Author: Paula Kelbley

Moving to Columbus

Let’s face it, there is not much fun in moving. Whether you’re moving an hour away or across the country, moving to a new city can be overwhelming. We’re here to help you with some of the questions you may have before moving to Columbus. Here are the top five questions we’ve been asked by prospective students, and our best advice for each.

  1. How do I find a roommate?

This one can be tricky, and there are a few options. Some students defer finding a roommate and choose to live alone for their first year. This allows students to meet others in the program and decide if they’d be compatible roommates. This was an option many of my classmates chose for their first year. Another option is joining your class Facebook group and talking to your classmates before the school year starts. A number of students find roommates doing this, and I’ve also heard of students joining the Facebook groups of other professional schools (dental, medical, law, etc.) to find potential roommates. You can also look into living at the EYE House! The EYE house can be a great opportunity to save a bit on cost while also getting a chance to live with (and get study help or tips from) optometry students from all class years. For more information about the EYE House, you can contact Justin Griest (griest.6@osu.edu) and he can put you in contact with the current house manager.

  1. Where in Columbus should I live?

The answer to this question depends on your wants and needs. If you prefer to live within walking distance of the school, you will likely find yourself in an environment semi-filled with undergraduate students. There are pros and cons to this: short, easy access to the school but it also can be tough to “get away” from school. If you prefer to live in a more young professional environment, living a mile or two away from the school is a nice option. I am biased toward the Grandview area, because this is where I have called home for the past two years. Grandview is a quaint little place and is very family friendly. There are many charming restaurants, places to shop, and it’s a very quiet area. Taking the COTA bus or cycling to school have been options, as well as driving (although paying to park on campus is quite expensive!) Another option is living a few more miles away and driving to school every day. This option is great for people who don’t mind getting up a bit earlier, riding OSU’s own bus system (CABS), and having a commute of about 20-30 minutes. Also, living a little bit away from campus allows you to “get away” and enjoy other parts of Columbus.

  1. Will I need a car?

From personal experience, I would say if you have a car, and it’s convenient, bring it. Although most everything on campus is within walking distance, it is nice to have a car for trips to the grocery store, mall, or the occasional sporting event/concert. If you bring a car and plan on driving to school every day, there are parking lot passes available at a multitude of locations around campus. However, they can get a little pricey, so check them out here to see which one would work for you: http://osu.campusparc.com/home/permits.

  1. If I don’t have a car, what are my transportation options?

The CABS (Campus Area Bus Service) and COTA (Central Ohio Transit Authority) buses are a convenient option for students. The CABS buses run all throughout campus and even to west campus. You can check their routes here: https://ttm.osu.edu/cabs. The COTA buses are also an option, as they serve the rest of Columbus. A few of the routes go right to OSU, so if you live off campus, but near a bus stop, this is a great option! And as an OSU student, riding COTA is free anytime with your student ID. http://www.cota.com/Riding-COTA/Pass-Programs/The-Ohio-State-University/Lines-Around-Campus.aspx. Cycling to school is another option I have enjoyed! A nice brisk ride in the morning is a great start to my day 🙂

  1. What do you do in Columbus (when you have free time)?

Columbus has a ton of options for whatever you’re interested in! Concert buff? A large number of shows of all sizes come through Columbus at the LC Pavilion, Newport, or Nationwide Arena. Newport is right near the student union and the LC and Nationwide are very easy to get to on the COTA as well. Foodie? The Short North is where you’ll want to hang out, it’s full of little bars, restaurants, art galleries, you name it. You’re always bound to find something new in the Short North that is unique and the area is always bustling on Fridays and Saturdays. Into sports? Columbus is home of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, MLS’s Columbus Crew and the AAA minor league baseball team the Columbus Clippers. Clippers games are great in the summer and usually there is an organized outing or two to a game by the school or area optometrists. Columbus has a lot else to offer as well so if you’re moving here for school or coming for a visit or interview, budget some time to check out the town!

