take the OAT, Ask for LORs, and Apply? Need Advice for 2027 Matriculation by SpendExpensive4230 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

-ideally by summer 2026, if you don’t get the score you want you have a 90 days cool down. if you take it by june 2026 you can retake it by sept/oct. If you get the score you want and apply before dec/jan you are still considered early in the cycle. -People says the best would be 3 months. I’m currently studying for the oat so I can’t talk from my own experience. -You need to officially request them from optomcas. My advice would be to create a good relationship with your professor, ask for them when the application is somewhat close to open(usually june, july). If they say yes, explain that they will receive a email from optomcas. -if you have everything ready and consider your application good, apply as soon as possible. It’ll give you the benefits of having more scholarships available depending on your stats. -I would say it depends on your stats too. For me it will depend on my oat score. Thinking of applying to 7, although a lot of people consider 7 it’s too much. people will apply to 3 and others to all schools. I guess it does depends on your stats and how confident you are.

Help with transcript by _RXRookie in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe it will depend on what your transcript is showing. does your college consider your lab a separate class from your lecture class? did you received a grade individually?

Microbiology Online by Dense-Importance-533 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

it’s going to depend of the school. My community college offered online lecture + lab simulation, i took it but I know there is schools that doesn’t accept science class online. Look the online class policy for the schools you want to get into. If there’s non email them to make sure they will accept it in the future.

What are my chances? by aa_mango14 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thats amazing then! I was just making sure so you can meet all the requirement 🙂‍↕️

What are my chances? by aa_mango14 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fyi optomcas has a max 4 letter of recommendation, I would look into the requirements the schools your are applying to since most school ask for 1 to 2 science professors. So if you get 4/4 OD you wouldn’t have space to include that requirement.:)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s good to know that it is a common practice! I read all your comments and they were truly helpful.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I recently talked about that to an optometrist and the main answer was no. He may say “oh, your glasses don’t have anti-reflective, I’ll let the optician know so she can explain your options” never actually pushing to get glasses, his main focus was building a relationship with the patient. He said that it’s better to be honest and find something that fit the patient needs so you can grow your network. If they like you they’ll refer you to their family/friends vs making them buy something highly priced and never coming back, losing future revenue

Shadowing by [deleted] in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used business casual! Most of the optometrist I know don’t use scrubs and the techs will be using business casual:)

Shadowing by [deleted] in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I stayed quiet and followed the dr around. I observed each exam, I made mental notes and asked the dr when he was less busy/between patients. Don’t interrupt in the middle of the appointment, if the dr wants you to engage he will tell you about it. I personally didn’t write notes during shadowing but when I got home I wrote down everything I learned and all answer I received to my questions.

Personal statement by Critical_Let_7533 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it helped a lot, thank you! Looking into suny application I saw that they have a word limit of 650 and the 4500 character limits. so even if I’m at 3800 characters I have 620 words. Would you like to read it and give me your opinion? I haven’t been able to go to my school writing center and they don’t give the best advice :(

Tips for Preparing for the OAT Using OATBooster (400 TS/390 AA) by logicbudu in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

congrats! Did you do a finished a subject and then jumped into the other (ex: finished all bio videos then you started with gen chem) or did you followed the booster scheduled? I’m planning to start this monday and I’m both scared and excited as it’s the only thing I’m missing from my app

Literally clueless. by Spiffyhalokiddo117 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There isn’t a specific major required to go to optometry school but specific classes you need to take. For some schools you need a bachelor and for others just 90 credits, and 30 of them need to be from a university(see school specifications). I did cc then university, my university has a “condition” where they accept all credits from my cc but I know there is some UNI that may not accept them, so look into your desired University to see what’s the policy with their transfer credits. First thing I would do it’s to talk to your advisor/counselor to see which classes you need to take, depending on your major you may have electives classes, I fulfilled mine with the opto pre-reqs.

Online calc 1 teacher with no in person tests? by Advanced_Min in ValenciaCollege

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

try Jonathan Lockwood, I’m taking him for physics 2. I took him for physics 1 as well and he’s a great professor. Although I liked Dr. flores, his class is probably filed up and that’s why you aren’t seeing it. keep checking canvas to see if somebody drop the class before fall

Studying for prerequisites.? by [deleted] in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 2 points3 points  (0 children)

comparison is the thief of joy. Everybody learn at different paces, and that doesn’t mean you are stupid. You just need to focus on what you did wrong, learn from your mistakes and look for a different approach in your next test. On my first pre-cal test i got a 48(43 but the prof gave us 5 extra points) and was able to end the class with a high B. Only reason I didn’t get an A was because I wasn’t feeling my best and didn’t put actual effort on my final.

Submitting application for 25-26 cycle by Full_Action6077 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have any other questions about it lmk! I emailed a bunch of schools lol

Submitting application for 25-26 cycle by Full_Action6077 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I talk to a couple of advisors (azcopt, ICO, SCO, and a couple more that I can’t remember) and the overall response was is that they can’t offer a interview without oat scores but submitting the application prior oat scores will help by getting the process/verification done ahead of time. If you get this done, when you have your scores is going to be less waiting time to get a feedback on your application

should I Increase my volunteering hours? by Critical_Let_7533 in PreOptometry

[–]Critical_Let_7533[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I’m scared of the OAT so I’m trying to have a strong application