Just took OAT

[ReelinGator]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I took the OAT last week after studying for about 2 weeks (I would have studied longer but things have a way of getting in the way as you all know) Overall I feel like I did ok, but all I can say is WTF in QR:

QR: 270
RC: 350
BIO: 360
GCHEM: 340
OCHEM: 320
PHYS: 330

TS: 340
AA: 330

My orgo and qr scores were way lower than I was expecting. I know some schools will not consider scores under 300, but I have interviews with NOVA and PCO this month. Do you guys think they will be willing to look past the QR score? Let me know if anybody else had a similar episode. ( I almost have to laugh to myself about that score...WTF!)

 

[Arctic]

It is my opinion that if you are going to do poorly on one OAT section, then QR is the best section to screw up. It's at the end of a very long exam so fatigue can be an issue. Also, some people aren't good at doing math really quickly, especially without a calculator. The point is, that it is VERY easy to justify a 270 in QR, especially considering that all your other scores are good enough. MANY students here on SDN have had ad coms look past one low score (especially in QR), so you should be fine with those scores, assuming as always that your gpa/shadowing/ec's/etc. are good. They will almost certainly at least bring up QR in your interview, so definitely be prepared to offer an explanation, but overall your OAT scores look respectable, so again I wouldn't be that concerned. Good luck 👍

 

[achirum]

It is my opinion that if you are going to do poorly on one OAT section, then QR is the best section to screw up. It's at the end of a very long exam so fatigue can be an issue. Also, some people aren't good at doing math really quickly, especially without a calculator. The point is, that it is VERY easy to justify a 270 in QR, especially considering that all your other scores are good enough. MANY students here on SDN have had ad coms look past one low score (especially in QR), so you should be fine with those scores, assuming as always that your gpa/shadowing/ec's/etc. are good. They will almost certainly at least bring up QR in your interview, so definitely be prepared to offer an explanation, but overall your OAT scores look respectable, so again I wouldn't be that concerned. Good luck 👍

I don't agree with that at all, but your other scores look pretty good. I'd reckon you'll be asked to explain that score in an interview.

 

[OD4eyes]

I took the OAT last week after studying for about 2 weeks (I would have studied longer but things have a way of getting in the way as you all know) Overall I feel like I did ok, but all I can say is WTF in QR:

QR: 270
RC: 350
BIO: 360
GCHEM: 340
OCHEM: 320
PHYS: 330

TS: 340
AA: 330

My orgo and qr scores were way lower than I was expecting. I know some schools will not consider scores under 300, but I have interviews with NOVA and PCO this month. Do you guys think they will be willing to look past the QR score? Let me know if anybody else had a similar episode. ( I almost have to laugh to myself about that score...WTF!)

I felt the same with QR... I had really unexpected questions...I remember having one on standard deviation, variance, and a hold lot of trig such as cot, sec.... It was a diaster for me! I took kaplan and in QR & OC I always recieved a 360... but on the test I recieved a 270 & 310 😱.... I think your scores are average and will get you into decent school. PCO is more understanding than NOVA...

 

[Arctic]

I don't agree with that at all, but your other scores look pretty good. I'd reckon you'll be asked to explain that score in an interview.

Well, I firmly believe that QR is the single best section to screw up, and I've already explained why. Screwing up the Biology or either Chemistry section can call into question your knowledge from undergrad, and possibly your preparedness for optometry school. Screwing up RC, especially if english is your first language, is not good, as it is the score that most correlates with your expected board passing rates. So really, what would you rather screw up than QR if you HAD to screw one up? I'd definitely choose QR, especially since it can be explained by the fatigue factor.

 

[achirum]

Well, I firmly believe that QR is the single best section to screw up, and I've already explained why. Screwing up the Biology or either Chemistry section can call into question your knowledge from undergrad, and possibly your preparedness for optometry school. Screwing up RC, especially if english is your first language, is not good, as it is the score that most correlates with your expected board passing rates. So really, what would you rather screw up than QR if you HAD to screw one up? I'd definitely choose QR, especially since it can be explained by the fatigue factor.

Well certainly I can agree that I would rather screw up QR than one of the core sciences. I was more so thinking that I would rather fault with RC as opposed to QR. It seems to be more common for students to get a low score on RC than QR is really what I am getting at. That's at least what the trend was last year as told to me by the admissions committee. Either way, I don't think a low score in QR is going to be all that detrimental.