Guides / Low GPA, W's and Retakes

Low GPA, W's and Retakes

If your transcript has a rough semester, a withdrawal or a retaken course, the first question is how OptomCAS will count it. Here are the rules it publishes and where each school's class lands.

Last checked Nov 2, 2026.

How OptomCAS Counts Your Grades

Schools see the GPAs OptomCAS calculates, not the ones on your transcript. OptomCAS converts every grade to a number, weights it by attempted credits and calculates in semester hours, so its GPA can differ from your school's.

• Repeated courses all count. OptomCAS doesn't recognize a school's forgiveness, academic renewal or grade replacement policy. Every grade earned for a repeated course goes into your GPA.
• A WF counts as an F.
• A plain W: the OptomCAS GPA article doesn't say how it's handled. Ask OptomCAS and the schools you're applying to before you assume either way.
• Pass/fail and other non-graded credits aren't included in your GPAs.
• You get several GPAs: one per school you attended, one per year of college, a cumulative undergraduate GPA, and an overall GPA that includes post-baccalaureate and graduate coursework. There are also GPAs by subject category, such as biology, chemistry and physics.

Retaking a course helps, but not as much as replacing the grade would. With both attempts counted, a retake of the same credits pulls the course toward the new grade by averaging it with the old one. Enter your courses in the GPA calculator to see the effect with every attempt counted.

Where Entering Classes Land

Nationally, applicants accepted somewhere last cycle averaged a 3.56 cumulative GPA and a 3.45 science GPA. These are class averages, not cutoffs, and we don't have the spread around them. Schools also read your OAT, experience and letters. The table runs from the lowest class GPA to the highest.

What You Can Still Do

• Ask each school directly how it treats withdrawals, grade trends and post-bacc coursework. FutureOD hasn't collected a policy for each school, and they differ.
• Check prerequisites. A weak grade in a required course matters more than one in an elective. See the prerequisites by school.
• Use the OAT. A strong score shows you can handle the science on a standardized test. See what a good OAT score is and the retake rules.
• Apply early. Most schools admit on a rolling basis. See whether it's too late to apply.
• Talk to your pre-health advisor before you pay for a post-bacc program or retake classes, and ask which schools they've seen accept applicants with a similar transcript.

Sources

• OptomCAS Applicant Help Center, Calculating Your GPAs
• OptomCAS Applicant Data Report 2024–25
• ASCO, Profile of the 2025 Optometry Entering Class
• Each school's entering class figures come from ASCO's 2025 entering class profile and school pages, linked from each school's page

Requirements and dates change each cycle. Always confirm with each school before you apply.

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