Berkeley School of Opometry

November 7, 2007 ~ 7:30-9:30pm ~ Pac Hall 3500

• Sharon Joyce – Director of Admissions and Student affairs UCB School of Optometry– Sharon_joyce@berkeley.edu
  
• Dora Stzpanovich, 4^th year, class of 2008, UCB School of Optometry
  

Why Optometry?:

• Optometry ranked #2 from Kiplinger.com (#1 = orthodontist); high on US News and World Report
• Nice salary, relationships with patients, flexible schedule, good profession if you want family
• Patients leave office feeling better than they come in
• Lasik will not take over optometry (aging, will still need glasses while aging)
• Depends on state, but some can do lasik, CA will get there
• Besides glasses/contact = rehabilitating the visually impaired, and diagnosing and treating ocular diseases

Things to Consider in Choosing Your Optometry School

• Place is last to consider

1. Students and learning environment:

• Calibrate with your fellow students
• Students share notes
• UCB has smaller class size (60) and each from different background
• Student empowerment: second year students buy equipment for 1^st year and students deal with vendors themselves (find what company you like, etc.), everyone gets same amount of scholarship ($2,000 1^syear), but still have external scholarships,

2. Training:

• National boards passing rate
• How many patients you see
• Prereq vs. optometry curriculum
• 1^st year: preclinical training begins day #1, UCB have a lot of prereqs b/c want to take anatomy of eye not whole body all over again (want strong students), at end have about 180 hrs of preclinical lab instruction, clinical proficiency tests at end of 1^st year
• 2^nd year: 210 hrs of adcance preclinical instruction + team care (2-3 student) about 6-8 patient examinations in general clinic in 2^nd semester, white coat ceremony after 2^nd year
• Summer between 3-2^nd year: start summer clinic, offers spanish
• 3^rd year: 50% direct patient care, take first part of NBEO (basic science), UCB students have excellent passing rate of 95%, tend to think students do well b/c prereq (ask other school their passing rate and 1^st time)
• 4^th year: 100% direct patient care, go on external rotations around USA (start of 3^rd year, students decide where they want to go with lottery, at least 3, each 10-12 weeks long), around 2000 patient encounters after 4^th year, advanced clinics (pathology, low vision), then old home week before graduation and take Part 2 (clinical science) and part 3 (patient care, but not difficult b/c took it in 2^nd year) of NBEO

Admissions:

• 3.0 GPA (UC requirement) and Bachelors Degree (before enrollment)
• UCB has same common application for all grad student, school of optometry will ask question within it
• 2 deadlines:
• OATs no later than 12/1/2007
• Application do by Dec. 14, 2007 by 11:59pm!
• Turn in complete application all at once in one envelope with transcripts, letter of recommendation (but can send in separately if needed)
• NOT rolling admissions, but clump
• Look at all OAT scores, higher score is best
• Class of 2011 stats:
• 191 applied, 121 interviews, 69 offered (87% excepted), 4 students of waitlist (didn’t take off in pass), 61 enrolled
• Interviews by invitation only (2/2/08), has a whole day that goes through interview, everyone on one day, get invitation first week of Jan.
• no competitive advantage by applying early
• Qualitative Considerations:
• Experience in and knowledge of optometry: shadowing different aspect of optometry
• Statement of purpose (why optometry, shadowing experiences, don’t say that you don’t like dentist and now want to go to optometry because you can’t go into it) and personal statement (individualistic, volunteering, leaderships skills): ask someone to read that doesn’t love you so that they can help you and read it over for you better, optometrist is a good person (would they want you as a classmate, how to be proud of something w/o being cocky)
• UCB will give you feedback in summer of why you didn’t get accepted
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 letters, 2 faculty, one optometrist or community leader (do not write your own!!!), do a meeting with recommender and bring in resume to let them know about you, give them copy of essay/who you did research with/resume, b/c might forget who you are so materials are point of research, also have recommendation form to fill out
• Activities and Achievements: want to see you have life outside of school, need to be doers b/c want to see that you’re giving back, will be part of the profession
• Special Academic Considerations: have masters degree, research, semester with bad grades,
• Interview (student + faculty member): write assessment independently of eachother, in person essay (pro/con) have 30 minutes b/c want to know that you know how to write (evaluated by 2 ppl), already know your grades/scores so want to know you, practice interview, but be relaxed, read essay before you go in b/c interviewer has yours
• 6 viewpoints on your application

Berkeley Campus Visits:

• Minor hall is around other grad students in Berkeley by Hass Business school and Law school
• Friday Visitation Program – check on website
• “ask an advisor” program by Lisbeth, telephone appointment to answer questions
  
• Summer Opto-Camp (June/July 2008): 3 day in residence at UCB
  
• Admit Day (April 2008) ~ financial aid, housing

Dora Stzpanovich, 4^th year, class of 2008:

• Working at SUSD student health center
• Had biomedical engineering degree at Vanderbilt
• Was an interviewer: look to see if she would like as a classmate, read essay, no academic questions or medical questions

Q/A:

Q: Is one long-term shadowing better than a couple short-term ones?
A: Long term is fine because have a good relationship

Q: What's a competitive studnet's OATs/GPA?
A: About 300 OAT and 3.0 GPA

Q: When do students start clinic work?
A: UCB has a lot of clinical practice 3-5 days of week in clinic during 3^rd year and begin contacts lens fitting in clinic in 3^rd year

Q: How do students communicate to faculty/staff?
A: Every class has an academic liaison to talk to students about problems, etc.

