OAT Percentile Scores?

[layogurt]

I know they vary by test but what percentile is a 320 AA? And how bout a 340AA?

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[nyasian]

i would say it's about 66%-70% for 320 AA yes it's different every test and the score/percentile rank you get right after you finished your test is just an estimation sorry i couldn't help much

 

[Blondiechick919]

I know they vary by test but what percentile is a 320 AA? And how bout a 340AA?

I took my OAT June of last year and 340AA was close to 90th percentile. (see image) Sorry I have no idea about a 320.

 

[layogurt]

I took my OAT June of last year and 340AA was close to 90th percentile. (see image) Sorry I have no idea about a 320.

Thanks this makes a lot of sense. I was just trying to correlate OAT scores to schools that admit students. Seems like you can get a pretty crappy OAT score and still get into OD school.

 

[q1we3]

Seems like you can get a pretty crappy OAT score and still get into OD school.

Easy there troll, you just joined the forums and started bashing the profession. You already mentioned optometry is not for you then why create these pointless threads. You are not a pre-optometry student, optometry student or an optometrist. So, I suggest you GTFO since you have no business here.

 

[Blondiechick919]

Thanks this makes a lot of sense. I was just trying to correlate OAT scores to schools that admit students. Seems like you can get a pretty crappy OAT score and still get into OD school.

Watch it there, noob. Last time I checked a 90% wasn't a bad score. An A by traditional grading. so shut it. Percentile scores can't be faked. It means that you scored higher than that percentage of students who took the same test. So a 90th percentile score=you scored higher than 90% of test-takers. So, only 10% of test takers for the OAT get an AA of 350 or higher. Yes, it is possible to get into some lower ranked OD schools with lower OAT scores, but the way your post was worded was extremely insulting.

 

[layogurt]

Easy there troll, you just joined the forums and started bashing the profession. You already mentioned optometry is not for you then why create these pointless threads. You are not a pre-optometry student, optometry student or an optometrist. So, I suggest you GTFO since you have no business here.

Seems like majority of schools accept students with 329 and below. Up above it was stated that 320 was the 66th to 72nd percentile. Seems like OD's are "really smart."

http://www.opted.org/files/public/Profile of the Entering Class 2011.pdf

 

[layogurt]

Watch it there, noob. Last time I checked a 90% wasn't a bad score. An A by traditional grading. so shut it. Percentile scores can't be faked. It means that you scored higher than that percentage of students who took the same test. So a 90th percentile score=you scored higher than 90% of test-takers. So, only 10% of test takers for the OAT get an AA of 350 or higher. Yes, it is possible to get into some lower ranked OD schools with lower OAT scores, but the way your post was worded was extremely insulting.

calm urself there blondie. Open your eyes (Get it LOL) and read this fact sheet:

http://www.opted.org/files/public/Profile of the Entering Class 2011.pdf

Most schools have an average that's at or below a 329 hence students are getting in with OAT percentiles that are less than 66% 😱 The average of all schools is a 319 😱

 

[Blondiechick919]

calm urself there blondie. Open your eyes (Get it LOL) and read this fact sheet:

http://www.opted.org/files/public/Profile of the Entering Class 2011.pdf

Most schools have an average that's at or below a 329 hence students are getting in with OAT percentiles that are less than 66% 😱 The average of all schools is a 319 😱

I've seen this chart before, and of course OAT scores are only one part of your application. High GPA can offset a low score and vice versa, and interviews can seal the deal for a borderline applicant as well. Also, the average MCAT score usually hovers around 25 or so which is 50th percentile-and applicants still get into med school with 28's and 29's.

 

[layogurt]

I've seen this chart before, and of course OAT scores are only one part of your application. High GPA can offset a low score and vice versa, and interviews can seal the deal for a borderline applicant as well. Also, the average MCAT score usually hovers around 25 or so which is 50th percentile-and applicants still get into med school with 28's and 29's.

a 25 on the MCAT is the mean which is around the 50th percentile, no one gets in with a 25. Most students dont get in with 28s or 29s either. 31 or above is the average of most matriculated students. a 31 is the 80th to 85th percentile. (http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf) This is similar for dental schools which has a 19 average and is also around the mid 80s percentile.

