Are shadowing hours mandatory?

[flossybird]

Are shadowing hours mandatory for optometry school applications? If so how many hours?

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[blain85]

School & College Prerequisites | OptomCAS

OptomCAS is the Optometry Centralized Application Service. Through this service applicants may file one application and send it to multiple optometry programs. The schools and colleges of optometry will be able to process applications more efficiently. All schools and colleges of optometry...

www.optomcas.org

The above document might be a bit outdated but it shows which schools require shadowing or not.

Personally, I have shadowed 6 disciplines for about ~35 hours, if for nothing else, it would give you an idea on which area you may want to focus on.

 

[mybigponytv14]

I shadowed for 10 hours only and got interviews from all 5 schools I applied to. I did apply this cycle so perhaps schools were lenient due to the pandemic. I suggest using as many avenues possible to learn about the profession, and to mention them in your application (podcasts, books, informational interviews, online shadowing, etc). Shadowing is mandatory because it demonstrates understanding of what it means to be an optometrist and most importantly, whether you can envision yourself as one.

 

[flossybird]

I shadowed for 10 hours only and got interviews from all 5 schools I applied to. I did apply this cycle so perhaps schools were lenient due to the pandemic. I suggest using as many avenues possible to learn about the profession, and to mention them in your application (podcasts, books, informational interviews, online shadowing, etc). Shadowing is mandatory because it demonstrates understanding of what it means to be an optometrist and most importantly, whether you can envision yourself as one.

What were those 5 schools if you don't mind me asking?

 

[mybigponytv14]

What were those 5 schools if you don't mind me asking?

SUNY, SCCO, ICO, PUCO, and NECO.