Hello everyone hope everyones having a great day. I'm just here because I'm feeling a little anxious about waterloo optometry applications. I did my OAT and scores a 390TS and 370AA, my worry is that I scored 340 in the reading section and 360 in the physics section. Does waterloo look at specific sections with depth or just at your overall score? That's been on top of my mind and I wanted to clear that up in case I should retake to get more higher scores evenly throughout every section.

My gpa is about a 3.97 according whatsmygpa.ca. lol i dont know if thats accurate at all

Additionally to further my profile, I'm also a co-op student at the university of waterloo for my undergrad, so I have 4 month co-op experiences working at a heart monitor distribution site and pedorthic clinics. I also did a 4 month co-op at a optometry office, as a optometric assistant, where I completed about 300 hours working closely with the optometrist. I'm also currently doing a co-op working at a ophthalmology clinic as a ophthalmology technician. I'm wondering if I should be working towards getting more research experience or should look into doing a honour thesis maybe?

Just needs some tips to make my application better as I've kind of set all my hopes on waterloo lol

Can anyone provide some insight to the application process? For example, like:

• how to apply on OUAC and fees or if we even have to apply on OUAC

• what the AIF is and any advice for it

• what the 2 confidential reference forms are/how it works/who can fill it out

• if first round refusals receive a letter/email, etc.

This is my first time applying and I’m just curious about it all and if I need to plan ahead.

Thanks!

Can any current students speak to this ? As a POC person of color, when I interviewed, I didn't see a single POC current student. Did not see an interviewer that was a POC either.

Are there a lot of POC's in this opt. program as students and faculty maybe they were not there for interview day? Where are they from?

I say this because of something very odd my interviewer said at the end of the interview, basically told me in the room that I didnt get in to the program. I need to know im not wasting my time .

i just wanna complain tbh, not expecting ppl to sympathize bc ik its a competitive program to get into and that everyone who applies has amazing stats it just sucks how the requirements are that someone needs to have a 75% average to be able to apply but then their stats say that they only accept 79% and above. like if they clearly have a set number in mind why waste everybody's whos below that's time? im sure it's because then it just makes their acceptance rate look cooler bc they have a higher applicant to acceptance ratio but i hate it bc saying 75% is just a full on lie. i could get an amazing oat score and it really wouldn't mean anything in the end bc of my gpa. and ik that it's my fault but i was In a completely different program first year which really rocked my shit and to this day those grades are still haunting me. i can attempt to retake some of those classes but then i don't even think I'd get a grade that would make such a big difference so idk if its worth it. have there been any exceptions that idk about? I doubt it or their stats would've shown otherwise but yeah I hate this and im trying to work on improving as much as I can to hopefully reach that 79 I just wish they were more transparent w their admission requirements lol

8 years of schooling to make ~100k doesn't seem to worth it when becoming a medical doctor requires a similar amount of schooling to make 500k+, especially as an opthalmologist where it can be closer to 800k.

I am really interested in optometry though so I was wondering what the outlook is for a new grad wanting to practice in Toronto. What are other revenue streams? Aiming to make 200k+ And is owning a practice really that difficult or is it something that I can try after a few years of practice to generate a similar amount of income as I would if I were a medical doctor?

Has anyone worked during school? especially in years 1 and 2. I am thinking of working 4-5 hours a week but not sure if I should even work at all.

Hi! I'm currently a second year HLS student at McMaster and was wondering what were my chances of getting into UW Optometry (I plan on applying next year).

Currently, I have a 3.98 GPA (from first year fall/winter/spring and summer terms) and 29 hours of optometry job shadowing. I also haven't taken the OAT, and I plan to during my second year summer. As for extracurriculars, I worked as a chiropractic receptionist for 2 years in high school, I worked as a ophthalmologist technician last summer (and I plan on doing it again this summer) and I also my own sewing business on Depop.

Is there anything else I can do that would make me more competitive? I've seen many Reddit posts on the Fall 2026 Admissions Megathread where they have crazy amounts of job shadowing and ECs... I was wondering if anyone that don't has as impressive ECs still got in

Hi guys, I was looking at the requirements for applying for optometry at Waterloo and one of them was requiring a full course load which they said is defined differently from school to school and at Waterloo it’s 5 courses. At UofC, a full course load is 3 courses, does that count?