Meanwhile OD schools report that the average on the OAT is a 300 and then they're accepting students with a 310. That's ridiculously low if you're asking me. That means you only have to be slightly above average to gain admission. And yes GPAs play an important role and yet enough students go to easy ugrad schools and come in with artificially inflated GPAs. You can come in as a philosophy major and then take a bunch of science courses. So a GPA can be controlled for the most part, meanwhile an OAT score can't be controlled as tightly. So its very odd indeed that a high GPA and such a low OAT score can gain admission at most of these schools.

 

[Blondiechick919]

a 25 on the MCAT is the mean which is around the 50th percentile, no one gets in with a 25. Most students dont get in with 28s or 29s either. 31 or above is the average of most matriculated students. a 31 is the 80th to 85th percentile. (http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/downloads/gpamcat.pdf) This is similar for dental schools which has a 19 average and is also around the mid 80s percentile.

Meanwhile OD schools report that the average on the OAT is a 300 and then they're accepting students with a 310. That's ridiculously low if you're asking me. That means you only have to be slightly above average to gain admission. And yes GPAs play an important role and yet enough students go to easy ugrad schools and come in with artificially inflated GPAs. You can come in as a philosophy major and then take a bunch of science courses. So a GPA can be controlled for the most part, meanwhile an OAT score can't be controlled as tightly. So its very odd indeed that a high GPA and such a low OAT score can gain admission at most of these schools.

I really don't care what you think anymore. You showed up 2 days ago out of nowhere and start posting incessantly and bashing people, and we have no idea what your intentions for being on this board (premed, pre-opt, whatever) are; therefore-trolling. I'm done with this.

 

[layogurt]

I really don't care what you think anymore. You showed up 2 days ago out of nowhere and start posting incessantly and bashing people, and we have no idea what your intentions for being on this board (premed, pre-opt, whatever) are; therefore-trolling. I'm done with this.

Why are you mad at me? I'm just giving you facts. Its not my fault OD schools accept low to average students.

 

[q1we3]

Why are you mad at me? I'm just giving you facts. Its not my fault OD schools accept low to average students.

Nobody asked for OAT facts from you. Trust me no one here cares about your opinion on optometry since you know nothing about it. You are forgetting that we already have been through the application process and know than you. If someone asks you for any optometry advice or facts (which no one did and never will since you have nothing to do with optometry) then you can act Mr. know it all. But till then sit in the corner or try trolling other forums because its not going to work here.

 

[layogurt]

Nobody asked for OAT facts from you. Trust me no one here cares about your opinion on optometry since you know nothing about it. You are forgetting that we already have been through the application process and know than you. If someone asks you for any optometry advice or facts (which no one did and never will since you have nothing to do with optometry) then you can act Mr. know it all. But till then sit in the corner or try trolling other forums because its not going to work here.

I dont know why you're mad at the facts. All I was saying is that OAT scores can be very low and students that scored low aka average can get in.

 

[Blondiechick919]

I dont know why you're mad at the facts. All I was saying is that OAT scores can be very low and students that scored low aka average can get in.

We aren't mad at the facts. We are mad at you for starting threads asking for information for no apparent purpose and then using said information to antagonize the people to helped you. You have not established yourself as a premed, present, or whatever (although posts from you have popped up on those threads too) so either you really think you're THAT much of a know-it-all or you're just trolling.

 

[layogurt]

We aren't mad at the facts. We are mad at you for starting threads asking for information for no apparent purpose and then using said information to antagonize the people to helped you. You have not established yourself as a premed, present, or whatever (although posts from you have popped up on those threads too) so either you really think you're THAT much of a know-it-all or you're just trolling.

I am not a know it all. I asked what the percentile was so I can understand how the OAT is scored and what scores are competitive for admission. I was merely curious, you then got upset when I presented you with facts that you need a very low OAT score to get in.

