Acceptance w/low GPA...yet high OAT scores??

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MommyOpt

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Hi,
I know of people that have gotten accepted to optometry school with a low gpa but have offset that by scoring high on the OAT. I want to know if anyone reading this has accomplished just that.
The biggest drawback (and what I am curious about the most) is how to do great on the OAT, yet have a low gpa therefore apparently not have fully learned the foundation subjects to which the OAT is comprised of?
Just to think of getting an old general bio. or chem. book and relearning (or learning) everything in the book seems unnessessary, difficult,and ultimately useless; retaking the courses seems enlighting compared to that. Thing is I don't want to have to do that.
So does anyone know how it is possible to have a low gpa yet do exceptional on the OAT? How does one study for the OAT without having the basic knowledge of the contents? Any books out there that go over the subjects in detail yet only cover the parts that will be covered on the exam?
Any tips or help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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So you have a low GPA (how low?) and you want to do excellent on the OAT without any knowledge of the material? You don't want to learn from the old books AND you don't want to retake the classes again? I'm not sure how you plan on pulling this off.
 
eyestrain said:
So you have a low GPA (how low?) and you want to do excellent on the OAT without any knowledge of the material? You don't want to learn from the old books AND you don't want to retake the classes again? I'm not sure how you plan on pulling this off.
Click to expand...


Good Point.
My overall gpa is 2.9, but all I'm wondering is if taking the classes all over again is the best alternative, because even in those classes, not every single one of the subjects in the 2 ton textbook was covered.
I just don't want to waste time.
Just asking if there are any study aids with overview of material being covered on the test, and with that, I could use as a guide to study with; or study tips nonetheless.

Thanks for the mockery. :thumbup:
 
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I wasn't mocking you at all. You yourself said the follwing: "apparently not have fully learned the foundation subjects to which the OAT is comprised of." Then went on to say that you don't want to go back to school or learn from old textbooks. There are several OAT study guides out there, I'm sure someone else will post about them, but without a good grasp on the concepts I'm not sure they'll help much. Keep in mind that with a 2.9 GPA (I won't get started on the GPA subject), you're going to have to blow the OAT out of the water to get into optometry school. Ultimately, I think its in your best interest to retake a few classes and get that GPA up, and by doing so get a better grasp on the OAT material.
 
What was your degree in? If it was in the science field, why don't you try to get into grad school, and prove yourself there? Trust me, the classes in a master's program will be closer to optometry school than undergrad classes. You must maintain a B average to stay in grad school. At least I did. Is that a consideration for you? Try finding a one year master's program and apply after your first semester after you have a (hopefully) higher GPA. Just a suggestion. Good luck!!
 
MommyOpt said:
Hi,
I know of people that have gotten accepted to optometry school with a low gpa but have offset that by scoring high on the OAT. I want to know if anyone reading this has accomplished just that.
The biggest drawback (and what I am curious about the most) is how to do great on the OAT, yet have a low gpa therefore apparently not have fully learned the foundation subjects to which the OAT is comprised of?
Just to think of getting an old general bio. or chem. book and relearning (or learning) everything in the book seems unnessessary, difficult,and ultimately useless; retaking the courses seems enlighting compared to that. Thing is I don't want to have to do that.
So does anyone know how it is possible to have a low gpa yet do exceptional on the OAT? How does one study for the OAT without having the basic knowledge of the contents? Any books out there that go over the subjects in detail yet only cover the parts that will be covered on the exam?
Any tips or help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

2.9 isnt a low score that will prevent you from doing well on the OAT.
2.9=3.0 (approx) which is a B average, I think.

What I would do is retake a few classes in which you got a C in and that should boost you're GPA since most optometry schools take the higher grade of a repeated course. Then, study hard for the OAT by doing several example tests; purchase them if you have to.

good luck- also the interview will be somewhat of a determining factor for you're acceptance into optometry school.
 
i think it really depends on your experience and personality, and how well you craft your essays/personal statements.

