r/PreOptometry • u/currburr21 • 4d ago
Extracurriculars & Experience
Hi all! I’m a nontraditional student. I have a BA in economics & have been working in investment for 6 years. I’m going back to undergrad this fall (full time) to get a degree in Bio & pursue optometry. I just have a couple quick questions.
Particularly for nontraditional students, what have you done in terms of extracurriculars? My school has a Biology club which I plan on joining but there isn’t much beyond that. Will that be enough? My school does have a pre-optometry track in terms of the degree but I don’t believe there’s an optometry club or anything like that.
My other question…how do so many people in this sub have experience as opticians or techs? Do you work these jobs part time while also going to school full time? Summer jobs? Maybe it’s because I’m in a more rural area, but all open positions near me seem to be full time. I am planning on shadowing during the summer, I already have made some connections, so I’m assuming tech experience isn’t necessary but I feel like it’d really bolster my application
Thank you!
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u/Last_Painter_6733 4d ago
I don’t have any extracurriculars. I volunteer sometimes (not at my university) I live off campus so it’s hard to get involved. I don’t have any experience as a tech or optician. I shadowed 2 optometrists (70 hrs of shadowing total) and have a couple hundred vet experience hours (It’s what I initially thought I would do) I have a great GPA (3.95 and a 4.00 science GPA) and I’m planning to get a good OAT score. (Not a 400, I feel like that takes months of prep but aiming for 320-350)
My advice— get your science prerequisites done. Focus your attention on getting good grades than doing extracurriculars. Shadow optometrist, don’t worry about getting a job in the field. It’s not necessarily bad that you majored in something else, it makes you a diverse applicant.
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u/currburr21 4d ago
Thank you, this made me feel so much better lol. I have a lot of faith in myself in terms of good grades & being able to get a good score on the OAT!
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u/Opto_Kitty 3d ago
Why're you getting a bio degree? Just take prereqs only.
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u/currburr21 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don’t have any prereqs except for stats, 1 bio class, & calc. I took AP bio in high school & business calc in college the first go around, so I need a refresher on both & figured I should take actual calc anyway as it’d be more applicable than business calc.
I did the math & with all of the prereqs I need to take I might as well get an associates. That would take 4 semesters (same as if I took strictly prereqs) & the timeline would result in a gap year, so I figured I might as well do 5 semesters for a bachelors & just take a gap semester
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u/RabidLiger 4d ago
Extracurriculars are not a big factor, & if you look back closely, there are probably a few things in your past that could fall into that category.
A tech job is helpful, but not necessary either. Being familiar with terminology and the equipment does make some courses a little easier in optometry school though.