OAT discouragement.

[jms04]

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Hey guys, I need some advice.

I took the OAT and got a 270 AA and I also have a 3.76 GPA in Biology. I'm very confident in my extra cirricular activies, work experience, and letter of recommendation. I actually had an interview at PCO and the following week re-took the OATs. I got a 280 AA. Now, I improved on almost every category except two, which fell. If I could have kept them the same I would have gotten a higher AA.

I also received an email today from Admissions saying that they have not decided yet. I don't think they have received my scores since it has not been two weeks since I have taken the OAT.

I am totally discouraged, but still want to try. Should I re-take the OAT yet again? I feel like if I do so it might be too late and even if I do do better then the class will be full. If I do re-take them, how can I improve my score??

Please help 🙁

 

[Arctic]

First of all, it sounds like you have done everything else you need to do to be a competitive applicant. Secondly, some schools, when weighing your OAT scores from multiple attempts, will only look at the highest score for each individual section. So, for those schools that do that, you may have a good enough OAT score-set to be accepted.

Finally, even though yes, it is getting late for this cycle, you can always apply again next cycle if it does come to that.

 

[physicslover]

For OATs, do they look at most recent tests or the highest score?

 

[Arctic]

It depends on the school. So your best bet is to directly ask each school you're interested in how they handle OAT scores.

 

[DawgOD]

There are a lot of schools that won't even open your app if you don't have a certain OAT score...

I would take it again, and in the mean time hope/ pray that you will be one of the exceptions.. There are always exceptions.. TRUST!

 

[Mewcakes]

I have heard of people being accepted into schools with the contingency that they retake the oat (or in some cases classes). So you may be in luck in that respect. If you do retake the OAT, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to reassess your study methods. With a 3.76 in bio, I would think that bio and g chem should be easy 350s at least. Had you graduated recently or a while back?

 

[cloud99]

I'm pretty sure pco takes the highest score in each section.

 

[jms04]

Well, I will be graduating in May. I have a 3.76 cumulative GPA, and I'd assume my Bio GPA is around that.

You would think I should be able to attain 350 in bio and gen chem, but for some reason I cannot. The first time I studied using OAT destroyer, and half of the stuff I studied was not on the exam. The second time around I didn't study, except for the night before when I looked over some physics equations and reviewed how to do pH problems. pH problems seem pretty common, but somehow I didn't get one on the second OAT. The second time around, I was totally not prepared.

In regards to college and studying, I'm totally fine with that. I have great time management skills, study methods, and high standards. In terms of studying for the OAT -- that's another story. I just don't even know where to begin .. it's just hard for me to be studying for something that is so broad.

I'll definetly re-take the OAT, but need to figure out how to study for them..

 

[tresrisque]

To be honest, I would not recommend anyone who is preparing for the OAT to use the OAT Destroyer as their FIRST source. The questions on the OAT Destroyer were significantly harder than the real test, IMO. I actually used the OAT Destroyer first. I felt pretty discouraged too and I felt like I didn't know more than 50% of the questions they asked. My mom then got me the Kaplan OAT books (the 1500 page book and the review notes book), which helped me considerably. Don't get me wrong, the OAT Destroyer is a great source. It will definitely vary from person to person, but I feel that it's a little too intimidating for starters.

Well, I will be graduating in May. I have a 3.76 cumulative GPA, and I'd assume my Bio GPA is around that.

You would think I should be able to attain 350 in bio and gen chem, but for some reason I cannot. The first time I studied using OAT destroyer, and half of the stuff I studied was not on the exam. The second time around I didn't study, except for the night before when I looked over some physics equations and reviewed how to do pH problems. pH problems seem pretty common, but somehow I didn't get one on the second OAT. The second time around, I was totally not prepared.

In regards to college and studying, I'm totally fine with that. I have great time management skills, study methods, and high standards. In terms of studying for the OAT -- that's another story. I just don't even know where to begin .. it's just hard for me to be studying for something that is so broad.

I'll definetly re-take the OAT, but need to figure out how to study for them..

 

[Mewcakes]

Well I would use your regular study methods from college to learn the OAT then. I also definitely recommend the Kaplan materials. I got 330 with little studying and a genetics degree. Try getting the Kaplan book and applying your tried and true studying methods. Though I generally don't recommend taking more than 2 or 3 months to study (cuz you kind of start to forget stuff), so you'll have to really make it part of your daily routine everyday to cover a little bit more.

Just try to be consistent and thorough in your studying habits. It's true that not all the concepts even in the Kaplan book are on the OAT (I mean that book is huge and there's only so many Qs) but they really can and will pull from any number of those concepts, so you kinda do have to know a little bit about each thing.

I just reread your original post and realized you def don't have 2-3 months to study. So my other recommendation is to call admissions and let them know that if it helps them make a decision that you plan on taking the OAT again as soon as you can. And then actually make good on that promise and study your ass off truly. 😛

 

[EYEmaPC]

Does anyone know which schools would take the highest score of each section (when comparing multiple OAT scores)? I found myself in a similar situation to the original poster. I received the same score both times taking the OAT, but the subject scores were all over the place. Thanks. 😱

First of all, it sounds like you have done everything else you need to do to be a competitive applicant. Secondly, some schools, when weighing your OAT scores from multiple attempts, will only look at the highest score for each individual section. So, for those schools that do that, you may have a good enough OAT score-set to be accepted.

Finally, even though yes, it is getting late for this cycle, you can always apply again next cycle if it does come to that.