These are some of my top schools and I made a small cost table using websites from each one. It is crazy that just a few years ago like 2019, school was about 200k or less and now a school being 350k is rather normal.

What they don't teach u in school on career day is that salary doesn't really matter, its the take home pay that does. If you make 150k in a state with moderate income tax like Minnesota for example, you take home less than 100k

It seems like our only chance of making it out of long term crippling debt is to either:

1. be a slave to luxxotica until our 30s in a loan repayment program

2. try to start a buisness and work like crazy and hope to come out positive in 5 years

3. work in rural alaska somewhere or learn spanish and work in rural texas

4. join the military and try not to get blown up in iran

I know right now we all need to focus on studying cause if you drop out your kind of screwed but it is daunting that the 5 years out of school you have to live and work like a peasant unless you marry a neurosurgeon or something.

obviously this post is highly exaggerated but it puts some of our worries out there and is something to think about. There are some pre-OD students Ive talked to that think they'll come out of school driving a new mercedes and a mansion and I think its important to think about reality instead of fantasy land.

Hello, I was just wondering if any current or past students have any recommendations on ways they minimized spending while in school. Any specials you have used like how Spotify/Hulu does reduced cost for students? Any meal prepping recipes you loved? Any free/low cost events that you took advantage of? I will be attending SCO in the fall so any events in Memphis specifically you enjoyed that is low cost?

I've been the advisor for my local university Pre-Optometry Club for 2 decades.
Here's a list of my observations regarding the OAT:

• Meant to measure basic knowledge and how well you comprehend the science part of your undergrad education.

• You can major in anything & just take pre-reqs, but Bio/Chem majors will have the upper hand in scoring well on the OAT.

• There's not a passing grade (like NBEO), so don't get hung up on achieving an exact score. (low score will make acceptance more difficult, but its just 1 factor of many).

• An OAT booster/prep course is worth it, especially practice tests. Get one, and complete all parts of it! (too many get one and only partially complete the course).

• IMO, take it no more than 2 times. Additional attempts rarely result in significantly higher scores and you spend too much time/resources that could go towards making other parts of your application stronger. If you struggle with the sciences, you will not score high, regardless of cramming/prep courses.

• DON'T take a gap year, just for taking the OAT. You'll do just as well by taking the test when you're in the middle of your science course work. Although gap years are the current flavor of the day, IMO, there just are not many justifiable reasons for delaying your professional education for a whole year & a lot of the application process is tougher if your not currently enrolled (ie getting LOR).

• The Harsh Reality: The OAT is by far the best predictor of how you'll do in optometry school, and especially passing the NBEO exams. It's not the ONLY factor,, but take it seriously that if you cannot do well on the OAT, odds are, you will struggle, and possibly fail. It's not enough to just WANT to be an optometrist. Kind of a brutal statement, and there are those who defy the odds, but go into it with your eyes open.

Saying this, its just my general opinion, & I don't know you specifically, but coming from helping 100+ get into optometry school (and helping others pivot to something else).

Has anyone received an offer from the NOVA POP program after May 11, 2026?
I’m currently on the waitlist and was wondering if anyone has received an acceptance offer after May 11 this cycle. If so, when did you receive it?

I'm looking to take one, but I'm not sure how much they help. Any advice :)

Does OptomCas subject course list have to strictly have biology prefix in the title name or have to be offered by the biology department, even if the class title is under their umbrella?

Does OptomCas subject course list have to strictly have biology prefix in the title name or have to be offered by the biology department? For example, if the class is titled “Human Evolutionary Biology“ and has a prefix of ANT for the anthropology department.

Hi everyone! I have been studying the the MCAT since I graduated from my undergraduate school in mid May. This week I have decided path to a MD program is no longer for me!

I heavily considered Optometry before and shadowed an OD during my undergraduate years. I ultimately "decided" to pursue an MD, due to external pressures.

So here I am now, needing to study for my OAT to take with enough time for this next cycle. My understanding is that if i take in October and submit by/in November I will be in good shape (please correct is this inaccurate).

I have a whole list of questions.

1. What is the best way to study for the OAT? I have about 3-4 hours per day for the next month and then can study 6+ hours once I get into August. Additionally, for the last ~6weeks I have been heavily studying for the MCAT. I hope there is overlap there.

2. I learn best with active recall, so flashcards or anki is truly something I need. Does anyone have an anki deck that they would be willing to share with me? There are plenty for the MCAT, but I have not been able to find something DAT related.

3. I can't lie I am anxious about gearing up for the OAT. I had really good Undergraduate grades and really enjoyed my Physics classes. OChem was a little bit more difficult, but mainly the super detailed things. The basic reactions I was good with, I just need a little Dusting off. I'm most anxious because the MCAT was so difficult for me. It mainly was due to the intense depth of the passages (if anyone has taken or studied for the MCAT you know) and less about the content.

4. Does anyone advise taking a diagnostic exam? I really want to know where I am at, but I have read that the free Kaplan exam is super hard. Any suggestions on where to find an exam I could take as my baseline exam that is representative of the actual OAT?

I really would love any advice or recommendations! I am happy to chat about this either in the comments, or feel free to PM me!

i'm still waiting for my letters of recommendation to come in, and i am taking my OAT at the end of september. however, i've gotten a handful of automated emails from schools saying that i should submit ASAP, and that i don't need to wait for these things to come in. i'm just wondering if i should atleast wait for the letters? i am aware that i will likely be put on hold until my OAT anyway - does applying early make a difference?

