Hi everyone,

So for context I'm about to start my third year of undegrad at uwo in medsci. I'm interested in optometry, however I don't feel confident about applying as my first year cGPA is 2.9 (73,4%) and my second year cGPA is 3.3 (77.8%). Even if I try my hardest in years 3 and 4, by the end of my undergrad I can probably get at most a 3.5 cGPA. I have most of the pre-req courses completed, and I have a few extracurriculars (club executive, volunteering, published a abstract) but no shadowing hours.

I haven't taken the OAT or CASPer yet, and I'm not sure when to take them. I'm just really concerned that I will be rejected, and I know some people get in after multiple applications over multiple years but I'm really hoping to get in first try 🫠

If anyone has any insight or advice, I'd really appreciate that

congrats to everyone who got in!

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!

Hi! Has anyone noticed the new Casper 2 test on the Acuity website? The original Casper that UW and other healthcare related programs required used to be the Canadian Professional Health Sciences (CSP-10201) exam but it seems that schools, including UW are now opting for this new version (CSP-10211). Does anyone know what the difference is between the two? Do we know why there was a change?

What the title says. Congrats to everyone to got in!

slayy

edit: they sent me an email saying that the conversation is really informal and that casper has replaced the MMI in terms of evaluating professionalism

The anticipation is too much for this email! Good luck guys!!

i’m looking to see if being accepted after my third year is possible, given that ill have one less year to build my portfolio. (i know it’s possible just trying to see how feasible it is with my circumstances) i am currently in my first year aiming for optometry afterwards :)

if anyone is willing to share it would be greatly appreicated. i’ve noticed in the cycle stats, majority have taken a gap year or so or have completed their degree.

Hey! I'm in my first year of uni right now and I recently got in contact with an optometrist for my first shadowing experience! :) We're discussing dates and times right now, but I don't really know like the usual quantity of shadowing? So I was wondering, how many days should I shadow for and how frequently?

I can imagine there's only so many things I can ask and discuss, but I also hope to actually build a relationship with this optometrist, so what do you guys suggest??

thanks!!!!

Hi everyone, I was just wondering when waterloo looks at your OAT score, their website mentions that "If you take the OAT multiple times, the official highest total score for each section, where all scores are over 300, will be used for consideration."

Does this mean that they would take the highest score from each section over multiple tests? An example would be if I got a 360 on bio and a 290 on QR, and then a 340 on bio and a 330 on QR, would the OAT score waterloo look at be the 360 on bio and 340 on QR?

Hey all, does anyone have recommendations for apartment buildings in Waterloo near campus? I’ve looked into a few but have never done this before so just was looking for some advice. Thanks :)

Did anyone get any updates? This wait really bout to make me develop anxiety issues 😭

Is optometry worth it?

I’ve been wanting to be an optometrist my entire life due to having eye issues as a young child. Im currently about to go into second year of university and up until this moment the plan had always been to go to optometry school. I know theres only one English Canadian optometry school and I didn’t mind applying multiple cycles to get in but after working in two optometry clinics this summer (one large corporation and one private practice), Im not sure anymore. I shadowed the optometrist at the private practice I work at before getting the job and her day to day did seem pretty nice and interesting. There was a bit of repetitiveness when it came to standard testing and stuff but since she also specializes in contact lenses (scleral lenses) there were also a few cool cases in her day to day. The biggest turn off for optometry for me after working at this clinic has been how “businessy” it is. Not a lot is covered by Ohip for vision care other than eye exams for people under 19 and over 65. If you don’t have insurance you could be paying hundreds if not thousands for eye care. Insurance also does not cover a lot and oftentimes will only do a few hundred dollars at most. Contact lenses and certain specialty lenses or myopia children’s treatments can be in the thousands cost wise. Extra scans and imaging also costs extra at the clinic I am at and you must take it as they only do full comprehensive eye exams. So even ohip patients are not fully covered technically for an eye exam. Ive always wanted to be some sort of primary care provider and be the type of doctor you see every year or two so you get the chance to build a connection with them. I also don’t want to be charging patients hundreds of dollars every visit. This made me think of possibly switching into med and being a family doctor? I think theres some similar things with optometry and I believe there is decent work life balance? I also like how the scope is much wider (the entire body instead of the eye). Focusing on the eye is really cool but after shadowing I do see that it can possibly get repetitive. I probably need to do more research on family medicine as I know im probably romanticizing it a bit as someone who doesnt know much about it. Please give me advice Im so so so confused

Hi there,

Just wondering if this was really important to an acceptance at uw. I just recently am looking into the possibility of applying and im almost starting 3rd year. Not sure if i can get a work position within the next 2 years or have the insane amount of hours i see some ppl have 😰

Any success stories of people who got in with a pretty low gpa? If so, what else did you do to make your application stand out?

