Admission Criteria and Interview Dates
Please note that Pacific University College of Optometry requires a short supplemental application in addition to the universal OptomCAS application.
Your application for admission to Pacific University College of Optometry will not be complete until we receive both the OptomCAS application and your Pacific University Supplemental Application.
Enrollment is limited and admission is selective. The Optometry Admissions Committee strongly encourages early application. In making admission decisions, the Optometry Admissions Committee considers many factors:
- Strength and breadth of academic record.
- Optometry Admission Test scores. The Admissions Committee strongly encourages applicants to take the OAT early. The OAT must be taken by February 1, 2013.
- Essay responses.
- Applicants are required to have a minimum of 30 hours of unpaid observation with an optometrist prior to application. We encourage the observation be completed within a diversity of optometry settings.
- Strength of letters of evaluation: one must be from an optometrist and one must be from a professor
- Content of application forms and the care with which they have been prepared.
- Extracurricular and community activities.
- Demonstrated English proficiency is required of all applicants whose first language is not English. For information on the English Proficiency Policy, please download it here. The deadline to take the TOEFL exam for candidates requiring the test to meet the English proficiency requirement is January 8, 2013.
Based on the criteria listed above, selected applicants are invited
for the on-campus personal interview. The interview is required
and is a contributing factor in the admission decision. It allows
the selection committee to assess essential skills and traits which
may not be reflected in the application.
Interview Days for Fall 2013 are:
Friday, September 21, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Friday, January 11, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
In the interview, consideration is given to knowledge of the profession, motivation toward a career in optometry, ability to think clearly and logically, poise, self-confidence, warmth and verbal expression of ideas. The interview is approximately 45 minutes with two College of Optometry representatives.