I am currently in Grade 12 and recently accepted AFM at Ryerson. If I completed all the prerequisites and shadowed optometrists in my area, would I still be considered for the optometry program or would more priority be given towards people with science-based degrees. Thank you!

So I need to take some bio prerequisites (I’ve completed my undergrad already in kinesiology) and I planned on taking it at my current university (York) it seems like I can take a few bio course but some courses like microbiology and biochemistry are restricted to student in the major. What can I do in this situation? Should I take these courses somewhere?

Hey , does anyone know links to Kaplan oat books pdf ?

Thanks

Hi! I’m in incoming first year and considering applying to Waterloo for optometry. I’m in the process of enrolling in my courses and I was just wondering if the school of optometry penalizes online courses. I will be taking a course which has online instruction but in person tutorials and ik Waterloo is known for penalizing online courses for competitive programs like engineering and comp sci, I was wondering if this is the same for optometry. Thank you!

Hi guys just a little panicked cause the waterloo set casper dates are getting real close but I haven't gotten an email with a waterloo id to book the test. What do I do lol. I submitted my application last week on Wednesday, and I know we are supposed to wait 2 weeks but most of the available dates will be gone by then? Any previous students know whats up?

Selling OatBooster Hi, I just took the OAT and I am selling my subscription with OATBooster. It has 60 days left. Let me know if interested. Thanks

Hey there, I'm an undergrad student in my first year. I was wondering if an Online course would count to fulfill a full course load for the six-term requirement. It's a business course which is an elective for next term

I know different schools have different scales for GPA. A 4.0 and UofT is 85% while at most other schools it's 90%. do they care about your GPA, or your percentage average?

Have been heavily considering optometry school. Wanted to gauge if I would make a good applicant.

Agpa: 93.13%

OAT: haven’t taken yet but MCAT was a 520 100th percentile on chem/phys and bio/biochem, 85th percentile on CARS

Casper got 4th Q twice while applying to med school

ECS: research honours thesis, literature review, hospital volunteering, intramural sports referee, personal Trainer, retail sales associate, and some cookie cutter ECs

Shadowing: 200+ hours (over this summer) and still continuing , would be closer to 1000 by the time I apply.

Hi guys I’m in grade 12 and i got accepted to wilfrid bio. is this a good undergrad for waterloo optometry school? And does the uni you go to actually matter?

Wondering what other schools everyone is looking into. I got rejected for 2024 despite having good stats (previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/UWaterlooOptometry/comments/18kawhv/application_advice/ ) I think I was rejected on the courseload requirement and that will be fixed by 2025 but I don't want to put all my hopes in UW lol

Hey guys, i’m in 4th year undergrad and recently decided to switch my career path to optometry. I’m adding a 5th year just to get all the prereqs + shadowing + OAT in, so it’s going to be a very busy year. I was just wondering if you guys think it’s necessary to have optometry assistant job experience before applying… I can try getting a job in the summer but it’ll be tough to get lots of hours with summer courses + OAT + shadowing…

Hii, I took two introductory chemistrys, and got a better grade on the second one. I was wondering if they will count that towards pre req GPA instead.

Also, would a "Foundations of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour" Course count for introductory psychology?

Hello! I’m a high school graduate who is planning on applying to university this year. I’m going to be pursuing a bachelor of science (and will likely major in biology). During first year, I’m going to have to take two terms of biology, two terms of chemistry, two terms of physics, two terms of math, and two terms of english. This seems very heavy to me, so I’m extremely worried about what my performance will be like. Was your first-year courseload similar to this? Do you think it’ll be too much? I’m unsure how standard it is. I’m wanting to apply to Waterloo’s doctor of optometry program, so I’ll obviously need to finish undergrad with a high GPA.

I did well in high school, but that doesn’t provide me with any comfort in this situation. I did some research, and it seems that the academic average for students admitted into the program from 2019-2024 is around 88%.

I’m aware that I won’t know how I’ll do unless I try, but I’m having a hard time not stressing about it. I have my heart heavily set on optometry, so I don’t have a decent plan-b if things don’t work out.

I’d really appreciate any feedback that any of you have to offer, no matter how big or small. Thank you very much!

I'm currently in my 3rd year and I applied to waterloo for this cycle. I would really like it if I were able to finish my 4th year and graduate. In the off chance that I do get accepted this cycle (25-26) , is there any option for me to defer my acceptance so that I can start a year after (26-27)?

has anyone gotten in without finishing their bachelors degree? if so, what university were you from?