 

[dinkus]

He's right that the acceptance standards for optometry school are substantially lower than that of dental and medical schools. However, this isn't really new information. I think most applicants are aware of it. With that said, being accepted into medical or dental school doesn't necessarily make you better or even smarter than an optometry student, or anyone else, for that matter. The impetus for a lot of medical/dental students is a desire for prestige and the opportunity to gloat (as evidenced by this thread), rather than being a humble servant of patients. Unfortunately, those pathetic desires are a great motivator for a lot of students and doctors. Couple them with insatiable greed and it doesn't take a lot to understand why our healthcare industry is filled with corruption. I've digressed a bit but the point is: if you want to take the liberty to judge optometry students as inferior because their acceptance standards are lower, then optometry students, or anyone else, for that matter, can take the liberty to view medical/dental students and professionals as self-important, smug, and greedy cancers (pun intended) on the healthcare industry. Generalizations are fun.

 

[Hersnape]

^Exactly what dinkus said.

There are plenty of students who had the capability for med/dental school but chose otherwise to attend optometry school for their own different reasons.

 

[Shnurek]

I chose opto school exactly for those reasons that dinkus stated plus I want to move to a small town and it is a more efficient educational pathway but M.D. gunners might not think outside the box.

 

[Jason K]

The impetus for a lot of medical/dental students is a desire for prestige and the opportunity to gloat (as evidenced by this thread), rather being a humble servant of patients.

Where do you come up with the cajones to say this? Have you interviewed a thousand medical/dental students to ask them about their "desire for prestige and opportunity to gloat?" For what it's worth, dental students get dumped on all the time by med students. It's not because they're med students, it's because, like any field, there's going to be a certain amount of douches in any med school class who will act in a way that fits their insecurity. It doesn't point to some cancer in the profession.

Furthermore, the greed in healthcare sits primarily within insurance companies that are trying to squeeze every last cent out of patients and their doctors. It's not physicians who are greedy, for the most part. Most doctors, of all types, are upstanding, reasonably-greedy individuals (we're all greedy - if you don't think you are, you're kidding yourself), who are just trying to do what they've been trained to do, and get paid fairly to do it.

You guys are blowing so much hot air up each other's tailpipes, it won't be long before one of you bursts from over-filling.

 

[Jason K]

I chose opto school exactly for those reasons that dinkus stated plus I want to move to a small town and it is a more efficient educational pathway but M.D. gunners might not think outside the box.

This, quite honestly, is one of the most hilariously clueless statements I've ever encountered on the internet.

 

[dinkus]

Where do you come up with the cajones to say this?

That's been my experience. I suppose I could just be cynical, but out of all my classmates and friends who have gone into these fields, rarely have I ever gotten the impression that they were going into medicine or dentistry for noble reasons. Of course, I'm not saying optometry students are any better. I was just using one generalization to show why his generalization may not be apt.

As far as greed goes, it's systemic. The insurance companies are a part of it, but it extends from the politicians all the way to the hospitals and to the doctors. My dad is an M.D., and the levels of greed and corruption he tells me about at the hospital and its complicit doctors are obscene.

Regardless, this is more of an indictment on our society than anything else. The same optometry student who gets slighted by a dental student could easily slight a PT student for precisely the same reasons and it wouldn't shock me at all.

 

[layogurt]

He's right that the acceptance standards for optometry school are substantially lower than that of dental and medical schools. However, this isn't really new information. I think most applicants are aware of it. With that said, being accepted into medical or dental school doesn't necessarily make you better or even smarter than an optometry student, or anyone else, for that matter. The impetus for a lot of medical/dental students is a desire for prestige and the opportunity to gloat (as evidenced by this thread), rather than being a humble servant of patients. Unfortunately, those pathetic desires are a great motivator for a lot of students and doctors. Couple them with insatiable greed and it doesn't take a lot to understand why our healthcare industry is filled with corruption. I've digressed a bit but the point is: if you want to take the liberty to judge optometry students as inferior because their acceptance standards are lower, then optometry students, or anyone else, for that matter, can take the liberty to view medical/dental students and professionals as self-important, smug, and greedy cancers (pun intended) on the healthcare industry. Generalizations are fun.

