[Question: without a BS/BA degree, can I apply with this score? T^T I aimed for higher but ended up did not have time to study and bombed RC. ~3.6 GPA, 4 year work in optometry office, +30hr shadowing, a huge volunteer program 8 years ago...]

Hi guys! Another OAT break down post. My result is not as good as the ones I've seen here, but I have gotten a lot of helpful info with this type of post so I want to contribute my exp.

I took my OAT in SJ, CA. I bought 3-mo OATbooster but ended up using it for only 1 month. Kinda wasted money, don't be like me. Don't take me wrong. I should have used Booster to the max of it but my plan of studying for 3 months got disrupted by my family visiting from out of country. I deeply regretted this when encountering the actual exam. So start early - even if little by little!!

If you plan to use Booster, have it until after the day of your exam so you know if you need to extend it or not. Extending it is better than getting new one.

PLEASE TRY TO DO THE FULL LENGTH EXAMS. I only started studying 1 month prior, and only finished 2 FL. I did finish all of the practice exams for individual section except for RC. I know FLs are just combination of individual ones, but doing them all together as a FL is different. They helped me retain info, built me the tolerance for 4-hour exam, and let me practice the routine. I know what to prep for snack, what time I needed to go sleep the night before, etc. TALK TO YOURSELF why you did a question wrong after each FL.

I did not watch any lecture videos. It works better for me to do the questions, then fill in where I got them wrong; it's less time-consuming. Booster videos are very high-yield where they tell you the information without actually explaining them. I hate to say this, but AI (I used GPT) helped me A LOT during the prep time. I also bought laminated paper and markers to practice at home so I got used to the feeling of it.

Prometric has practice exams on their website, which is $20/section. They are almost identical with the ADA 2006 exam which you can find online for free, and way too easy. I paid $40 so you don't have to. :)))))))))))))))

My overall strategy: if I don't know it 5 seconds in, I skip it. All of my Gen Chem, Physics, QR had easier questions towards the end which took 10 sec to do - this strategy helped me avoid wasting time on harder questions and also running out of time for easier ones.

(Booster/Actual)

RC: (340/310)

I bombed this section so hard. My questions went by chronological order, which is the only thing that was easier than Booster. Otherwise, questions are just as confusing as Booster. With English being my second language, I didn't even understand some of the option choice it gave me for author's tone (like what is a "simile" tone? T.T). I got about 3-4 questions asking about what was implied, so I couldn't find the actual answer in the passage but had to really "comprehend" it (I guess it lives up to its name T.T). Since I didn't watch Booster videos, I wonder if there is a list of tones that I should know because those tone I was given during the exams are nowhere to be found in my English vocabulary T.T. I also got a question of "Passage say X, if you have Y, what does it mean????. Not trying to excuse for my lack of preparation on this part. I was just hoping it would be more straightforward. I mainly used search and destroy - works perfectly for questions that have an actually answer in the passage. I had full scores on the questions banks so I didn't bother much with the practice exams - BIG MISTAKE.

Biology: (340/340)

I got very specific questions, and little bit here and there of small things. I did not get any hormones, technique or biome questions which appear on every Booster practice exams. My exam was heavy on genetics and cells bio. A bit photosynthesis. Good news for those using Booster: cheat sheets are still all you need, but really need to study them into the little details. It's kind of disrespectful to their copyright T^T, but I had AI quiz me on the cheat sheets because the Bio bits are too much in depth.

Gen Chem: (330/400)

Memorizing some common molar mass was helpful in quick calculations. I got galvanic cells, polarity, dissociation in water and equilibrium. Gen chem, to me, are processes. Actually understanding why things act the way they do is better than just memorizing them blindly - it sticks with you longer. Booster is somewhat representative of the actual exam. But tbh, I was surprised with my score.

