Pre-Optometry
About the Profession
Doctors of Optometry are the primary medical professionals that examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases of the eye and vision.
Preparation Starts Now
From the time you begin college, you are assembling a complete dossier with which to apply to professional schools. Applicants are expected to have:
- Completed a bachelor's degree in any major, though many of SUNY Geneseo dental school applicants complete a major in Biology, Chemistry, Sociomedical Sciences, Neuroscience, or Psychology
- Completed optometry school course requirements
- Achieve excellent grades; overall and science GPAs should, at a minimum, be at a 3.5
- Earn a good score on the OAT; ideally scores should minimally be a 320
- Involve yourself in sincere, sustained health-related shadowing, volunteer, and research experience. Make sure optometry experience is diverse
Course Requirements
Start planning as a first year student to meet the following course requirements for optometry schools. Below are the courses at SUNY Geneseo that are recommended you complete based on the requirements for SUNY Optometry:
| Course Requirements | SUNY Geneseo | Notes |
| One year of Biology |
BIOL 117 and119 BIOL 118 and 120 (labs) |
Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) One lecture with the lab can count as an N/ General Education requirement |
| One year of General Chemistry | CHEM 116 and 118 CHEM 119 and 129 (labs) |
Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) One lecture with the lab can count as an N/ General Education requirement |
| One semester of Organic Chemistry with lab | CHEM 211 and 216 (lab) | Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) |
| One year of Physics |
General Physics: PHYS 113, 114 (lab), 115, and 116 (lab)
Analytical Physics: PHYS 123, 124 (lab), 125, and 126 (lab) |
Pay attention to course offering schedule (i.e. Fall/Spring) One lecture with the lab can count as an N/ General Education requirement |
| 2 semesters of English | INTD 105 and one ENGL course | INTD 105 is the Basic Communication General Education requirement |
| One semester of Statistics | MATH 262 | This could count toward the R/ General Education course requirement |
| One semester Calculus | MATH 221 | This could count toward the R/ General Education course requirement |
| One semester of Psychology | PSYC 100 | |
| One semester of Biochemistry | BIOL 335 or CHEM 300 |
Pre-reqs for BIOL 335: BIOL 117, 119 and CHEM 211 Pre-reqs for CHEM 300: CHEM 213 and 216 |
| One semester of Microbiology | BIOL 349 | Pre-reqs: BIOL 222 or BIOL 271 |
| One year of Anatomy and Physiology* | BIOL 365 and 366 | NOT required but strongly recommended |
| One semester of Molecular Biology* | BIOL 322 | NOT required but strongly recommended |
It is recommended that course requirements are completed at SUNY Geneseo, but there are instances where a student would need to complete one or two courses elsewhere. If that is the case, it is suggested that coursework be completed at a four-year higher education institution. All course requirements must be taken for a grade and demonstrate mastery, no lower than a C, for most professional schools.
For further information about optometry schools, visit the Association of Colleges and Schools of Optometry (ASCO).