Anyone receive interviews before taking the OAT?

[London22]

I submitted in November and have heard back from a couple schools about how they are waiting for the rest of my materials. (OAT will be taken soon, LORs were recently finished)

Anyone know if they might extend interviews before OAT or how long after receiving your scores they will reach out to you? In a couple more weeks I will be sending over my unofficial scores to speed things up.

My background:
I take my OAT in 2 weeks. (really nervous about it because I've been out of college for 2 years. Orgo and Physics are messing with my confidence, ugh)
I have really strong LORs that were very recently finished up and submitted by my evaluators. 2 are from science faculty heads from my college and 1 is from an optometrist I work with who is very well known.
My GPA is not stellar. 3.15 overall, Science is a 3.0
I have volunteer work in other countries and ~4,000 hours of optometry work experience total. (total of ~4 years)

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[LUC78]

Where did you apply?
I'm in the same boat, my science GPA is similar to yours if not a little lower and im taking my OAT next week as well. I applied mid October and got an interview from ICO recently. I found a couple old threads about this that may help, you just have to search the forum.

 

[London22]

Thanks! I applied to NECO, NOVA, SCO, SUNY, Salus and MCPHS. I felt that was a lot lol. I was really indecisive with all the school choices.
When is your interview with ICO?

 

[LUC78]

I actually interviewed a couple weeks ago and they told me I'd be on hold until my scores came in. From what Ive gathered I know SALUS also sends out interviews before the OAT. There were quite a few threads on that.

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

I don't have OAT scores yet. I interviewed with PCO last week and got an acceptance email yesterday! Any possible provisions will be noted in my formal acceptance letter.

 

[LUC78]

I don't have OAT scores yet. I interviewed with PCO last week and got an acceptance email yesterday! Any possible provisions will be noted in my formal acceptance letter.

Congrats! Do you mind me asking what your stats were?

 

[London22]

I don't have OAT scores yet. I interviewed with PCO last week and got an acceptance email yesterday! Any possible provisions will be noted in my formal acceptance letter.

Congrats! When did you apply?
Im kinda lost on if I should reach out to them or not about my application. I have to reschedule my OAT exam AGAIN because my 1.5 year old kitty went into sudden heart failure due to a rare genetic heart deformity they found he was born with..... my luck has been a nightmare and I just want to get the test over with in January.

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Congrats! Do you mind me asking what your stats were?

My overall undergraduate GPA was around a 3.40 and my science GPA wasn't far from that. I worked as an optician for several years and now I'm a ophthalmic technician at an ophthalmology practice with both ophthalmologists and an optometrist. I have two years experience with medical billing for an optometrist and several hours of shadowing/volunteer.

I decided the field of optometry was right for me and ran with it. I think the admissions staff saw how dedicated/motivated I am. If you show how much the career means to you, I'm sure you'll be attending a program next fall too!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Congrats! When did you apply?
Im kinda lost on if I should reach out to them or not about my application. I have to reschedule my OAT exam AGAIN because my 1.5 year old kitty went into sudden heart failure due to a rare genetic heart deformity they found he was born with..... my luck has been a nightmare and I just want to get the test over with in January.

I believe I applied at the end of October or early November. Did you check to see if your application has been verified? Do you need to reach out to them because you haven't received a response?

 

[London22]

I believe I applied at the end of October or early November. Did you check to see if your application has been verified? Do you need to reach out to them because you haven't received a response?

Yeah my application was verified before the end of November. I submitted mid November but haven't heard anything back other than that they are waiting for my OAT score and LORs.
My letters of recommendation were all submitted mid December. I emailed them after they were submitted to inform them and they replied back saying thank you will update the file. Haven't heard back since. Maybe the fact that my LORs were so late is the hold up on top of missing OAT? I'm thinking maybe I should give them another week?

Other than that my background is pretty similar to yours when it comes to the optom experience, except my GPA is lower at 3.15

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Yeah my application was verified before the end of November. I submitted mid November but haven't heard anything back other than that they are waiting for my OAT score and LORs.
My letters of recommendation were all submitted mid December. I emailed them after they were submitted to inform them and they replied back saying thank you will update the file. Haven't heard back since. Maybe the fact that my LORs were so late is the hold up on top of missing OAT? I'm thinking maybe I should give them another week?

Other than that my background is pretty similar to yours when it comes to the optom experience, except my GPA is lower at 3.15

They probably were waiting to receive either your LORs or OAT scores. Maybe since you had two missing requirements they waited to invite you for an interview. Now that they received your letters, I'm sure you'll be hearing from them. You could always try calling instead of shooting an email?

 

[gemsforyou]

I submitted in November and have heard back from a couple schools about how they are waiting for the rest of my materials. (OAT will be taken soon, LORs were recently finished)

Anyone know if they might extend interviews before OAT or how long after receiving your scores they will reach out to you? In a couple more weeks I will be sending over my unofficial scores to speed things up.

