Pre-Optometry Students: PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

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Since there are many questions that are frequently asked, we can have this thread to answer most of them.

BRAND NEW Pre-Optometry Students (or if you're contemplating going into optometry):
1) For students who have JUST started their pre-optometry information quest, opted.org is the best place to start. Especially the Student and Advisor Information and OAT sections.

2) There are 21 universities and colleges of optometry in the US and Canada (as of 2009). All will grant an OD degree after completion of 4 years. For more information about these schools, please see the following link: Student and Advisor Information. Three of these schools are brand new (pioneer class in 2009) and don't have accreditation yet (Western University of Health Sciences, Midwestern University, and Incarnate Word)

3) Student Profiles, School-specific pre-requisites, and tuition rates

4) The AOA is a place where you can find news & information related to the optometry profession.

5) If you're unsure about whether optometry is right for you, that's OKAY! However, please don't post on this site asking if it's right for you, until you've shadowed an optometrist and done your fair share of independent research.

Learning about the OAT:
6) The OAT is comprised of 6 sections: reading comprehension (RC), quantitative reasoning (QR), biology, general chemistry (GC), organic chemistry (OC), and physics. Bio, GC and OC are combined in one section of 100 questions called the natural sciences section.

7) Scoring: The three most important scores from this test are your reading comprehension, academic average (AA) and your total science (TS) scores. The AA score is the average of all your scores, the TS score is calculated from your natural science section and the physics score. The scoring is from 200-400, and the average score is about 300. It is in your best interest to score above 300.

8) The test is completely computerized and you get your scores immediately after the test is over.

9) To schedule your OAT go to: http://www.prometric.com/default.htm

Applying:
10) The entering class of 2010 marks the start of a centralized application system. You can learn about it here. The service will be available beginning July 15th, 2009.

11) The most competitive candidates will have great GPAs & OAT scores, but will also show they are well rounded with extra curriculars, volunteering and shadowing.

12) MOST of the schools have rolling admissions. It is in your best interest to apply as early in the cycle as possible. Even the most competitive candidates will have a difficult time being accepted at the end of the admissions cycle (i.e. apply as close to July 15th as possible).



That's all I can think of for now. Others feel free to add.

Thanks for posting this, hopefully it will clear up many of the repeated questions asked on this site.
I would also like to add that any student should search for their question before asking, because most of the time it has already been posted multiple times.

Nice post: should be made sticky.

It looks as if the minimum charge of applying, through the "centralized" system, will be $170 (+ $45.00 for each additional school). For someone thinking to apply to just one institution, which charged a $50 application-fee, this totally bites nuts (I suppose, though, for the person who was going to apply everywhere, it's not a bad deal).

I'd like to share something for anyone who has to travel around for interviews:
http://www.makingitclear.com/pages/foldingsuit.html

This basically shows you how to fold a suit so it doesn't wrinkle.
Never check in your interview suit in case it gets lost (especially if you're interview is like the day off or day after your flight)

If it still gets wrinkled, the shower trick mentioned in that link really does work! I've done it successfully like 3 times!

This is a great post, but i think its worth adding What Prep Books you guys used to study for each section and whats available for the OAT (e.g TopScore, Oat Destroyer etc...)

TopScore Pro: Comes in a CD with 3 computerized practice exams; ~$50
OAT Destroyer: Two books with over 170 questions and detailed answers for each section; ~$160
Kaplan: online and in person prep courses; the material includes a 1300 page review text, lecture notes, and online tests and workshops; ~$1200-$1300


The OAT and DAT are very similar (made by the same company), so any prep material for the DAT would be great. Also, MCAT material is also helpful, especially because the DAT doesn't cover physics. Personally, I thought the Kaplan course material was helpful (online and text), but the lecture portion of the course was a waste of time.

If you need a concept review, check out the Kaplan text, or other similar test reviews (such as for the MCAT). If you want practice questions, the Destroyer is awesome (and it's a very reliable company... they accidently sent me the DAT destroyer, then overnighted the right version to make sure I'd get it in time to study for my exam ). If you don't want to spend a lot of money, a lot of people have used their course notes to study and done just fine. The benefit of prep material is that it is more concentrated on the important concepts from each course.



Check out this post for other personal advice:

Originally Posted by thanotoriousfob

Here is what I would recommend:

1.) The Kaplan OAT book (big book) or a recent DAT book will be very good (DAT and OAT have the same questions) place to start.

2.) If you want more in-depth bio and o-chem I suggest the following books: CliffsAP Biology . It is more detailed than the Kaplan material and might be overkill. For O-chem try: Organic Chemistry I As A Second Language . I scored a 380 on the O-Chem just using this book and OAT Destroyer. I didn't even bother going over the Kaplan O-chem. You don't need to get the second book of this series either, I think the first book should be more than enough along with the OAT Destroyer.

3.) Probably the best in terms of challenging you: OAT Destroyer. It's expensive but worth it! If I had to say get one book from all the books I've listed, this is the one!

4.) The OAT Kaplan practice exam. This book is just practice exams and nothing more. It's a good idea to take these because they simulate taking a full-length OAT exam. If you score low, don't worry they are pretty challenging. Physics is much more challenging than the real OAT.

5.) Opted.org free practice exam. Under Step 4.

My strategy is to first go over the Kaplan OAT or DAT book. Have a pretty good grasp of the information. Then go over the OAT Destroyer. Make sure you understand why the wrong answers are wrong! Then close to your exam date, take the practice exams (Kaplan then the Opted.org). When taking the practice exams, try to do emulate doing the exam at the same time you will be doing the real exam. For example, your exam is at 9:00 am. Take the practice exams at 9:00 am during the week(s) prior to your exam. Doing this will help to condition you for the real exam. Go over all the problems and try to understand all the questions and answers, even the wrong ones. The last couple days, don't cram, just relax and you will do great!

"10) The entering class of 2010 marks the start of a centralized application system. You can learn about it here. The service will be available beginning July 15th, 2009."

Whenever I try to click on the link, it says that it is not found.

Originally Posted by 4ndrea

"10) The entering class of 2010 marks the start of a centralized application system. You can learn about it here. The service will be available beginning July 15th, 2009."

Whenever I try to click on the link, it says that it is not found.

I think I fixed it. Only 2 years, 4 months later.