Summer before College:
-Find an optometrist to observe and shadow during a normal working day/week
-Continue to get experience in an optometric setting
Freshman Year of College:
-Send away for information in order to know about prerequisites
Sophomore Year of College:
-Continue to request/receive updated school information
-Keep in touch with professors who will write you a recommendation
-Maintain a competitive GPA of about 3.5
Junior Year of College:
-Study for the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT)
-If you don't have money to take a prep course, you can buy an OAT study guide from:
                        Betz Publishing Company
                        P.O. Box 1745
                        Rockville, MD 20849
                        (800) 634-4365
Junior/Senior Year of College:
-Take the OAT, which is offered in October and February
(It is recommended that you take the OAT the October of the year before you plan to enroll,
or as soon as you have completed required courses in Physics, Biology, General Chemistry,
Organic Chemistry, and Math.)
-Allow yourself time to take the OAT again, if needed
Senior Year of College:
-Finish prerequisites for optometry school and complete degree requirements
-Start to fill out applications in the summer and send them in by Thanksgiving of your
last undergraduate year.  There are different deadlines for each school, but
earlier applicants get earlier interviews.
-Make sure your transcripts from each school attended are in order (no holds on your record)
-Try to have a mock interview before you go to a real one
-Send thank-you notes to interviewers and other people you meet during school visits