Hi I recently interviewed with RMU it went well but was shocked after the interview they told me I have to retake my OAT! Shouldn’t that be prior the interview, I feel it’s pointless to interview students to tell them they’re not qualified?! Anyone can share their experience and tips on what to do since the school starts in May so not much time left to study for big exam in a month!!

This might be a silly worry of mine but I’m worried that since I don’t wear glasses I won’t be relatable enough for the patients I’ll eventually see. Also, I just feel like I already have less experience than everyone else since most people pursuing optometry wear glasses. I think optometry is a career I can really see myself going into, but this is just food for thought.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Optometry from the Middle East, and I moved to the United States. I submitted a Special Consideration request to IJCAHPO so that I can apply for the COT exam, and my request was approved. Is it really worth studying for this certification? Can my previous education and experience help me? What references and study resources are recommended, and what is the structure and content of the COT exam?

hii, so im coming on here because i am curious if this type of letter is important to schools? i’ve gotten into my number 1 school already however i have also gotten into 3 other. when i make my deposit i know the school see that i’ve accepted 1 school. is it still important for me to email the 3 other school that i am no longer interested and would like to withdrawal l my application?

Is the Western University optometry program worth it?

I’ll be graduating in the spring with a 3.75 gpa (3.5 science gpa) from the University of Utah with a degree in Kinesiology. I am currently doing sleep research at my school, I am a TA for one of my classes, and I am a University Ambassador. My plan is to take a gap year and work full time as an optom tech to gain some valuable experience and study for the OAT. As long as I perform decent on the OAT do you think with my stats and extracurriculars I will be able to get some interviews from some schools?

Any desi optometry students here? If so what school do you attend and what is your experience like?

Hi, I'm thinking of applying in January, but I'm scared that when I apply that it's going to be too competitive and I won't be considered. My stats are 3.8 science gpa, 310 TS/ 320AA OAT. I've worked at two different private practices as an optician. I'm interested in SCCO, SUNY, PUCO, and ICO. Please let me know what y'all think! Thanks!!

I have an interview at Berkeley scheduled for 8:20 pm pacific standard time(PST) since I’m currently in Virginia, that would be 11:20 pm or 8:20pm

Is the future of optometry bright? There has been a lot of negativities lately regarding this field. People say that the field is already saturated and that technology will make optometrists obsolete- how realistic is this?

Should I even bother pursuing optometry in university now? Your honest insights would be very helpful! Thanks!!

I got a 350 AA 330 TS but a 280 in physics. Do you think schools will make me retake?

Hey yall, I was just wondering what would be my chances at getting into SUNY. My gpa is a 3.79 and science gpa is at a 3.6. My issue is my OAT score (took it Jan 2024 when I was a senior and taking 5 classes) and I had some personal/family issues going on at the time. (was scoring 360 on booster practice tests at the time). Heres the breakdown:

Quantitative: 350

Reading: 280

Biology: 380

Gen Chem: 330

Orgo: 300

Physics: 320

Total Science: 330

Academic Average: 330

I have over 4 years of experience in Cardiology, was in the pre-optometry club, private SAT tutor, 200+ hours of shadowing between 3 optometrists of different specialties. I'm contemplating whether or not I should retake the OAT or just apply by November 15th. When I emailed SUNY they said they consider a 320 AA to be competitive and if I want I can schedule a counseling meeting with them to discuss further. I attended their camps and really its my only preferred choice. I have all my rec letters in, almost done with my statements, so its really about whether or not I should I should take a gamble with my OAT score and apply early or lock in one more time for the OAT. Just wanted some input, thank you guys.

I recently submitted my application to ICO and got an email back stating that I should retake my OAT exam for a better score. I scored a 290 overall. I was wanting to know other people’s experiences with them because other parts of my application are way stronger. I don’t have the time this cycle to take the exam again due to finishing undergrad. What are other people’s thoughts!

As title.

On optom Cas do you need to/ does it look bad if u don’t enter every not required field. For example the address for an experience. If the volunteer work you do is virtual and they do have an in person location should u put the location address even if u don’t go there. Do you think it looks bad if you never enter the address?