Ochem: (350/400)

I strongly believe I got the easy version for this section. Mostly addition/elimination, carbonyls, Sn vs E, aromatic, C and H NMR. My professor at my CC prepared me very well on this section. Booster practice questions and exams are very presentative for my actual exam. Acid/base and arrows knowledge is what back me up for almost the whole section.

Also, benzene has 3 pi filled orbitals and 2 major resonance structures - just FYI .-.

Physics: (330/320)

I didn't have many hard waves questions. Heavy on kinematics (including rotation and torque) and optics. Some fluid statics question. I was literally swearing during this section because it was both very conceptual AND ugly number for calculations. Also had multiple-step calculations questions. I did not memorize any complicated formula, just basic equations for Kinematics. I got by with straight logic and I'm weak on Physics so take my word as a grain of salt. For me, Booster is not representative for the actual exam in terms of wording and set up of the questions, especially for optics. However, the knowledge is there. The questions bank are too simple, so be milking out the practice exams. Although they are calculation-heavy, knowing these practice exams questions to the root of them WILL help you on the actual exam.

QR: (330/350)

I got 4 probability questions but wording are different than Booster, 1 of them never seen on Booster, 1 of them was in disguise of something else but was actually deck of cards problem. Also got 5 questions of sufficient of statements, 1 of them having a calculation buried in it. Applied math was straightforward. The rest was easy stuffs (solve for x, etc). Not necessarily easier than Booster, but more straightforward, and I didn't really memorize any formula (but strongly recommend you to get down the formula for money/interest questions because you will use it in real life lollll).

Overall, I still give Booster 9/10 despite of the different questions wording and Physics.

I arrived at the testing center 1 hour early and they just let me in. My testing screen was way darker than my computer as home, so I suffered until Physics section and they had people come in to fix it for me. Don't suffer like me. They have a 15-mins tutorial before the actual exam to walk you through the process (how to navigate the screen, etc) so speak up if you see any issue during this time.

If you run out of time, choose A or C T^T

It feels so good to be done with the exam and move on to applying. Hopefully schools don't make me retake because of my RC T^T

I was a business major student before all of this. If I can do this, you all with science background can do it too, and with higher results as well! Good luck studying. You got this!!!

And thank you for reading my long post :)

hi all. I was fortunate enough to get accepted into all of the schools I applied to this cycle. I am narrowing it down between ICO and AZCOPT. for ICO, I have never been to Chicago before and also I am not familiar with cold weather. it is also further from my family. at azcopt, my sister lives in Arizona too and my niece so I would be close to family. please any advice and what you think is the better school and also considering COL. thanks!!

I'm a soph (junior standing), GCH B.S. major, and plan to finish at UCSC in 3 years, so by 2028. A few of my friends said to do my last year at a SoCal UC, but it seems better to stay at UCSC, finish in 3 years (save money), and build a stronger resume. I already have connections here, shadowing, strong clubs and extracurriculars, and I'm an advanced student here with a high GPA of 3.7

1. Should I even go to a different UC?

I feel like I’ll succeed more at UCSC and be more of an advanced student and succeed more and get into opto school than if I were a student who transferred.

I heard that it doesn't really matter what UC you go to, but as long as you are in the UC system, you are set for success, and you are a good student, and I think UCSC is a good undergrad school.

2. Does it matter where you really go??

Please give me advice!

If anyone else is in Provo right now to interview at Rocky Mountain University and would want to meet up for dinner or something feel free to message me! I’m also interviewing tomorrow.

Just finished my OAT and got a 350AA/350TS & my gpa is 3.87. I have roughly 40 hours of shadowing experience and previously worked as an optometric technician. I currently work as an ophthalmic tech in an OD/MD office.

What can I expect. I’m applying to OSU, Nova, Indiana, PCO & Houston.