Q: Does UCB teach business aspect of optometry, if you want to go into private office?
A: Yes, have business courses at UCB

Q: Where are the external rotations located?
A: All over the US, had one rotation in china, but wasn’t good, so dropped it.

SUNY Meeting

November 6, 2007 ~ 7:30-9:30pm ~ Gallery B ~ UCSD Price Center
Dr. Edward Johnston from SUNY State College of Optometry:

Profession of Optometry that SUNY offers:

• Optometrist (OD) generalist in field
• Most students Biology BS, but not required, just need to take prerequisites
• Must have degree to pass licensing exam
• Has national exam accepted by most states to practice
• Residency done because want to be on staff of optometry program, want to specialize (in optometry school you will have all education needed to be general/specialist)
• More and more are going into group practices
• If have group practice with different specialists = better opportunity for you
• •All states allow OD to treat all medical problems of eye, not like before where only diagnose
• “we want OD to know what to do with patients and what they’re seeing”
• Can see what’s happening with whole nervous system, by just looking at blood vessels in the eye
• Beside glasses, contacts, etc. OD does vision therapy to fix eye strain w/o surgery (practice converging eye and focusing to make for decrease symptoms of headaches and dry/itchy eyes able to work at computer)
• OD = satisfying/rewarding optometry
• Lasik – OD does pre/post care while ophthalmologist does surgery b/c requires cut of cornea, but next couple of generations will have lasers where you don’t have to cut cornea and OD may be able to be trained and do lasik
• Optometry is an expanding profession

Admissions Process:

• Feb 28th of year you’re going to enter = deadline for OATs
• Don’t have set GPA that you must have b/c take home school and OAT scores into account
• Likes OAT scores above 320
• Example: if B student from UCSD won’t be hard to do well on OATs
• B student with OATs above 320 = competitive
• Looks for:
• Decent communicator (no yes/no or short answers in interview), show communication skills to be able to work with patients in future
• How have you explored this profession? (don’t require working/volunteer, but requires shadowing – know different types of OD, shadow them
• Volunteering in Community (not optometry) – want to know that you’re involved not just sitting there (leadership in good)
• Why are you choosing Optometry? Why is it right for you?
• Always come into interview and ask questions about profession and the school you’re interviewing it (to see that the school is right for you)
• Non-private schools take less applicants
• SUNY looks at other things besides grades/OATs (community colleges not as good as UCSD, b/c wants to see that you’re ready)
• Application: good when apply at fall of last year, because rolling admissions, deadline in March but longer you wait = less seats = harder to get in
• December applications means you’re in good shape
• Turn in apps even if haven’t taken all prerequisites or OATs or Letter of Recommendations
• If weaker student = better to apply to private schools because take more students

Why SUNY?

• NYC = safest largest city
• NYC = 5 barrows, Manhattan = island
• SUNY in heart of NYC, 2 blocks from times square
• Don’t choose school b/c of
  
  • 2 things to consider:
  • Academics of school (no bad schools not there): measure it by seeing how students do on exam (SUNY average 95% passing rate 1^st time taken, university schools are higher than private schools)
  • Clinic – largest in-house clinic for all optometry schools, with larger diversity in clinic, can rotate each student through all aspects of specialties (able to do so b/c of small class size), have clinics around city and around USA for externships (SUNY thinks best to keep you in-house because you learn better that way)
• Tuition $26,000 to begin (out-of-state), after first year ~ $13,000 (cheaper than any school)
• At end of 2^nd year start full diagnostic examinations
  
• Summer between 2^nd/3^rd year = in clinic full-time
  
• 3^rd year – lectures on specialties and specialty rotation
  
• ~ 2,000 patients see before graduate, but not important as diversity of what you’re seeing
  
• Has classes for business aspect of optometry
  
• Moving to semester system and integrating material (biochem of eye with how it applies clinically)
  
• Some basic science courses but integrated into optometry
  
• Expansive to live in NYC, have staff that help find housing
  
• 50% live in Manhattan average cost for apt for 2 people = $1100 each
  
• Others live in suburbs and take subway (15-30 minutes away)
  
• Might be cheaper total of cost after 1^st year b/c drop in tuition
  
• 95% of graduates has position within 6 months
  
• 18-20% students from CA, no discrimination from where you’re from
  
• National exam different state exam for laws of each state
  
• Letter of Recommendation – 3, letters 2 from science, can send in more if want, accepts TA, but want faculty to sign

NECO Luncheon

Date: October 19, 2007
Location: CPK ~ La Jolla, CA
Luncheon with Dr. Denial.

About NECO:
• Clinically oriented (general screening with children 5-10 yrs old)
• Small private school with research
• Have many residency programs
OD Program:
• 3rd and 4th year externship (3rd year = community health centers around Boston area with people who have different backgrounds)
• 4th year rotation is in many locations in USA and internationally
• Master and PhD program
• Master in Vision Science which occurs classes in the summer with no extra tuition
• Labs are 20-30 students
• About 1:3 ratio professor to student in clinic
Admission/Application:
• Can apply before taking OATs
• Entry class = 115 students
• OATs = 300 good and competitive
• Average GPA = 3.3, but will look at science/prerequisites GPA
• Take into account which school you came from by looking at Baron’s Guide
• Once you complete the application, get a response for interview w/in 1-2 weeks
Other:
• On interview day:
o 1 on 1 with faculty member
o Tour of the school
o Finicial presentation
o Total time is about a couple of hours
• If you would like an application/info packet please let Elaine or Mimi know.