Orthoptics applicants 2014

OP

Original post by Kayleigh96

Well done on your offers. When did you send your UCAS away? I got the email from Sheffield asking me to attend an open day but haven't heard anything from the others yet.

Thank you. Not sure when it was officially locked in due to UCAS having to process it, but got an acknowledgement from Liverpool on the 22nd November. Got my offer on the 17th dec. So I had a bit of a wait. When did you send yours off?

Reply 22

OP

Original post by Kezzi96

Yeahh! Me too! Which day are you going to for Sheffield? :smile:

I'm going on the 14th Feb. What day are you going? :smile:

Reply 23

Kayleigh96

I sent mine on the 4th December and received the emails that they had my application the next day. I'll probably have a bit longer to wait because of the Christmas holidays, but hopefully I will hear soon :smile:

Reply 24

_Kate

hey! I've applied to Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow for orthoptics. I sent my application 2 weeks ago and received confirmation emails. I guess they won't be looking at applications over Christmas though :claus:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 25

madmazda86

8

Here's the usual somewhat out of date but mostly still valid information on applying to Orthoptics at Liverpool and Sheffield:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1159338&highlight=

And some more info on the differences between Optometry and Orthoptics:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135250&p=2806074#post2806074

I should add that at GCU the orthoptic course is mostly joint modules shared with the optoms and dispensers so there is a lot of overlap in the course content in the first year. One really notable difference is that GCU students will learn the principles of refraction from first year onwards, in comparison to Liverpool students who learn the techniques in final year (don't know about Sheffield). The geometrical optics course at GCU is much heavier going as well compared to the one at Liverpool, again because of sharing course content with the optometrists. GCU applicants are probably more likely to get away with a statement that doesn't differentiate much between orthoptics and optometry compared to Liverpool and Sheffield applicants, but if you're applying to anywhere other than GCU your PS is the same so you really should keep the two subjects separate when speaking about them - see the thread I've just linked above for some info.

I should add as well that GCU does day release placements rather than block placements like the other two unis do. This is great because you get clinical experience from the very beginning, you don't lose out on your academic holidays due to being on placement, and you're building up your clinical skills consistently over time instead of coming into a block placement really rusty and needing a week to get back into the swing of things. Buuuuuut the downside to day placements is that you're limited to locations within an appropriate travel distance, as opposed to the other unis where you travel all over the country and see a variety of departments and how they work and their specialties etc. We're lucky in Scotland to have some absolutely first class orthoptic departments taking GCU students, so you'll still get an excellent clinical education, but you miss out on the opportunity to visit new cities and get a broad overview of orthoptics across the UK. The other downside is that you'll be on placement every week but a lot of it initially will be you just observing as the clinical skills are drip-fed to you over time. But being able to see orthoptists in action will let you pick up lots of testing techniques and tips/tricks that you can apply as you're learning the tests, instead of having that 'Oh man, I wish I'd known that sooner' moment in third year XD

Hope that helps a bit with your decisions. Best of luck with your applications!

P.S. Term starts on 6th Jan at GCU and probably the same for the other unis.

Reply 26

OP

Original post by madmazda86

Here's the usual somewhat out of date but mostly still valid information on applying to Orthoptics at Liverpool and Sheffield:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1159338&highlight=

And some more info on the differences between Optometry and Orthoptics:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=135250&p=2806074#post2806074

I should add that at GCU the orthoptic course is mostly joint modules shared with the optoms and dispensers so there is a lot of overlap in the course content in the first year. One really notable difference is that GCU students will learn the principles of refraction from first year onwards, in comparison to Liverpool students who learn the techniques in final year (don't know about Sheffield). The geometrical optics course at GCU is much heavier going as well compared to the one at Liverpool, again because of sharing course content with the optometrists. GCU applicants are probably more likely to get away with a statement that doesn't differentiate much between orthoptics and optometry compared to Liverpool and Sheffield applicants, but if you're applying to anywhere other than GCU your PS is the same so you really should keep the two subjects separate when speaking about them - see the thread I've just linked above for some info.

I should add as well that GCU does day release placements rather than block placements like the other two unis do. This is great because you get clinical experience from the very beginning, you don't lose out on your academic holidays due to being on placement, and you're building up your clinical skills consistently over time instead of coming into a block placement really rusty and needing a week to get back into the swing of things. Buuuuuut the downside to day placements is that you're limited to locations within an appropriate travel distance, as opposed to the other unis where you travel all over the country and see a variety of departments and how they work and their specialties etc. We're lucky in Scotland to have some absolutely first class orthoptic departments taking GCU students, so you'll still get an excellent clinical education, but you miss out on the opportunity to visit new cities and get a broad overview of orthoptics across the UK. The other downside is that you'll be on placement every week but a lot of it initially will be you just observing as the clinical skills are drip-fed to you over time. But being able to see orthoptists in action will let you pick up lots of testing techniques and tips/tricks that you can apply as you're learning the tests, instead of having that 'Oh man, I wish I'd known that sooner' moment in third year XD

Hope that helps a bit with your decisions. Best of luck with your applications!

P.S. Term starts on 6th Jan at GCU and probably the same for the other unis.

Thank you very much for your response. Did you go to GCU or another UNI. I know youre probably qualified now but how did you find the course (likes and dislikes) and if you are currently an orthoptist how are you finding the Job as an Orthoptist? Do you reccomend it?

Reply 27

Ohliwiah

10

Hiya im interested in studying orthoptics at uni. Im only in year 12 but Im trying to figure out what I want to do already so that Im prepared. Im doing biology chemistry sociology and psychology at AS and I hope to get at least a B in them all. What kind of careers simmilar to orthoptics? (not optometry..) All of this university stuff is so alien to me as Im the first in my family to go :/ Where would I live if I went to Sheffield or Liverpool? Im trying to figure out whether to do in this direction as im interested in eye sight, but im also interested in psychology and they're different subjects and from what I know we only get to write 1 personal statement right? I couldn't possibly link them together..could I?

