champ Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Just thought I would create a thread to see how many people have applied to the optometry program at waterloo this year. Also, When acceptances go out later in March/April people can post their acceptances and stats for future applicants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemoncreamcake Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 I wonder if we really find out end of March? The site still says Mid-march. The interviewers said end of march while previous people found out beginning of March.. lol too bad they don't just have an admit day. UW, way to increase the frenzy even more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champ Posted April 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 I wonder if we really find out end of March? The site still says Mid-march. The interviewers said end of march while previous people found out beginning of March.. lol too bad they don't just have an admit day. UW, way to increase the frenzy even more sorry forget to mention I was accepted on march 8th, i believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brother3040 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 for this that got accepted/rejected (post interview), could you please post your stats? grades/OAT, type of degree, in or out of province, and ECs. thanks ps. congrats to all those that got in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champ Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I was accepted in march. In case anyone is curious about my stats..I was in province, I dont think it matters if ur IP or OOP at waterloo since its the only english speaking school in the country. cgpa was 3.85ish at time of application. already completed an undergraduate degree. OAT score was: 400 bio 400 chem 400 orgo 400 physics 330 reading comp 290 QR total science score was a 400 Overall oat was a 370 I used an old american DAT book to study. The test was very similar to the cdn DAT, minus the perception and carving sections. PM me if you have any other questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemoncreamcake Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hey I almost forgot about this post... got accepted march 4th stats: Undergrad: Waterloo, biomedical sciences, GPA: 3.9 Degree: Already had one at the time of applying Experience: Volunteer/research work with optometrist for few months, other various research experience, TA-ship, music, entrepreneur stuff, random sports that were completely irrelevant that I somehow put into application etc. OAT: 390TS, 380AA Like above poster, also used an old DAT book (white one) to study, and used my friend's MCAT book for physics section. The math sections in the DAT book is pretty bs though - would advise using another source. Good luck to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyoyo01 Posted September 27, 2011 Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey champ, I applied this year to Waterloo and Berkeley optometry. I already applied last year to NECO, ICO and SUNNY but deferred my NECO's acceptance till next September cause I want to get my degree first. My stats 4th year U of T current GPA 3.9 OAT AA: 380 science average: 400 extra curriculum: Kickboxying and Fitness Instructor, Cyclefit Instructor, TA for organic chem, Calculus and general chem, coordinated campus events volunteer working in my optometrist clinic for a year and hallf have received Waterloo interview invitation, still waiting for Berkeley's Hope this helps CHeers Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champ Posted September 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hey champ, I applied this year to Waterloo and Berkeley optometry. I already applied last year to NECO, ICO and SUNNY but deferred my NECO's acceptance till next September cause I want to get my degree first. My stats 4th year U of T current GPA 3.9 OAT AA: 380 science average: 400 extra curriculum: Kickboxying and Fitness Instructor, Cyclefit Instructor, TA for organic chem, Calculus and general chem, coordinated campus events volunteer working in my optometrist clinic for a year and hallf have received Waterloo interview invitation, still waiting for Berkeley's Hope this helps CHeers Laura Awesome! you look like a strong candidate. best of luck this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umad? Posted October 3, 2011 Report Share Posted October 3, 2011 I just stumbled into the optometry forum (grrr procrastination), but I'm just wondering, with all your stellar marks, why not apply to medicine or other fields instead? the "fast fact" section from UWO lists the average optometrist salary to be only ~70-80k (slightly less than a pharmacist) That's only the "average" income for those living in vancouver. What is it about looking at people's eyeballs that motivates you to do optometry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyoyo01 Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Awesome! you look like a strong candidate. best of luck this year. Hi Champ, Just finished my interview this Saturday -- brutalized:( didn't expect it to be formal MMI--same as med school I'm in my final year ( fall and winter semester) and my mark this semester is really bad:( 5 courses in fall and 5 in winter. I'm expecting 3.34 by the end of this Januarary when my fall transcript is out. So if they take into this fall's mark into the final consideration, my overall GPA will drop to 3.82:((((((((((((( Some family issues are driving me insane this semester and I couldn't focus on study as usual any more. Do you think this fall's mark still matters for their decision? Thanks so much for replying:) were you at the interview day ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champ Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Hi Champ, Just finished my interview this Saturday -- brutalized:( didn't expect it to be formal MMI--same as med school I'm in my final year ( fall and winter semester) and my mark this semester is really bad:( 5 courses in fall and 5 in winter. I'm expecting 3.34 by the end of this Januarary when my fall transcript is out. So if they take into this fall's mark into the final consideration, my overall GPA will drop to 3.82:((((((((((((( Some family issues are driving me insane this semester and I couldn't focus on study as usual any more. Do you think this fall's mark still matters for their decision? Thanks so much for replying:) were you at the interview day ? Hi, I honestly cant tell you what they did. I cant remember the guidlines they sent out after admission. I do know that if you end up with a final cgpa of 3.82 I am sure you will be right smack in the middle of the entering class averages pretty much. I never went into optometry this fall so I wasn't at the interview day. I know there were people accepted with lower averages then that. Sorry I cant be of more help. Try to get ur gpa up and make sure ur winter term gpa is not a 3.34 again. finals have not happend yet so theres still time for this semester. Just my rule of thumb try not to get below a 3.7. best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict Posted April 5, 2012 Report Share Posted April 5, 2012 Can anyone explain to me if cgpa is different for