Help! Pre-med taking MCAT --> pre-opt

[euphoria0901]

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I was studying the MCAT this summer and am still taking it soon, but along the way, I realized medicine might not be for me. I realized the MCAT took a toll on me, and further into med school with boards, it will honestly worsen for me. For those who took the MCAT, how was it compared to the OAT? I have a solid grasp of science content but MCAT CARS is a weak point for me. How is the reading comp on the OAT in comparison?

Also, considering I want to switch so late, I'm not sure much about the process of applying. I will be graduating in spring 2020, but my pre-reqs fulfilled medicine, not optometry. I have a good GPA at a top public university. If I want to take a gap year, when would I be taking the OAT & applying? I would also have to attend a CC to complete some pre-reqs.

Thanks a lot!

 

[mar2018]

the oat is definitely easier than the mcat.

if you get a solid oat and have a good gpa you could apply nov-jan and still get in

Most of your pre-med requirements will align with the pre opt ones. probably the easiest way for you to see what classes you have/are missing would be to 1. look up on each individuals schools website or 2. start your optomcas app, select the schools you think you'd be interested in, and the required classes might be listed, they might be under the pre-req tab, or they'll be a link for you to find that info on the schools website.

 

[euphoria0901]

I definitely read up a few but couldn't find much about the correlation between OAT reading comp & MCAT CARS in terms of difficulty. I'm thinking of taking a gap year because I have no optometry experience at all and would need to get some shadowing in. With a gap year and I'm graduating spring 2020, when would be a good time to take the OAT?

 

[97thaik]

I definitely read up a few but couldn't find much about the correlation between OAT reading comp & MCAT CARS in terms of difficulty. I'm thinking of taking a gap year because I have no optometry experience at all and would need to get some shadowing in. With a gap year and I'm graduating spring 2020, when would be a good time to take the OAT?

If you graduate in Spring 2020, apply that summer to enter for Fall of 2021. In terms of taking the OAT, you can take it any time between July-Dec to be considered an early applicant.

 

[euphoria0901]

If you graduate in Spring 2020, apply that summer to enter for Fall of 2021. In terms of taking the OAT, you can take it any time between July-Dec to be considered an early applicant.

I'm planning a gap year, so probably would be entering Fall 2022 to gain some experience. I have no optometry experience since I thought I was strictly pre-med. I'm a bit confused about my timeline. I'm graduating Spring 2020, but I won't have pre-reqs done. I'm missing anatomy, physio, and micro, so I would have to complete it summer 2020. Then my gap year would be to gain some optometry experience.
I'd apply then summer 2021 to enter fall 2022.
When would be a good time to take the OAT? Does it matter if I wait after my summer pre-reqs since I'm taking a gap year anyways.

 

[97thaik]

I'm planning a gap year, so probably would be entering Fall 2022 to gain some experience. I have no optometry experience since I thought I was strictly pre-med. I'm a bit confused about my timeline. I'm graduating Spring 2020, but I won't have pre-reqs done. I'm missing anatomy, physio, and micro, so I would have to complete it summer 2020. Then my gap year would be to gain some optometry experience.
I'd apply then summer 2021 to enter fall 2022.
When would be a good time to take the OAT? Does it matter if I wait after my summer pre-reqs since I'm taking a gap year anyways.

How long is your gap year? Because if you graduate in Spring 2020 and not immediately entering Fall 2020 for optometry school, you'd be off from Sept 2020-Sept 2021, assuming that's long enough for you.

The optometry application is not nearly as long as the medical track.

Normally if someone was planning to attend optometry school and was not planning to take a gap year, they would apply during the end of their junior year (entering senior year) in order to enter for the following year without any break from undergraduate and optometry school. They would apply during the summer between junior and senior year. Then they'd go through senior year awaiting interviews, acceptances, etc.

