Like what schools applied and got into, GPA, OAT score, extracurricular activities? Thank you. Also how did you guys study for the OAT? I looked at Barnes and Noble website for OAT study guide, but didn't found a lot, except Kaplan and several outdated books.
Is it possible that those who got into Optometry schools this year post their stats?
- Thread starter phuongle2
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I'll try to help.
-I go to school in Canada, so we use percentages rather than GPA's. My average was high 80's. I think I figured out once that my GPA would be around 3.75 to 3.80, but I'm not sure.
-For the OAT, I had 380 AA and 400 TS.
-no extracurriculars
-only school I applied to was Waterloo, who basically just look at marks anyway.
-For OAT preparation, the first thing I did was buy a book that I believe was called "Rudman's OAT Preparation" or something like that. It really doesn't have anything to study off of, but did have hundreds and hundreds of good questions to test myself with. The problem is that they didn't include any explanations of the answers.
The next thing I did was borrow some Kaplan MCAT review books from the library. I read through all the review stuff included in them and did most of the sample MCAT questions (which are harder than the questions on the OAT). I also reviewed by reading the relevant parts in some of the course textbooks that I kept.
Lastly, we had a mock OAT at our school the week before the last written one on October 15.
-I go to school in Canada, so we use percentages rather than GPA's. My average was high 80's. I think I figured out once that my GPA would be around 3.75 to 3.80, but I'm not sure.
-For the OAT, I had 380 AA and 400 TS.
-no extracurriculars
-only school I applied to was Waterloo, who basically just look at marks anyway.
-For OAT preparation, the first thing I did was buy a book that I believe was called "Rudman's OAT Preparation" or something like that. It really doesn't have anything to study off of, but did have hundreds and hundreds of good questions to test myself with. The problem is that they didn't include any explanations of the answers.
The next thing I did was borrow some Kaplan MCAT review books from the library. I read through all the review stuff included in them and did most of the sample MCAT questions (which are harder than the questions on the OAT). I also reviewed by reading the relevant parts in some of the course textbooks that I kept.
Lastly, we had a mock OAT at our school the week before the last written one on October 15.
I'll try and help as well....
I have a 3.5 Science GPA and a BA in Biomedical Science. (My degree was kind of over kill for most Opt school because i have two semester long courses in Anatomy (including cadaver lab), two in Human Phyiology, a year of orgo, and a 400 level bio chem course... most schools dont require this)
Lots of extracurriculars.... and shadowing experience
I got a 340 AA and a 360 Science score on the OAT. My recomendation would be to buy an MCAT review book to refresh on the material. This is a very good review. For example questions you can choose to purchase several OAT question banks that can be found online... or just purchase a DAT one from the book store. Make sure to buy some practice physics problems tho... because these are not tested on the DAT
I was accepted to OSU and Ferris. I turned down interviews at PCO, IU, and ICO.
I have a 3.5 Science GPA and a BA in Biomedical Science. (My degree was kind of over kill for most Opt school because i have two semester long courses in Anatomy (including cadaver lab), two in Human Phyiology, a year of orgo, and a 400 level bio chem course... most schools dont require this)
Lots of extracurriculars.... and shadowing experience
I got a 340 AA and a 360 Science score on the OAT. My recomendation would be to buy an MCAT review book to refresh on the material. This is a very good review. For example questions you can choose to purchase several OAT question banks that can be found online... or just purchase a DAT one from the book store. Make sure to buy some practice physics problems tho... because these are not tested on the DAT
I was accepted to OSU and Ferris. I turned down interviews at PCO, IU, and ICO.
- GPA is 90% (I also go to a Canadian school, so I'm not sure what that is on a 4.0 scale). I have my degree in chemistry
- OAT: 360TS, 360AA. To prepare for the OAT I just studied on my own using my old notes and textbooks.
- Lots of musical-related extracurriculars. I shadowed an optometrist for the summer and have been working in an ophthalmologist's office for the past year
- I was accepted to Waterloo and ICO. I turned down interviews at IU, PCO, and NECO.
- OAT: 360TS, 360AA. To prepare for the OAT I just studied on my own using my old notes and textbooks.
- Lots of musical-related extracurriculars. I shadowed an optometrist for the summer and have been working in an ophthalmologist's office for the past year
- I was accepted to Waterloo and ICO. I turned down interviews at IU, PCO, and NECO.
I'm a non-traditional applicant. I graduated in 1992 (Cum Laude) with a BSci degree in Mathematics. For the last 13 years, I've worked as a Software Engineer (aka computer programmer). About 3 years ago, the "writing code" part of my job was sent to resources in India. At that time, I decided that I needed to change careers in order to survive until retirement age...Optometry has always fascinated me, so I decided to go back to school to be an OD.
