Your future in focus
Admissions I N FOR M AT ION
|
T I PS
New classes enter during August of each year, and new students are enrolled only at that time. Applications for admission may be submitted one year prior to the expected year of entry but must be received no later than March 1. Because applications are processed as they are received and acceptances offered on a rolling admissions basis, it is advantageous to submit applications and supporting documents as early as July 1 of the year preceding desired enrollment. Acceptance is based on:
a. competitive undergraduate academic performance b. competitive scores on the Optometry Admission Test c. letters of recommendation from the pre-optometry advisor and non-related optometrist d. admission interview e. amount of direct exposure/ experience in diverse optometry settings f. factors such as motivation and goals, professionalism, communication skills, consistency in achievement, and extracurricular performance.
Pre-Professional Courses A candidate for admission to
a student has successfully
SCO is required to present at least
completed a calculus course,
three years of undergraduate
he/she would not have to
work that includes a minimum of
take any other lower level
90 semester or 135 quarter hours.
math courses (i.e., algebra,
A minimum of 30 semester or
trigonometry) for our
45 quarter hours must be com-
requirements.
pleted at a four-year college or university. The following courses or their equivalents must be completed prior to enrollment: ENGLISH
STATISTICS
An introductory course in statistics is required. Statistics taken in any department (psychology, education,
This requirement will be
biology, business, etc.) offering
satisfied by completing at
an appropriate course will be
least one year of college-
accepted.
level courses in composition or literature. (Speech/oral communication does not fulfill this requirement.) The successful applicant must have effective oral and written communication skills. PSYCHOLOGY
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
One year of collegelevel general biology or zoology plus one course in microbiology or bacteriology is required. Each course must include appropriate laboratory work. Additional courses
One college-level course
in comparative anatomy
in general or introductory
and physiology are highly
psychology will satisfy this
recommended.
requirement. Additional courses in perception and learning will be helpful in the study of optometry. SOCIAL SCIENCE
CHEMISTRY
One year of inorganic (general) chemistry and one course in organic chemistry is required. Appropriate laboratories must
One year of courses in any of
be completed with these
the social sciences is required.
classes. One course in either
MATHEMATICS
One calculus course is required; the course short calculus is not accepted. If
biochemistry or molecular biology is also required, however, no lab is required with either course.
PHYSICS
One year of college-level general physics courses, with appropriate laboratories, is
required. SCO accepts algebrabased, trigonometry-based, and calculus-based courses.
Be a Competitive Applicant
1
Submit your application early in the admissions cycle. Since we grant
and one letter of
with whom the
acceptances on a rolling
applicant has worked
admissions basis,
or shadowed but is not
competition becomes
related. OptomCAS
much more intense later
accepts up to four letters
in the process.
of recommendation, so
recommendation from an optometrist
be sure these two are
2
among those sent to
Submit all supporting documents as soon as they are available. An admission interview, which is required before an acceptance offer can be granted, will not be given until the applicant file is completed.
OptomCAS.
5
Become familiar
with the profession. Talk with several optometrists and learn about the different modes of practice by shadowing or
3
Complete your
bachelor’s degree. While a degree is not required for admission, less than 5% of SCO’s students were accepted without a bachelor’s degree and having one makes an applicant stronger.
4
working in multiple offices; read optometric journals and other professional literature; and research the legislative procedures for state licensure. Your level of exposure and experience in the field is very important in the admissions process, especially in the
SCO requires a
admission interview.
minimum of one letter
You will also need to
of recommendation from a pre-health advisor or natural science professor
detail your experiences in your application with OptomCAS.
6
Volunteer or
join service organizations.
7
Active participation in worthwhile causes and demonstrated leadership abilities are important factors in the admissions process.
Remember, you will
not be considered for an interview until all required information is received. OptomCAS will be able to answer questions about application items submitted to them, however, feel free to contact SCO’s admissions office for questions regarding the supplemental application or your application status. Maintaining contact allows us to get to know applicants, as well as ensuring that all needed information is on file.
SCO can be reached at
800.238.0180 or
901.722.3224 as well as by email at
admissions@ sco.edu
Submitting Your Application SCO participates in the central-
The following documents must
ized application service known
be submitted to OptomCAS for an
Optometry with whom the
as OptomCAS. Applications open
applicant to be considered for an
applicant has worked or
each year on July 1 and can be
interview:
shadowed but is not related.
accessed online at optomcas. org. SCO’s application deadline is March 1 each year. OptomCAS charges a $180 application fee to apply to one school and a $70 fee for each additional school. SCO’s supplemental application fee is $50.
• Official transcripts from all previous colleges attended.
• Two letters of recommen-
dation, including one from a pre-health advisor or natural science professor,
and one from a Doctor of
• Official Optometry
Admission Test (OAT) scores. All exams must be administered by the application deadline.
