Took OAT today. Need advice.

EYECY

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Hey everybody,

So, I took the OAT today and my scores simply weren't what I wanted them to be. I am considering retaking it but I am hesitant since it is already Dec 2 I would not be able to retake it in until the beginning of March. While my overall OAT score isn't horrible I was hoping to get a better score to make up for my below average GPA (3.45).

Unfortunately, a few days ago my grandma passed away and I just haven't been able to focus as much as I needed to and I really feel like it affected my scores. But I guess that is just the way life goes and my scores are what they are. Ironically, my two best scores (QR and RC) were the two sections I didn't even study for while my Physics score was only a 290. I don't know how Optometry schools look at OAT scores but I'd imagine that the Physics section is probably more important than the QR and RC (is this right?). Do you think it would be worth the $500 to retake the test to raise my Physics score to be at a competitive level? I know for a fact I can raise all of my science scores if I were to retake it but between the price tag and knowing it will be so late in the application cycle I just can't decide if it is worth it.

For reference, the schools I'm planning on applying to are University of Houston, Indiana University, ICO, NECO, and Salus. My OAT score breakdown was as follows:

QR - 360
RC - 350
BIO - 310
GChem - 330
OChem - 330
PHY - 290
TS - 320
AA - 330

Thanks in advance for any advice, I greatly appreciate it!!

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Thank you for the reply, artmaster! I'm glad to hear my GPA won't bring down my application. I think you're right that's a good idea so I'll just apply with these scores and keep studying so if they ask me to retake; I can do it then. Congratulations on your interviews, that's very exciting!!!
 
Thank you for the reply, artmaster! I'm glad to hear my GPA won't bring down my application. I think you're right that's a good idea so I'll just apply with these scores and keep studying so if they ask me to retake; I can do it then. Congratulations on your interviews, that's very exciting!!!
Did you apply to any schools?
 
@Optician2OD Yes, I ended up applying to 5 schools and got interviews at all of them. I made sure to talk about the circumstances of my OAT score in my essay and how I would be willing to retake. Although, it seems my Physics OAT score did not hold me back at all considering I just got accepted to my top choice today!
 
@Optician2OD Yes, I ended up applying to 5 schools and got interviews at all of them. I made sure to talk about the circumstances of my OAT score in my essay and how I would be willing to retake. Although, it seems my Physics OAT score did not hold me back at all considering I just got accepted to my top choice today!
Congrats
 
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