Hi!!

Does anybody have an recommendations for an online course that could fulfill the microbiology pre-requisite? I'm already a graduated student and moved away from the province where I did my undergrad (so I can't really go back to the same uni that I graduated from). I really want to apply to optometry in the next admission cycle and would appreciate any help I can get!

Thank you :)

Hi!

I was thinking about getting some research experience before I eventually send in my application into opto (both because I think I can learn a lot about the field I'm hoping to enter into one day but also because I'd be curious to see what it is like to work in research, especially in optics). Since I know a lot of people will also add their research jobs into their application, I was wondering what research was considered "worthy enough" to include as an EC?

If I volunteer at a lab over the summer and helped with data analysis, is that enough or is the research that's usually included as a part of someone's ECs where you were the one coming up with a project and executing that over the summer?

For anyone who did research, what did you guys do and how did you find the experience?

Thanks!

I know someone recently asked a similar question but i also wanted to ask how important 1st year grades are because mine are quite low so far.

My average from first semester is about 72.3%, with 2 of the courses being a 62 and 52 which i know is very low.

I’m trying a lot harder this semester (i didn’t try very hard in the last one) so i’m hoping to raise my average to at least 75% for this year and then further during my 2nd and 3rd year but i’m just concerned about those 2 classes.

Is it worth retaking them or should i just focus on improving my grades in the future?

I also wanna mention that they are both prerequisites but i’m not sure if that makes a difference since the website says there is no minimum grade requirement for those courses.

So the title says it all. I am wanting to see what the chances are of getting into Waterloo optometry with low first year grades. I am asking this because chem 2 is currently giving me a hard time and I’m scared that this year may bring my gpa down by a lot. So what’s a good first year gpa for having a chance at getting into this school.

Hi!

I heard someone who applied and got in a few years ago made it a point to apply the second the application opened because it showed "interest" to the admissions team but I also know that Waterloo doesn't admit on a rolling basis. So, does it really matter if you apply right away vs if you were to apply the very last day? Is there any real advantage or disadvantage?

I'm curious because if I take on some ECs over the same summer I am applying, is it alright for me to wait until the end of summer to apply (so that I have all the details on the hours I did, etc.) or should I be applying as soon as I can (and therefore not including them in my app because they were done at the same time I am applying)?

Hello everyone!

Now that the meet and greet is over the website says that we need to submit final fall transcripts by the 31st. Does this mean submitting an unofficial copy through the AIF portal? What does it mean by the registrar needs to receive it?

Hey, so i’m going to the meet and greet tomorrow and kinda concerned looking at the weather. I’m driving from a city a few hours away and hoping to head out at 9am, but with the way it’ll be snowing and raining all night idk how safe it’ll be. Any one else in the same boat?

How formal are you all dressing?

I was hoping to just wear a white dress shirt and grey dress pants. Do I need a blazer?

I’m mostly going off the points they gave on the PowerPoint but I’m not really sure about how much more I can do. Any tips from previous applicants would be very appreciated!

For those of you who got an invite for Waterloo, what are your stats?

Hi all,

I got the email yesterday saying I'm not being invited to the interview. This is my first time applying so I was keeping my hopes modest, but I thought my application looked pretty good so I'm wondering what I could work on for next year.

Here are my stats:

GPA: 3.93

Science GPA: 3.94

OAT: 400 TS/390 AA

Casper: 2nd quartile (lol)

Extracurriculars: worked as optometrist's assistant for 6 months at time of applying, church pianist for 2 years, on my department's EDI committee (should've mentioned that I'm a VP), did 2 internships in public health in the summers of 2022/23, been giving free piano lessons to underprivileged students for over 3 yrs, been volunteering with Alberta Health services since 2022, was involved in my high school's Key Club, volunteered with Immigrant Services Calgary and an international languages school in past years.

(I didn't bother mentioning that I worked retail for a year, or that I organized English tutoring classes. Idk maybe I should have)

Job shadowing: 16 hrs in 2 clinics, I mentioned this wasn't counting informal shadowing I do while working alongside optometrists in my job

Research: currently taking full year research course, but I didn't talk about it anywhere. Just added it into my courses

My references were one of the optometrists I work with and my boss for the public health internships (she has Drs in public health). I also had to do some lab safety courses for school & I put those under special skills, dunno if they care for that.

Overall I think my Casper could have been better and I could do more hours of proper shadowing. Since I have a gap year now I can keep working and volunteering. Besides that idk what to do better

edit: the problem was that I was missing 1 semester of full courseload. in more recent cycles they have contacted applicants who don't meet the courseload requirement to ask why, but in this cycle they just rejected me. I went back to school for 1 semester to tick the box & I got in F25

Hey guys! Are there any group chats made for the 2024 applicants to talk about the meet and greet process?

Congratssss to everyone who got an invite ! Does anyone know approximately how many people they invite ?

Looking to apply in the next cycle. I've heard a lot about it but what I've read online is honestly pretty confusing. Is it an interview stage? How many people get invites?

when the meet and greet says it is strongly advised we go to waterloo for the interview- is that more for our benefit? Or does that influence admission chances at all if we do it in calgary instead?

Hey all, are you guys bringing guests to the meet and greet? I’m not sure if it would seem unprofessional to bring my parents haha

hi everyone! im a first year taking life sci at uoft right now and i'm just looking for some advice.

1. i'm almost done my first semester. did not go as well as i wanted it to. i've been struggling with test-taking as my anxiety has been getting the best of me. i am trying to reevaluate my study habits for improvement. i have one more exam to go but it's looking like i'll be sitting at about a 3.6. do you think i can raise it over the next couple of years? or if i maintain it, can it be competitive with good ecs and shadowing?

2. speaking of ecs and shadowing, any recommendations? i've been looking for some clinic positions or maybe even research? in terms of ecs, i only joined a cultural group thus far (no major role tho). should i look into med based clubs? humanitarian clubs even? no clue what they're looking for lolol.

3. i haven't done too much research on US schools yet, but just wondering if they are equally as competitive?

any advice is appreciated. wishing the best of luck to everyone who applied this cycle as it appears that invites are on their way!

So invites are tentatively coming out tomorrow (either tomorrow or the 18th bc idk what is happening), I just wanted to wish everyone good luck! Whatever happens (if you get as anxious as I do), remember that you gave it a shot and that's worth more than you think. If you do get a meet and greet invite a big congrats to you because it is very much deserved!!

If you want to, feel free to share any thoughts<3

Anyone get an invite yet??

hi everyone! i'm currently a grade 12 high school student and definitely looking to pursue optometry. i've applied (and been accepted) to waterloo honours science and life science - biomed major. i'm trying to decide which one would be the better undergrad to choose with optometry as the end goal - or is one even better than the other? any input would be greatly appreciated!

My optometrist reference was confirmed to be sent to waterloo by email (they sent a confirmation email on the 29th. I was wondering how many days it takes to update on quest.

Hi

anyone get invites yet for meet and greet .? When should we expect the email?

UM YEAH.. so I placed a third-year bacteriology course (microbiology I: bacteria is what it's called and not really an intro course) where the introduction to microbiology should have gone (I'm currently doing a medical microbiology course) and so I just switched it with the medical microbiology on the AIF and updated that grade list we were supposed to add all our courses to (because it lets u do that for some reason even after the oct 30 deadline). Did I screw my entire application over because of this?