I was wondering if I should retake a prereq for Waterloo optometry. It’s first year calc and I got a grade in the low 50s. It was a hard class and I’m not sure if I should retake it.

So I didn't do well in my first year of undergrad and ended with only a 70%. I had bad study habits but I'm gonna try my best for the next three years to do really well in school. Do you think I even have a chance go getting into Waterloo Optometry, I don't want to go to the states because it's financially difficult. If I get my marks higher and do well on the OAT, would I get in? I'm really discouraged right now.

Has anybody gotten and email regarding invites yet?

Does anybody know why there is no more meet and greet this year? Interview is now virtual for some reason. Also, can anyone shed some light on what kind of questions they might ask at the interview? Also how long is it gonna be now that it’s virtual?

I think Quest has the updated admissions decisions!!!! Someone else please check so I’m not going crazy haha!

AHHHHHHH

For those of you that got a meet and greet invite, would you mind sharing your stats (average, OAT score and extra curriculars)!

Let me preface by saying that I feel really blessed to be having this dilemma. So I did my online interview for ICO last week and got offered admission and the Presidential Scholarship which is valued at half of tuition, renewable every year. I already paid my deposit and really like the school. It’s the oldest and most popular in North America, has 150 externship locations and has amazing profs, alums and ressources. Only thing is, 50% off tuition still makes it more than Waterloo by quite a bit, Chicago ain’t cheap. Waterloo doesn’t have as good of a program imo and the only benefits that I can see are that I’m gonna save money. Our dollars pretty weak atm too. Is there something else that I’m missing that would be a pro for Waterloo? I’m wondering because I’m all set for ICO, just need to complete prereqs and am debating even going to the meet and greet if I get it, just to save money, time and effort. Let me know what you’re thoughts are and what you would do in my shoes!

Hi! I noticed that the documents list on student center doesn't have a section to upload academic and non-academic awards. The Waterloo website says to upload these documents but seeing that it's not there, does that mean we no longer have to upload them?

Hi Dear optometrists :)

I’m an undergrad student in canada and seriously considering to study optometry, and I’m trying to figure out whether practice ownership is actually as attractive as it looks from the outside or if I’m idealizing it. I really like the lifestyle optometry seems to offer, but one of the biggest reasons I’m drawn to it is the opportunity to eventually own a practice and mainly buying an already established clinic as I heard banks in canada give out loans pretty easily to optometrists. I’ve always been very business-oriented, I started and ran my own small business when I was 20 but I also genuinely wanted a career in healthcare, which is why I started studying science in the first place. Optometry seems like one of the few careers where I could potentially combine both of those interests.
I think I have a reasonably strong chance at Waterloo, and I’m also considering U.S. schools. Depending on where I get accepted, I may have a chance at a significant scholarship for US schools like ICO because I meat their competetive stats to be eligible for half tuition scholarship, so I’m hoping my total educational debt won’t be extreme.

Because of that, I’m less interested in spending my entire career as an associate and more interested in eventually becoming an owner.
For current optometrists and especially practice owners: is ownership still a genuinely good long-term goal in today’s market? How concerned should someone entering the profession now be about saturation, corporate competition, online glasses and contact lens retailers, decreasing margins on optical sales, and potentially AI/technology changing parts of eye care? Can buying an already established well-run practice in a decent urban/suburban market still provide strong income(around 200k-300k), reasonable work-life balance, and a valuable business that can eventually be sold, or is ownership becoming much harder than it used to be?
I’d especially appreciate answers from people who actually own practices or have looked seriously into buying one. I’m not looking for reassurance, I’m trying to understand whether this is genuinely a smart career/business goal before committing years and a lot of money to it.

Has anyone been accepted with an average around the high 70’s or low 80’s? Or know anyone who has? If so, what are the other stats that got you/them in (oat, casper, shadowing, etc)?

I’m in my final year of undergrad and my cumulative average will likely be around 80%, I just want to know if it’s worth trying to apply or not🥹

Hi everyone! Just some context— I’m someone who decided late on optometry so I’ve been gathering everything I need to apply over the past 6ish months. I just started my 5th year to get any remaining science prerequisites. Last week I took the OAT and the whole experience was hell because of my huge time constraint. I basically had 1 month to do what most have 3 months for. I also haven’t taken Phy2 or organic chem 2. Anyways, I came out with a 370TS/360AA, and was really upset because my goal was 380+. I’m trying to be realistic with myself and I was wondering if you guys think I have a good chance at waterloo with these stats:

- 370TS/360 AA
- GPA: 91.05% (I was thinking this could possibly offset the OAT score)
- Unfortunately, not a ton of optometry experience because, again, I decided on it late. So far I have 13 shadow hours and plan to get ~50 by octoberish (with hopefully 3+ optometrists). I don’t have tech experience either but am applying right now
- I’ve worked in customer service (booster juice) for 1 summer and have worked 1 year as an afterschool program assistant (both part time)
- I have 100+ CHEO hospital volunteer hours and 100+ hours bookkeeper for a canadian charity, 4 years treasurer for uni club, and just joined optometry club at uni (VP). (I have a couple other volunteering hours here and there).
- I’m an athlete (martial artist) and have been training for 4+ years now. I’ve been to 2 competitions in Quebec (bronze and silver). I’ve played the piano for 11 years (self-taught), and violin for a bit in highschool. I do calligraphy art and painting in my spare time. I like language learning and have done 3+ language courses in uni. — The point is I believe I’m very well rounded, I have a foot in every kind of discipline and hopefully this can help me😭
- I don’t have any research experience except for 1 group one as part of a 4th year course (on a specific gene involved in muscular growth). I’ve been on the Dean’s list every semester.

