Optometry School Info
Applying for optometry school is a big commitment. There are many optometry schools in North America, each with its own set of admissions requirements. Although each school is unique, they share some similarities such as a satisfactory Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) score and general science prerequisite credits. This page serves as a starting point for your application process, providing you with an overview of admissions requirements and connecting you to other resources.
We wish you the best of luck in your optometry school applications!
North American Schools
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There are 23 optometry schools in North America: 21 in the U.S. and 2 in Canada. Of the two Canadian Schools, at Montreal University and the University of Waterloo, only the latter has instruction in English. For more details about each school, visit the Schools page.
University of Waterloo
Université de Montréal
University of Waterloo
Prerequisites
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Although each optometry school has a unique set of prerequisite courses, there is significant overlap between them. Most optometry schools do not require applicants to be pursuing a degree in science, but the majority of prerequisites fall under this category. Some of the common ones include a full year of basic biology, chemistry, and physics with a laboratory component, as well as a psychology or other social science, English or writing, and statistics. Most of these can be fulfilled in first year, especially if you are in biology or general sciences. Other courses that may be required or highly recommended are biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, physiology, and anatomy.
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For more details about prerequisite courses from Western, join us for our prerequisite night which will be hosted in the spring. Stay tuned for the exact date of the event! We hope to see you there!
School Representatives
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Throughout the year, Pre-Optometry Club invites speakers from several optometry schools to give presentations about the schools they represent. While the main focus of these presentations is the application and interview processes, they are very informative about each school’s extracurricular activities, research opportunities, financial services, and the cities where the schools are located. All of these are important factors to consider when applying to optometry school. Because most of the speakers are from the admissions departments of the schools, they are very knowledgeable and are able to answer many questions about the recruitment process, school dynamic, and student accommodations. More information about school presentations will be on the Events page, so keep an eye out for new updates!
Optometry Admissions Test
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The Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) is a standardized test required for admission to any optometry school. It tests competency in the areas of Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry), Physics, Reading Comprehension, and Quantitative Reasoning (Mathematics). All testing is done on a computerized system at various Prometic Centers across the nation. The test is scored from 200 to 400 on a standard curve. Candidates receive their marks as a numerical value from 200 to 400, and as a percentile relative to all other candidates. Obviously, studying for the OAT is imperative, and there are many resources out there to use, but there is no universal way of guaranteeing a good score. Find out what strategies and resources other club members have used in the past at our O-A-Tea Night! Details about the O-A-Tea Night and other upcoming events are coming soon, so sit tight!