For someone who is planning to take a gap year, you would apply at the end of your senior year/graduation time. So let's say you're graduating in May 2020. You can open your Optomcas account in July 2020 and take up until Dec 2020 to be considered an early applicant. Then during that time Sept 2020-May 2021, you could be shadowing, studying for OAT, etc. Then you'd enter Fall 2021.

If you want to enter Fall 2022, you'd be taking almost two years off. You'd be off Sept 2020-Sept 2021 and then Sept 2021-Sept 2022.

 

[euphoria0901]

How long is your gap year? Because if you graduate in Spring 2020 and not immediately entering Fall 2020 for optometry school, you'd be off from Sept 2020-Sept 2021, assuming that's long enough for you.

The optometry application is not nearly as long as the medical track.

Normally if someone was planning to attend optometry school and was not planning to take a gap year, they would apply during the end of their junior year (entering senior year) in order to enter for the following year without any break from undergraduate and optometry school. They would apply during the summer between junior and senior year. Then they'd go through senior year awaiting interviews, acceptances, etc.

For someone who is planning to take a gap year, you would apply at the end of your senior year/graduation time. So let's say you're graduating in May 2020. You can open your Optomcas account in July 2020 and take up until Dec 2020 to be considered an early applicant. Then during that time Sept 2020-May 2021, you could be shadowing, studying for OAT, etc. Then you'd enter Fall 2021.

If you want to enter Fall 2022, you'd be taking almost two years off. You'd be off Sept 2020-Sept 2021 and then Sept 2021-Sept 2022.

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much. I wasn't sure about the difference between the medical and optometry applications. I am graduating June 2020 and was only planning on one gap year. I will apply the summer after my graduation. I assume to finish my 3 pre-reqs at a CC, it will take me the summer to complete. After my pre-reqs, I would start studying for the OAT. I have a solid foundation currently from MCAT studying but would need some time to brush up on the different exam type.
So sorry for all the questions, but would you suggest taking the OAT earlier, like end of 2020 in the event I need a retake? If I were to take it later, how would it work in terms of sending my OAT score after sending in applications?

 

[97thaik]

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much. I wasn't sure about the difference between the medical and optometry applications. I am graduating June 2020 and was only planning on one gap year. I will apply the summer after my graduation. I assume to finish my 3 pre-reqs at a CC, it will take me the summer to complete. After my pre-reqs, I would start studying for the OAT. I have a solid foundation currently from MCAT studying but would need some time to brush up on the different exam type.
So sorry for all the questions, but would you suggest taking the OAT earlier, like end of 2020 in the event I need a retake? If I were to take it later, how would it work in terms of sending my OAT score after sending in applications?

Sure no problem!

The OAT is less vigorous than the MCAT for sure. The exam is about 5 hours compared to the 8 for the MCAT. Normally, most students are considered "early" applicants when applying within the July-Dec range. Students are still able to get in even after that since it's a rolling admissions, but your competition increases as spots get filled during the "early" range. The OAT has a 90 day bar for retakes so taking it early will give you a chance to retake if need. I would suggest studying for about 2-3 months depending on how you feel as a student. Depending on your pre-reqs, I would begin studying a little for it during the summer and aim to take the OAT around Sept-Nov. If you need to retake, you can send in your scores after you submit your application so that you can still be considered early. It's up to you if you want to be considered an early applicant or if you're okay with submitting a little later on. You have to gauge that as a student based on your capability to study for a large exam, your grades, and how strong of an applicant you think you are.

To send OAT scores, when you're registering for the OAT, you have the option to pick what schools you want to send the scores to, free of charge. You can send them to all 21~ ish schools (i forget the exact number) or you can pick and choose. I recommend you just send all of the schools because that way, you can apply to any school freely if you change your mind later about what programs to do. I only sent them to three so if I wanted a fourth school, I'd have to pay a fee to send it since I didn't choose it in the beginning.