I don't believe any students are better than each other as you mentioned. However an average MD/DDS student has higher stats than a OD student. OAT scores for admitted students are significantly lower than for MD/DDS students. There are two possible conclusions: either OD schools are desperate and are lowering their standards for admission or OD applicants have lower stats on average. I personally believe the case to be the latter and think that MD/DDS students are either smarter (on average) or work harder. I've seen quite a few students on this board get into OD schools with sub-par stats that wouldn't warrant admission to a majority of other health related programs.

 

[q1we3]

I personally believe the case to be the latter and think that MD/DDS students are either smarter (on average) or work harder.

You "personally believe" in lot of things but that doesn't make them true
You "personally believe" that you are always right
You "personally believe" that you know more than everyone else
You "personally believe" that it is your duty to advice others on profession you have no clue about

At our school (UAB) optometry students take several first year classes with dental students but none of them are so full of themselves as you are. Assuming you are a student which I highly doubt. Where did you get such a big ego, what is so special about you? I feel sorry for the people who actually know you in real life. How do they put up with your attitude? Do you tell them how they are not smart enough or work hard enough?

 

[layogurt]

You "personally believe" in lot of things but that doesn't make them true
You "personally believe" that you are always right
You "personally believe" that you know more than everyone else
You "personally believe" that it is your duty to advice others on profession you have no clue about

At our school (UAB) optometry students take several first year classes with dental students but none of them are so full of themselves as you are. Assuming you are a student which I highly doubt. Where did you get such a big ego, what is so special about you? I feel sorry for the people who actually know you in real life. How do they put up with your attitude? Do you tell them how they are not smart enough or work hard enough?

MD/DDS students need higher stats to get admitted than OD students. Don't believe me use google or just go hide your head in the sand and think that OD is a "super competitive" program to gain admission to. There's no need to insult me because OD students have it easy and get in with average OAT scores. MD/DDS students work progressively harder to get into progressively more competitive programs. The end.

 

[KHE]

MD/DDS students need higher stats to get admitted than OD students. Don't believe me use google or just go hide your head in the sand and think that OD is a "super competitive" program to gain admission to. There's no need to insult me because OD students have it easy and get in with average OAT scores. MD/DDS students work progressively harder to get into progressively more competitive programs. The end.

Ok...ok...you win. Uncle. Uncle. MD students are smarter than OD students and MD students have higher stats than OD students.

Please go away now.

 

[layogurt]

Ok...ok...you win. Uncle. Uncle. MD students are smarter than OD students and MD students have higher stats than OD students.

👍

 

[q1we3]

👍

Relax, he said MD not dental students. OAT and DAT exams are virtually identical. It is just as easy to get into dental school as an optometry school. Stop pretending dental students are something special you are in the same boat as optometry students.

 

[KHE]

👍

Unfortunately, it seems that you've missed the most important of that posting....let me repeat it....

Please go away now.

 

[layogurt]

Relax, he said MD not dental students. OAT and DAT exams are virtually identical. It is just as easy to get into dental school as an optometry school. Stop pretending dental students are something special you are in the same boat as optometry students.

are you on drugs? the average DAT for accepted students is a 19.4 which is around the 80 to 85th percentile. Meanwhile for OD schools the average is 310 which is the 50th to 60th percentile. So as long as you do mediocre on the OAT, you'll get into an OD school. Most dental school students would easily get into an OD program, but the inverse wouldn't happen as easily.

 

[q1we3]

are you on drugs? the average DAT for accepted students is a 19.4 which is around the 80 to 85th percentile. Meanwhile for OD schools the average is 310 which is the 50th to 60th percentile. So as long as you do mediocre on the OAT, you'll get into an OD school. Most dental school students would easily get into an OD program, but the inverse wouldn't happen as easily.

Don't care about anyone else, all I know is that I scored 96th percentile on OAT and would have done equally well on DAT if I wanted to become a dentist. So in my eyes dental students are no superior beings.

 

[dinkus]

I don't believe any students are better than each other as you mentioned. However an average MD/DDS student has higher stats than a OD student. OAT scores for admitted students are significantly lower than for MD/DDS students. There are two possible conclusions: either OD schools are desperate and are lowering their standards for admission or OD applicants have lower stats on average. I personally believe the case to be the latter and think that MD/DDS students are either smarter (on average) or work harder. I've seen quite a few students on this board get into OD schools with sub-par stats that wouldn't warrant admission to a majority of other health related programs.

