Re-take my OAT?? Do schools look at the breakdown of scores?

[UMiamiOD]

So i took my OAT yesterday and im not quite sure how the schools look at the scores; if they only look at AA and TS or is they look at everything individually as well. I just started my junior year so if i need to retake it i do have plenty of time.

I feel like my over all scores are good, but when you look at the distribution, not so much

p.s. in (parenthesis) are my opted scores, i took it 4 days before my actual test

Bio (360) 310 😕
GChem (350) 360
OChem (370) 390
Reading Comp (390) 300 !!!!!!!!😕
Physics (340) 340
Quantitative Reasoning (380) 300😱

Total Science (370) 350
Academic Average (365) 340

do i retake it???

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[optohopeful]

Since you have a lot of time left, I think you should retake it as the RC score is pretty low and the schools care about this one a lot.

Good luck.

 

[sportsdude00]

i got in with two scores below 300. it depends on your circumstances and the school. a high gpa will also help you with those scores, but generally 300 scores are not bad. you should be fine unless you have a low gpa. if you do, i recommend retaking it.

 

[Arctic]

The schools most definitely consider each subscore, not just the AA and TS. This is a very tough call on retaking, because your current scores definitely give you a chance at getting in, so other factors you didn't list (such as gpa, experience, etc.) will have a huge impact on your admissions chances. Just remember that there are people with worse scores than that who have been accepted, but if you honestly think you can do substantially better by retaking it (and only if substantially better) then you may want to go for it, as the stronger your scores are, obviously the better chance you have of getting into the school of your choice. Again though, tough call here.

For info on the sections you had trouble with:

Because you are only just starting junior year, it is quite possible that you would do better on bio after having taken more upper level bio classes, but you'd have to list what you are taking and have taken already in order to give more info on that.

For RC I'm not surprised to see such massive discrepancies between Opted and actual scores (I wrote a discussion on that exact topic on another thread). Utilizing a good strategy is of central importance to this subject.

For QR I'm more than a little bit surprised to see that much of a variance, as opted seemed very similar to the actual test (for me as well as most people I've discussed this with) so maybe fatigue was a factor?? Only speculation, you'd know better than I would how your experience went.

Good luck with your studies, and good luck with your future application process, hope this helps!

 

[eye see]

Hi, i was wondering how long you guys would suggest to start studying again for the retake since we have to wait 90 days.

 

[cloud99]

90 days

 

[Arctic]

Good answer cloud99! If you have to retake the OAT, then you really want to study as much as possible during the 90 day minimum wait. Obviously you may have other commitments, but seriously study as much as you possibly can, especially as your optometric future pretty much hinges on doing well enough on this test. That's why people are so hesitant to give direct advice on things like how many hours to study: basically, just start studying now, and keep on studying until you will do great on the oat, however long it may take!

 

[eye see]

thanks for the advice!!