 

[guacamolly]

This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much. I wasn't sure about the difference between the medical and optometry applications. I am graduating June 2020 and was only planning on one gap year. I will apply the summer after my graduation. I assume to finish my 3 pre-reqs at a CC, it will take me the summer to complete. After my pre-reqs, I would start studying for the OAT. I have a solid foundation currently from MCAT studying but would need some time to brush up on the different exam type.
So sorry for all the questions, but would you suggest taking the OAT earlier, like end of 2020 in the event I need a retake? If I were to take it later, how would it work in terms of sending my OAT score after sending in applications?

Hey I just wanted to share my perspective about a possible timeline. This is just what i would plan to do and in no way the "right way" to do it! Feel free to combine this plan with someone else's idea or ignore it completely, i just wanted to share a different perspective.

If I were you I would take this senior year (now-may 2020) to finish your school year and begin gaining experiences. A lot of my sahdowing/volunteering happened on my school breaks. I was also fully pre-med for my first two years and I found that most experiences (like volunteering and clubs and leadership) carried over and the only thing that really didn't was shadowing. Also keep in mind that the shadowing requirements for optometry are way less than for medicine. Most schools only wanted like 20-30 as long as you saw a variety of practices and had quality experiences. (You should double check that with the schools you want to go to!)

Then summer (may 2020-August 2020) I would study for the oat and continue gaining valuable experiences. This summer will give you a lot of free time and allow you to put time and effort into studying while also having the freedom to schedule in other experiences like shadowing or volunteering or part time work if you need to financially (I know I did!). the only pre-req you are missing that would be on the oat would be physiology, as micro and anatomy are not on the test. Personally, I think the oat physiology is fairly straightforward and can be learned as long as you put in the time. There are also loads of great videos and things online to help with that subject. I personally chose to take the oat in the summer so that if I needed a retake, it could still happen early in the application process and my application would still be early if I submitted by December.

Then whenever you finish the oat I would begin the application process. The great thing about pre-reqs is that the aren't required to apply, as long as you finish them before you start school. You can indicate that you are currently taking/planning to take the pre reqs. The goal would be to submit your application before Thanksgiving, with earlier being better.

Then Fall 2020 (August 2020-December 2020) I would begin taking the pre-requisites. As long as your grades aren't dramatically lower than previous grades, taking pre-reqs during your application year should not have any affect. Also double check the pre-reqs for the schools you want to go to. I personally did not take anatomy and didn't want to, so I just didn't apply to schools that required it. At the same time though, I had a really good physiology class so I felt okay without it.

Like I said, this is just what I would do personally, and you should do whatever you think would be best for you! Just wanted to share my perspective. 🙂

 

[dht0808]

I was studying the MCAT this summer and am still taking it soon, but along the way, I realized medicine might not be for me. I realized the MCAT took a toll on me, and further into med school with boards, it will honestly worsen for me. For those who took the MCAT, how was it compared to the OAT? I have a solid grasp of science content but MCAT CARS is a weak point for me. How is the reading comp on the OAT in comparison?

Also, considering I want to switch so late, I'm not sure much about the process of applying. I will be graduating in spring 2020, but my pre-reqs fulfilled medicine, not optometry. I have a good GPA at a top public university. If I want to take a gap year, when would I be taking the OAT & applying? I would also have to attend a CC to complete some pre-reqs.

Thanks a lot!

Hi, I took the MCAT and the OAT and from my experience the reading comprehension section was a lot easier than the CARS section. For my OAT exam, they asked a lot of detail questions that can be answered by finding the exact quote from the text. I didn't have questions comparing author's points of views or tone. No "what would the author most likely agree/disagree with" questions or any of that on my OAT like the mcat CARS section. It was a more "find the answer to this question from the passage" than interpreting things from the passage. For my OAT, i did the search and destroy strategy and didnt read the passage as a whole, but instead read the question and searched for the answer. I struggled with the CARS section as well on the MCAT, but i did really well on the OAT RC. I'm a slow reader so I was worried, but it turned out to be one of my best sections! I'm sure you'll do great and good luck! PM me if you have any more questions. I'm also a pre-med student that switched to pre-opt.