Ambassador of the Month: Blake Kvidt

We’d like to introduce you to our November Ambassador of the Month, Blake Kvidt! We hope you enjoy reading about his journey through optometry!

 

Hometown, undergraduate institution, degree, and fun facts about yourself

I’m from Grand Forks, ND and no we don’t still drive covered wagons there. I graduated from The University of North Dakota with a degree in Psychology after taking some time off in the middle of college to figure out what I really wanted to do. I got married to my beautiful wife Emily in 2014, and we are expecting our first child in 2016!

What led you to the field of optometry?

I definitely took a round about way to optometry. I started thinking about it in grade school because I was at the optometrist all the time and my optometrist treated my whole family. My mom stressed the importance of seeing the eye doctor even if there wasn’t a vision problem. My oldest brother has no correction and she still took him every year. I moved away from the idea of optometry in high school because I didn’t think I could handle the extra school. During college, I had around 5 different majors, and nothing seemed to fit. After taking some time off from college, I went back and ended up being around people interested in the field. I also got to know a family at my church and then realized the husband was an OD. Taking these things as a sign, I started to shadow optometrists. It was a good thing to do, but I still wasn’t sure about optometry until I decided to contact my optometrist and ask for a job to get a better idea of the field. The timing was perfect, as someone had just quit and they needed a replacement, so I was hired. After that, there wasn’t a day I didn’t want to come to work. I saw so many different cases, since the practice was pretty varied with six ODs. There was primary care, contacts, disease (I saw lots of glaucoma, cataracts, a herpes keratitis dendrite that looked like a Christmas tree) lots of foreign body removals, and vision therapy. It was after all of that that I decided this was where I was supposed to be.

What led you to choosing Ohio State for optometry school?

I only applied to two schools and got interviews for both of them. I honestly did not think I would come to Ohio State because to me it is huge; the city and the university. I thought I would end up in the smaller city and smaller university, but it all came down to the interview itself. During the other school’s interview, there was just something that wasn’t quite right to me. It was not smooth and I felt like the questions that were asked could have all been answered by reading my essays. When I interviewed at OSU, it felt like I was having a conversation about the profession and everyone there wanted to have the same conversation as well. It didn’t feel like an interview, and they treated me as an adult and not just a student looking to get into school. It may seem like a small thing, but that was very important to me. After that I pretty much knew I wanted to come to Ohio State.

Do you have a specialization in mind for your future career as an optometrist?

I definitely want to specialize in vision therapy and neuro-optometric rehabilitation. One experience before coming to school I had was seeing a 50 year old woman break into tears after her last vision therapy evaluation because she was so happy she could finally do her work without getting headaches and nausea, which she had dealt with for her entire life. Seeing the type of impact the doctors and therapist made on her life was something I knew I wanted to be a part of. I also urrently work as a vision therapist while attending school, and work mostly with kids. It is probably one of the most fun jobs I have ever had. I have to be creative and always on my toes and be willing to adapt when something isn’t working. I really enjoy that aspect.

Do you find it difficult to work at a practice during optometry school? Is there a difference between trying to work during first year as opposed to second year?

I didn’t work my first year, but work now in my second year. I don’t know how I would have handled first year since it was such a shock with the workload changing from what I was used to in undergrad. I don’t know if the workload is much different now, but I am more accustom to it. I honestly like working during school, because for me it’s a break from school and it shows me what I’m working toward in a very real way. I have also learned so much as a vision therapist from the doctors and therapists taking time to teach me. I would recommend others work in a practice as well, if not during the school year then over the summer break between first and second year. There are many benefits to it.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

What is this spare time you speak of? Haha, I do love to cook. It is something I do to relax. Learning new recipes and experimenting with new dishes, spices and flavors is fun to me. I am active in my Catholic faith as well. Going to church and spending time with some families my wife and I have gotten to know has been wonderful. I even got to learn how to make beer with one of the families, which was a pretty cool experience. I enjoy reading and of course Doctor Who!

What advice would you give to a prospective student looking into the field of optometry?