Schools Applied To:
GPA: 3.48/3.72 (pre-reqs).
OAT Scores:
OAT preparation: Topscore Pro, Lippincott(?) OAT study guide (dated 2001), review from old text books, etc.
Extracurricular Activities/Awards & Honors:
Schools Applied To:
- SCO--Accepted
- UMSL--Accepted
GPA: 3.48/3.72 (pre-reqs).
OAT Scores:
- Academic Average: 340
- Total Science: 330
- Qualitative Reasoning: 380
- Reading Comprehension: 350
- Physics: 320
- Biology: 330
- Chemistry: 340
- Organic Chemistry: 300
OAT preparation: Topscore Pro, Lippincott(?) OAT study guide (dated 2001), review from old text books, etc.
Extracurricular Activities/Awards & Honors:
- Shadowed two different OD's
- Play bass guitar in the "praise band" at our church
- Regularly participate in "Neighbor Helping Neighbor" at our church
- Serve on "Staff Pastor Parish" committe at our church
- Successfully and consistently meet the demands of a young family, attending school and a full time career in information technology.
- Selection for Kappa Mu Epsilon mathematics honor society.
- Earned several academic scholarships from mathematics department & university.
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- Pre-Optometry
GPA: 3.4/3.5 (pre-reqs); BS biology (complete in 3 years)
OAT Scores:
Academic Average: 330
Total Science: 340
OAT preparation:
i took the OAT when i was just barely entertaining the thought of going to optometry school, so i didn't really take it seriously or really study for it. i went through my roommate's kaplan mcat flashcards (for biological science and physical science) a couple of times and went through my old physics notes the night before at the hotel. from what other people are saying, it makes a lot of sense to go through a kaplan mcat book and a physics review.
Extracurriculars:
some shadowing
a lot lot lot of volunteering with my church group on campus
a lot of activity and leadership with my church group on campus
not many awards ... only a couple of presidents and deans lists
assisted in research on campus
i only applied to UHCO, and that's where i'm going!
OAT Scores:
Academic Average: 330
Total Science: 340
OAT preparation:
i took the OAT when i was just barely entertaining the thought of going to optometry school, so i didn't really take it seriously or really study for it. i went through my roommate's kaplan mcat flashcards (for biological science and physical science) a couple of times and went through my old physics notes the night before at the hotel. from what other people are saying, it makes a lot of sense to go through a kaplan mcat book and a physics review.
Extracurriculars:
some shadowing
a lot lot lot of volunteering with my church group on campus
a lot of activity and leadership with my church group on campus
not many awards ... only a couple of presidents and deans lists
assisted in research on campus
i only applied to UHCO, and that's where i'm going!
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- Pre-Optometry
GPA: 3.7 in florida school
OAT: 310 overall and 330 for science
volunteered at optometry offices as well as explored other medical fields
applied to only Nova and got accepted
OAT: 310 overall and 330 for science
volunteered at optometry offices as well as explored other medical fields
applied to only Nova and got accepted
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- Pre-Optometry
Nontraditional student, graduated with elementary education degree in 2002, taught for a few years then went back for my optometry prereqs.
GPA: 3.95
Science: 3.87
AA: 330
TS: 330
(Took the OAT before completing quite a few prereqs, including O Chem, Physics, and a few others)
Studied for OAT by using materials from review course, although I did not take the course. Also used topscore.
Volunteered/Observed for 40 hours in various settings (family group practice, private practice, vision therapy, & ophthalmologist office)
Applied only to Pacific and got in.
GPA: 3.95
Science: 3.87
AA: 330
TS: 330
(Took the OAT before completing quite a few prereqs, including O Chem, Physics, and a few others)
Studied for OAT by using materials from review course, although I did not take the course. Also used topscore.
Volunteered/Observed for 40 hours in various settings (family group practice, private practice, vision therapy, & ophthalmologist office)
Applied only to Pacific and got in.
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- Optometry Student
Applied to: SUNY, NECO, and PCO
Got into: NECO and PCO
GPA: 3.588
OAT AA: 340
TS: 370
I studied from the coursebooks and flashcards that I got from Kaplan class.
No optometry related extracurriculars. I was a TA for two semesters for general chemistry. Also I do organic chemistry independent research.
Got into: NECO and PCO
GPA: 3.588
OAT AA: 340
TS: 370
I studied from the coursebooks and flashcards that I got from Kaplan class.