I applied with a 2.9 something pre-req GPA (i'm not a science major), and i had 340 AA and TS, which are pretty average, I believe. I've been accepted to 2 schools so far, and received interviews at all 4 that I applied to. SOOOO, it can be done. and i KNOW i didn't blow my OATs out of the water.

I say, don't waste time re-taking classes, but study hard for the OATs and get as much experience, letters of recommendation, and spend a lot of time writing your essays. good luck!
 
Mommyopt

I was in a very similar situation. My GPA is ~2.9, and I had taken so many classes that it was too hard to bring that up. It is definitely possible to do well on the OAT even without remembering anything from school. I took the OAT after almost a 2 year break from school and scored TS:390 AA:390. What I would suggest is to get the Kaplan Review book as that covers all the concepts in one huge >1000 page book. But read through that and you'll learn most everything that will be on the test except Bio as I found that bio on the OAT was quite random. For icing, get the OAT destroyer to pound out questions. Of course your time is limited now if you're applying for 2008 so you should expect to spend about 4-5 hours a day for 1-2 months straight to do well. As long as you have the dedication than you can do well. I hope that helps.
 
Not everyone will agree with the advice I gave about getting into grad school. I would never retake classes. You are then working towards nothing. If you don't get in your first time around at least you won't be sitting idle. As I said , master's classes would be closer to opt school than retaking undergrad classes. Prove you can handle a higher level. Just a suggestion. Again, good luck to you.
 
gochi said:
...good luck- also the interview will be somewhat of a determining factor for you're acceptance into optometry school.
Click to expand...
I would echo this statement. You will need to be prepared to reconcile your low GPA with your high OAT scores. Instead of impressing the admissions board, think of it more like "showing your cards." You're going to need to explain why you'd make a good optometrist, and demonstrate the knowledge you have of the profession. "Why optometry?" is a question you'll really have to believe in, and this should come through in your essay as well.

I would say that colleges would like students like these--smart people can be come good optometrists, but you should be prepared to work at the level of those people with high GPAs and low OATs. This is because the foundation courses (Anatomy, Histology, etc.) require more study skills/work ethic than they do intelligence.
 
MommyOpt said:
Good Point.
My overall gpa is 2.9, but all I'm wondering is if taking the classes all over again is the best alternative, because even in those classes, not every single one of the subjects in the 2 ton textbook was covered.
I just don't want to waste time.
Just asking if there are any study aids with overview of material being covered on the test, and with that, I could use as a guide to study with; or study tips nonetheless.

Thanks for the mockery. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

I know many people who got in opt school with 2.9 or less CGPA's. You're not wasting time applying.
 
Say there are 1000 applicants, would you guys believe that the admissions comittee actually reads them thoroughlly ?

A masters is a good way to prove you can handle Optometry school- but if you did'nt do well in undergrad just because you didnt like you're major etc. than In my opinion completing a masters would be more difficult than completing optometry school.
 
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MommyOpt said:
Hi,
I know of people that have gotten accepted to optometry school with a low gpa but have offset that by scoring high on the OAT. I want to know if anyone reading this has accomplished just that.
The biggest drawback (and what I am curious about the most) is how to do great on the OAT, yet have a low gpa therefore apparently not have fully learned the foundation subjects to which the OAT is comprised of?
Just to think of getting an old general bio. or chem. book and relearning (or learning) everything in the book seems unnessessary, difficult,and ultimately useless; retaking the courses seems enlighting compared to that. Thing is I don't want to have to do that.
So does anyone know how it is possible to have a low gpa yet do exceptional on the OAT? How does one study for the OAT without having the basic knowledge of the contents? Any books out there that go over the subjects in detail yet only cover the parts that will be covered on the exam?
Any tips or help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...

I have a 3.1 GPA, which is below average at both the schools I applied to. But I got a 350 AA 360 TS on the OAT. I studied from the big Kaplan book, except for physics, I used my class notes for that. The physics in Kaplan was a little overwhelming to me.
 