On average, sure. But I used necessarily as a qualifier to suggest that being a dental student doesn't imply that you're smarter or harder working than any other student. A fair percentage of dental students are admitted with lower scores than a large group of optometry students. Why did you create this thread other than to boost your ego? I don't know whether that stems from an insecurity on your part, but your actions are ill-advised. I graduated from a top 5 university, but I've also taken courses at other schools. Do I believe I'm necessarily smarter than a student who attended a less renowned school with less stringent admission requirements? Absolutely not. Furthermore, would I ever feign superiority over a group of students from said school? No, that's pathetic. What kind of person would do that? That's perhaps something you should ask yourself.

 

[layogurt]

Don't care about anyone else, all I know is that I scored 96th percentile on OAT and would have done equally well on DAT if I wanted to become a dentist. So in my eyes dental students are no superior beings.

You're not an average OD student so your one isolated example doesn't matter for the majority of OD or DDS applicants/students.

 

[layogurt]

On average, sure. But I used necessarily as a qualifier to suggest that being a dental student doesn't imply that you're smarter or harder working than any other student. A fair percentage of dental students are admitted with lower scores than a large group of optometry students. Why did you create this thread other than to boost your ego? I don't know whether that stems from an insecurity on your part, but your actions are ill-advised. I graduated from a top 5 university, but I've also taken courses at other schools. Do I believe I'm necessarily smarter than a student who attended a less renowned school with less stringent admission requirements? Absolutely not. Furthermore, would I ever feign superiority over a group of students from said school? No, that's pathetic. What kind of person would do that? That's perhaps something you should ask yourself.

I made the thread to inquire on the percentile score of admitted students. The OAT guide seems to lack this information and now its pretty obvious why. I don't need to boost my own ego, I'm comfy in my own skin and with my profession.

 

[dinkus]

I made the thread to inquire on the percentile score of admitted students. The OAT guide seems to lack this information and now its pretty obvious why. I don't need to boost my own ego, I'm comfy in my own skin and with my profession.

And why is such an inquiry relevant to a dental student? Besides, it's hard to ignore your subsequent posts and what they reveal about your intentions.

 

[balltc]

I made the thread to inquire on the percentile score of admitted students. The OAT guide seems to lack this information and now its pretty obvious why. I don't need to boost my own ego, I'm comfy in my own skin and with my profession.

If you are comfortable with your profession then why the hell are you in an optometry forum? Let it go.

 

[layogurt]

And why is such an inquiry relevant to a dental student? Besides, it's hard to ignore your subsequent posts and what they reveal about your intentions.

Again I just wanted to find out what the percentiles were and I did. There's no need to ask the same question for the DAT because the DAT guide offers such data, Meanwhile the OAT guide tends to leave it out,

 

[layogurt]

If you are comfortable with your profession then why the hell are you in an optometry forum? Let it go.

I was participating in the debt thread and if you don't like it you can simply ignore my comments,

 

[dinkus]

Again I just wanted to find out what the percentiles were and I did. There's no need to ask the same question for the DAT because the DAT guide offers such data, Meanwhile the OAT guide tends to leave it out,

You're just repeating yourself and, not surprisingly, failed to answer the question.

 

[layogurt]

cool story bro.

 

[Roffles]

Average OAT is 330 at decent schools which is 85th percentile. I'm sure there are crap dentists just like there are crqp optoms. If you think trolling us makes you smarter, that's great. But as KHE said: please go away. You aren't making anything productive occur. If you really want to give people an opinion that will help, go help out your local DARE program. You'll do more good.

 

[layogurt]

Average OAT is 330 at decent schools which is 85th percentile. I'm sure there are crap dentists just like there are crqp optoms. If you think trolling us makes you smarter, that's great. But as KHE said: please go away. You aren't making anything productive occur. If you really want to give people an opinion that will help, go help out your local DARE program. You'll do more good.