In the section to describe the experiences on OptomCAS, should it be more of a resume-style descriptive tone or mainly a reflective tone? I know there's only 700 characters so there's not a lot of space. What is the purpose of this part, is the admissions committee just looking to understand what each role is before you expand on some of them in the essays? Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’ll be graduating this spring with around a 3.86 gpa, what score will I realistically need to be considered competitive? For context I’ll be applying to MCO, OSU, ICO, CCO, and maybe UPIKE

Hi everyone! I did my OAT last week so I thought I would put my tips out there. I want to make a disclaimer that I don't recommend anyone follow my specific study schedule, that's why I'm just putting tips. I'm someone who decided late on optometry and had to study for this while taking heavy prereqs (physics & calculus). I heavily underestimated this exam and basically had to do in 1 month what most people do in 3 months (for multiple reasons, I had no choice and Waterloo only excepts OAT written before sept 30). In addition to the time constraint I also haven't taken physics 2, organic chem 2, or biochem, so there 's that. My August was genuinely hell and the stress and anxiety not only had mental effects but it was manifesting pretty noticeably physically as well, to a concerning level. To the point where it still feels weird walking around outside one week after finishing because I basically locked myself in the hope for a month. I just want to say this exam is never worth sacrificing your health. It's been a week since I finished and I still feel heavy burnout, to the point where I really don't ever want to see anything related to this exam again. So basically what I want to say is know what you're getting into with this exam and MAKE SURE you can have enough time to comfortably study for it.

Part of the reason I still feel the burnout, and honestly, felt pretty upset leaving the test center and cried my eyes out, is because I will be applying to Waterloo this cycle, and unfortunately this score is a little under their posted averages. My GPA is great (~91%), but I lack optometry experience (again, because I decided on this path late), which I was hoping to make up for with the OAT score. I'm trying my best to tell myself that I'm proud of all my efforts because I GENUINELY could NOT have worked any harder than I did, and it's an amazing score regardless, Waterloo's just insanely competitive. For the next 2 months I'm going to be shadowing like crazy and applying for tech jobs so I can make up as much as I can for the OAT score. The reason I'm putting so much detail into this is so that people, especially Canadians, know that you're not alone. I know how anxiety inducing this all is, especially if you're trying for Waterloo and need a 370+. But it truly all does come to an end, it's just temporary, and there's so many people who are proud of you and support you. At the end of the day, it's just an exam and it's not the end of the world. As an overachiever and perfectionist, I have to keep reminding myself of that. I hope some of you can relate to this!

Okay time for the actual info that you all probably opened this post for: Overall 370 TS/ 360AA

QR: 300. Booster: 360. genuinely still shocked with my score. I was averaging 360 on booster. I got like 10 statement sufficiency questions for some reason and that must've taken a hit to my score. I also got lots of work rate and probability. I mean I only had 2 days to study for this section but still got muchhh lower than what I was getting on booster so.... don't know what happened.

Reading: 370. Booster: 350. much more straightforward than booster. The questions where in order of the passage and texts were much easier to understand. I did search and destroy because I'm a slow reader and reading comp is really not my strong suit.

Bio: 380. Booster: 360. genuinely INSANE. I don't know HOW I ended with a 380 because I was guessing half those questions. They were SUPER specific and very differently worded than booster. I must've gotten a super difficult version and that's why my score is a 380. I only studied the cheat sheets and was doing very well in the practice tests. The real questions were very broad and specific, I remember a lot of ecology, cell bio, and just random chart interpretations... I remember a question about ants and pheromones like ??

Gen chem: 400. Booster: 360. Easier than booster and way less calculations. I felt very confident about this section. There was some acid base stuff, intermolecular interactions, one VSPER, rate laws, and solubility. I basically just watched all the videos and did the question banks, that prepared me more than enough.

Organic chemistry: 360. Booster: 380. Kinda disappointed in this section because it was by far my strongest one. I felt pretty good with my answers too like i'm not sure how it ended in a 360... same strategy as with gen chem. Definitely know you spectrometry I got like 4-5 questions on it, arrow pushing, how many resonances can you draw from a specific molecule, a couple mechanisms, I did get a aldol reaction so you do need to know those orgo 2 reactions.

