my chances?!

[jc10101]

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i was just wondering what you guys think my chances for acceptance are...

i'm planning on applying to all the west coast schools, namely berkeley, scco, pacific, and others like suny, nova, and chicago.

my overall gpa is 3.15. i missed up so bad first semester freshman year, and have been trying to pull it back up every since. i have 2 semesters left and am shooting for a 4.0 at least one of the semesters.

i just took my diagnostic on kaplan today and i got:

bio: 320
g chem: 270
ochem: 350
physics: 200
reading: 340
quant: 330

my g chem and physics scores are the worst bc i havent taken them in a year, physics is my worst subject ever and i havent studied at all, i literally guessed on a majority of them. so i'm hoping to improve my scores greatly. i'm taking my test on august 4 or 6th.

i have like 2 years of shadowing at an optometric office with 11 doctors, and i worked in the lab where i fixed glasses and stuff too.
i also have been researching in a lab at school.
i am also an ochem workshop leader where i help about 10 ochem students weekly throughout the year.

so your honest opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sportsdude00]

i was just wondering what you guys think my chances for acceptance are...

i'm planning on applying to all the west coast schools, namely berkeley, scco, pacific, and others like suny, nova, and chicago.

my overall gpa is 3.15. i missed up so bad first semester freshman year, and have been trying to pull it back up every since. i have 2 semesters left and am shooting for a 4.0 at least one of the semesters.

i just took my diagnostic on kaplan today and i got:

bio: 320
g chem: 270
ochem: 350
physics: 200
reading: 340
quant: 330

my g chem and physics scores are the worst bc i havent taken them in a year, physics is my worst subject ever and i havent studied at all, i literally guessed on a majority of them. so i'm hoping to improve my scores greatly. i'm taking my test on august 4 or 6th.

i have like 2 years of shadowing at an optometric office with 11 doctors, and i worked in the lab where i fixed glasses and stuff too.
i also have been researching in a lab at school.
i am also an ochem workshop leader where i help about 10 ochem students weekly throughout the year.

so your honest opinions would be greatly appreciated!

i'd say that you're ok with most of your scores except for gen chem and physics. bringing up your gpa a bit would help as well, but as for the physics score that you have now, i think i can say with a fair amount of confidence that no optometry school would accept that. best thing to do is retake the oat and study for physics, considering thats a large part of optometry.

 

[jc10101]

no, thats my diagnostic score on the first day of the kaplan course without studying. no way would i apply to any school with that.

i havent taken physics in a year, so im a bit rusty, im focusing on g chem and physics this summer before i take the test in august.

 

[mvd]

As long as you put in some good studying to bring up the areas that you haven't reviewed in a while like GChem and Physics, I think you'll still be fine as far as the OAT goes. I took the Kaplan test about a month before I took the OAT and scored around a TS 280 and AA 300. After several weeks of reviewing the subjects I hadn't had in a while I ended up with a score of TS 370, AA 360 on the OAT. I think that the Kaplan test is a bit harder than the OAT, or at least it asks questions that are much more specific.

Anyway, good luck with your studying!

 

[lmd321]

I have an overall undergrad GPA of 3.54 in Biology. I am a master's student now in library science (don't ask) with a GPA of 4.0 (I'll be done this summer). Not sure what my science GPA is; which classes are included in that umbrella? I think it would be slightly higher than a 3.0.

I just took the OAT and got a 290 overall. Don't remember all the totals, but reading and math were definitely the highest with 300 I believe. O Chem the lowest with 230. Physics 290. Sigh. I am retaking it, but not 'til August since you have to wait 90 days.

I'm applying to UMSL (I'm from MO), New England, IL, Ferris, Nova and Penn. And perhaps Puerto Rico if I can brush up on my espanol.

Thoughts?

 

[blysssful]

I have an overall undergrad GPA of 3.54 in Biology. I am a master's student now in library science (don't ask) with a GPA of 4.0 (I'll be done this summer). Not sure what my science GPA is; which classes are included in that umbrella? I think it would be slightly higher than a 3.0.

I just took the OAT and got a 290 overall. Don't remember all the totals, but reading and math were definitely the highest with 300 I believe. O Chem the lowest with 230. Physics 290. Sigh. I am retaking it, but not 'til August since you have to wait 90 days.

I'm applying to UMSL (I'm from MO), New England, IL, Ferris, Nova and Penn. And perhaps Puerto Rico if I can brush up on my espanol.

Thoughts?

Did you prep before you took the exam? Before you retake it, make sure you're actually ready for it this time. It's kind of a waste of money otherwise. There's a practice exam at opted.org, as well as lots of study/prep material.

The different schools calculate the science GPAs differently (yes, even with the new standardized application system). Some only consider the science prereq courses, others consider all science courses (bio, physics, chem and sometimes math). Since GPA is highly dependent upon the caliber of school attended, it's really important to get your OAT score up if possible.

Good luck.

 

[lmd321]

Yes, I studied and I took a Kaplan course. I got a 280 on my diagnostic. I have been out of my undergrad for awhile and never got a good foundation in physics or o chem.

 

[preopt2012]

I have an overall undergrad GPA of 3.54 in Biology. I am a master's student now in library science (don't ask) with a GPA of 4.0 (I'll be done this summer). Not sure what my science GPA is; which classes are included in that umbrella? I think it would be slightly higher than a 3.0.

I just took the OAT and got a 290 overall. Don't remember all the totals, but reading and math were definitely the highest with 300 I believe. O Chem the lowest with 230. Physics 290. Sigh. I am retaking it, but not 'til August since you have to wait 90 days.

I'm applying to UMSL (I'm from MO), New England, IL, Ferris, Nova and Penn. And perhaps Puerto Rico if I can brush up on my espanol.

Thoughts?

If you are gona apply to UMSL, you will have to get everything over 300...they like their scores over 320 for some sections. i forgot which one. same thing with ICO. GOOD LUCK with OATs

 

[lilmisseyeballs]

I did my undergrad at Ferris and the pre-optometry club there had Dr. Buckingham, a dean at MCO and head of the admissions committee, speak to the club about admissions to MCO at Ferris. He said any applicant who has at least a 330aa and 330ts OAT score is guaranteed an interview. I applied there for this last cycle. I didn't have a 330aa until I retook the OAT in January. Before that, I had a 320aa. I didn't get a call for an interview until the week after I retook the OAT with a 330aa, even though my application there had been completed for months. Dr. B said every week he gets a print out of the applicants' OAT scores, ranked from 400 down to 330, where the list is cut off. Those who make that list get a call for an interview. I don't know if any other schools use this method, but if you're planning to apply to Ferris, just make sure you get your score up to a 330aa and then you're guaranteed an interview. Sometimes the hardest part is actually getting the interview...