Additional items that must
the Office of Student Services at
be sent directly to SCO for an
admissions@sco.edu.
applicant to be considered for an interview include:
Regional and Non-regional Admissions
• SCO supplemental
application and fee found on the SCO website at
Southern College of Optometry
sco.edu.
accepts applications from all
• Certification of state
states and foreign countries.
residency (if applicant is
Limited contract positions are
from a state participating
available for applicants from
in the SREB or other
regional states participating
contract program). A list
in the Southern Regional
of residency certification
Education Board contract
officers will be provided upon receipt of admission application. A candidate should contact the admissions office before submitting an application under any of these circumstances.
• GPA of less than 2.50; • Previous enrollment in
another optometry school
and Colleges of Optometry
counseling. Candidates can
and is used by all optometry
register to take the OAT online
schools for applicants seeking
at ada.org/en/oat. Scores more
admission. The OAT is a
than two years old are not
multiple-choice test covering
acceptable.
six areas: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, quantitative reasoning, and reading comprehension.
SCO applicants may take the OAT an unlimited number of times, however, after the third attempt, a school or college of
program, as well as some other types of state supported tuition assistance programs. To be eligible for one of the regional seats, the applicant must be a bona fide resident of that state and be so certified by the appropriate state authority. Residency certification instructions are provided after the supplemental application
A student’s performance on
optometry must recommend a
the OAT is scaled to a scoring
retake. Although we will review
range from 200 to 400 in all six
all of your scores, we will place
All documents submitted in
areas, as well as an academic
the greatest significance on
support of an application for
average and total science score.
your exam with the highest
admission become the property
While there is no strict passing
academic average.
applicant has been admitted to
of the college and cannot be
or failing scores, an academic
returned. The college reserves
average score of 300 signifies
While the OAT is the most
may not be changed for regional
the right to reject an application
average performance on a
which is not properly submitted.
national basis. Over the last few
or any health professions school.
years, SCO’s entering class OAT
The OAT
average has been around 330.
The Optometry Admission
or with inconsistent subscores,
Test (OAT) is conducted by the Association of Schools
Anyone scoring below 310 and/ should contact the SCO Office of Student Services for individual
preferred test for the admissions process, SCO will evaluate other entrance exams on a case by case basis under special circumstances. For more information about the OAT or other entrance exams accepted by SCO, please contact
for admission is received. It should be noted that residency certification does not guarantee a regional position. Once the the college, the state of residence consideration. Although the college has contracts with these states, more than half of each entering class is accepted as nonregional students. Currently the four-year program at SCO
is represented by students from 45 states, Canada, Ethiopia and Vietnam. A current list of regional states may be found at sco.edu/tuition-and-fees.
The Admission Interview An integral part of the admissions selection process is the admission interview. SCO invites the most promising applicants (based upon GPA, OAT scores, letters of recommendation, optometric exposure, and extracurricular activities) for an admission interview. Interviews are conducted on campus each Friday beginning in September and continue through March during each admissions cycle. Applicants are interviewed “one-on- one” by an SCO faculty member covering general topics in optometry, academics and extracurricular activities. The interviews are “blind”, meaning faculty do not have access to applicants’ files. SCO encourages applicants to research the college, as well as optometry, before the interview and to ask questions during the interview. Sessions covering your applicant file, financial aid and housing will be held the same day, and you will be given a tour of our campus by one of our students.
Financial Aid/Scholarships Approximately 85% of SCO
works individually with students
exemplary achievements in
students are financing at least
to provide the best possible
areas such as undergraduate
part of their education through
program including the various
GPA, OAT scores, leadership and
student loans. Our students
Federal Loan Programs and
service. SCO currently offers ap-
receive extensive counseling
Federal Work Study.
proximately 250 scholarships in
on how to control student indebtedness through the college’s debt management program. The financial aid office
SCO also awards numerous academic scholarships to students who have demonstrated
addition to the $150,000 received by students through the Annual Student Awards Program.
Living in Memphis There are numerous attributes that SCO students enjoy when they move to Memphis to attend optometry school. Memphis is a city known for its music, restaurants, parks, museums, hospitality, and important to all students – its low cost. Having one of the lowest cost of living in the nation, Memphis allows our students a chance to enjoy what the city has to offer without a great expense. SCO actively helps entering students to find living accommodations and provides students an abundance of housing information at their
admission interviews. The majority of our students live in apartments close to the college, and we match entering students with current students to field questions about where to live and the city. The college also provides a roommate list for accepted students interested in sharing an apartment. More information about Memphis, housing and the admissions process may be found on the SCO website at sco.edu or by calling the admissions office at 800-238-0180.
1245 Madison Avenue • Memphis, Tennessee 38104-2222 • 901-722-3224 • 800-238-0180 • sco.edu Information for this publication was gathered from the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, the American Optometric Association (AOA), the Journal of the AOA, the Academy of Ophthalmology and the Opticians Association of America.