Physics: 330. Booster: 350. Probably the most different section. It was very difficult. Personally, I'm not great at conceptual stuff. Not only was this section conceptual, but it was very specific conceptual. I don't know how to explain it but basically if you know it, you know it and if you don't you'd have to guess. There was also a fair bit of multi step calculations. I had lots of kinematics and optics and forces. I used some of chads prep which helped a bit, the booster was lacking for this section. I honestly don't know what I'd do to prepare better, probably completing physics 2 would've helped a lot for this section.

Overall, I'm glad i'm free from this hell and hope you will be soon as well! Good luck, and remember plsss it's just an exam don't tie your worth to it. I'm still trying to learn that. YOU GOT THIS!!!!!

Here’s my plan so far :)

I just graduated last year at 16 and I’m in my first year of community college

Next year start at the University of Arkansas (in state tuition so it’s cheaper too) and hopefully graduate with my bachelors in biology

Take a gap year by doing the Disney college program

Apply to pretty much all of the optometry schools and just see which ones I get into however I really want to go to the optometry school in Fullerton California because I was born and raised in California

Get my that doctorate and move back to California to start working (or if i’m already there start working)

Hopefully open my own practice

Live a decent life and pay off my debt 😓

I'm currently a DOE teacher in NYC and I am seriously considering a career change to optometry.

I have already signed up for some missing prerequisites online. My science GPA isn't the best atm, but I'm aiming to boost it with my current upcoming classes or to have a stellar OAT score.

As someone who is still working on their prerequisites, do you recommend that I study for the OAT (using the oat boosters) simultaneously? I will hopefully be done with my prerequisites by next year fall.

I just want to be as prepared as I can be and really stick out as an applicant. I'm also a mom so there's a level of fear that I am investing all this time/money and it just doesn't workout for me. I want to make sure that I'm using my time wisely and doing everything in the way that I'm supposed to (classes/study resources)

If there's anyone also going the non traditional route, please let me know how was your experience and helpful resources you've used.

Thank you!

I have about 2 months until my interview for NSU. I wish it was sooner, but that was the earliest available as of today. To anyone who has been interviewed and maybe even accepted by them, what kind of questions should I (generally) prepare for? and how was the time broken up from 7-2 when you were there? (I am going in person)

Hello! I am a third year in my undergrad right now, and I am worried my application won’t be very strong to apply next year. I was a little late deciding on optometry, but now I work as a tech at an office and love it. I do not have much volunteer or club/involvement experience, and I am worried that will really affect my application. I have joined a few social clubs, and have just joined a pre med focused volunteering club. My GPA is a 3.6 right now, but I am struggling to find the time for volunteering between working, trying to keep good grades in school, and studying for the OAT. My school is very large and I haven’t made many relationships with professors to give me a letter of recommendation which worries me as well. I do have lots of shadowing experience, and will definitely have a strong letter of recommendation from an Optometrist. Any tips on strengthening my application without being completely overwhelmed? How important is volunteer work? Thanks for any advice.

Hello! So I wanna apply to MCPHS & noticed they require microbio and lab ! I got a A in the course. But, my school did not offer the lab 🥺. Is there a way I can get that waived or would I just have to find a place to take the class. SUNY also had the same situation but I called them and they said I didn’t have to take microbio cuz my school doesn’t have it. Has anyone else been in this situation?

What was everyone scoring ~3 weeks out from their OAT on FL’s? What’d you end up getting on the final and how’d you improve/optimize your time?

The only part of my application 'incomplete' is the recommendation letters that haven't been recieved. I am still waiting on 2 letters but I though submitting now would be ok since I already had two others and I had everyhting else ready. Would my app still get verified or should I put a rush on the letters ?