No optometry related extracurriculars. I was a TA for two semesters for general chemistry. Also I do organic chemistry independent research.
check out opted.org
It will provide you will a less skewed demographic of accepted applicants. Ppl with a 2.8 gpa and 310 OAT still get accepted to opt school, but I doubt they would be as willing to post their stats as much as others with higher numbers.
It will provide you will a less skewed demographic of accepted applicants. Ppl with a 2.8 gpa and 310 OAT still get accepted to opt school, but I doubt they would be as willing to post their stats as much as others with higher numbers.
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- Optometry Student
vtrain said:
Well, I for one am not ashamed. I took biochemistry and genetics for fun, so when I stopped going to class, it was no surprise that they didn't help my GPA. I had fun, travelled and studied abroad, played sports and never went to class. I'm not embarassed of my past. I graduated with a 2.84 in Zoology. I got a 330 for both science and total academics on the OAT. I had a 370 for QR and RC and a 350/330 for Gen Chem and OChem respectively. The rest, you can imagine, were not so good 🙂 My study prep was not too intensive. Buy the study guide, answer the exam questions, flip though subjects I got wrong.
I did the required time as an observer, but more of my experience was spent as a patient 🙂 Tons of extracurriculars. NCAA Div 1 sports, AFROTC, Best Buddies, Special Olympics, some Biochem/Opthal research, DEFY, etc, etc. I still think I sealed the deal more with my interviews and essays, though. Accepted at Nova, UMSL, NECO and ICO. Rejected at Pacific (ok, that I am ashamed of, but I had a terrible interview (I actually remember feeling tension ) and applied extremely late 🙁 )
The past isn't important, nor, have I ever felt, is one's GPA (for obvious reasons 🙂 ). It's how you use the outcomes and experiences to push yourself farther and better in the future. Plus, I am also glad that my story provides hope to all those other "recovering slackoholics".
BTW My masters GPA is a 3.25; all done while travelling as part of the military. At this rate, I figure I should come out of optom school with a 3.65 😀
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- Optometrist
*OAT
AA: 330
TS: 340
*GPA: 3.37
As you can see, it looks like I have the average stats.
*Extracurricular activities/leadership positions:
-active member of the national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega for 3 years, held 2 executive positions in the organization and won 2 service awards as well
-volunteered at the UIC Medical Center for 1 year
-intramural volleyball
-Bible study
-Tae Kown Do (just for part of a semester for fun)
-Student leader for the Biology Colloquium
*Honors: Honors College, Tri-Beta Biology Honors Society, and Golden Key Honor Society
I also shadowed an optometrist for several months. I'm sure it was the extracurriculars that stood out rather than my average scores.
I only applied to ICO since I love Chicago, and I was accepted.
AA: 330
TS: 340
*GPA: 3.37
As you can see, it looks like I have the average stats.
*Extracurricular activities/leadership positions:
-active member of the national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega for 3 years, held 2 executive positions in the organization and won 2 service awards as well
-volunteered at the UIC Medical Center for 1 year
-intramural volleyball
-Bible study
-Tae Kown Do (just for part of a semester for fun)
-Student leader for the Biology Colloquium
*Honors: Honors College, Tri-Beta Biology Honors Society, and Golden Key Honor Society
I also shadowed an optometrist for several months. I'm sure it was the extracurriculars that stood out rather than my average scores.
I only applied to ICO since I love Chicago, and I was accepted.
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- Pre-Optometry
phuongle2 said:
Sci GPA : 3.1
Cum. GPA : 3.3
OAT TS : 340
OAT AA : 320
Took a Kaplan course for the OAT, studied for about 2 months/3months, did not take it very seriously, nor did I finish all the practice tests. But if I had it would have done wonders !
Major: Psychology
I have graduated from a tough undergraduate institution, which is known (at least in NY) for its tough pre-health curriculum.
I have two C's and one D (which I replaced with a B)
other wise its a B average in all other classes.
I visited several Optometrists through out the last two years ( In commercial as well as private settings) and expressed my interest in the profession and shadowed them. Also I worked for about 5 months in an Optometric setting as an Optometric Technician. This gave me a lot to talk about at the interview and also, gave me an extremely realistic picture of what the profession is all about and hence helped me decide better if I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.
Vol. exp.:
I volunteered at the local hospital, NY cares(nonprofit organization), and participated in a student club on campus.
Applied to:
SUNY, PCO, NECO.
NECO: Accepted
PCO : Provisionally accepted, I will be granted full acceptance only on the successful completion of a summer program.
SUNY: Alternate list.