My background:
I take my OAT in 2 weeks. (really nervous about it because I've been out of college for 2 years. Orgo and Physics are messing with my confidence, ugh)
I have really strong LORs that were very recently finished up and submitted by my evaluators. 2 are from science faculty heads from my college and 1 is from an optometrist I work with who is very well known.
My GPA is not stellar. 3.15 overall, Science is a 3.0
I have volunteer work in other countries and ~4,000 hours of optometry work experience total. (total of ~4 years)

I have almost the same exact application as you. Have you heard anything from your schools yet? I am going to give it a shot even though I feel like its too late. Do you think there is any chances of me getting in for the Fall of 2018?

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Hey Brittany! Did you take the OAT before you applied or not? I have to retake the OAT but my GPA is about 3.2 and I have worked as a optometric technician for 3 years at Visionworks, I also work at Vanderbilt Eye Institute as a ophthalmic technician for about a year now. Do you guys think I have a chance of getting in anywhere especially this late? :/ Applications for some schools are still open until june so I think I should give it a shot? I have very strong LORs as well. Everything else is perfect, just my OAT score is not, I'm not a good test taker. :/

I applied without taking my OATs and got a provisional acceptance to PCO. I still haven’t taken my OAT, I need to take them by June 1st.

Did you apply? Or were you waiting to apply until after you retake?

 

[London22]

I have almost the same exact application as you. Have you heard anything from your schools yet? I am going to give it a shot even though I feel like its too late. Do you think there is any chances of me getting in for the Fall of 2018?

What did you get on your OAT? I took it very recently and ended up with an ok score 300TS/300AA. I received 2 interview requests very quickly after emailing my unofficial scores. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to, but so far my 2 interviews are the 1st week of March.
I think my application mainly stood out due to dedication to the field. I think you definitely have a shot with lots of experience!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

What did you get on your OAT? I took it very recently and ended up with an ok score 300TS/300AA. I received 2 interview requests very quickly after emailing my unofficial scores. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to, but so far my 2 interviews are the 1st week of March.
I think my application mainly stood out due to dedication to the field. I think you definitely have a shot with lots of experience!

How did you study for the OAT? I’m so nervous about taking mine. Did you feel well prepared? Or can you offer any advice?

 

[London22]

How did you study for the OAT? I’m so nervous about taking mine. Did you feel well prepared? Or can you offer any advice?

I used mostly Chad's videos! They helped a ton especially for Gen Chem! I hadn't taken Gen Chem in literally 4+ years and scored 330 on that section. I also really liked using the Princeton Review's Cracking the OAT for studying Physics. They had really good practice problems and I ended up scoring above average. I'd say really focus on it especially if it's a weak point because the average Physics score is only a 280. Schools really like to see above that since it's useful for optometry.

I really struggled with time on my test. Nearly half of my answers on QR, Bio, Orgo, and Physics were complete random guesses because I ran out of time. I actually scored way lower than any practice test I ever took. :/ So I would highly recommend getting used to being timed so that you don't end up like me on the real test! It really sucked because I probably would have gotten at-least a 320TS/AA had I managed my time better and not had to guess on so many questions.
Keep practicing as much as you can and I'm sure you'll do great!

PS: PCO still didn't get back to me lol idk what's going on! Are they hard to get ahold of? When I tried calling them last week nobody picked up and I tried twice.

 

[gemsforyou]

What did you get on your OAT? I took it very recently and ended up with an ok score 300TS/300AA. I received 2 interview requests very quickly after emailing my unofficial scores. I'm still waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to, but so far my 2 interviews are the 1st week of March.
I think my application mainly stood out due to dedication to the field. I think you definitely have a shot with lots of experience!

Congrats! Thats a good score, where did you get the interviews at?
Has anyone applied to Kentucky?

 

[JD0911]

Congrats! Thats a good score, where did you get the interviews at?
Has anyone applied to Kentucky?

I interviews at PCO and I got accepted to Kentucky!

 

[London22]

Omg, thats so exciting! Im so happy for you, and dont worry I think you will do great! Just study and manage time is the best advice! I was going to go ahead and apply and than retake my OAT later on.
So you are accepted but just have to take your OAT? How does that work though? So you can take it anytime before June 1st?

Hey if you are planning to retake the OAT for applying this cycle just wanted to say be careful of the OAT deadlines. A lot of the schools require you take it before Feb/March! Only a few schools let you take it up until May/June-ish

Congrats! Thats a good score, where did you get the interviews at?
Has anyone applied to Kentucky?

Thanks! I had invites for NECO and MCPHS so far. Really excited because NECO is one of my top choices

 

[skra7]

I used mostly Chad's videos! They helped a ton especially for Gen Chem! I hadn't taken Gen Chem in literally 4+ years and scored 330 on that section. I also really liked using the Princeton Review's Cracking the OAT for studying Physics. They had really good practice problems and I ended up scoring above average. I'd say really focus on it especially if it's a weak point because the average Physics score is only a 280. Schools really like to see above that since it's useful for optometry.

I really struggled with time on my test. Nearly half of my answers on QR, Bio, Orgo, and Physics were complete random guesses because I ran out of time. I actually scored way lower than any practice test I ever took. :/ So I would highly recommend getting used to being timed so that you don't end up like me on the real test! It really sucked because I probably would have gotten at-least a 320TS/AA had I managed my time better and not had to guess on so many questions.
Keep practicing as much as you can and I'm sure you'll do great!