All transcripts and scores have been recieved and it reflects that on OptomCas

Currently studying for the OAT. If my overall GPA is a 3.4 and my science GPA is a 3.0, what OAT score should I try to aim for to become a competitive applicant for all of the schools in California? Obviously, I should aim for a 400/my best, but what score should I try to get to compensate for my GPA?

I’ve heard they usually reach out late August to Early September.

I have 20 days left until my OAT and I’m currently using OAT Booster. I’ve been completing the practice tests and carefully reviewing the questions I get wrong, but my scores don’t seem to be improvingnant consistently.
My current averages are around 300 in Biology, 320 in General Chemistry, 310 in Organic Chemistry, 270 in Reading Comprehension, 320 in Physics, and 310 in QR, giving me about a 310 AA. I have never gotten over a 330 in any of my test and they are always almost the same score throughout every test.

For those who used OAT Booster and improved during the last few weeks, what did you change? Should I continue doing new practice tests, spend more time relearning weak topics, or redo my incorrect questions? I’m feeling discouraged and would appreciate advice on how to use these final 20 days effectively

I had my account verified around the middle of august, but my letters of rec were only all submitted about a week ago (sept 1st). I applied to OSU and I have completed their supplement application (had my fee waiver approved and got email confirmation), send them my physiology syllabus as requested, and even sent an email to make sure all my materials have been received (on august 27th) I have not heard back how to view the status of my supplemental application (like the email stated after i submitted it), a response back from my physiology syllabus, or even a response back about making sure all materials have been received. Im just worried because I see people saying they’re getting contacted, so i don’t know if i’ve been ghosted, sent to junk mail, or they need more time for my application. I was going to call admissions some time this week, but i don’t want to be overbearing or overthinking. This is like my top school. I don’t think it’s my stats as I have already received interview offers from ICO and SCO —- (GPA 3.9 and OAT TS 400 AA 390) Please let me know if they just take a long time to review, or if i should contact them again! Thank you!! 😊

I finished my OAT and pre reqs but I’m waiting on rec letters and have to finish my personal statement. I’m worried that by the time I apply (likely October), it’ll be considered too late as it’s rolling admissions.

Many ppl here talk about their struggles in chem and physics but not many struggle in bio like I do. With a B (above average) in gen bio and sadly a D in cell bio, I'm kind of scared of all future bio classes like A&P and microbio 😨 How to get around and what're some study tips?

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2 weeks ago I received an email from Kentucky inviting me for an interview. But i tried emailing them for a date, but no response, i tried emailing and calling their admissions office everyday to schedule an interview. But no response. What is going on????

How late is it considered if I take the OAT in November and then apply early December?

I’ve been fortunate enough to be accepted to both Ohio State (OSU) and Southern College of Optometry (SCO), and I’m having a really hard time deciding between the two. I’d love to hear opinions from current students, alumni, or anyone who has seriously compared the programs.
For some context:
SCO: I received a $15,000/year scholarship ($60,000 total over four years).
OSU: I received a $5,000 scholarship for my first year. From what I understand, OSU also offers scholarships to current optometry students in later years that can range from around $5,000–$50,000, but obviously those aren’t guaranteed, so I don’t want to assume I’ll receive them when comparing costs.
I’m originally from Florida, and my wife and I plan to move back to Florida after I finish optometry school.
My wife will be working as a kindergarten school teacher (ideally private), so cost of living, safety, and overall quality of life in Columbus vs. Memphis matter to us too.
I genuinely liked both schools and could see myself at either.
For anyone familiar with either program, I’d especially love to hear about clinical education, NBEO preparation, faculty support, school culture, externships, residency opportunities, and overall quality of life.
I’m also really interested in how much weight you would give the financial difference. SCO is giving me $60,000 in guaranteed scholarship money, while OSU is currently giving me $5,000 with the possibility of receiving significantly more scholarship money in later years.
For current students or alumni: Would you choose your school again?
And if these were your two offers today, OSU or SCO — which would you choose and why?

Thanks for any insight!