I applied to optometry school as an out-of-state student during the summer of 2020, right in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, unfortunately I was unable to visit the optometry schools I applied to; however, I still managed to pick the school that fit me best, and here’s how I did it!
My name is Supanat Sritapan, but I also go by Soup. I am a first generation graduate school student who immigrated from Thailand to America when I was 10 years old. Although growing up on the other side of the globe affected how I navigated through the U.S. education system, I was still able to find my way here to SCCO.
I’m an international student so moving to foreign countries is second nature to me! Beginning a professional program is difficult and nerve wracking on its own. It is even more overwhelming when you have to pack up your life and move across oceans to turn your dreams into reality.
Growing up in the cultural melting pot of Southern California, I found comfort in my cultural and ethnic identity because it helped me define myself. As a child of Egyptian immigrants with agricultural roots, hard work and resilience were core values that enriched my environment through multiple outlets that contributed to my overall development.
When I was two years old, my parents noticed that my left eye had an involuntary turning in that my right eye didn’t share. My eyes didn’t yoke together and work as a team. One trip to the eye doctor, and I had my very first pair of glasses.
I haven’t known a life with uncorrected vision with eyeglasses, and I couldn’t be more thankful for this fact. Vision has always been an interest of mine, even when I thought my life was taking a different path during my undergraduate program. However, when I had the amazing opportunity to work as an optician, I knew that a career in eyecare was the right path.
Lots of Other Things On Your Plate While Studying for the OAT? Here’s My Advice from SCCO Student Ambassador, Kaitlyn Tsou
Are you planning to attend optometry school and are in the process of researching the various optometry programs and what they offer their students? Designed with the pre-optometry student in mind, here is a video presentation describing the features and benefits of the Southern California College of Optometry’s […]
Given our current situation with COVID-19, I am republishing this article because is has renewed relevance as an accepted shadowing practice. In many ways, there is even more to be learned by interviewing an optometrist than by the mere passive observation of the traditional shadowing experience.
Here’s an article written by a young man who was accepted into our incoming class for this fall. Its overarching message describes how he went about the decision-making and even more importantly, how he dealt with the inherent anxiety in that process. By way of endorsement and from […]
As SCCO Admissions, we have reviewed thousands of applications and have developed expectations for essential elements that we look for in competitive applicants—those who will qualify to advance in SCCO’s admissions process. The most fundamental explanation of SCCO’s admissions process is that it has two serial qualifying rounds. […]
Eryn Kraning, Senior Director of Recruiting and Admissions, SCCO
Jane Ann Munroe, OD, Assistant Dean of Admissions, SCCO
Mari Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Admissions
Optometry Admissions Blog 