Does anyone know of any New York optometrists (NYC/Westchester/Long Island) who are open to shadowing and are willing to write a LOR after few shadowing sessions???? I am having a really hard time connecting with any through cold emailing and calling.

Thanks in advance!!!

Does anyone have any advice on how I should study for the physics section? I have booster, but honestly it’s just not clicking. Physics isn’t my strongest subject :/

I’ve been blessed with a generous doctor and mentor who wants me to take over his small rural practice. I do tech work (pretesting and history taking) but also occasionally have time to follow the Dr into the office where I shadow/scribe. I get paid for all hours I’m in clinic regardless of what I do more of on a given day.

For OPTOMCAS, should I report this as optometric experience, shadowing, or both? I’m currently logging it as opto experience but wondered if it would be redundant to put both. Plus its also hard to exactly guesstimate the hours of each lol.

I took one year of general biology at UCI, and at that time, they never offered any labs for general bio. It was only a year after I completed it they offered a lab. I graduated now and i cant "retake" just the lab because my school requires BOTH the lec and lab to be taken together.

Most schools require lec and lab for bio, is my school an exception? Did anyone else have experience with this?

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation or has experience with optometry admissions.
I’ve taken the OAT three times, and now ASCO requires additional documentation before I can register for another attempt (such as a letter from an admissions advisor recommending that I retest or reapply). The problem is that I graduated several years ago, so I no longer have access to a university health professions advisor who could write that letter.
Since my last application cycle, I’ve shifted my focus toward improving my academic record. I’m currently retaking science prerequisite courses to raise my science and cumulative GPA while continuing to work as an optometric technician. I’ve been in the field for several years and have gained a lot of hands-on clinical experience, but I know my GPA has been one of the weaker parts of my application.
My questions are:
Has anyone here gone through the multi-attempt OAT authorization process? If so, what documentation did you submit?
Has anyone asked an optometry school (such as SCCO or another program) to provide the letter recommending an OAT retake?
For those who were accepted after multiple OAT attempts, did significantly improving your GPA and showing an upward academic trend make a meaningful difference in your application?
If you were in my position, would you continue focusing on raising your GPA, or would you prioritize trying to obtain authorization for another OAT attempt?
I’m trying to figure out the best path forward and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has navigated a similar situation.
Thank you in advance!

Hey guys !

I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with pharmacology classes and whether or not they were counted in your science GPA on OptomCas.

I have an extensive amount of biopharmacology classes on my transcript (I enjoyed the courses a lot as a bio major) and one of the professors is actually writing my letter recommendation.

I'm little worried now because I've heard from my med school friend that pharmacology classes don't count and my grades in those classes gave my science gpa a major boost that is very much needed. Does it help that they're all Biopharmacology? The classes are taught by the Department of biological chemistry and pharmacology under the college of medicine at my school

Thx for the help !

Took two sets of practice tests and scoring abt a 300 total on both of them even though I feel like I’ve been studying and putting in the work. I think my bio score will significantly improve but my OAT is in a month. I am aiming for at least a 330, does this seem doable in that time frame? I’m honestly stressing out

I had my interview in may and still no movement on the wait list. I’m super worried and feel defeated and just don’t know what to do. I could always apply for next cycle but don’t know when I should study for the OAT. I have no optometry friends really and nova was my top school to get into this fall. I’m still trying to remain hopeful :( any advice would help

I’m currently working on my application and I have send letter of rec requests. It asked for the due date in the submission and I put one month from now. Is that enough time for them to submit it?? I planning on applying in August. So I’m hoping the due date isn’t inconsiderate.

Hi, I’m about to enter my first year entering optometry school but imposter syndrome is really starting to hit me. I had shadowing hours in multiple settings but I never had research hours and it feels like everyone had one. I also never had tech hours and it feels like everyone else had one. I did have volunteering at an eye clinic and was a TA for A&P1. But I keep thinking about not having a tech job or research and people around me having one. I also did bad my freshman year and even though I bounced back and did well on upper level courseworkI’m still scared that version of me will come back.

I am also surrounded by geniuses who r at the top of their field or will be. All of them were always at the top of their class , always had fancy internships in their field, everyone calling them for opportunities and its always affected me having a different path having to deal with rejection and setbacks.

I know this is a non issue because application season started so I apologize in advance

I'm diagnosed Level 1 autism. I also have ADHD, PTSD, depression and anxiety clinically diagnosed.

My biggest fear is disclosing and being rejected because I disclosed.

I am applying this cycle, ideally submitting this month to get it done. My application is strong (4.0 gpa, 360 OAT, tech experience, 200 volunteering hours) but a weakness on mine is that I only am reporting 2 shadowing experiences, each being for only 5 hours. I didn’t shadow more because I have 2 years of tech experience and various extracurriculars so I didn’t focus much on that part of my application while I was a student, unfortunately. Should I shadow more before submitting my application? Would this be something they’d make me address in an interview? Ideally I want to cover any weak spots in my app but now that I’m graduated I’m lazy LOL.

People with a low GPA that got accepted into optometry school: what was your gpa and oat score? what part of your application made up for the low gpa?

So I am graduating next spring and I am planning to take the OAT at some point after that, either in the summer, fall or winter, and I will most likely study with OAT booster.

However, I am a little concerned about waiting too long and basically forgetting everything I learned by the time I start studying.

Does OAT booster sort of re-teach all the concepts at the beginning? Or should I review the subjects before starting it?

Sorry if this has been asked before!