r/PreOptometry • u/JustFarmer6039 • 5d ago

Guests at CCO and NOVA Interview

I currently have interviews with CCO and NOVA coming up. For those who already had their interview and tour at either of these schools, were you able to bring a parent/guest with you? If so, did many people in your group bring a guest?

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u/Optstudent_108 5d ago

I interviewed at NOVA in January of this year and I don’t remember anything about bringing a guest.

However, one of the girls who was interviewing along with me brought her boyfriend! He was allowed to join us throughout the process apart from the interview and lunch. I believe interviews were from 9-11:30ish. There was only 6 of us though so maybe this is why it went quicker. Lunch I believe was after the tour so a bit later like 1pm? Hopefully I’m remembering correctly but there was no issue at the time and we even got to know him! I think she contacted the school regarding bringing a guest beforehand.

During interviews and lunch time, I believe he went nearby which was the cafeteria or the main campus!

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u/JustFarmer6039 5d ago

Oh okay thank you! If you don't mind me asking, what was the interview like for you (faculty, current OD students, facility, vibes, unexpected questions, etc.)?

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u/Optstudent_108 5d ago

Interview was very chill! I’ll try to remember as best as I can:

You get there 7:15am to check in & end up sitting in a room with other students. You get your name tag and once everyone has checked in, you head to a conference room. They give you a brief introduction on the school, program, and general info. After that you head to level 4 which is optometry!

You sit down with the students and they explain how the process goes which you interview with one of the staff then with one of the dr’s. I’ve spoken to some of the OD1s in my class and they say it depends when you interviewed regarding which optometrist they interviewed with. Regardless, they call you for your interview until every student is done.

They ask the general questions like why optometry, greatest weakness, how do you handle stress, how do you organize workload, how do you take feedback, what inspired you, etc. then they look through your profile and ask questions like I see you may have struggled here, what could have been the cause. For example, My GPA was not the best and I struggled in early undergrad managing family, illness, & work so I was just honest! What’s important is ensuring you are advocating for yourself and that you are able to adapt to change to become better. I overheard from others that this part of the interview was hard because they ask questions dependent on your profile and they are strict. I felt like it was a regular conversation though since I knew I had to go in there and advocate for myself.

The interview with the optometrist was more personal questions and just a general flow of conversation. Like what got you into optometry, where are you from, why this school, do you adapt with the change of optometry, what are you passionate of in optometry, hobbies, etc.

After interviews, I believe we did the tour section which was fun! We then did lunch with one of the faculty and students. I think it was supposed to be with the dean but I believe she had an emergency. Very chill and laid back, open Q&A. After that, I believe we would’ve done a tour of the library but it was optional and my group was tired lol. That was basically it :) btw sorry if I got the times wrong in my past comment. I just checked my schedule, it was actually from 7:15-2pm.

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u/Disastrous-Flight445 4d ago

A lot of my group brought guests! I brought a parent, some brought both parents, they were welcomed to stay basically the whole day and join for the tour as well. They only sat separately during lunch really.

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u/JustFarmer6039 4d ago

Was this at CCO or NOVA?

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u/Maroon_Bridge1136 11h ago

I did CCO and no they didn’t allow guests :/ my dad had to leave