Took the OAT again today

[RLK]

AA of 290 this time. I wonder if that will be enough. Getting closer.

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[ching88]

I am not trying to discourage you; however, a 290 is not a competitive score unless you really have a high GPA. Schools such as SCCO and SCO value OAT as a test to see if the applicants are able to retain their pre-req knowledge and also as a way to evaluate their potential for passing the board exam. I would highly recommend at least try to get a 310 or above if you have an above average gpa. I know a friend of my who has a 3.1gpa with a 350AA/360TS applied to both UCB and SUNY and was accepted to both, well of course she also had 2 years of working experience at an eye clinic. However, I had another friend who has a 3.7 GPA at UCI majored in Biology, who has a 270AA OAT was rejected to all the schools she applied to. She did get a few interviews before she took her exam (ICO, PCO, NECO), but unfortunately OAT is actually valued a lot. Please do not feel discourage about pursuing optometry; however, if you really want to get into a school and optometry is really what you wanted; put some time studying for the OAT and I am sure you will get a good score that you want. Use the Kaplan MCAT review book if you need to; it is a great book to prepare for OAT and it is cheap if you get it off Ebay.com. Anyway, good luck with your application.

AA of 290 this time. I wonder if that will be enough. Getting closer.

 

[Ophthamic]

I am not trying to discourage you; however, a 290 is not a competitive score unless you really have a high GPA. Schools such as SCCO and SCO value OAT as a test to see if the applicants are able to retain their pre-req knowledge and also as a way to evaluate their potential for passing the board exam. I would highly recommend at least try to get a 310 or above if you have an above average gpa. I know a friend of my who has a 3.1gpa with a 350AA/360TS applied to both UCB and SUNY and was accepted to both, well of course she also had 2 years of working experience at an eye clinic. However, I had another friend who has a 3.7 GPA at UCI majored in Biology, who has a 270AA OAT was rejected to all the schools she applied to. She did get a few interviews before she took her exam (ICO, PCO, NECO), but unfortunately OAT is actually valued a lot. Please do not feel discourage about pursuing optometry; however, if you really want to get into a school and optometry is really what you wanted; put some time studying for the OAT and I am sure you will get a good score that you want. Use the Kaplan MCAT review book if you need to; it is a great book to prepare for OAT and it is cheap if you get it off Ebay.com. Anyway, good luck with your application.

Once again, I didnt want to discourage u, but ching is right. u might want to try learning spanish and apply to Puerto Rico one.

 

[polkadot]

Especially because this is a retake, your score will be even more closely scrutinized. Were all your scores below 300? If you're going to retake it again (and I recommend that you do if you plan to apply), I would do an individual assessment of each of your topics. Which are your worst? Which scores have the greatest potential to improve? Focus on those. And then REALLY study. Do a lot of practice exams. If you can consistently cut a 330 on the TopScore and Kaplan exams, I almost guarantee that you won't get a 290 on the real OAT.

Something I would HIGHLY discourage would be taking the OAT again without knowing that your score will be much better. I just think [my opinion only] that it shows you aren't willing to do the work to improve but are hoping to improve only by chance.

 

[alferec]

I have to agree with polkadot. You should make a goal for yourself and take tons of practice tests. It would look pretty bad if the third time around was worse. Did you take Kaplan? They helped me a lot and I suggest that you invest into them. They do have this score guarantee - I may be wrong but it's something like if you don't improve your OAT score after taking their course, you get a refund.

 

[still_confused]

AA of 290 this time. I wonder if that will be enough. Getting closer.

i totally agree with taking more practice tests. you might not only want to pinpoint your weakest section, but your strongest section as well. i see that you area CS major, maybe your math can be even higher once you eliminate the simple mistakes. Ochem in my opinion is the easiest to raise your score as the there are only like 4 basic reactions (SN2, SN1, E2, E1) that dominate the test (at least when i took it)

for reading i highly recommend the "search for answer" method, as a person with crappy reading skills, this method has gotten me through the numerous standardized tests.

work hard! good luck

 

[gsinccom]

what is the "search for answer" method?

 

[still_confused]

what is the "search for answer" method?

you basically skim the passage (maybe read first sentance of each paragraph) then read the questions, and "search" for the answer. you use keywords found in the question to help you locate the appropriate section to search

 

[Hines302]

That is the aproach that Kaplan teaches... and it is really helpful. I would also write down keywords for each paragraph like was said in the previous post. This way when you get a question, you can easily determine in which paragraph you are likely to find the answer. It helps a TON!

 

[russian-OD]

AA of 290 this time. I wonder if that will be enough. Getting closer.

what is your GPA? many schools want the OAT score of 320 and above. Just take the test again. I would recommend taking Princeton Review prep course...those guys are awesome. I just finished taking the class. There are 4 diagnostic tests and teachers are very friendly.
Good luck, and don't give up.

 

[ucbsowarrior]

AA of 290 this time. I wonder if that will be enough. Getting closer.

the cards are not on your side.
retake oat