Guys relax. So what if P.R. accepts students with lower GPA and OAT scores compared to here. You are all making it sound like admission to Optometry School is impossible or extremely difficult more than ever.
Some of you, just think too highly of yoursleves. Fine, we are doctors, OD's, and provide a valuable service to the public and truly help people in every sense but remember we are not retinal surgeons or neurosurgeons.
Geeeeeeeee, some of you coat our profession like we are gods or something. Give it a break. In my opinion, there are not many people interested in Optometry School compared to medical or Dental School, so let's get off our high white horse!
 
hello07 said:
Guys relax. So what if P.R. accepts students with lower GPA and OAT scores compared to here. You are all making it sound like admission to Optometry School is impossible or extremely difficult more than ever.
Some of you, just think too highly of yoursleves. Fine, we are doctors, OD's, and provide a valuable service to the public and truly help people in every sense but remember we are not retinal surgeons or neurosurgeons.
Geeeeeeeee, some of you coat our profession like we are gods or something. Give it a break. In my opinion, there are not many people interested in Optometry School compared to medical or Dental School, so let's get off our high white horse!
Click to expand...

People with sub 300 OATs and sub 3.0s should not be getting into optometry school, period. I understand this isn't brain surgery, but it does require at least a little intellect and if you can't pull off a B in undergrad or can't even manage to get the "average" on the OAT, you shouldn't be in optometry school. Sorry. And with the new schools opening, this is only going to get worse. I know I'm about to get flamed by the "I'm a really hard worker" and "I really want to be an OD" crowd, so have at it.
 
Although I agree that on the surface a person with a sub--3.0 GPA and low OAT scores probably is not optometry school material there are many exeptions to this. In your circumstance I would do the following:

1) get a 340 or higher overall oat score with no one section being below 320----you have something to prove to the admissions committees here.

2) take a few 4-6 graduate level science courses (neuroanatomy, pharmacology, gross anatomy, radiologic anatomy--radiology, etc) to show "academic credibility" to the admissions committees. Repeating undergrad courses will not help you very much.
----remember the national matriculant average in optometry for GPA is 3.43 and the OAT is close to a 330.
I knew a person with a 2.8 GPA who slacked off in undergrad, woke up after he graduated, took a year of graduate anatomy maintaining a 3.6 GPA, and with the kaplan prep program got a 350 on the OAT. He got in to 3 out of 7 schools he applied for. A relative of mine with a 3.07 undergrad GPA took 6 graduate science courses--got A's or B's in all of them, got a 30 on the MCAT (decent score) and got accepted to 3 osteopathic medical schools (DO schools have a similar level of difficulty of admissions with optometry schools-----3.44 National average for matriculants for Osteopathic medicine (ACOMAS) versus 3.43 National average for matriculants for Optometry(Opted.org). Work hard and show those schools you can do it. In my class I know of two people who had low GPA'a in undergrad (3.03 and 2.89) who are kicking butt now because they started working hard and changed thier attitudes.

REMEMBER---when you start optometry school everyone starts with a clean slate and nobody gives a rat's ass what your GPA was coming in because you are all in the same place now!!!!

Good luck.....
 
Puerto Rico is a statistical anomaly when compared to the other optometry schools---if you take them out of the equation, the matriculant GPA average goes up to 3.45 or so......Optometry school is competitive to gain admissions (I know it took me two tries! lol) I took graduate courses for a year and did extremely well to make myself more competitive. Everyone here is wondering about these new schools but the fact is there are plenty of applicants out there that are in the 3.5 range or higher and with the plethora of prep programs (such as Kaplan) ---with good OAT scores. The students now I feel collectively are of better quality than they were 5-10 years ago. The future for optometry is good. :thumbup:
 
Congratulations Oculomotor for being in Optometry school. Can you tell me which school you are in. What was your overall undergraduate GPA? science and non-science GPA? What did you score on your OAT's?
took you 2 tries to gain admission? Did you apply to NECO, PCO, ICO, NOVA?
Can you tell me "why do you feel the students are of better quality today than they were 5-10 years ago?"
 
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