Application confusion

[tyt2017]

Hello,

I was completely thrown off about the application timeline. I just graduated this past May and was thinking about taking a year off to get my finances together to pay for optometry school. But I had to retake a course and was told I had to take anatomy before I could apply. The cycle has started but I am currently retaking my course (which ends in August) and planning to take anatomy this fall. I have also yet to take the OATs, which I intended to take before 2018.

What I want to know is, if I do not apply before December (or the school's deadline in 2018) and hold off until applying next summer. Will that be applying for Fall 2019? Should I just apply this summer anyways and take the OATs as early as I can, in hopes of having the chance to enroll in Fall 2018 (knowing that I still have two courses not completed yet)?

I really appreciate any kind of help.

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[tyt2017]

I also forgot to mention that after I finish this course at my original university, I will be working for my family optometrist and shadowing others for the year. I am hoping that I will not have to wait until next summer to apply but if that would be a better plan, I would choose that.

 

[ME2OD]

I know A&P is not required but strongly recommended for most schools. I think only about 6 schools require it. I personally didn't take A&P and it wasn't an issue when I was applied. So you may not have to take it. I would email someone in admissions at a school you're interested in and they could tell you if it would help your application.

You can start your Optomcas application and actually submit it before you take the OAT, which I've heard schools prefer if you plan to take your OAT later in the application cycle. It gets your foot in the door and the earlier application date is sometimes used tie-breaker between two applicants. If the school you want to apply to requires A&P you can still be accepted contingent on you completing A&P I and II this fall and next spring.

But yes, if you wait and apply in the summer of 2018 that will be to enter school in the fall of 2019.

Last year I started studying a little in June and July 2016 because of summer school, and once August hit I started studying harder and took my OAT in October and like the next day submitted my application. So I would maybe plan on trying to get an application going and start studying OAT material and take at least one practice test before taking the real exam to get an idea of how you would do on the exam.


Here are some links that might be helpful.

Resources | ASCO: Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry

https://optometriceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ASCO-Prerequisites-May-2016.pdf

 

[tyt2017]

I know A&P is not required but strongly recommended for most schools. I think only about 6 schools require it. I personally didn't take A&P and it wasn't an issue when I was applied. So you may not have to take it. I would email someone in admissions at a school you're interested in and they could tell you if it would help your application.

You can start your Optomcas application and actually submit it before you take the OAT, which I've heard schools prefer if you plan to take your OAT later in the application cycle. It gets your foot in the door and the earlier application date is sometimes used tie-breaker between two applicants. If the school you want to apply to requires A&P you can still be accepted contingent on you completing A&P I and II this fall and next spring.

But yes, if you wait and apply in the summer of 2018 that will be to enter school in the fall of 2019.

Last year I started studying a little in June and July 2016 because of summer school, and once August hit I started studying harder and took my OAT in October and like the next day submitted my application. So I would maybe plan on trying to get an application going and start studying OAT material and take at least one practice test before taking the real exam to get an idea of how you would do on the exam.


Here are some links that might be helpful.

Resources | ASCO: Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry

https://optometriceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ASCO-Prerequisites-May-2016.pdf

Would you say it would be better to apply this cycle even thought I don't have everything put together yet. Or would it be better to wait for the next cycle when I have more experiences to talk about and everything ready to go?

 

[ME2OD]

I believe you can start filling out your Optomcas application for this cycle (fall of 2018) and if you decided not to send it in this cycle, Optomcas would transfer your previous application information over to the application for the next year with the exception of the letters of recommendation I believe.

With that being said, I think applying this cycle wouldn't be a bad idea. That is if you know you'd be able to get all your shadowing and other info into Optomcas before the end of the cycle. After you submit your application you can add things to it like more shadowing hours or volunteer hours since it is an electronic application (you just can't go back and edit items).

Like you I wanted to wait until the next year's cycle to apply because I was not on the front end of the cycle, however, I decided to just go ahead and try to get everything in and submit. Personally, I'm glad that I went ahead and submitted my application.

Do you have any shadowing hours or hours working for an optometrist as of now?

Also, do you know the schools that you're wanting to apply?

 

[tyt2017]

I believe you can start filling out your Optomcas application for this cycle (fall of 2018) and if you decided not to send it in this cycle, Optomcas would transfer your previous application information over to the application for the next year with the exception of the letters of recommendation I believe.

With that being said, I think applying this cycle wouldn't be a bad idea. That is if you know you'd be able to get all your shadowing and other info into Optomcas before the end of the cycle. After you submit your application you can add things to it like more shadowing hours or volunteer hours since it is an electronic application (you just can't go back and edit items).

Like you I wanted to wait until the next year's cycle to apply because I was not on the front end of the cycle, however, I decided to just go ahead and try to get everything in and submit. Personally, I'm glad that I went ahead and submitted my application.

Do you have any shadowing hours or hours working for an optometrist as of now?

Also, do you know the schools that you're wanting to apply?

I am still finishing up some courses at my university at the moment. Personally, I just don't feel as ready as I felt a year ago but I had just started to get some shadowing hours in this week. But I am not confident about taking the OATs just yet. After talking to a few current students, family members, and optometrists I am leaning more towards apply for schools next cycle. I do have an idea of where I want to apply to but the only one I am really aiming for is SALUS. I was advised to gain more experience in the field before applying. Honestly, at the moment I don't feel like I am 100% ready. But my parents thing it would be a good idea just to try this cycle, just as you did. Thank you for giving me some insight on what you are doing. I will keep thinking about it and gain more shadowing hours.