OAT/Prereq Advice

[norsha]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm sure that this has been addressed before, but I tried searching to no avail.

I earned my BA in Economics in 2007 and am now working on the prerequisites for optometry school. I'm only have a few left (5) so I am trying to complete them as soon as possible so that I don't end up having to wait around for a year after applying.

By December I will have taken BIO I & II, CHM I & II, OCHM I, and PHY I.

I will still need PHY II, Biochem, Microbio, Anatomy and Physiology. I plan on taking three in the spring and two over the summer.

That being said, I just registered for the Kaplan OAT course which ends on January 29th and am planning on taking the OAT in February.

I know that applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible and that this puts me at a disadvantage, but I figure it's worth a shot to potentially save myself a year.

So my question is: which courses should I take in the spring to best prepare myself for the BIO portion of the OAT?

 

[quackquack]

I'm a little confused; you are taking the OAT February 2011 but your spring term (Which i gather to be Jan-April-ish) you are wanting to know which courses to take would help you on the OAT. But wouldn't you have taken your OAT before you actually finish those courses? Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

But anyway, besides general biology courses, I would recommend physiology. A lot of concepts from Kaplan biology review notes are based around physiology concepts (ie. digestion, excretion, respiration, etc.) so you will do a lot less learning if you have a background on those. Anatomy is a bonus and I don't feel like this is needed to actually do well on the OAT. I personally know many people who have taken the OAT without anatomy and did ok. They've all taken physiology 1 and 2 though that's why I feel like it's a really important course.

I just took the OAT and although I reviewed biochem/microbiology concepts, neither came up on the test. It's all random though so who knows.

 

[nc2tarheels]

Bio I and II are necessary. There's real no need to have Biochem. Micro helped me a little since alot of mine had to do with DNA/Cells etc. Chem I and II are a necessity as well. Orgo I is a necessity but having taken Orgo II, I feel as if this is going to do WONDERS! Physics I and II are a necessity as well! There's a few things on there that will be complicated and it's hard to teach that to yourself. As for cell bio, molecular bio, biochem, microbiology, genetics, Anatomy, physiology....i feel those aren't necessary. Physiology, imo, can be self taught (for the extent that you need to know for the OAT). Like mentioned though, Physiology would be the one course out of those to take though!!