Want to stay in Cali

[optometrykid]

Hey guys,

I hope to attend optometry school Fall of 18'! But as I'm going to do the application process, I'm seeing the requirements for various schools and realized that I don't even want to send applications to all of these places! I currently, and have always, lived in California and I can't imagine going all the way to the east coast or even out-of-state for 4 years and be away from my family But considering the fact that there are only three schools in California, and that I have the worst luck, there's a good chance I won't get into one of these three.

Anyways, anybody have any advice on how competitive these schools in Cali actually are? Should I still apply to some schools out-of-state?

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[Stirling]

One option is to look at the incoming class statistics for each California school and see if your OAT score and GPA fall within their admitted students. I know Berkeley posts theirs, but I'm not sure about the other two.

Some close out-of-state schools you could look into is PUCO in Oregon or Midwestern in AZ. If you live in northern CA, PUCO is going to be close, and Midwestern is close to southern CA.

Another option is to email the admissions office with a summary of your application and ask if they have any suggestions for strengthening it. They will usually tell you how competitive you are and will give great advice on strengthening your application.


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[generallyspeaking]

You're probably gone, but do what you've gotta do. I'm not sure what this "I have the worst luck" insecurity is about, but try your best at being the best candidate AND person you can be. Put some effort into it.

Berkeley takes the cream of the crop. SCCO certainly has some competition. Western, kind of like Hufflepuff, will probably take anyone. If you limit yourself to these schools, and you don't get in, be prepared to apply again the following year. But I'd guess anyone can get into Western. I went to a good school (in my opinion) and I've met superhumans and people you could tell just didn't belong there (in terms of aptitude), and I've seen them drop out. I don't know what your ego is like (doesn't sound very high) but as long as you've got a good head on your shoulders and believe in yourself and your abilities, then you'll probably get in one of the three CA schools, with Western probably being a huge safety net.

But still I don't know how you judge being in California in all locations as being equivalent to being home. I grew up in the Bay Area, and I absolutely hate Southern California. I never actually visited Central California or met anyone from Central California until I started my career, and I love it here. I don't call being in SoCal when you are from NorCal to be close to family, as I personally dread making that trip by car or public transportation [I've done both and plenty of times and it is exhausting].

Anyhow, if that is your need to make you comfortable and happy, then by all means go for it and I would imagine it is very possible (your original post gave no stats or information to work off of, so this and any future post can only be figuratively a bubblegum feel-good talk), but if some place else were to make you happier and more comfortable, I'd say go unprejudiced.

 

[optometrykid]

One option is to look at the incoming class statistics for each California school and see if your OAT score and GPA fall within their admitted students. I know Berkeley posts theirs, but I'm not sure about the other two.

Some close out-of-state schools you could look into is PUCO in Oregon or Midwestern in AZ. If you live in northern CA, PUCO is going to be close, and Midwestern is close to southern CA.

Another option is to email the admissions office with a summary of your application and ask if they have any suggestions for strengthening it. They will usually tell you how competitive you are and will give great advice on strengthening your application.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

Thank you for the advice, I'll definitely do so!

 

[optometrykid]

You're probably gone, but do what you've gotta do. I'm not sure what this "I have the worst luck" insecurity is about, but try your best at being the best candidate AND person you can be. Put some effort into it.

Berkeley takes the cream of the crop. SCCO certainly has some competition. Western, kind of like Hufflepuff, will probably take anyone. If you limit yourself to these schools, and you don't get in, be prepared to apply again the following year. But I'd guess anyone can get into Western. I went to a good school (in my opinion) and I've met superhumans and people you could tell just didn't belong there (in terms of aptitude), and I've seen them drop out. I don't know what your ego is like (doesn't sound very high) but as long as you've got a good head on your shoulders and believe in yourself and your abilities, then you'll probably get in one of the three CA schools, with Western probably being a huge safety net.

But still I don't know how you judge being in California in all locations as being equivalent to being home. I grew up in the Bay Area, and I absolutely hate Southern California. I never actually visited Central California or met anyone from Central California until I started my career, and I love it here. I don't call being in SoCal when you are from NorCal to be close to family, as I personally dread making that trip by car or public transportation [I've done both and plenty of times and it is exhausting].

Anyhow, if that is your need to make you comfortable and happy, then by all means go for it and I would imagine it is very possible (your original post gave no stats or information to work off of, so this and any future post can only be figuratively a bubblegum feel-good talk), but if some place else were to make you happier and more comfortable, I'd say go unprejudiced.

First of all, love the HP reference. I figured Western was like that, so I guess I'm mostly aiming for Berkeley and SCCO. And you're right in that I didn't post any stats or information, I can owe that reason to my stats being pretty low. I'll post them now so if anyone does read this, it can give a little more insight.
Basically, I'm a fourth year UCSD student, whose GPA just dropped pretty low. I'm hoping to at least bring it up to a 3.3 before graduating (and that's just my overall GPA). I've shadowed about three optometrists and worked at an optometry office two summers ago. My extracurriculars, that are related to optometry, aren't anything more than just being a part of the optometry organization at school. UCSD has been quite hard to adjust to, after transferring over from my previous community college, so I haven't been able to do many "optometry-related" things since I got here.
I guess I shouldn't have said that "I have the worst luck", and instead, should have said that I just believe I have a pretty weak application right now; so, my hopes of getting into Berkeley or SCCO right now are definitely low. Every other person applying to these two schools have a thousand more things on their application, so the competition is pretty intimidating. I think what I'll have to end up doing is take 2 years off, to build up my application, before applying.
Anyway, thanks for the reply!

And if anyone else is reading this and has anything to say, please feel free to do so.

 

[SmileWithYourEyes]

First of all, love the HP reference. I figured Western was like that, so I guess I'm mostly aiming for Berkeley and SCCO. And you're right in that I didn't post any stats or information, I can owe that reason to my stats being pretty low. I'll post them now so if anyone does read this, it can give a little more insight.
Basically, I'm a fourth year UCSD student, whose GPA just dropped pretty low. I'm hoping to at least bring it up to a 3.3 before graduating (and that's just my overall GPA). I've shadowed about three optometrists and worked at an optometry office two summers ago. My extracurriculars, that are related to optometry, aren't anything more than just being a part of the optometry organization at school. UCSD has been quite hard to adjust to, after transferring over from my previous community college, so I haven't been able to do many "optometry-related" things since I got here.
I guess I shouldn't have said that "I have the worst luck", and instead, should have said that I just believe I have a pretty weak application right now; so, my hopes of getting into Berkeley or SCCO right now are definitely low. Every other person applying to these two schools have a thousand more things on their application, so the competition is pretty intimidating. I think what I'll have to end up doing is take 2 years off, to build up my application, before applying.
Anyway, thanks for the reply!

And if anyone else is reading this and has anything to say, please feel free to do so.

Hi! If it makes you feel better, I had a 3.3 and got into all 3 California schools (I only applied to those 3!) I also did similar shadowing amounts and worked at 1 optometrist office. I feel they really saw my dedication to the profession through my essays and interviews. Remember you are so much more than your numbers! Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

 

[AcademicEyes]

I think taking a year off can certainly boost your application, but don’t sell yourself short. Do what you can to show academic and personal growth in your application, and study hard for the OAT, especially in subjects you were weak in.