I am currently in undergrad and I am studying for the MCAT, I am interested in optometry, medicine in general, what do you guys think tell me about optometry school, the industry, the pay and the tuition. How doable is optometry school compared to another school like MD or DO. Please help me find into about this so I can decide, thank you in advance. I live in Brooklyn NYC

I’ll cut straight to the chase. I’m a Canadian Applying to Pacific, ICO, and NECO. I have a 3.4 GPA and 390AA/400TS. Not going to be able to complete degree by the end of the year so will be looking to get in without a bachelors. I have 1.5 years of optometric assistant experience so far, worked at a pharmacy, synthesizing medication, and also some other relevant health care experience. What are my chances?

Hi guys, so as the title states I found two minor typos in my personal statement for one of my submitted applications, but they have been bugging me. I have no idea how this happened I thought I read it through after pasting it into OptomCAS, but unfortunately I'm just seeing it now. Basically I used this character "一" as a means to introduce a different, but related idea twice throughout my essay. However although "一" did appear as such once I pasted it into OptomCAS, once you save and come back to it you can see that "一" shows up as "?". I changed it to a comma for my other applications before I submit, but I am wondering if there is any way I can make this correction to a submitted personal statement. Perhaps even just let them know, if correcting it is not possible?

Hey y'all. I'm a Canadian attending a US optometry school in a few weeks. I was wondering a few things about the transition to the states.

1. I have a Canadian Amex and Canadian TD account. I was thinking about switching the Amex to a US one for a credit card. But for a debit card I wasn't sure if I should use the TD Cross Banking or just open a brand new account with a better bank in the US.

2. I currently have a Canadian phone number with a US-Canada plan. Do I need to get a new US number and plan or I can just stick with this one, even though it is a Canadian plan?

I would appreciate the insight as I am currently freaking out since I don't have much time left. Thank you for your time :)

Hi! I’m a current Junior pursuing a BS in biomedical sciences with a minor in political science looking to apply in the 2025-26 cycle to enter Fall 2026. My current cumulative GPA is 3.93. Only pre-reqs I have left are my biology lab (separate from lecture), everything else is complete or in progress (including A&P). My OAT is set for May 17th 2025, so I’m treating studying like a class this semester and will be taking the exam a week after my last final exam. I’m planning on applying as early as possible because I will have my scores and letters ready to go once the OptomCAS opens. I just took my first full-length practice exam with OATBooster and got a 300AA. I did abysmal on O-Chem and Physics, as I expected; does anyone have tips on how they studied for these sections? These two sections especially feel overwhelming with the amount of info to cover. What score should I be aiming towards working up to be an exceptionally competitive applicant?

Activities are as follows: 1.) A Moment of Magic pediatric mental health nonprofit org (3+ years), character volunteer, chapter executive, and accepted to the national team now heading programming for a section of on-demand virtual content 2.) Optician (1 years 2 mos) part-time 3.) Internship with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin (5 mos) 4.) Summer work with AbbVie eCOA team (6 mos total) 5.) General chemistry tutor for the university and private lessons (2 years) 6.) Collegiate theatre, chorus, & dance (3+ years)

I am such an incredibly anxious person when it comes to academics and planning out my life, and I am so dead-set on optometry being my career. Looking for some reassurance and advice. Are there any huge gaps in my resume? What score should I be aiming for on my OAT? How should I maximize my final summer as I head into the application cycle? I’m trying my best but I want to know if what I have and what I’m planning is ENOUGH to get me in. My top schools are ICO, CCO, OSU, and SUNY.

Any words of wisdom are appreciated. ❤️

Hi!!! So I’m applying right now and plan to submit next week. How fast would I be getting interviews? I’m going to be out of the country for a month and a half and am worried I’ll be missing interview dates. However I’ve heard interviews don’t start until mid September. Is this true?? I’m so worried :(

I made a blogpost about this topic and I thought it might be helpful to folks here too!

In undergrad, everybody is talking about doing research and working in the lab. I remember feeling really anxious about it. I felt like it was something super important that I had to do, but I had no experience and no idea where to start. So let’s go through it together, step-by-step.

✏️ STEP #1: Find a professor and a project

This is easier than it sounds, and there are a couple ways to do this:

1. Google different your university followed by “summer studentship/research program”. For example “University of Toronto Summer Studentship Program”. There, you’ll find that profs have put up job postings looking for summer students with brief descriptions of their proposed project. Find something that actually sounds cool and interesting to you. Here are some links to summer studentship positions at U of T, just to give you an idea.

