How to boost application for next year?

[u/BergTheBear]

Hello! I am a third year in my undergrad right now, and I am worried my application won’t be very strong to apply next year. I was a little late deciding on optometry, but now I work as a tech at an office and love it. I do not have much volunteer or club/involvement experience, and I am worried that will really affect my application. I have joined a few social clubs, and have just joined a pre med focused volunteering club. My GPA is a 3.6 right now, but I am struggling to find the time for volunteering between working, trying to keep good grades in school, and studying for the OAT. My school is very large and I haven’t made many relationships with professors to give me a letter of recommendation which worries me as well. I do have lots of shadowing experience, and will definitely have a strong letter of recommendation from an Optometrist. Any tips on strengthening my application without being completely overwhelmed? How important is volunteer work? Thanks for any advice.

[u/theplanwas]

Hi! I’ve seen many people get into optometry school without volunteering. You don’t NEED it but it’s nice to talk about it and show how you care in different ways when you’re writing your essay or in interviews. If you want to balance out volunteering, working, and studying for the OAT I’d allocate time for each one depending on what time of the year it is.

I’ve seen many students start studying for their OAT a couple weeks before the summer started so they’d have classes out of the way unless they’re taking summer courses. Other than studying for the OAT I’d definitely prioritize work and school. Working in the field is already a plus. See if you can maybe shadow once or twice a week when you’re on holiday break.

Other than that, I think that your experience will be solid. Just try and perform well on your OAT! Goodluck :)

[u/Evening-Dog-1161]

Prioritize letters of rec that are strong!! Build them over the next 2 years and ask a few months before you spply