Applying for admission in 2012

[cmec429]

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Figured it'd be useful for those of us who will be applying for optometry school admission in 2012. I have a few questions to start the the ball rolling...

--I plan on taking OAT by the end of August... will be using May-August to study. Any useful materials, resources, etc that any of you would like to share?

--For those of us in the 7 year program with SUNY, does anyone know if it's allowed to apply to other schools as well for either safety or interest?

Thanks!

 

[nc2tarheels]

question 1: OAT Achiever, Math Destroyer, Kaplan Blue book, Kaplan quick sheets, OAT Achiever. That's what I used and I liked it.

question 2: no

 

[cmec429]

Cool thanks... Will definitely give those a try.

Has anyone studied for only 3 months and did well on the first try? Any study methods you all would like to share?

 

[nc2tarheels]

oops, I said OAT Achiever twice. I meant to say OAT Achiever and OAT Destroyer.

 

[Hoffy]

Cool thanks... Will definitely give those a try.

Has anyone studied for only 3 months and did well on the first try? Any study methods you all would like to share?

I studied from October - January and I did decently on my first try - just takes some commitment. About four hours each day maybe 4 days a week (mostly in the evenings). I went section by section using kaplan's mcat and waited to do practice questions in kaplan's oat until after I was finished each section. That should be plenty of time unless you've been away from the material for a long time. Practice your test taking skills, especially with the timer running- that is your biggest enemy! Good luck 🙂

 

[cmec429]

That's great... Practicing with MCAT questions sounds like a good idea. Which specific Kaplan books did you use?

What section of bio do you think is worth spending extra time on studying?

Since it's a computer based exam, I've heard that the reading comprehension is a bit difficult with the scroll bars and placement of passages and questions... Any way to practice this? Also, does the RC section deal only with science based or optometry based passages or it can be of anything?

Thanks!

I studied from October - January and I did decently on my first try - just takes some commitment. About four hours each day maybe 4 days a week (mostly in the evenings). I went section by section using kaplan's mcat and waited to do practice questions in kaplan's oat until after I was finished each section. That should be plenty of time unless you've been away from the material for a long time. Practice your test taking skills, especially with the timer running- that is your biggest enemy! Good luck 🙂

 

[shannon804]

I studied from November- January (while doing other things) and did well on my first try. I'd suggest the giant Kaplan OAT book, and I would not advise you to practice with MCAT questions, which are based on passages and IMO not at all like OAT questions, which tend to be more simple recall than analytical. Something that really helped me on the reading section was to skip the full-screen display of the passage altogether and read through the smaller version that appears with each question-- it helped me to remember (very roughly) where pieces of information were in the passage. Hope that helps.

That's great... Practicing with MCAT questions sounds like a good idea. Which specific Kaplan books did you use?

What section of bio do you think is worth spending extra time on studying?

Since it's a computer based exam, I've heard that the reading comprehension is a bit difficult with the scroll bars and placement of passages and questions... Any way to practice this? Also, does the RC section deal only with science based or optometry based passages or it can be of anything?

Thanks!

 

[coloradosky]

I ended up coughing up a lot of $$ for OAT on demand, I got it on black friday for 200 off, it was $1200.00. I found it more than sufficient. Are we allowed to sell our old kaplan course material? I don't know what else I'd need it for! haha😀

 

[319671]

I ended up coughing up a lot of $$ for OAT on demand, I got it on black friday for 200 off, it was $1200.00. I found it more than sufficient. Are we allowed to sell our old kaplan course material? I don't know what else I'd need it for! haha😀

i bought the kaplan big book off of sdn (haha) and I need help with OAT ochem section. how do you guys approach topics or what are the techniques you choose? i am going to school, so i need to study for classes too. how do you balance?

 

[cmec429]

what is this kaplan big book that everyone seems to be talking about?

i bought the kaplan big book off of sdn (haha) and I need help with OAT ochem section. how do you guys approach topics or what are the techniques you choose? i am going to school, so i need to study for classes too. how do you balance?

 

[Shnurek]

what is this kaplan big book that everyone seems to be talking about?