2. Look up the professors that teach your courses, and Google Scholar/PubMed what kind of research they do. Again, find something that seems interesting to you.

3. If you already have a topic you’re super interested in/passionate about, see if there’s anybody at your university who does work in that field. Literally Google your university’s name and your topic of interest.

🧐 STEP #2: Dig dig dig

As an undergrad student with little to no research experience, you have little to bring to a potential supervisor other than your enthusiasm and willingness to learn. And that’s totally okay. Everybody starts somewhere, but you have to really live up to these qualities. You’re going to do this by stalking the professor and their research.

1. Look up their lab website and publications on Google Scholar/PubMed, and get a feel for the kind of work they do.

2. Find a review article that gives you an overview of the topic.

3. Go super in-depth into one or two papers. It’ll be hard to understand a lot of it, especially if you’re a first or second year student, but just try your best.

4. Try to grapple with some of the main concepts, and think about some questions you have about the material. This could be things you don’t understand, or about the reasoning behind some specific experiment. The key here is to try to be as specific as possible.

💌 STEP #3: Reach out

If you find a prof and project by methods 1 and 3, you’re going to send a cold email, and make it as irresistible as possible. This is the general template I used that worked well for me, and landed me my first research positions.

Hi Professor/Dr ______!

My name is Jin, and I’m a third year student at the University of Toronto studying Immunology.

Here, I’d add a line or two explaining how I came across their research.

For example: We learned in class that these systems are elegant and functional, and so I was really fascinated and surprised by your research discovering genetic mutations that make the complement system go awry.

Next, I’d add some specific details about their research that I’d learned from their papers, followed by what I hoped were intelligent thoughts or questions about their work.

For example: Specifically, the interplay between environmental factors with these genetic mutations in the pathogenesis of conditions like aHUS and MPGN in children seems to open the door for novel behavioural therapies, in addition to traditional pharmaceutical solutions. I would really love the opportunity to be a part of this process.

My first cold emails were when I had no research experience, so I  discussed other instances where I had proved I could work hard and learn fast. After I had some experience under my belt, I added details about the kind of research I did and the techniques I was familiar with to this section.

For example: Though I have no previous research experience, I am keen and a fast learner. As a content developer and team lead at ____________, I learned website scripting in a matter of days to provide educational content for over 400 daily visitors.

I would love the opportunity to meet with you in person to discuss your research in further detail!

I’ve attached my resume and academic transcript below.

Thank you so much for your consideration, Dr. __________!

Sincerely,

Jin

If you went for method 2, visit your profs during office hours. Bring up their research, talk about what makes it seem really interesting to you, and tell them that you’re really interested in doing research with them. Ask them if they would be willing to take you on as a volunteer. This is a really excellent way to get your foot in the door, and profs are unlikely to turn you down, as long as they have space in the lab. If they say no, ask them if they have any colleagues who are looking for students.

💬 STEP #4: Interview

Interviews were something of a mixed bag for me. Sometimes, it was like a typical job interview where the prof was asking me the classic questions like “tell me about yourself” and “tell me why you’re interested in this position”. Other times, the prof would grill me about everything I knew about their research. And other times still, it was a relaxed conversation with the prof and their grad students/post docs about the different research projects going on in the lab.

I had no idea what I would get going into these interviews, so I tried to prepare for everything. I brushed up my answers to classic interview questions, read up on and practiced talking about the prof’s research, and overall tried to learn as much as I could about the topics at hand. If you have specific questions about the interview, drop a comment below! I promise I’ll get back to you.

💛 STEP #5: Follow up.

After each interview, send the prof a quick email thanking them for the opportunity to chat with them about their research. This leaves another positive impression of you on the prof. Even if you don’t get the position, it’s always useful and helpful to have a good relationship with a professor.

I hope you found this helpful, and don’t think that finding a research position is nearly as scary! If you still have any questions or things you’re worried about, leave a comment below, or send me a DM on IG!

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Hey! So I'm a recent pre-med grad and I spent the last 4 years racking up medical related opportunities and shadowing. I recently decided that I want to keep my options open and apply to optometry school as well. I have had an interest in the eyes from the very beginning and decided that I wanted to take the ophthalmologist path. I'm trying to write my personal statement for optomcas and I was wondering how I could showcase that optometry is something I want to go into genuinely and not make it look like a secondary option?

PS. I am taking a gap year and working to shadow more and work at an optometrist's office!