What has more weight? The GPA or the OAT scores?

[jalapeno123]

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I would like to know what you guys think

I've read that OAT is more important than GPA but others say GPA is more important.

Obviously, the entire breadth of your application will be considered, but if we were to compare just the OAT and GPA, which is more important?

 

[csandova]

I think they go hand in hand. Schools are looking for applicants who have both a competitive GPA and OAT score. I've heard though that if you have an average GPA but excellent OAT scores, or vice versa, this will also work in your favor.

 

[blackhole2]

That varies by school. For example, the Indiana University School of Optometry first looks at the cumulative G.P.A., then the total science on the OAT. But since those are the first two things they look at, I guess they sort of go hand in hand.

 

[jkomo001]

I think they go hand in hand. Schools are looking for applicants who have both a competitive GPA and OAT score. I've heard though that if you have an average GPA but excellent OAT scores, or vice versa, this will also work in your favor.

I was wondering about the OP's question too. I have a 4.0 in sciences, 3.7 overall, but got an average 290 on OAT. I'm tryuing to get in a year early. Hopefully my gpa will cancel my poor oat score like you say.

 

[csandova]

I was wondering about the OP's question too. I have a 4.0 in sciences, 3.7 overall, but got an average 290 on OAT. I'm tryuing to get in a year early. Hopefully my gpa will cancel my poor oat score like you say.

Do you mean you will be applying without a bachelors? If this is your case, they might ask you to retake your OAT and apply again next cycle, since you have the time. You don't have to have a bachelors for most optometry schools, but the few students that they do accept without a bachelors have phenomenal stats.

 

[iBunny]

Depends on the school. Not sure if this is still true, but if you got below 300 in ANY section of the OAT, SCCO will not give you an interview.

 

[Looper8]

SCCO now will accept scores below 300 except for Reading Comp that has to be at least 300, also you have to at least have a 300 TS and AA.

 

[iBunny]

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[optsuker]

I was wondering about the OP's question too. I have a 4.0 in sciences, 3.7 overall, but got an average 290 on OAT. I'm tryuing to get in a year early. Hopefully my gpa will cancel my poor oat score like you say.

The first thing that will come into the minds of admissions that see this will be that your school has a slack grading scale.

Talked to several admissions deans this year & it seems the trend is to weight OAT more & more. Schools are getting more applicants that take all the "hard" classes at a community college, more non-science majors, & colleges in general are padding their stats by raising GPA's across the board.

OAT is the only way to evaluate applicants with equal standards.

 

[jkomo001]

The first thing that will come into the minds of admissions that see this will be that your school has a slack grading scale.

Talked to several admissions deans this year & it seems the trend is to weight OAT more & more. Schools are getting more applicants that take all the "hard" classes at a community college, more non-science majors, & colleges in general are padding their stats by raising GPA's across the board.

OAT is the only way to evaluate applicants with equal standards.

My school doesn't have a slack grading scale at all and when I interviewed at salus he looked at a little book thing to look up ODU and he mentioned how ODU is a harder school. I've never taken a class at a cc.

OAT is a good tool to evaluate candidates, I agree, but I had not taken physics at all when I took the test and my interviewers seemed to really take note of that, because both of them mentioned that.

 

[jkomo001]

Do you mean you will be applying without a bachelors? If this is your case, they might ask you to retake your OAT and apply again next cycle, since you have the time. You don't have to have a bachelors for most optometry schools, but the few students that they do accept without a bachelors have phenomenal stats.

Yes, I am applying without a bachelors. My school however has an "accelerated program" with some schools in which I take the prereqs, geneds, and lower level courses I would need to take to graduate leaving just the high sciences I would take my Senior year, and then after my first year at optometry school those high science classes are accounted for and I go back and graduate at my undergrad.

Fingers crossed.

 

[happymango]

ODU was considered a "harder school" by Salus? I'm from Virginia so I'm kind of surprised, especially after I looked up admissions stats on this website: http://colleges.collegetoolkit.com/colleges/admissions/old_dominion_university/232982.aspx . I also saw on the ODU website that kids in a community college transfer program are guaranteed admissions if they maintain at least a 2.5 gpa. Dang, sometimes I wish I just transferred from community college and saved myself all the stress and money! Weird, Salus, weird ...

But anyway, 3.7 is an awesome GPA and I commend your work ethic for the past three years. Honestly, I think OATs are the great equalizer. They are standardized and don't fluctuate a million different ways, unlike college GPAs. Sally's 390 in Chem means she's better in Chem that John who got a 350 (though both excellent scores). If you just had these two students' transcripts (say Sally had a B and John had an A+), though, you couldn't necessarily say that. Obviously optometry schools value both measures since both OATs and GPA are included in the application.

When it comes down to it, my thoughts are that if you have a bad GPA but really really good OATs (370+ in TS and AA and no below 300), then you have a better chance at admittance to the same optometry school than if you had a really good GPA (>=3.7) but a bad OAT (<290).

Also, it kind of bums me out that optometry school admissions standards seem to be getting watered down ...

 

[missbrightside]

For SCCO at least, they weight GPA slightly more than the OAT. First thing they look at is overall GPA and prerequisite GPA. Second thing (but also really important) is the OAT scores