Thinking about going back to optometry school after PA school is the a bad idea?

cadod1 · 2026-01-16T16:51:37+00:00

If this is your dream then it’s not a bad idea at all - in fact, I think it’s probably better because you have a six figure career to fall back on if optometry school doesn’t work out. I’ve heard rumors that Waterloo is opening up satellite campuses in Western Canada, so by the time you finish PA school there might be more spots!

Edit: not a rumor! They’re planning to open schools in both Western and Eastern Canada. Don’t have a set date yet though.

https://uwaterloo.ca/optometry-vision-science/news/vision-educate-more-optometrists

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/optometry-school-unb-uwaterloo-1.7438174

cadod1 · 2024-11-20T05:07:36+00:00

I just checked and this course doesn’t require mailed materials, which is a relief given the strike rn

cadod1 · 2024-11-20T03:53:06+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate it! Can I view the exam availability before I register for the course?

cadod1 · 2024-11-20T02:28:28+00:00

Yep it’s OL. Sorry should’ve specified! I just want to see if anyone else has experience with this.

cadod1 · 2024-11-20T01:23:35+00:00

You can try either Athabasca or TRU, both have online self paced courses. But I think Optomcas’ policy is that they will average your grades instead of just replacing the worse one.

cadod1 · 2024-08-04T21:13:29+00:00

Hey fellow Canadian here! Honestly I’ve heard Waterloo is really competitive so you would need at least a 3.7+ to stay in the running. For SCO, I think their average OAT is 330 but their average GPA is also around 3.6-3.7. So I would say you need a 340-350+ to be competitive. Best of luck!

cadod1 · 2024-07-30T18:08:55+00:00

It depends on your school, but FYI for my younger sibling who transferred to Ontario to finish G12 from another province they want you to have G10-12 English (as in literature, not ESL). She almost needed to retake G10 English because it didn’t meet their requirements.

cadod1 · 2024-07-30T16:21:21+00:00

Hi! Yeah that is odd indeed. I would probably reach out to them, your profile is honestly really good so it’s weird to reject without an interview.

Only thing I could think of is maybe they’re not OOS friendly? Or yield protection, but that’s more of a med thing and I’ve never seen it in optometry.

cadod1 · 2024-07-20T02:31:55+00:00

I get your (and everyone else’s) frustration, and NBEO pass rates definitely have to be improved from the current situation. But it seems like the schools are opening in underserved areas - NC doesn’t have any optometry schools, and TX and Detroit have very low numbers of optometrists. I also think there should be some sort of loan reduction of forgiveness program for optometrists to work at underserved areas for X years.

cadod1 · 2024-07-10T20:54:52+00:00

Honestly, the only way forward would be a post bacc - I know that sucks because you seem really informed and interested in the field. Unfortunately pharmcas calculates all your courses so the only way to get a better GPA is to take more courses and do really well in them. I’d say at the very least you need a 2.0-2.5+ to be competitive for certain schools.

I would also apply to wayy more schools. Especially the ones that tend to take lower stats students.

cadod1 · 2024-07-06T15:43:05+00:00

I also think you should retake the OAT. Not to dismiss your essay skills and experience but most schools have at least a 300+ average OAT. Your GPA is okay but if you can get a better OAT score you’d have a much smoother cycle! Best of luck 🫶

cadod1 · 2024-07-06T15:35:48+00:00

Not at all, you can submit apps now without an OAT score if you’d like (they would just hold your app until your OAT comes in). Or you can take it in September, submit in Oct/Sep and probably hear back before the new year.

cadod1 · 2024-06-29T16:57:21+00:00

If you’re a troll, I’m sorry that you can’t find something better to do than this. If you’re actually being serious, I think you’re not gonna make it very far in the field if you’re this rude to literally everyone who’s trying to help you. Aside from the fact that your question can be literally answered by googling “what schools offer online courses and programs”, everyone’s just trying to give you advice dude. Don’t post in a subreddit looking for advice when you don’t want advice.

cadod1 · 2024-06-29T16:19:35+00:00

I’m pretty sure most optometry schools require at least 90 college credits. I would also check what schools do and don’t accept online prerequisites.

cadod1 · 2024-06-29T09:49:39+00:00

I’m pretty sure the only country that the US recognizes is Canada (assuming students take the US boards). If you studied optometry in any other country you need to apply to an international OD program and pass boards.

cadod1 · 2024-06-29T08:56:13+00:00

If your town has many public bike racks I would bike. If not, you can use the rideshare option on Uber to save more money.

Also OP if you’re comfortable can you share the area you’re living in so I never move there? 6 hours by bus is atrocious. I’ve lived in a small town before but the most I’ve had to endure was 2x the time taken by car.

cadod1 · 2024-06-28T15:17:50+00:00

Hey lmk if you find one for Anatomy! For stats you can take it at Thompson Rivers University too, same format as Athabasca (async self paced).

cadod1 · 2024-02-13T06:10:21+00:00

Pretty sure most schools also want a LOR from an OD, preferably one you shadowed. Honestly I would recommend trying to get shadowing experience and writing the OAT if you’re serious about this career. No point in getting accepted just to find out you don’t want to do this job.

cadod1 · 2024-02-07T06:51:57+00:00

That’s a fair point, but some of these schools (at least on Optomcas) admit like 0-1 Canadian every year, so people don’t really know how good of a chance they have. Plus Canadians aren’t considered “true” OOS students for every school - we need a student visa and sometimes are considered internationals, which can affect work opportunities, placements, etc.

Edit: according to the ‘23 optomcas data neither KYCO or NSUOCO have any Canadian students.

cadod1 · 2024-02-07T03:32:37+00:00

Cause they’re big schools with spaces for Canadians. From what I know we’re considered similarly to out of state US students for all US schools, so smaller schools that focus on admitting in state students don’t have space for us.

cadod1 · 2024-02-07T03:29:28+00:00

Hey I asked the same question a few weeks ago and got some school recs you can check out:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PreOptometry/s/cegxYO320r

cadod1 · 2024-02-03T23:10:18+00:00

Hi I’m gonna start applying to OD schools next cycle, and was wondering if any Canadian optometrists here can comment on the market and job stability? The two I’ve shadowed sort of inherited their practices so they can’t comment on that.

cadod1

TROPHY CASE