I would definitely recommend working in the field. I don’t think there is a better way to get a feel for it and to know if you will enjoy it. After working in the field, you are able to look and ask yourself, “do I enjoy what I’m doing?”, “do I want to come to work every day?” It’s not going to be a great day at work every day, but for me the positive experiences far outweigh the difficult patients and even on my worst day I woke up the next day wanting to go to work.

If not for Ohio State…

I would not have known the intensity and energy of Dr. Earley when lecturing on immune cells blowing things up.

The Optometry School Application Process: Where do I start?!

Applying to optometry school can be a daunting process. OptomCAS (the official application site for all optometry schools) requires a lot of information, and figuring out where to start can be tricky. Guess what? We’re here to help! We have combined our experiences to give you a guide for filling out your OptomCAS in the most efficient manner we know! Here are 10 tips and things we wish we knew when we applied:

  1. Before you even open your application, think about who you will want to write your letters of recommendation. Contact them. We advise doing this early to assure you have letter writers (“evaluators” in OptomCAS) once the application opens and to make sure they have plenty of time to complete their part.
  2. Start early! The application opens July 1 of every application year. We recommend creating your account as close to July 1 as you can! Most admissions are on a rolling basis, so the earlier you complete the application, the better, and the better shot you have of securing a seat!
  3. Remember those evaluators we talked about in #1? It’s time to enter their information! Across the board, we all agree that this is the most time consuming part of the whole application – relying on others to fill out the questionnaire.

Tip: you can submit your application without the letters of recommendation being submitted, but we do not recommended this. Once your application is submitted you will not be able to track which evaluators filled out your evaluation!

  1. Selection Time!- choose the schools in which you would like your OAT scores to be sent. These should match the schools in which you will be applying. Think objectively about what you want out of optometry school: Do you want to stay close to home? Do you want a private or public school? A large or small school? Check out the statistics about each school and their Boards scores, admitted student average GPAs, OAT scores, etc. to find a school you think you’ll be interested in!
  1. Transcripts: order your college transcripts. Often times, your ungraduated institutions require you to fill out paperwork and also require a small fee to send your transcripts to OptomCAS, so be prepared for that expense. There is an option to have OptomCAS fill out your transcript for you as well. We recommend this to anyone who has attended many colleges.

Tip: Order a copy of your transcript(s) for your personal file. It will make completing #7 below much easier.

  1. Essay- It’s time to write the easiest essay of your life. It’s all about you! Let the selection committee know just how great your experience has been with optometry so far and how excited you are to join the profession! You’ll also be asked to which schools you’d like your essays sent.
  1. Enter your grades: This is another time consuming process. Entering every semester, class, and grade you’ve ever gotten (don’t forget Post-secondary grades/other colleges if you’ve attended more than one!) is fairly monotonous, but it must be done! We don’t recommend completing this all in one sitting…you’ll go nuts!
  1. OAT (Optometry Admissions Test) scores- enter your most recent OAT scores into the designated section or indicate when you will be taking the OAT. Make sure the schools you have selected are the same ones where your official OAT scores are sent. If they are different, you must have the official scores sent to the schools! This is easy to do on the same website you signed up for your OAT!

Tip: You can submit your application without having taken the OAT! Your scores won’t be uploaded to OptomCAS after taking it, but the schools in which you indicated to send scores will receive a copy of your scores after the test.

  1. Submit! You’ve checked your work countless times, and now it’s time. We know, it’s a scary click of a button, but you can do it!
  2. Fill out any supplemental applications you receive in a timely manner. The faster you fill these out and get them back to the schools, the faster you can get an interview and ultimately get accepted!

 

Now all your hard work has paid off and you’re on your way to your dream career. Congratulations!

Let us know if you have any questions and we will be glad to answer them! Our emails are listed below!

 

Good luck and Go Bucks!!!

Paula, Kevin, & Jenni (as well as a few other optometry students 🙂 )

Paula Kelbley: kelbley.9@osu.edu | Kevin Rodda: rodda.5@osu.edu | Jenni Richard: richard.99@osu.edu