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=iWrHTbP4FYbZgQeT7unMBA&ved=0CGcQ8gIwAA#

Also here is a useful link: http://optometrystudents.com/study-resources/

 

[quackquack]

For me, I used the big kaplan DAT book + kaplan 2 full length test book. From what I heard it's pretty much the same as the OAT except no physics. Was ok... found some biology parts to be brief, and the math part DEFINITELY not enough.

 

[Shnurek]

O yea I forgot all about the math part. When the math section came up on the OAT I was like WTFFF. It was some crazy calculus stuff and I was totally unprepared. I only scored a 300 also b/c it was the last section and i was getting burnt out. The DAT destroyer did NOT prepare me for the math enough at all. I think they made the math harder recently on the OAT because of the addition of the virtual calculator.

 

[mintyjulep]

O yea I forgot all about the math part. When the math section came up on the OAT I was like WTFFF. It was some crazy calculus stuff and I was totally unprepared. I only scored a 300 also b/c it was the last section and i was getting burnt out. The DAT destroyer did NOT prepare me for the math enough at all. I think they made the math harder recently on the OAT because of the addition of the virtual calculator.

I'm pretty sure that there was no calculus required in the OAT. Just algebra and trig.

 

[Shnurek]

Is it against policy to talk about questions present on the OAT? I would give an example of a question I had. (I took it in September 2010 so I only remember the concept)

 

[imemily]

Is it against policy to talk about questions present on the OAT? I would give an example of a question I had. (I took it in September 2010 so I only remember the concept)

No, it's not 😀

Feel free to express yo' self!

 

[Shnurek]

"OAT Copyrights It is a copyright violation to post questions from the OAT. You are welcome to discuss the OAT and questions that are similar, but not the specific questions from the test.

Don't put your career in jeopardy, please do not post specific questions from the OAT."

Specific measurements and possible answers are omitted. Conceptual reference of a similar question only.




There is a wooden plank a certain length. A cable is attached at both ends of the plank. The center of the cable is a certain number of feet from the plank. The cable is curved along the length of the plank. What is the length of the cable?

Now what category of math does this fall under?


PS- I think this thread ended up being more relevant in the OAT Discussions section of the forums.

 

[319671]

for the math section, i got a 290. becausei couldnt answer 10 questions!


if you only have a short time to study, how do you approach ocheM? a lot of my professors say they cant help!

 

[mintyjulep]

"OAT Copyrights It is a copyright violation to post questions from the OAT. You are welcome to discuss the OAT and questions that are similar, but not the specific questions from the test.

Don't put your career in jeopardy, please do not post specific questions from the OAT."

Specific measurements and possible answers are omitted. Conceptual reference of a similar question only.




There is a wooden plank a certain length. A cable is attached at both ends of the plank. The center of the cable is a certain number of feet from the plank. The cable is curved along the length of the plank. What is the length of the cable?

Now what category of math does this fall under?


PS- I think this thread ended up being more relevant in the OAT Discussions section of the forums.

Without more details in the question, I'm picturing a half circle as the shape of the cable. If you know the diameter, you can easily figure out half the circumference. If it's an ellipse with two different diameters, you can still figure out half the circumference, but it would be a little more challenging (looked up the formula for circumference of an ellipse - The formula is PI * SquareRoot of 2 * ((1/2 long axis)squared + (1/2 short axis)squared). Either way, I'd say the category is Algebra II.

 

[Shnurek]

ahhhhh, never thought of it that way, thanks. I guess that's why I only got a 300 lolz

Also I didn't take math since freshman year of college :X

But the DAT Destroyer def did not prepare me adequately for the math section, o well I still got into the school I wanted to so no biggie.

 

[imemily]

ahhhhh, never thought of it that way, thanks. I guess that's why I only got a 300 lolz

Also I didn't take math since freshman year of college :X

But the DAT Destroyer def did not prepare me adequately for the math section, o well I still got into the school I wanted to so no biggie.

I don't really get why the QR is mostly algebra, since pre-reqs consist of Calculus only.

I'd be much happier doing derivations and integrations than some weird math problem!

 

[quackquack]

I can't do math without a calculator at all, despite the fact I have never gotten below a 95 in any non-calculus course. I don't know why, I just can't - I'm the type that needs to sit and think about the question. When I'm not given that luxury, I guess I panic. But the important thing is to get over 300 though 😀 you can not give a damn after that.