PS: PCO still didn't get back to me lol idk what's going on! Are they hard to get ahold of? When I tried calling them last week nobody picked up and I tried twice.

I've actually noticed that PCO has become hard to get ahold of. I get pretty late responses to my emails if any, and they sometimes don't pick up their phone calls. But don't worry, it took me about 3 weeks after I sent my OAT scores to hear back about an interview!

 

[London22]

I've actually noticed that PCO has become hard to get ahold of. I get pretty late responses to my emails if any, and they sometimes don't pick up their phone calls. But don't worry, it took me about 3 weeks after I sent my OAT scores to hear back about an interview!

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Omg, thats so exciting! Im so happy for you, and dont worry I think you will do great! Just study and manage time is the best advice! I was going to go ahead and apply and than retake my OAT later on.
So you are accepted but just have to take your OAT? How does that work though? So you can take it anytime before June 1st?

They need “official successful oat scores” by June 1st. They said successful, but didn’t give a score range.

 

[gemsforyou]

Hey if you are planning to retake the OAT for applying this cycle just wanted to say be careful of the OAT deadlines. A lot of the schools require you take it before Feb/March! Only a few schools let you take it up until May/June-ish



Thanks! I had invites for NECO and MCPHS so far. Really excited because NECO is one of my top choices

Thats great!! I really wanted to go to Ohio, Kentucky and MCPHS. But Ohio's deadline is MArch 1 so Ill be too late for that

 

[gemsforyou]

I interviews at PCO and I got accepted to Kentucky!

Oh wow!! Thats great! Congrats, what were your scores like as of GPA/OAT to get into KY??

 

[JD0911]

Oh wow!! Thats great! Congrats, what were your scores like as of GPA/OAT to get into KY??

Thank you!! I have a 310 AA and 3.3 GPA and ALOT of experience, 7 years worth.

 

[gemsforyou]

Thank you!! I have a 310 AA and 3.3 GPA and ALOT of experience, 7 years worth.

Wow! That's great! Do you know if its too late to apply? Or do you think that there will be some seats left?

 

[gemsforyou]

They need “official successful oat scores” by June 1st. They said successful, but didn’t give a score range.

Ohh okay! Well just study hard and do your best and I'm sure you will do just fine! Did you get into any other schools besides that one before taking the OAT?

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Ohh okay! Well just study hard and do your best and I'm sure you will do just fine! Did you get into any other schools besides that one before taking the OAT?

PCO was the only school I submitted an application for! Crazy, I know. Lolol!

 

[gemsforyou]

PCO was the only school I submitted an application for! Crazy, I know. Lolol!

Lol but thats good luck!! Lol im so happy for you!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

So, I just applied to about 8 different schools yesterday. One of them was MCPHS, Salus, and Kentucky.. How long would you say that it usually takes for them to email you back?

I sent in my Optomcas application to PCO on 11/1/17 and Optomcas verified it on 11/3/17. I received an email from PCO 11/6/17 inviting me for an interview. I scheduled my interview and went in on 12/11/17! They sent me a provisional acceptance via email 12/21/17.

 

[gemsforyou]

I sent in my Optomcas application to PCO on 11/1/17 and Optomcas verified it on 11/3/17. I received an email from PCO 11/6/17 inviting me for an interview. I scheduled my interview and went in on 12/11/17! They sent me a provisional acceptance via email 12/21/17.

Oh wow, that was quick timing! Lol, Im just hoping I get something back too from somewhere..

 

[gemsforyou]

I sent in my Optomcas application to PCO on 11/1/17 and Optomcas verified it on 11/3/17. I received an email from PCO 11/6/17 inviting me for an interview. I scheduled my interview and went in on 12/11/17! They sent me a provisional acceptance via email 12/21/17.

Hey, did they send you an email that your application has been viewed and completed? And if invited for an interview, they will send you another email?

 

[Biochemy]

Hey if you are planning to retake the OAT for applying this cycle just wanted to say be careful of the OAT deadlines. A lot of the schools require you take it before Feb/March! Only a few schools let you take it up until May/June-ish



Thanks! I had invites for NECO and MCPHS so far. Really excited because NECO is one of my top choices

Congrats!! Do you mind if I DM you with some questions about your school choices?

 

[Biochemy]

They need “official successful oat scores” by June 1st. They said successful, but didn’t give a score range.

Does this mean that you're not on their waitlist, and you're pretty much guaranteed an acceptance pending your your OAT scores? Thanks!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Hey, did they send you an email that your application has been viewed and completed? And if invited for an interview, they will send you another email?

So Salus sent me an email verification the day after they invited me for an interview.

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Yes

Does this mean that you're not on their waitlist, and you're pretty much guaranteed an acceptance pending your your OAT scores? Thanks!

I’m not on the waiting list. I was able to submit a deposit and have a seat held for me.

 

[London22]

Congrats!! Do you mind if I DM you with some questions about your school choices?

Sure!

 

[Brittany Sunshine]

Okay! Im just hoping I will hear back from them on Monday! (crossing my fingers)

Rooting for you!