Optometry is a technical and complicated academic discipline that requires professionally trained and educated personnel. Optometry generally requires a doctorate in addition to a bachelor’s degree.

1. How to Become an Optometrist without a
Degree
Optometry is a technical and complicated academic discipline
that requires professionally trained and educated personnel.
Optometry generally requires a doctorate in addition to a
bachelor’s degree. But you can become an Optometrist
without a degree. Although it is technically required to
complete three years of undergraduate coursework, most
optometrists have a bachelor’s degree. In addition, most
optometry schools prefer or require you to receive your
undergraduate degree before entering optometry school.
Steps of Becoming an Optometrist:
To qualify for admission into an optometry school, you need
to complete a significant amount of undergraduate
coursework focusing on science subjects including anatomy,
biology, physiology, organic chemistry, and physics.
Optometry school lasts for four years and here is the list of
the tasks or steps that optometrists should complete to join
this profession:
1. Take all college classes necessary for admission into
optometry school.
2. Earn a high undergraduate GPA.

2. 3. Perform well on the Optometry Admission Test (OAT).
4. Shadow at least one optometrist.
5. Get accepted into an accredited optometry school.
6. Take and pass four years of optometry courses.
7. Receive an optometry degree from a reputable school.
8. Consider doing a clinical residency focusing on a specialty
area like an ocular disease.
9. Pass the National Board of Examiners in Optometry Test.
10. Find out if your state requires any other exam.
11. Get a license to practice optometry in your region.
12. Maintain your optometry license via continuing
education courses.
13. Think about securing board certification from the
American Board of Optometry.
14. Serve as a care provider and increase your market ability.
List of Optometry schools and their rankings
The USA is the home to an endless number of institutions
offering different educational programs to local or foreign
students. Several institutions are offering the Optometry
degree. The top 10 Optometry schools in the USA and their
rankings are listed below:
1. University of California-Berkely (2 Optometry Degree
Programs)
2. Nova Southeastern Univerisity (1 Optometry Degree
Program)

3. 3. Ohio University Main-Campus (1 Optometry Degree
Program)
4. University of Alabama-Birmingham (1 Optometry Degree
Program)
5. University of Missouri-St Louis (1 Optometry Degree
Program)
6. University of Houston (1 Optometry Degree Program)
7. Indiana University-Bloomington (1 Optometry Degree
Program)
8. Ferris State University (1 Optometry Degree Program)
9. The University of Incarnate Word (1 Optometry Degree
Program)
10. Midwestern University Downer Grove (1 Optometry
Degree Program)
How many years does it take an Optometrist?
The path required to becoming an Optometrist is not as long
as that of an Ophthalmologist. But it still takes a minimum of
seven to eight years to be an Optometrist. This can be divided
into two portions:
 A student must have completed his Bachelor’s Degree
 A Four-year Optometry program
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4. How much does Optometry School cost in the US?
Following is the Cost details for the Optometry program in the
US for residents and non-residents:
 Cost for residents:
Public Optometry school tuition fee (sponsored in part by
state tax dollars) runs for $10,700-$20,200 annually or
$42,400-$74,800 for the complete program.
 Cost for non-residents
Non-residents usually have to pay around $22,400-$43,400
annually or $89,600-$173,600 for the complete program.
Optometrist salary
Optometrists in the USA earn a median salary of
around $115,250 (according to a report in 2019). The best-
paid 25% optometrist made $142,790 in 2019 while the
lowest-paid 25% made $87,780 annually.
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