For each school to which you choose to apply, you may have to
select from several different optometry programs — different
specializations and joint degrees. As a result, you may be faced
with hundreds of options. When you sit back and imagine your
ideal optometry program, what issues come into play? You need to
decide what is important to you. Do you need a program with a
flexible schedule? How big a workload do you think you can
handle? In what sort of learning environment do you thrive best?
You will need to take a number of factors into account when
assessing which programs fit your wants and needs. Some aspects
to consider are:
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Culture |
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Rankings |
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Average Starting Salary |
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Salaries at the 5-Year Mark |
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Placement Rate |
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Location |
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Campus |
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Class Profile |
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Cost |
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Specialized vs. General Curriculum |
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Class Size |
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Grading Policy
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Where to
Apply?
The trick to assessing your chances of getting into a particular
program is knowing where you stand with regard to the various
factors that programs consider when making admissions
decisions.
A good way to get a sense of how optometry schools perceive
you is to create a fact sheet with your OAT* scores (or projected
scores), overall GPA, and GPA in your major (and minor, if
applicable). Relevant outside activities, work experience,
internships, publications, etc. will also contribute to the
overall strength of your application.
Use A Guidebook
The next step is to find a current source of information about
optometry programs. There are several guides published every year
that provide rankings of schools, as well as data about
acceptance rates and median GPA and OAT scores. In addition, some
rank schools according to their reputations among students,
professors, or prominent people in the field.
Put your OAT score and GPA alongside the median numbers of
schools that interest you. The comparison will give you a rough
idea of where you stand. But remember, OAT and GPA are not the
only criteria for admissions. Many other factors like
recommendations and "intangibles" like activities and relevant
experience can factor prominently into the admissions
equation.
Once you have some idea of where you fall in the applicant
pool, you can begin to make decisions about your application
strategy.
Make Sensible Choices
A sensible application strategy will include schools in three
general categories:
1. Dream schools — places you'd love to attend, but where your
chances of acceptance are up in the air or even unlikely.
2. Good possibilities — programs you'd like to attend and where
your grades and OAT score are close to the median.
3. Safeties — schools where your numbers make acceptance
likely.
Most prospective grad students apply to between four and seven
schools. How many you should actually apply to, though, is best
determined by your strength as an applicant, the difficulty of
admission at schools to where you're applying, and the general
difficulty of getting into any program in your specialty.
If you're applying to five or six optometry schools, pick a
couple of dream schools, several in the "likely" category, and
one or two safeties.
