Application Process

Optometry’s centralized application service (OptomCAS) is an efficient and convenient way to apply to multiple optometry programs using a single web-based application. It eliminates the need for duplicate transcripts and letters of recommendation for students applying to more than one school or college.

The OptomCAS application typically opens in July of a given admission cycle and closes in June of the next year.

It is best to apply as early as possible and therefore students should strive to complete all of their primary and secondary applications before the end of October. Deadlines are determined by the individual optometry schools, not by OptomCAS. Each optometry school determines what is required by their deadline date. It is the applicant’s responsibility to research each program’s deadlines before submitting their OptomCAS application.

Through OptomCAS, applicants will submit:

• A properly completed application for admission and application fee
• Official transcripts from all colleges attended
• Letters of recommendation

Most optometry programs will also have their own supplemental applications.

You’ll be invited for an interview if after the admission office reviews your application materials they believe you are a good fit for their institution.  For information on the interview, please see the following link. Here is a reenactment of an interview at the Southern California College of Optometry.

For more information about OptomCAS, please visit the OptomCAS website at www.optomcas.org.