2020-21 Admissions Brochure

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.