I'm a first timer OAT taker!! questions...

daryts09

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hey all,

man, I read a lot of threads saying that ppl are worried that november is too late to take the OAT's -- I'm not doing mine until mid January! But I'm taking the computerized one so it only takes about 2 weeks for all the schools im applying to to receive my scores -- the deadlines aren't until Feb so although I'm waiting until the last minute do you think it will really matter?

ALso, ...let me get this straight -- the OAT score range is between 200-400 and I'm told if you get a 300 or better that it should be fine.. what are your opinions on that?? Any words of wisdom from those who've had experience?

Thanks!!

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daryts09 said:
hey all,

man, I read a lot of threads saying that ppl are worried that november is too late to take the OAT's -- I'm not doing mine until mid January! But I'm taking the computerized one so it only takes about 2 weeks for all the schools im applying to to receive my scores -- the deadlines aren't until Feb so although I'm waiting until the last minute do you think it will really matter?

ALso, ...let me get this straight -- the OAT score range is between 200-400 and I'm told if you get a 300 or better that it should be fine.. what are your opinions on that?? Any words of wisdom from those who've had experience?

Thanks!!

I think you will have enough time if you take it mid January. If you ask the admissions directly, I'm sure they'll give you an honest answer as to if it's fine. I think as long as you write it a decent amount of time before the deadline, you'll be alright.

Yes, 200-400 is the scale, scores are given out compared to everyone else that takes the OAT (in the same year, i believe). It goes in increments of 10, and each score is associated with a certain standing among all of the people that took it. For example, I got a 360 for my year, which means I'm in the top 10ish%. So 300 is about the top 20ish %? The OAT score report sheet tells you the exact brackets on it. I don't have it with me, so I can't confirm.. sorry.
 
daryts09 said:
hey all,

man, I read a lot of threads saying that ppl are worried that november is too late to take the OAT's -- I'm not doing mine until mid January! But I'm taking the computerized one so it only takes about 2 weeks for all the schools im applying to to receive my scores -- the deadlines aren't until Feb so although I'm waiting until the last minute do you think it will really matter?

ALso, ...let me get this straight -- the OAT score range is between 200-400 and I'm told if you get a 300 or better that it should be fine.. what are your opinions on that?? Any words of wisdom from those who've had experience?

Thanks!!

The average OAT scores for accepted students is around 330 for most schools.
 
300 is considered average performance for the OAT. From what I have seen, most schools encourage those with scores of 310-320 or lower to take the OAT again. This probably helps with their stats but also helps the applicant to become eligible for more scholarships, etc. My AA was 340 and it was listed on my score report as 82.9th percentile, meaning 82.9% of those who took the test score 340 or below (only 17.1% scored higher).

The range of scores is 200-400, but the scoring varies according to each test. I sold the Kaplan OAT book that I had, but it gave a scoring key which showed how many you'd have to get correct in order to get a perfect score (or any given score). You can miss a certain number of answers and still score a 400, but that number depends on the test.

So basically 300 is the mid-level score. I had a 300 the first time I took the test and didn't get in to any schools. I retook in October by computer, got a 340 AA, had interview at SCO on Nov. 11, and accepted by Nov. 21. If I were in your shoes, I would shoot for something over 320.

I received these stats from SCO from their entering classes:

Year - Avg. OAT - Range
2005 - 327 - 300 to 380
2004 - 325 - 300 to 380
2003 - 325 - 300 to 370
2002 - 324 - 300 to 360
2001 - 324 - 300 to 380

The mean scores by category for the SCO 2005 entering class:

AA - 327, QR - 322, RC - 351, Phys - 320, Bio - 318, Chem - 323, Org Chem - 327

They also had a breakdown of score by students from their Regional Seats:

State - Mean OAT AA - Mean GPA
Arkansas - 328 - 3.61
Georgia - 333 - 2.98
Kansas - 333 - 3.83
Kentucky - 330 - 3.61
Louisiana - 320 - 3.44
Mississippi - 315 - 3.50
Nebraska - 328 - 3.89
North Carolina - 331 - 3.31
South Carolina - 330 - 3.34
Tennessee - 332 - 3.65
West Virginia - 327 - 3.33

Regional - 328 - 3.50
Non-Regional - 326 - 3.36
 
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That's so weird. My AA was a 340 too, but had a 94 percentile. I think it varies from test center to test center.
 
yup, i think so. because my AA was 350 and i had a 92 percentile. :thumbup:

3eb4me said:
That's so weird. My AA was a 340 too, but had a 94 percentile. I think it varies from test center to test center.
 
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