optometry vs second gap year?
i took a gap year and got 4/4 pre interview rejections bc of my low ucat (2600 b3), now i’m at a crossroad.
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry
im so stuck rn
id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry
im so stuck rn id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
Hi.
You shouldn't apply for a course you don't want to really do. Are there any other courses you've thought about besides Optom or dentistry?
You shouldn't apply if you don't want to do Optometry. I get dentistry is something you are passionate about but it would be helpful to consider an alternative course as there isn't a guarantee you will get the other next time around. That's not to doubt your ability though. The UCAT is incredibly competitive.
Side note, have you got a job? If not, try to get one, it will give you some structure.
All the best in any case my friend
You shouldn't apply for a course you don't want to really do. Are there any other courses you've thought about besides Optom or dentistry?
You shouldn't apply if you don't want to do Optometry. I get dentistry is something you are passionate about but it would be helpful to consider an alternative course as there isn't a guarantee you will get the other next time around. That's not to doubt your ability though. The UCAT is incredibly competitive.
Side note, have you got a job? If not, try to get one, it will give you some structure.
All the best in any case my friend
Reply 2
I don’t think this is very helpful but I’m in the exact same position as you now on my second application to dentistry with 4/4 pre interview rejections and optometry being my 5th choice even tho it doesn’t feel like the career I was set on. I get your feeling and I feel completely lost too at the moment but if it’s any condolences your not alone and hopefully it all work outs!!
Reply 3
I think that it doesn't sound like a good idea to study optometry if that's not what you're passionate about.
If you're struggling with your gap year, you could try finding a (part-time) job or volunteering to fill up some of your time. I know this isn't on the same scale, but I've found that volunteering a couple of days a week during the summer holidays has helped stop me from feeling depressed due to a lack of structure/routine.
If you decide you want to reapply to medicine, you could dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT since you're on a gap year, and having volunteering or a job that you can add to your ps might be useful as you can relate the skills/values you've learned to medicine.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
If you're struggling with your gap year, you could try finding a (part-time) job or volunteering to fill up some of your time. I know this isn't on the same scale, but I've found that volunteering a couple of days a week during the summer holidays has helped stop me from feeling depressed due to a lack of structure/routine.
If you decide you want to reapply to medicine, you could dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT since you're on a gap year, and having volunteering or a job that you can add to your ps might be useful as you can relate the skills/values you've learned to medicine.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
Reply 4
* Apologies, I meant to write dentistry instead of medicine, but the same applies.
Reply 5
Original post by xtras
i took a gap year and got 4/4 pre interview rejections bc of my low ucat (2600 b3), now i’m at a crossroad.
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry im so stuck rn
id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry
im so stuck rn id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
take that gap year. u clearly rlly wanna do dentistry - doing another career is a decision for life. 2 gap years but 38 years of joy vs 40 years of misery. it is much much much more sensible to take a gap year, if u get into ur dream, it iwll be worth it, if u dont - atleast u know u tried ur best
Reply 6
Original post by xtras
i took a gap year and got 4/4 pre interview rejections bc of my low ucat (2600 b3), now i’m at a crossroad.
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry im so stuck rn
id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry
im so stuck rn id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
What was your gcses and alevels. Which uni did you applied to ?
Original post by xtras
i took a gap year and got 4/4 pre interview rejections bc of my low ucat (2600 b3), now i’m at a crossroad.
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry im so stuck rn
id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
My a levels and gcses are good enough to get into optom 100%, but i feel such a passion and pull towards dentistry. it’s been my dream career for 4 years, and i don’t see a future where im not doing dentistry
But i’ve hated my gap year so far, it’s been so unproductive i absolutely hate living with my family all day and i’ve been quite depressed w no structure.
So i have no idea what to do, i want to go to uni and not take another gap year but i also don’t really wanna do optometry
im so stuck rn id appreciate advice/ to hear from others who did 2 gap years
So sorry to hear this. As others have said, please don't do Optometry just because you can. My optometrist is amazing but I couldn't do her job- working in an often darkened room is quite a contrast to examining or working in a usually well lit mouth for starters (plus I'm not aware that grades alone get you into Optometry, unless you are sitting on an unconditional offer).