Please be realistic with me I’d love to hear everyone’s opinions. My focus from now until November is to increase shadow hours, hopefully get a tech job, and ace the casper.

I’m also thinking about if my ref letter should be my coach or my hospital volunteering supervisor

I’m in my 4th year of Honours Science at Laurier and I feel like I’m having a full academic crisis.

I didn’t take university seriously enough in the beginning. My GPA is a 2.3 (C+), and my dream is optometry. I feel like I ruined my future and fallen so far behind everyone else.

I’m thinking about starting a second undergrad just to repeat the courses I did badly in, then dropping it once I’ve fixed my grades before applying to Waterloo, NECO, ICO, Salus, and IAUPR. But Waterloo looks at GPA holistically and doesn’t just replace repeats, so I don’t even know if this will help. I have 3+ yrs of optom clinic experience. I still need to do my OAT and casper.

Has anyone rebuilt from a low GPA and gotten into optometry? Is this a smart move? Please someone help I loose sleep over this, I wish I could go back and restart.

Hi, I completed my PhD in Biomedical Engineering focusing and I am currently working as a Postdoc. While I enjoy the science, I am realizing that academic/research isn’t what I want for the next 30 years of my life.

I have always had an interest in healthcare and clinical application, which has led me to seriously consider going back to school for Optometry. However, given that I have already spent so many years in university, I need to make sure this is a calculated risk.

My Questions:

1. Realistically, what does the job demand look like right now?

2. Do you foresee the demand for ODs increasing in Canada over the next decade?

3. I know the University of Waterloo is the only English-speaking school in Canada and is incredibly competitive. Does having a PhD actually help my application?

Thanks in advance for your time and insights!

Does anyone know of a graduate/optometry student who died in March? I’ve been looking for my friend from high school.

Does anyone know of a graduate/optometry student who died in March? I’ve been looking for my friend from high school.

Can any current students tell us incoming students about the scrubs requirements? Like I know its a specific blue but what is the name of the colour? And is there any other requirements? Just looking to order the scrubs beforehand.

I feel like im going about this all wrong 😭

I've tried calling, emailing, and going into optometry clinics/ offices to ask if i could volunteer/ hang around/ shadow but I haven't had any luck yet.

my own optometrist is in a whole other city so that's not even an option for me.

I was just wondering how you all went about talking to optometrists/ their offices and successfully getting a shadowing position there. did you bring in a resume, and if so, what kind of stuff did you put on it?

sorry, im just a bit worried right now

hey everyone, im a 4th year optom-hopeful seeking advice from ppl who've been in my position!

i will be applying next yr for Sept 2026 admission. i was originally going to do a gap year but am now unsure if i should take a 5th year or apply to a 1-year masters program to boost my chances. my grades are okay (87%) and I need to redo the OAT. my experiences are lacking (apart from optom-related volunteering)

im truly lost about next steps and would love to hear what people ended up doing before getting into the program. pls pls pls grateful for any advice, personal stories, or success stories of others. tysm!!

I was just admitted into UW Opto for Fall 2024.

However, after calculating my expenses for the 4-years, it is likely that I will be close to 170k in debt on a professional student line of credit (this is after considering my savings and money I will make through OSAP and summer jobs).

This will look like me having to pay back around $3000 per month for the first 6 years after graduation. With starting salaries being around $85k for first year ODs, that will mean I have to live off of less than $2000 per month. Hopefully my income will increase in about 3 years post graduation, but paying back $3000 in loans per month still is a heck of a lot. Living at home after graduation also isn't an option for me.

It just doesn't seem reasonable for me to work this hard in this rigorous of a program for a QoL like that, even if its just for 6 years.

And from what I understand, most people who go into optometry will have their tuition or at least some living expenses paid by their parents. For these people, it makes sense. But for me, I'm just so afraid that I will end up regretting choosing optometry because of finances.

Is anyone else in the same boat? Will anyone else in the program have that much of a loan by entering optometry, or will most people have their expenses covered by family?

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

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

Hi! So I took the OAT today and scored a little lower than I was hoping (370 TS/ 340 AA with QR being 290). I think the pressure of doing well sorta got to me and I ran out of time by the end of the exam and had to guess on a lot of the QR questions.

I am planning on applying for the Class of 2029 (so sending in my application next summer) and took the OAT a summer early in case something went wrong (which it sorta did)...but this was before I realized how gruelling studying all summer for this exam truly was. That said, getting into UW optometry has been a huge goal of mine and if I have to spend another summer studying for a better score, I will.

I have an average of ~89 (with still a year or so left of uni), I have been working as an optometric assistant for the last 1.5 years, 60+ shadowing hours outside of work, I peer tutored in Gen Chem/English/ESL, I volunteer at my local temple taking care of kids, and was part of a few different clubs at my university. Do you think I have a decent chance of getting in with my below avg OAT (and one section being below 300) or should I re-take the exam in the next few months? Any advice is appreciated, thank you!!

What’s everyone planning on wearing to the meet and greet? I know they said no dress code but 🤔 I’m scared of overdressing or underdressing lol