question2

[christie]

cpw - where did you hear that applications to OD school are falling right now?

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[Jubileee]

Though I am not cpw, I did read the info in an industry magazine...Vision Monday.. put out by Jocobson publishing who does a lot of the optical magazines.

They had an article discussing how the AOA along with the schools want to expand people's knowledge on optometry and why it is a good career choice. The theory is that the fewer the apps, the lower the selection, the lower the quality of the ODs.

Cassandra

BTW...you can look them up on the net and a lot of the optical mags will give you free subscriptions if you are in the optical industry or a student of one...While they aren't as scholastic as Optometry Today..they do give a lot of info...tips on managing your business, new lens/frames options and the current state of event in optical...

 

[cpw]

Originally posted by christie:
•cpw - where did you hear that applications to OD school are falling right now?•

well, when I interviewed at UHCO the students there told me applications there were 20% lower than the previous year. (although they said they still had enough more than qualified applicants) They (the students ) were brainstorming with me over lunch as to why the applicant pool is falling. You can also check stats at the webpage for ASCO (american schools and college of optometry). I can't look up the address right now... But I'll post it later. YOu can go there and they have number of applicants vs admission numbers for the last several years to all 17 schools. You can check there to REALLY see what your chances are at out of state schools. I THINK the website is: www.opted.com
Happy hunting!

 

[cpw]

Nope! Not the website.. it's
www.opted.org !!!! (not .com)

There have stats there for entering class numbers. You can also go to some of the optometry school's webpages and they'll show you the number of applicants vs acceptances over the last ten or so year (I know berkeley does im not sure which others) Numbers are falling. I know with Berkeley twenty years ago when the doctors I work with went there they were applying with over 800 other students. Last year (for 2000) Berkeley only had ~250 applicants (according to the numbers I saw)

Where are all the applicants? So, if you're a borderline student out there hoping to get into optometry school.. now's probably a good time to apply (before the AOA starts promoting)

 

[eyeguy]

hey everyone,
there is another way to look at this. yes, applications are down but salaries are up. just because fewer od's are coming out every year is not necessarily a bad thing. the need for od's is increasing so that really just makes our jobs/lifestyles that much more secure. it is not like we are dying out or something. relax..be happy eyeguy