Took the OAT today, need advice.

[eyehaveastigmatism]

Hey you guys! This is my first post in the forum. I am planning to apply for the upcoming 2017-2018 application cycle that opens this week, and I took my OAT today. The results I got back were a little lower than expected, and I'm having a tough time with it. I've been studying for about 3 months, but my scores just don't seem to reflect that. I have listed my stats from today, and my GPA below. My goal is to re-take the OAT as soon as possible, and possibly take a Kaplan course online. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prep for a re-take? Also, with my current scores and GPA is it still possible to get into optometry school? Should I still submit my application early since I am planning to re-take the OAT?

GPA: 3.70
OAT: 290 AA, 270 TS (I know this is bad...)
- QR: 310
- RC: 330
- BIO: 300
- GCHM: 250 (I really blew it, but seemed fine on the practice tests.)
- OCHM: 260 (Same as above ^)
- Physics: 270

Extracurriculars: I am super involved on my college campus through various organizations, honor societies, etc. I also hold leadership positions in all of the organizations I am in.

Optometry Experience: I have worked for a well established practice in my area for a little over a year now, and have shadowed other ODs as well.

Any advice is appreciated, I've just been extremely stressed out about the whole process.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Kat3H49]

Hey you guys! This is my first post in the forum. I am planning to apply for the upcoming 2017-2018 application cycle that opens this week, and I took my OAT today. The results I got back were a little lower than expected, and I'm having a tough time with it. I've been studying for about 3 months, but my scores just don't seem to reflect that. I have listed my stats from today, and my GPA below. My goal is to re-take the OAT as soon as possible, and possibly take a Kaplan course online. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prep for a re-take? Also, with my current scores and GPA is it still possible to get into optometry school? Should I still submit my application early since I am planning to re-take the OAT?

GPA: 3.70
OAT: 290 AA, 270 TS (I know this is bad...)
- QR: 310
- RC: 330
- BIO: 300
- GCHM: 250 (I really blew it, but seemed fine on the practice tests.)
- OCHM: 260 (Same as above ^)
- Physics: 270

Extracurriculars: I am super involved on my college campus through various organizations, honor societies, etc. I also hold leadership positions in all of the organizations I am in.

Optometry Experience: I have worked for a well established practice in my area for a little over a year now, and have shadowed other ODs as well.

Any advice is appreciated, I've just been extremely stressed out about the whole process.

Hello! First I would like to say congrats on writing your OAT! -it is a really stressful process so you should be proud that you made it through that 5 hour day. Your GPA is great- as is your experience and extracurriculars so that really helps to boost you up there! As for your OAT -290 is juuust under what most school require to apply- all schools I've looked at list that they need at least a 300. But don't let that get to you. I think it is a great idea to apply early and then rewrite your OAT (for the schools you want- check the dates that they need the OAT submitted by- as long as you do it before then you are fine!). Make sure you apply between July and end of August, but after you rewrite you OAT- I know that some schools explicitly say that you need to contact them to let them know you have re-taken the OAT so that they know they should look at your new score. In the mean time- try not to get down about yourself. The beauty of the OAT is that you can write it pretty much as many times as you want. As for re-take prep - I used the Princeton review- and it was LITERALLY amazing for the physics portion. 13 chapters reviewing ALL physics in detail- yet summarized and to the point. I have never done a Kaplan course online- I only had the book- so I don't known what that will be like. Even if you could just score 10 point higher to get a 300- with your GPA and activities you would have a better shot at getting a place. Best of luck!!! Let me know how everything goes- including how the OAT re-write goes!!

 

[bdpank]

Hello as well! First of all, congrats on finishing it. I know exactly what you just went through. The first time I took the OAT I had very similar scores if not lower. I highly recommend using CourseSaver (Chad's videos) for studying. He is very detailed and breaks down every topic for each subject. I used those videos the second time and it significantly increased my score. Don't get your head down! Your GPA is in a good range and your resume is also incredible. You can do this! Also remember, you're not alone

 

[eyehaveastigmatism]

Thanks you guys! Your responses really make me feel better about applying this cycle.

 

[naz9]

Hi! Would you mind sharing what you used to study the first time and what you will use the second time? I am currently studying to take the OAT in September and I just finished Chad's Videos and they were very helpful! I am also planning on using the Kaplan Blue Book and the OAT Destroyer. But, I want to see if there is any other resource I should be using. Thank you and I hope you do great on the re-take!

 

[eyehaveastigmatism]

Hi! Would you mind sharing what you used to study the first time and what you will use the second time? I am currently studying to take the OAT in September and I just finished Chad's Videos and they were very helpful! I am also planning on using the Kaplan Blue Book and the OAT Destroyer. But, I want to see if there is any other resource I should be using. Thank you and I hope you do great on the re-take!

The first time I took the OAT I studied using Kaplan's big book and a program called OAT Cracker. The Kaplan Book was a helpful aid, but it is hard to make yourself use it without a guide or study schedule to go by. I wouldn't just recommend using it as a stand alone study method. OAT Cracker is a test program that simulates the OAT. For the most part it was pretty spot on to what the actual OAT was like. I think it was $99, and it had a ton of different tests with explanations of every question. This time I plan on taking the Kaplan self-paced course for three months and using Chad's videos/Coursesaver to fill in any gaps.

The actual test itself isn't that scary once you get in the room to take it. If you take a lot of practice tests you should be pretty familiar with the format and question types by the time you test. For me, General Chemistry was the most difficult section (mostly because it has been three years since taking the class). The Reading Comp section has most of the answers in the passages and is kind of an easy score booster, and the Quantitative Reasoning is basic high school math. Biology is pretty much anything and everything from Bio courses you have taken in college. The math in the Physics section is also pretty easy, its the concepts that require a little bit more knowledge. For Organic Chemistry, if you know your reactions forward and backward you'll be fine. Good luck to you on your OAT!

 

[deleted810749]

Master coursesaver and dat bootcamp.