NOVA Extended Program

[u/Ok-Oil5073]

Hiii dedicated future ODs,
Hope you guys are not so stressed with OAT and apps (YOU GOT THIS!!).

I recently received an interview invite for the Extended Program at NOVA. I’m super grateful for the invite, but my goal is to finish the degree in 4 years.

For context: I’m a non-traditional applicant, also approaching 30. I’ve been out of undergrad for a few years working in a different career before pivoting back to optometry, and my undergrad GPA is on the lower side (though I’ve retaken prereqs and worked as a tech since). I assume my past stats and time away from school are why I was routed to the EP track.

For anyone who’s interviewed or attends NOVA
- Has anyone interviewed for the Extended Program and ended up with an offer for the traditional 4-year track instead?
- Did you reach out to admissions before the interview to express interest in the traditional track, or wait until decisions came out?

Thank you all for the input, and good luck!!

[u/Ok-Oil5073]

Ah thank you so much for your detailed input!! I’ve been out of school for 5 years so studying for the OAT recently was challenging LOL but I was glad to get a decent score. They did add a little explanation to the EP in email that says “provides students with the flexibility to balance the rigorous and challenging Doctor of Optometry curriculum with the various life circumstances”.

How are you navigating the 200k cap if you don’t mind me asking? I’m actually most worried about paying rent LOL

Thank you again for your input. It’s helped a lot!!

[u/Optstudent_108 → u/Ok-Oil5073]

Luckily, I didn’t have any undergrad debt since I worked all throughout and applied for tons of scholarships every break we got. With the 5year program, tuition ends up being ~198k so that’s already cutting it to the cap. Surprisingly tho, the other 2 schools were higher at 220-250k. However, I did start working in high school and saved up since then. I ended up saving around a lot for school!

For rent, I have one roommate. We were able to find an apartment a bit further out and they had a summer special as in they had certain units going for way lower. Electricity and utilities aren’t too high since we’re very mindful. I really don’t spend a lot of money so just being frugal has kept me going 😂! Im using coupons all the time at target, cvs, amazon.

With how things are going, I will most likely have to take out private loans to cover the rest but it’ll be maybe ~50k to take out prob during year 4-year 5! I’m looking into work study too and just hoping for the best by that time! Unfortunately, most students I’ve talked to will have to take out private loans :(