I wonder what you are doing in your 'gap year'? I don't think it helps the mindset to think of the time after A levels as a gap year- it's a reapplication period.
Are you working in dentistry? If not, please please start looking for a job in practice- you'll be paid, get invaluable experience and you'll show your parents that you are absolutely committed to the career. You'll find out whether you really, really want to be a dentist, you'll earn and save money
Also if your feel your UCAT cannot be improved by a third attempt, ensure you are reapplying strategically to the dental schools who don't weigh UCAT as much (use Dental Schools Council booklet and also check each dental school site).
Finally, have you not considered Dental Therapy? They do lots of what a GDP does except extract permanent teeth, root canal work and prepping for crowns veneers etc.
Good luck!
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by Y13
Hi.
You shouldn't apply for a course you don't want to really do. Are there any other courses you've thought about besides Optom or dentistry?
You shouldn't apply if you don't want to do Optometry. I get dentistry is something you are passionate about but it would be helpful to consider an alternative course as there isn't a guarantee you will get the other next time around. That's not to doubt your ability though. The UCAT is incredibly competitive.
Side note, have you got a job? If not, try to get one, it will give you some structure.
All the best in any case my friend
You shouldn't apply for a course you don't want to really do. Are there any other courses you've thought about besides Optom or dentistry?
You shouldn't apply if you don't want to do Optometry. I get dentistry is something you are passionate about but it would be helpful to consider an alternative course as there isn't a guarantee you will get the other next time around. That's not to doubt your ability though. The UCAT is incredibly competitive.
Side note, have you got a job? If not, try to get one, it will give you some structure.
All the best in any case my friend
I’ve considered so many but optom I think was the closest to dentistry in terms of sector, pay and prestige. Yes, I tutor 2 times a week, it’s nice but I don’t do anything the rest of the 5bdays. Thank you for ur advice I appreciate it
Original post by decorated-instru
I don’t think this is very helpful but I’m in the exact same position as you now on my second application to dentistry with 4/4 pre interview rejections and optometry being my 5th choice even tho it doesn’t feel like the career I was set on. I get your feeling and I feel completely lost too at the moment but if it’s any condolences your not alone and hopefully it all work outs!!
Aw I’m so sorry you relate! I’m wishing you the best hopefully it works out for both of us 💗
Original post by jasmineva3128
I think that it doesn't sound like a good idea to study optometry if that's not what you're passionate about.
If you're struggling with your gap year, you could try finding a (part-time) job or volunteering to fill up some of your time. I know this isn't on the same scale, but I've found that volunteering a couple of days a week during the summer holidays has helped stop me from feeling depressed due to a lack of structure/routine.
If you decide you want to reapply to medicine, you could dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT since you're on a gap year, and having volunteering or a job that you can add to your ps might be useful as you can relate the skills/values you've learned to medicine.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
If you're struggling with your gap year, you could try finding a (part-time) job or volunteering to fill up some of your time. I know this isn't on the same scale, but I've found that volunteering a couple of days a week during the summer holidays has helped stop me from feeling depressed due to a lack of structure/routine.
If you decide you want to reapply to medicine, you could dedicate more time to preparing for the UCAT since you're on a gap year, and having volunteering or a job that you can add to your ps might be useful as you can relate the skills/values you've learned to medicine.
I hope this helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask me. 😊
I actually do work two times a week. I do tutoring at a tuition Centre and I did used to volunteer at the hospital and for this Dentistry presentation thing but after my rejections, I felt so depressed. I kind of gave up with all my volunteering and now I only work, but thank you so much for the advice.
Definitely going to focus more on the ucat because I got a really low score last time and that’s what held me back
Original post by imanhussain
What was your gcses and alevels. Which uni did you applied to ?
Original post by Osterley
So sorry to hear this. As others have said, please don't do Optometry just because you can. My optometrist is amazing but I couldn't do her job- working in an often darkened room is quite a contrast to examining or working in a usually well lit mouth for starters (plus I'm not aware that grades alone get you into Optometry, unless you are sitting on an unconditional offer).
I wonder what you are doing in your 'gap year'? I don't think it helps the mindset to think of the time after A levels as a gap year- it's a reapplication period.
