Hi everyone,
I am sort of feeling extremely discouraged currently. I will be graduating undergrad in the summer of 2021. I plan to apply for the opening cycle in July 2021 for optometry school. I just want to share some information and am looking for honest advice on how I should go about my situation. I have had a pretty rough undergraduate academic experience. There have been some semesters where I have very high grades but there have been some semesters where I have failed miserably. I went through a traumatic experience in my personal life that really took a toll my grades and I was losing focus. This semester felt unreal. One of my parents got really ill, I had been going to school from home and the environment was not good at all. I had to find a new job due to cover and It did not match my school schedule well. this semester I spent a lot of time taking care of my mom and struggled to find a good study environment. I will be retaking most of the courses I took this semester because I know I can do better. I have received help from family as well as found a different place to live until I graduate which will help me keep focus. I also was able to find a par time work that is very generous in keeping my school schedule in mind as well as giving me time off to study for my OAT. I I know for sure I will be graduating with a gpa no higher than a 2.5. My optomcas GPA could have been higher from the retakes I took but unfortunately, they Made a change where they will no longer do full grade replacement. they are now taking all attempts. however when I contacted UHCO they said they take the higher grade. (still confused on this process. I have had 2.5 years of experience working as an optometry tech. I have done a lot of macular degeneration testing, glaucoma evaluations, cataract pre/post ops. Ive seen patients coming in for shingles, macular holes, plaquenil testing on lupus patients, diabetic retinopathy, and more. Ive learned a lot the 2.5 years I worked there. I built amazing relationships with patients and the doctor I worked for will be writing me a letter of rec. I also am involved in POPS and pre-health organization in school. Ive volunteered for prevent blindness and have shadowed different optometry settings. I kept a diary of all interesting notes, cases, things I've seen where I worked. I just have struggled academically. I know I can only go up from here. I know I am able to Make really good grades this next semester and summer semester. I still am just worried about graduating with a 2.5 gpa. I don't want to give up on applying. I just would like your honest opinion on how I should enhance myself, my application, and overall to be able to be the best applicant I can be.
I am sort of feeling extremely discouraged currently. I will be graduating undergrad in the summer of 2021. I plan to apply for the opening cycle in July 2021 for optometry school. I just want to share some information and am looking for honest advice on how I should go about my situation. I have had a pretty rough undergraduate academic experience. There have been some semesters where I have very high grades but there have been some semesters where I have failed miserably. I went through a traumatic experience in my personal life that really took a toll my grades and I was losing focus. This semester felt unreal. One of my parents got really ill, I had been going to school from home and the environment was not good at all. I had to find a new job due to cover and It did not match my school schedule well. this semester I spent a lot of time taking care of my mom and struggled to find a good study environment. I will be retaking most of the courses I took this semester because I know I can do better. I have received help from family as well as found a different place to live until I graduate which will help me keep focus. I also was able to find a par time work that is very generous in keeping my school schedule in mind as well as giving me time off to study for my OAT. I I know for sure I will be graduating with a gpa no higher than a 2.5. My optomcas GPA could have been higher from the retakes I took but unfortunately, they Made a change where they will no longer do full grade replacement. they are now taking all attempts. however when I contacted UHCO they said they take the higher grade. (still confused on this process. I have had 2.5 years of experience working as an optometry tech. I have done a lot of macular degeneration testing, glaucoma evaluations, cataract pre/post ops. Ive seen patients coming in for shingles, macular holes, plaquenil testing on lupus patients, diabetic retinopathy, and more. Ive learned a lot the 2.5 years I worked there. I built amazing relationships with patients and the doctor I worked for will be writing me a letter of rec. I also am involved in POPS and pre-health organization in school. Ive volunteered for prevent blindness and have shadowed different optometry settings. I kept a diary of all interesting notes, cases, things I've seen where I worked. I just have struggled academically. I know I can only go up from here. I know I am able to Make really good grades this next semester and summer semester. I still am just worried about graduating with a 2.5 gpa. I don't want to give up on applying. I just would like your honest opinion on how I should enhance myself, my application, and overall to be able to be the best applicant I can be.