"Decent" schools aren't every single school. The average for all schools is as low as 319. so if 300 is the 50% percentile. Then 320 is like 60 to maybe 70% pretty damn low for any medically related program. OD isn't competitive and isn't something that one needs to work super hard to get into 😉

 

[Shnurek]

My friend's girlfriend got into NYU dental and she never really tried in college and had a 3.3 GPA.

 

[Hersnape]

Seriously. A lot of optoms had the stats and ability to do any other medical professional program but still chose optometry because of their genuine interest regardless of the issues it currently faces. As Shnurek said there are plenty of people that get into med/osteo/dental/pharm programs with sub-par stats. Just check out their forums.

 

[layogurt]

My friend's girlfriend got into NYU dental and she never really tried in college and had a 3.3 GPA.

And what was her DAT score? I'm sure it was higher percentile score than a 320 🙂

 

[layogurt]

Seriously. A lot of optoms had the stats and ability to do any other medical professional program but still chose optometry because of their genuine interest regardless of the issues it currently faces. As Shnurek said there are plenty of people that get into med/osteo/dental/pharm programs with sub-par stats. Just check out their forums.

Maybe back in the day presently the average OAT score is below the accepted levels of dental and med schools.

 

[CL Doc]

I made the thread to inquire on the percentile score of admitted students. The OAT guide seems to lack this information and now its pretty obvious why. I don't need to boost my own ego, I'm comfy in my own skin and with my profession.

Take your insecurity somewhere else.

 

[Hersnape]

Maybe back in the day presently the average OAT score is below the accepted levels of dental and med schools.

No, there are plenty (including myself) that could choose practically any field of healthcare and succeed. Maybe it surprises you that some people don't want to be doctors or dentists. I bet even the people with sub-par stats in optom school could get into a caribbean med school if they were determined. I've seen plenty sub-par stats students currently applying to med schools or DO schools. A post-bac can fix a lot of people's problems. In fact a sub par stats student can get into DO school, and if they rock their way through school, get a residency in ROAD and make more than you. So stop thinking that you are superior. I already hate dentists, don't make me hate dental students too.

As said, grow up and take care of your ego and insecurities elsewhere.

 

[Superblyme]

Okay, guys, who likes facts? I sure do!

So first off, let me say, by all stats I've been able to find, application requirements for OD school ARE LESS STRINGENT than application requirements for dental or medical school. However, the differences are not that extreme.

The average GPA of students accepted to optometry school seems to be around 3.4, and the average OAT score around 320, or ~70th percentile.

The average GPA of students accepted to dental school is ~3.5, and the average DAT score ~19.4 (which is around 80th percentile).

The average GPA of students accepted to med school is ~3.7, and the average MCAT score ~31 (or about the 80th percentile).

With all this being said, are we REALLY going to judge one another on the numbers we received in undergrad? Is your statistical dental average of a 3.5 GPA all it takes to make you feel superior to others? If so, that is really, really sad. And the average percentile scores of accepted students to these schools is so variable, to use these numbers to compare our e-penises is just laughable, really. For example, the average DAT score of accepted dental students in 2009 was 17.9, or roughly 65TH PERCENTILE! Does that mean dental school applicants in 2009 were ~soooo much stupider~ than 2011's applicants? No. No, it doesn't.

In summary, WHO THE **** CARES ABOUT THE NUMBERS? Do what you love and be happy with it. The end.

SOURCES

https://www.ada.org/oat/oat_user_guide.pdf

http://science.psu.edu/premed/docs/Optometry 083110.pdf

https://www.aamc.org/download/161690/data/table17.pdf

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/264234/data/combined11.pdf

http://www.adea.org/publications/tde/Documents/Grade Point Averages of Dental School Enrollees.pdf

http://www.adea.org/publications/tde/Documents/DAT Score for Dental School Enrollees.pdf

http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/dat_estimate_score.pdf

 

[Shnurek]

The average GPA of students accepted to med school is ~3.7, and the average MCAT score ~31 (or about the 80th percentile).

Yes, and this is only M.D. matriculants. You should also include D.O. matriculants and Carribean matriculants. Its easier to get into a Carribean Medical School and become an M.D. than to get into Optometry school. That's the funny part.