optom versus med? Does it use OSMAS conversion or can I just directly use my culmulative average in percentage and convert it to cgpa? (I'm at Waterloo and am sitting on a 84.61%). Also do part-time courses in the summer count toward cgpa calculation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Can anyone explain to me if cgpa is different for optom versus med? Does it use OSMAS conversion or can I just directly use my culmulative average in percentage and convert it to cgpa? (I'm at Waterloo and am sitting on a 84.61%). Also do part-time courses in the summer count toward cgpa calculation? I think waterloo kids are at a slight disadvantage applying anywhere because their transcript directly states their %, not your letter grade. So if you go to waterloo, you don't have a GPA (GPA is calculated from letter grades).....however i'm not sure if OMSAS will convert your % into their GPA and then reconvert it back into OMSAS % (which is pointless since your % grades are right there on your transcript). Please correct me if i'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d47lee Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 I think waterloo kids are at a slight disadvantage applying anywhere because their transcript directly states their %, not your letter grade. So if you go to waterloo, you don't have a GPA (GPA is calculated from letter grades).....however i'm not sure if OMSAS will convert your % into their GPA and then reconvert it back into OMSAS % (which is pointless since your % grades are right there on your transcript). Please correct me if i'm wrong. Not really, Waterloo's % score are all converted into /4.0 OMSAS scale, and that's the final mark. For example you have 100% in a course from Waterloo, it's 4.0/4.0. IF you get 90%, its still 4.0/4.0. If you have 80~84, its 3.7/4.0 and so on. There's no advantage whatsoever for getting % mark because in the end they're all converted into OMSAS GPA... but not sure if this applies to Optom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCA Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Can anyone explain to me if cgpa is different for optom versus med? Does it use OSMAS conversion or can I just directly use my culmulative average in percentage and convert it to cgpa? (I'm at Waterloo and am sitting on a 84.61%). Also do part-time courses in the summer count toward cgpa calculation? Optom just takes your culmative average in percentage as stated on your transcript. OMSAS takes every single grade and converts it to out of 4, then times the weight of the course, add all together and lastly divide by total number of credits/ weights to get your cGPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Optom just takes your culmative average in percentage as stated on your transcript. OMSAS takes every single grade and converts it to out of 4, then times the weight of the course, add all together and lastly divide by total number of credits/ weights to get your cGPA. ^ He's right. But the thing is waterloo have % grades on their transcript, therefore no need to use OMSAS as they can calculate the % directly off the transcript. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 ^ He's right. But the thing is waterloo have % grades on their transcript, therefore no need to use OMSAS as they can calculate the % directly off the transcript. Thanks everyone for clarifying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Thanks everyone for clarifying! However, i'm not 100% sure if this is true. It makes sense, but I maybe wrong. It's best to call them up and find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charmer08 Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Did you guys take a full course load every year of your undergrad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeaddict Posted April 24, 2012 Report Share Posted April 24, 2012 Did you guys take a full course load every year of your undergrad? Yeah - why does that make a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamIDP Posted April 29, 2012 Report Share Posted April 29, 2012 Yeah - why does that make a difference? It's prefered apperently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkstore Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Man I'm seeing some messed up things in here. People with 3.9 GPA's w/ all chem, bio, and physics prerequisites, and loads of volunteering - aren't these like near "shoe in for medical school" stats? Christ if I worked that hard I wouldn't settle for anything less than meds. Though I suppose someone might want to be an Optometrist over an Ophthalmologist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loodogg Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Man I'm seeing some messed up things in here. People with 3.9 GPA's w/ all chem, bio, and physics prerequisites, and loads of volunteering - aren't these like near "shoe in for medical school" stats? Christ if I worked that hard I wouldn't settle for anything less than meds. Though I suppose someone might want to be an Optometrist over an Ophthalmologist... agreed 10char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cantcatchme Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 Optometry is a different field. Some people (even though they are qualified) don't want to become physicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricarda Posted October 22, 2012 Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Man I'm seeing some messed up things in here. People with 3.9 GPA's w/ all chem, bio, and physics prerequisites, and loads of volunteering - aren't these like near "shoe in for medical school" stats? Christ if I worked that hard I wouldn't settle for anything less than meds. Though I suppose someone might want to be an Optometrist over an Ophthalmologist... How is going for optometry equal to "settling for less"? If these highly talented people were to go to medical school, they would face at least another 4 years of school plus at least 2 years of miserable and underpaid residency (I am taking this straight from current resident friends). Life as a doctor is stressful; there is lots of on-call work and long hours weeknights and weekends, and any doctor I've ever talked to about their career told me to stay miles away from med school. In contrast, every optometrist I've shadowed/talked to has applauded my career choice and motivated me to continue pursuing it. Life as an optometrist can be rough starting out, especially if starting one's own practice. But generally, an optometrist can work comfortable 8-5 days with occasional late nights. Honestly, I would choose optometry over medicine any day. Of course, this does not mean that every doctor is unhappy and that med school isn't worth it. I'm just saying that, going by my experience in job shadowing, optometrists tend to be much happier people than doctors. For some people (like me), optometry is an ultimate dream job, and I'm absolutely confident that being an optometrist will make me 500% happier than being a doctor. Once again, this is going by MY experiences and viewpoints. I am neither trying to offend anybody, nor wanting to generalize matters. In the end, to each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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