Are you working in dentistry? If not, please please start looking for a job in practice- you'll be paid, get invaluable experience and you'll show your parents that you are absolutely committed to the career. You'll find out whether you really, really want to be a dentist, you'll earn and save money
Also if your feel your UCAT cannot be improved by a third attempt, ensure you are reapplying strategically to the dental schools who don't weigh UCAT as much (use Dental Schools Council booklet and also check each dental school site).
Finally, have you not considered Dental Therapy? They do lots of what a GDP does except extract permanent teeth, root canal work and prepping for crowns veneers etc.
Good luck!
I wonder what you are doing in your 'gap year'? I don't think it helps the mindset to think of the time after A levels as a gap year- it's a reapplication period.
Are you working in dentistry? If not, please please start looking for a job in practice- you'll be paid, get invaluable experience and you'll show your parents that you are absolutely committed to the career. You'll find out whether you really, really want to be a dentist, you'll earn and save money
Also if your feel your UCAT cannot be improved by a third attempt, ensure you are reapplying strategically to the dental schools who don't weigh UCAT as much (use Dental Schools Council booklet and also check each dental school site).
Finally, have you not considered Dental Therapy? They do lots of what a GDP does except extract permanent teeth, root canal work and prepping for crowns veneers etc.
Good luck!
Thank you for your advice, yeah to be honest I only wanted optometry because it’s stable but I don’t really like what the job actually entails. I actually contacted a few unis who said I’d definitely be able to join bc of my grades but again I don’t really want to do it.
I don’t work in a practice, but I have done a lot of work experience and I know that for sure that Dentistry is for me, I have a tutoring job instead which I enjoy and makes okay money
I actually only took the ucat once because I couldn’t apply to Dentistry in year 12 because of my predicted grades. I hope that I do better next time. I had an offer for dental hygiene and therapy last year, but I declined it because I was afraid of the lack of career progression.
Thank you again for replying
Heyy! I can completely understand how you feel, but just as everyone else has said, you should do what you are most passionate about and what will make you feel fulfilled. Its difficult now, but with hardship there is always ease, and sometimes a delay is either to protect you from something you can't see, or to allow you to build on yourself, but it doesnt always mean a rejection from your goal. I know its taken longer than you maybe anticipated, but patience now will provide you with better opportunities later. It might be worth considering applying for a foundation year if you are contextual (definitely check their criteria and contact universities), but plymouth for example do not look at UCAT for their foundation year. I would definitely also advise strategic application as someone else also mentioned, places like Newcastle often emphasise greatly on UCAT from what I have read, but 2600 wasn't far of the cutoff for a lot of places, you might do even better this year without abstract reasoning 🙂 You could also potentially explore any course transfer options similar to how Leicester/Anglia ruskin allow transfer after one year on certain degrees to certain applicants 🙂 I hope everything works out for you!
Reply 14
If ur heart is set on dentistry, u could try applying for a dental hygiene course? It’s in the same field, just less competitive than dentistry and I think the entry requirements are less strict.
Reply 15
Original post by xtras
Thank you for your advice, yeah to be honest I only wanted optometry because it’s stable but I don’t really like what the job actually entails. I actually contacted a few unis who said I’d definitely be able to join bc of my grades but again I don’t really want to do it.
I don’t work in a practice, but I have done a lot of work experience and I know that for sure that Dentistry is for me, I have a tutoring job instead which I enjoy and makes okay money
I actually only took the ucat once because I couldn’t apply to Dentistry in year 12 because of my predicted grades. I hope that I do better next time. I had an offer for dental hygiene and therapy last year, but I declined it because I was afraid of the lack of career progression.
Thank you again for replying
I don’t work in a practice, but I have done a lot of work experience and I know that for sure that Dentistry is for me, I have a tutoring job instead which I enjoy and makes okay money
I actually only took the ucat once because I couldn’t apply to Dentistry in year 12 because of my predicted grades. I hope that I do better next time. I had an offer for dental hygiene and therapy last year, but I declined it because I was afraid of the lack of career progression.
Thank you again for replying
You mentioned that you contacted a few uni, would you mind sharing which unis?
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