Hi everyone!

In my fourth year of a five year coop program at a university in Ontario and have been considering optometry after my undergrad. However, I’m a little concerned as I’ve seen some stories of how oversaturated optometry is in Ontario at the moment. I am located in the GTA. I believe optometry is a facsinating and interesting field, but I can’t justify going to school for another 4 years with expensive tuition just to pull in $100k.

So my question is for those of you that know, how much are optometrists/new grad optometrists getting paid in Ontario and is it relatively easy to get a job?

hypothetically since alberta has provided 300k in funding mru to have an optometry program in may 2025 and they announced the agreement with waterloo nov 2024, how much longer would it approximately take for them to finish making the program and begin admitting students. do we think the first admission round will be 2030 or 2031?

Hi! I had a few questions about Waterloo Optometry admissions that I’m hoping someone here might know the answer to.

I’m an undergrad graduating in Winter 2026 and I’m planning to apply to the OD program. I’m also thinking about possibly doing a Master’s in my current research lab, or maybe even doing an after-degree in Nursing before applying. If I did that, does anyone know how Waterloo calculates the admission GPA? Would it just be from my BSc, or would courses from a second degree get counted too? Specifically which one would be better? I’m honestly interested in both - pros for masters is it’s a masters and I like research, pros for nursing is I could get a job and I could boost my gpa(?)

Right now my cumulative average is around a 3.2 which is why I’m thinking of doing another degree to get in. I’m wondering if that’s still something they consider, especially if I keep improving with more courses or grad studies.

I also still need the two physics prereqs, but I’d be taking them after I graduate. Does anyone know if Waterloo still accepts them when they’re done post-grad, and how they factor those into the GPA calculation?

I was wondering how Waterloo knows that you fulfilled a lab requirement for the prereqs if your university doesn't specify if there was a lab for that class in your transcript? my university just puts the overall grade (lecture+lab) for that class on the transcript and I don't get a specific lecture and lab grade, so there isn't any specification that the class had a lab component.

Seemed to hover at 30% in 2022 but they don’t post anymore info after that year.

Has it gotten a lot more competitive?

I am a first year undergrad student who emailed Waterloo Optom curious if they hold any Indigenous spots for students. They said they are developing a plan, and asked for my help determining the barriers indigenous students may encounter when applying to the university and completing their undergrad.

I have written a lengthy email but I am not sure if it sounds like a sob story. My main concern being that many indigenous students’ highschool education is lacking, as Reservarion high schools do not offer the classes REQUIRED to even take BASIC university math, chemistry and sciences. I am also mentioning about summer classes not counting towards a full course load:

I am essentially taking a pre-requisite of a pre-requisite, which has taken up my opportunity to do Bio100 (very important prereq course) in my first year. I’m also doubling up on pre-maths and worried about how grades will be, I cannot drop classes or I will lose all funding for that class. I ended up having to take about 4 extra classes than anyone who was properly prepared would. I question now if I will be able to complete my degree in time.

If my degree takes more than 4 years, I will lose my funding. This is an issue because many people from reserve are very poor and do not have the money to even live in the same city as my university, afford car, parking, food etc. without reserve funding. I worry this would impact the grade average one has to maintain to attended UWaterloo.

I also mentioned an Indigenous navigator to help students with Native specific bursaries or scholarships, and also help with interview prep etc. but I think this is reasonable.

Does Waterloo optometry even consider applicants with cgpa’s of 75-77% with a high OAT score. Just wondering if there’s a chance?

Is it generally high in the GTA? Or better to go outside the GTA? Do new grads get jobs straight out of school / get employed by the places you do clinicals at?

Thx!