Does being a Optometrist require a lot of math ?!
Question: I think I want to be a Optometrist , and I am just curious to know if they have to be really good at math , because i'm not too great at math.
Thank you :)
Answers: I think I want to be a Optometrist , and I am just curious to know if they have to be really good at math , because i'm not too great at math.
Thank you :)
My brother is an optometrist and I doubt he uses math in the real world. Like anything else, any math that must be done is done automatically on the computer. You will need physics - or at least the optics part - to get through school, even though you will never design or grind a lens. Check the admission requirements. I was REQUIRED to take calculus to get into dental school. It has been 36 years since I started dental school and I can tell you that I never once had to determine the area under a curve! The only reason for the requirement that I could ever figure out was to serve as sort of a screening tool. If you couldn't pass calculus, you were going to have trouble with some of the technical courses in dental school. If you COULD pass it, you should be able to do okay in dental school
Look at the admission requirements NOW so you will have an idea where you might need some help.
In fact, here's one: http://www.pco.edu/optometry/od_admissio... This is where my brother went. I see that they "recommend" a full year of calculus fro admission, but only really require ? year of math. It is not clear to me if they require calculus of not, but it is clear that they do require some math as well as statistics, which is more math, for admission.
Yes and no. You don't need to do calculus or anything, but good algebra and geometry skills are needed for the optics classes you will be taking in school.
Lots of things require some maths. Builders, plumbers, architects, factory workers, photographers, optometrists all use some maths. Complicated equations are done on calculators or computers mostly. For most things its important to have a understanding of numbers and basic maths.
If maths is an issue for you, study harder, get help, take more classes. Be what you want to be, maths never stopped the high achievers from achieving.........
From this moment you are good at maths.
Take it from someone who is majoring in a scientific field, you will need math. You will probably have to take a lot of biology and chemistry classes. Chemistry is weighted heavily on math. You don't need Calculus, but it will make your life a lot easier if you can take at least one year of it. Biology is not as heavily math dependent, but you still have to have those basic algebra skills. At my college, you have two types of physics classes, one regular, and the other calculus based. Hopefully the college that you go to will have these choices as well.
Don't fret over Calculus. Its not as hard as people say it is. If you get a good teacher, they should go over a lot of the skills that you learned in previous classes and help you understand them. If you can, take AP calculus in high school. If you like it, take the test. If you don't take the test, the colleges will just see the class as any other class and not count it against you.
Good luck!
know, math and numbers still give me fits, yet i can price my work accurately and pretty much determine the footage of a place by simply looking at it... but i take a calculator with me everywhere, too.
my lovely and talented wife can't add a short collumn of figures to save her life and she has two degrees from college.
for some people the math isn't an issue and for some of us it is a big scarey deal, for you i will say "face your fear, it probably isn't as big and scary as it may seem"
Calculus is required for entrance but there is not much math in Optometry School.