Reply 28

OP

Original post by Ohliwiah

Hiya im interested in studying orthoptics at uni. Im only in year 12 but Im trying to figure out what I want to do already so that Im prepared. Im doing biology chemistry sociology and psychology at AS and I hope to get at least a B in them all. What kind of careers simmilar to orthoptics? (not optometry..) All of this university stuff is so alien to me as Im the first in my family to go :/ Where would I live if I went to Sheffield or Liverpool? Im trying to figure out whether to do in this direction as im interested in eye sight, but im also interested in psychology and they're different subjects and from what I know we only get to write 1 personal statement right? I couldn't possibly link them together..could I?

Hi I'm applying for orthoptics this year. I definitely think it's a good idea to get yourself prepared early, because then you can start to organise things for example work experience. I think your subjects are great and they would most definitely except them. You're right that you only get one personal statement. Well I think it would be difficult to link psychology and orthoptics together as they are quite different. Also they are both competitive courses so people applying for psychology will also have applied for psychology in all their choices, so their P.S will be mostly based around psychology. But having said that I was told that the universities offering orthoptics are aware that it is only offered at 3 unis, so you could apply for another course as they would take that into consideration . But if you did I would pick a more health based course.
In terms of similar courses, other than optometry I'm not sure if there are other courses based around the eyes. But in terms of healthcare you could look at physiotherapy, radiotherapy, nursing, healthcare science, occupational therapy etc.
if you went to Sheffield, Liverpool or any other uni, you usually would live in the university accommodation in your first year with other students. You will be able to sort this out with the uni. You will receive student loans and bursaries to cover accommodation and living costs.
But if you're not sure I would definitely recommend that you go and visit your local orthoptic department for the day. That will help you to make your decision.
Also worth noting that with orthoptics, course fees are paid for by the NHS.
If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask :smile:

Reply 29

Ohliwiah

10

Original post by 10smithh

Hi I'm applying for orthoptics this year. I definitely think it's a good idea to get yourself prepared early, because then you can start to organise things for example work experience. I think your subjects are great and they would most definitely except them. You're right that you only get one personal statement. Well I think it would be difficult to link psychology and orthoptics together as they are quite different. Also they are both competitive courses so people applying for psychology will also have applied for psychology in all their choices, so their P.S will be mostly based around psychology. But having said that I was told that the universities offering orthoptics are aware that it is only offered at 3 unis, so you could apply for another course as they would take that into consideration . But if you did I would pick a more health based course.
In terms of similar courses, other than optometry I'm not sure if there are other courses based around the eyes. But in terms of healthcare you could look at physiotherapy, radiotherapy, nursing, healthcare science, occupational therapy etc.
if you went to Sheffield, Liverpool or any other uni, you usually would live in the university accommodation in your first year with other students. You will be able to sort this out with the uni. You will receive student loans and bursaries to cover accommodation and living costs.
But if you're not sure I would definitely recommend that you go and visit your local orthoptic department for the day. That will help you to make your decision.
Also worth noting that with orthoptics, course fees are paid for by the NHS.
If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask :smile:

Thank you for replying! That answers my questions. Yeah, I thought it'd be hard to write the P.S. Im still not 100& sure that is what I want to do, so I must definitely try to get some shadowing done. I wish we didn't have to start applying so early!-.- I thought of doing nursing at first but then dismissed the idea as I don't think its for me, and there aren't any other health related subjects I'd like to study. I find deciding what I want to study extremely difficult, and when people say ''its very competitive'' it puts me off of the things i thought i could do because Im sure there are people who will be better than me. :frown:

Reply 30

_Kate

Hooray got the open day invite email for Sheffield, is anyone going to the open day on the 7th of feb? Nobody seems to be :frown:

Reply 31

OP

I have no idea. I know what you mean though. I've only talked to one person on TSR who is going in the 14th. You definitely won't be on your own though :smile:

Reply 32

cupcakes87

18

Hi I'm new to this and Ii am thinking of applying for orthoptics next year. If anyone could tell me what a levels they are taking and what types of grades the universities are asking for when giving an offer?
Thank you so much in advance- I really appreciate it :colondollar:

Reply 33

Sophieeexxx

Original post by cupcakes87

Hi I'm new to this and Ii am thinking of applying for orthoptics next year. If anyone could tell me what a levels they are taking and what types of grades the universities are asking for when giving an offer?
Thank you so much in advance- I really appreciate it :colondollar:

They all ask for BBB at a level, and I think they all want at least one of the three sciences or maths :smile:

hope this helps :smile:

Reply 34

cupcakes87

18

Original post by Sophieeexxx

They all ask for BBB at a level, and I think they all want at least one of the three sciences or maths :smile:

hope this helps :smile:

Thanks

Reply 35

khinds

Just sent my ucas on the 13th for Glasgow, Liverpool and Sheffield! The wait is already killing me! I'm so nervous as they are so personal statement specific :frown:

Reply 36

OP

Original post by khinds

Just sent my ucas on the 13th for Glasgow, Liverpool and Sheffield! The wait is already killing me! I'm so nervous as they are so personal statement specific :frown:

Yeah the wait is awful haha. But I think that cos yours was sent close to the ucas deadline. You should hear back quite quickly. I'm sure you'll be fine. Did you just apply for three? :smile:

Reply 37

khinds

Original post by 10smithh

Yeah the wait is awful haha. But I think that cos yours was sent close to the ucas deadline. You should hear back quite quickly. I'm sure you'll be fine. Did you just apply for three? :smile: