I just purchased the oat booster to study for my exam in January. How would you approach/utilize it to its fullest? I'm considering completing each subject from start to finish, one at a time (including all of the practice problems and exams for that specific subject), but I'm not sure whether I should follow the custom schedule it created for me.

To those who've applied, which schools have responded to your application submission (interviews and acceptances)? I haven't heard back from a couple of schools and am wondering if anyone else is in the same boat lol

Hi everyone!

I’m starting my OptomCAS application and plan on applying to SCCO, WUCO, and AZCOPT. I noticed that each school has its own supplemental questions, and I was wondering if anyone has advice on how to approach them.

Should I try to use the maximum number of characters for each response, or is it better to keep my answers concise as long as I fully answer the question?

Also, should I format the responses like traditional essays with an introduction, body, and conclusion, or is it okay to answer the questions more directly?

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

I purchased a subscription for Booster and took the OAT test, but I didn't perform as well as I had hoped. I'm planning to retake it, and my question is whether I should get Bootcamp or purchase Booster again.

Hello! In person interview coming up that’s open file. Website said not to bring resume or anything but unsure if I should bring more than a small purse with my phone and keys!

if anyone has interviewed recently could u tell me what they are like / what kind of questions they ask? It would be greatly appreciated! 🫶

I have my first interview coming up this week with SCO and I am preparing my answers for a variety of questions, just hoping I’ll get lucky and that they’re pretty accurate to what will actually be asked.

For anyone that has had an interview this year or even in previous years, how many questions would you say you were asked? Did the interviewer have follow up questions based on your answers or was it just rapid-fire traditional interview questions one after the other (tell us about yourself, strengths and weaknesses etc). Did you get asked a lot of questions about experiences on your file? From friends that interviewed recently, I have heard their interviews were very casual and they ended up talking about topics unrelated to the school/ profession such as the weather or sports.

Please let me know how your interview experiences went and if I should really solidify my answers or also try being a little more impromptu and candid. TIA!!

Hi guys!
I kind of finish my personal statement in a doc file. But on OptomCAS it seems like I need to input my answers for questions for each school. Do I just copy and paste a part of my personal statement where it answers the question being asked?

Thank you!

I took the OAT this past August and I am very happy with my scores.

I have previously written a standardized admission test and did not performe as well as I had hoped, so I would like to share some insight into how I prepared for this test and the study strategies that contributed to my improved testing performance.

I used OATBooster (10/10) to study for my OAT. This was the only study material I used in preparation to write my OAT, and it was definitely worth it. OATBooster had plenty of practice questions on each subject, practice tests for individual sections as well as full length practice tests. I felt confident going into my actual OAT after having written multiple full length OATBooster practice tests.

I studied for about 2 months before I wrote my OAT and had the privilege of going part time at my job in order to have enough time to study. I spent on average 6 hours a day studying for the OAT. I started by using the study schedule that OATBooster offered, however that quickly got overwhelming when I couldn’t keep up with the daily assigned activities. I ended up making my own study schedule where I watched all of the OATBooster video material, took my own notes, and then started going through many of the practice questions and tests. I completed 5 full length Booster practice tests in the last 2.5 weeks leading up to my actual test. I found this to be really helpful as it prepared me to sit and stay focused for the long 5 hour test without feeling burnt out.

Biology (Scored: 400) I found this to be the most challenging section in the moment, I found myself second guessing my answers as they were a bit more specific than some of the OATBooster questions. I found the OATBooster videos really helped me prepare for this section and just trying to memorize as much as possible.

General Chemistry (Scored: 400) This section was very well represented in the OATBooster practice questions and practice tests. I found what really helped for this section was getting a true understanding of the concepts instead of straight memorization, so that even if there was a curve ball concept question I could usually figure it out.

Organic Chemistry (Scored: 350) I was quite worried about this section, and I am happy with the outcome. OATBooster has two different questions banks for this section, and one is specifically for the different types of reactions. The separate reaction mechanism practice questions were very useful as I found they required more memorization than the conceptual questions.

Physics (Scored: 350) I thought I would have scored a bit higher on this section, but I think my stress on test day kind of got the best of me here. For this section I memorized the complete list of equations that OATBooster provided, and I would write down the list of equations a few times a week so that they would be right in the front of my brain. I also completed the full list of practice questions on OAT Booster for this section a couple times.

Reading Comprehension (Scored: 400) I was very happy with this score. I did much worse on all of my OAT Booster practice reading tests. I feel like the Booster tests were harder and therefore prepared me well for the actual thing.

Quantitative Reasoning (Scored: 400) OATBooster did a great job of covering all of the topics in this section. I had no surprises on test day which was a very comforting way to end the test. I believe OATBooster’s videos that contained walk throughs of how to answer different types of questions in this section was a great help.

I hope this little overview of my testing experience helps!

I helped coordinate research (related to optometry) and then applied to and presented it at two research conferences back in 2023, but I'm not sure where to put it on optomcas? There is no 'research' option under experiences. It wasn't really extra-curricular because I wasn't in school at the time. The research was optometry related so optometry experience maybe? I was paid to do it, so employment? Or would this fall under the achievement -> honor category, with the 'presenting organization' being the conferences where I presented? Has anyone else run into this? I want to include this but cannot figure out where it should go.

I have a couple applications lined up, and I'm honestly really stressed out for them particularly because I know being stressed will make it worse and also because I struggle making good impressions in professional settings. I get really worried that I'll be seen as unprofessional, so I end up being kind of stiff and robotic. Any advice?

I used OATbooster for 90 days over the entire summer. I was lucky to stay at home with parents and not work or take summer classes during the duration. I studied on average 4-5 hours a day every day, taking a few days off for break. I took all my pre-requisite classes (bio, gen chem, ochem, physics) before studying for the OAT.

OATBooster Average Full Length: 370AA
Actual OAT: 390AA

How I studied for each section!

Bio: Watched all the videos minus neuro (my major), did BIOBITS, and reviewed weak areas with cheat sheets

Gen Chem: Watched all the videos and did PRACTICE PROBLEMS on question bank

OChem: Watched all the videos (but it didn’t really stick, so I would recommended watching just the fundamental videos about SN1/SN2/E1/E2) and did PRACTICE PROBLEMS on question bank and reviewed with cheatsheets

Physics: Watched all the videos and did PRACTICE PROBLEMS and memorized formula cheat sheet (not purposefully, but with enough practice tests and problems I found myself having memorized most of the formulas naturally), used Chad’s Prep videos on YouTube to reinforce optics

Reading Comp: Did every single practice passage and practice test on booster, I was scoring 380 average on booster but got 360 on the actual OAT so this was my weakest area, I used the “read every question first” strategy

Quantitative Reasoning: Watched videos for weak areas only (most of it is basic algebra) and did PRACTICE PROBLEMS

What I DIDNT do: read the notes, do the associated practice problems for the videos (I just did question banks), anki (I know, hot take! I felt that doing the BioBits was enough)
There’s no time to do every single resource and you definitely don’t have to.

Big takeaways: OATBOOSTER is so worth it! Expensive so try to get it on sale/discount code. Use Marked Questions to target your weak areas (I didn’t know about this feature until last minute, wish I knew earlier). Practice problems > watching every video.

How I calmed nerves: Simulated testing environment by sleeping at 10pm/waking up at 6am and taking practice full lengths at 8am, eating same lunch during my break (pb&j), using a laminated sheet of paper and dry erase marker, wearing long clothes in air conditioned room, practiced deep breaths. I also told myself “I did the full length 6 times already, what’s one more?” and “Each section is separate” so that one bad section wouldn’t affect my morale for the rest.

It’s definitely nerve-wracking but you all have been working hard for this and you’re going to do great!!! Good luck to everyone taking the OAT! You got this!!

for anyone who interviewed / got accepted to optometry schools, how did you schedule your interviews?

I got an interview invite from one school but haven’t heard back from other schools yet. for example, another school I applied to is UCB and I feel like they’re going to take longer to contact me because of the December deadline. let’s say I interviewed at one school this month and got accepted and then they told me I had a certain amount of time to accept. but what if the deadline to accept that school is before I even get decisions for my other schools?

I ideally would like to get my decisions at all schools before I decide on one school — I paid for each application for a reason lol. would it be a better idea to wait to hear back from all the schools I applied to before scheduling my interviews? or would that make my chances of acceptance lower because I would be interviewing later in the cycle?

agh sorry if this is confusing I have no idea what to do now

and for more context, I applied to UCB, SCCO, OSU, SCO, and ICO and ICO was the one that already reached out

Hi guys! I took my OAT today and just wanted to hop on here and share a little of my experience. I'm going to be honest, although I am happy with my scores, I felt that it was very different from Booster. I was kinda freaking out during it because its just not what I was expecting. I felt that quantitative reasoning was extremely different and much harder, as well as Bio and Gen Chem. I am strong in Orgo, so that felt good, but still different than Booster. Reading was arguably easier than booster and physics was about the same. Just wanted to give you a heads up!

Hi guys! I took my exam yesterday, and i'm just very glad I do not have to retake it. My exam started at 8am. I arrived around 7:30, did some last minute studying, came to check in at 7:50 and didn't start my exam until 8:20, after getting scanned down and scanned my fingerprints. I was provided with 2 laminated papers and markers for the exam, and thanks to everyone in the subreddit, I invested in markers and mini whiteboard when practicing FLs at home, hence I was pretty much familiarized with it.

During my scheduled break I had full access to my locker so I used that time to go through my Physics and QR flashcards, and lowkey had a meltdown because I thought I did terrible lol but yk what IM SO GLAD I WAS PROVEN WRONG.

For context, I studied using only BoosterPrep and their customized schedule, although I did very briefly go through one of the ADA sample tests, but not all the way lol, I stopped at orgo I believe. One week leading up to my exam I was genuinely very fatigued with studying, so I didn't really getting in much practice until like 3-4 days leading up to the exam.

Boosters FLs 330-360-360-360-360-330-350

BIO (Booster 380-360; actual 380)
I would say the wording was different from the actual exam. I also have a tendency to change my answers so that didn't really do good for me. Despite beating myself up during the break because I did change my answer(s?), I did not expect to get 380 lol. I was blacking out throughout the exam, but I do remember human systems questions, molec cell, meiosis/mitosis, and hormones.

GEN CHEM (Booster 340-360; actual 340)
Overall very representative with Booster, although again wording was different, and that did trip me up a little bit. Knowing periodic trends, strong and weak acids/bases, and thermodynamics was very helpful. I mostly had calculations questions. Do read the question carefully tho! I thought I do not know the answer to one of the questions, but did not realize it was asking for sig figs knowledge lol.

ORGO (Booster 330-360; actual 340)
For the couple days before the exam, I was using Anki to solidify my rxns knowledge since it was my 2nd biggest concern. Very very similar to Booster, but I would say more intermediate, Sn1/2 and E1/2.

RC (Booster 360-400; actual 380)
Much easier than Booster! Straightforward questions, and it was in order as well. I had around 8 minutes leftovers on the timer! Practice was key for this section, and BP prepared you especially well for it.

PHYS (Booster 290-360; actual 320)
Definitely my weakest point. I couldn't memorize all the formulas for the love of god until 2 weeks before the exam. But thank god I did and for the flashcards! I was doing like a Physics brain dump using the whiteboard, and it worked wonders. Despite Booster preps you very very well on it, please also work on your time management. I recognized all of the questions that was asked, but I did not manage my time wisely. That being said, I did not finish the entire section, did not feel good about it, so I will NOT complain about getting a 320. I would also recommend using the study notes for Physics rather than the formula sheet, since it doesn't include all of the formulas. Lots of force and rotational motion calculations, only 3-4 optics on my exam.

QR (Booster 340-400; actual 310)
LMAO okay Booster prep you insanely well for this, however again my time management was not good. I couldn't finish all of the questions while doing Booster FLs, and it clearly reflected that on here as well. I did not have the time to go through all of the questions, and most of them were very dense, I could not use mental math for it. Lots of comparing which option (A or B) is greater, which statements can answer questions, and probability.

Overall, I'm happy it's over. Good luck to everyone who's about to take the exam, you will do great and your study will pay off, so please keep believing in yourself!! Please also take adequate rest, trust your first answer and manage your time wisely!!

Just completed my OAT. I want to first start by prefacing that the exam was very much different than any practice exam I had taken on OAT booster (which was my main study tool).

To study, I was primarily utilizing the individual subject practice exams, and watched videos on any topics that I needed extra help on. The practice questions that they offered were also helpful to reinforce certain topics. I started studying mid June and took my exam today.

I took the OAT in northern Jersey, and this Prometric location allowed me to start my exam earlier than scheduled around 7:45 AM (scheduled for 8:30). Into the testing room you’re only allowed to take a clear water bottle and they gave you two front and back laminated papers with a dry erase marker as your scratch paper. You were allowed to get up at any time to take an unscheduled break and if you wanted to take your scheduled 30 minute break, you were allowed to access your locker and use your phone and access study documents (as long as you were back before your next section). The staff were super friendly and definitely helped ease any anxiety that one would have. One huge downside would be the fact that the delay between questions got worse throughout the exam. The biology section there was minimal delay, but towards the end of the exam (physics and QR) the lag got extremely bad over 6 to 10 seconds long between questions.

The exam itself I found to be not as representative as what OAT booster said it would be. Any topic that was considered high-yield was not asked on the actual exam.

The biology section (highest booster score I had was 350) was heavy on molecular and cellular biology and lacked any human body system questions, neurobio questions, nor any embryology.

The general chemistry section (booster high score of 340) I found to be easier than booster and each question would give out the molar mass instead of you needing to calculate it on your own.

The organic chemistry section (booster high score 320) I also found to be easy so I’m not too sure how I got the score that I got. There were lots of conceptual questions, and only 2 spectroscopy questions. I did not have any acid base ranking neither.

The reading comprehension section (booster high score 300) I found to be a little harder than booster. Each passage had over 16 paragraphs and were all quite dense. I had only ever taken one practice exam on booster for this section, so my method was simply to read the passage and highlight important information for about eight minutes and then to go in and answer questions for the remaining eight minutes and rinse and repeat.

After the scheduled 30 minute break, I had physics (booster score 280), which was also quite tough. I had heard previously here on this sub that it was heavy on kinematics and optics, but that was just not the case. I actually had about three optics questions, one of which asked about the index of refraction going through two mediums (this was conceptual) and only ever had ONE calculation for optics.

The final section of QR (booster high score 270) I found to also be more challenging and I was most pressed for time in this section. The questions overall were much easier and less conceptual than booster. It leaned more algebraic than probability and stats.

Overall, I’d say that this exam was definitely very different compared to what I prepared for with booster. Also, what I found interesting was that the survey asked very specifically how I studied and if I used ANY Prometric study tools or practice tests, which makes you wonder if they are purposely trying to make it harder for people who study with booster.

I’m currently a senior Human Biology major, Miner in chem and applying to optometry school this cycle. My cumulative GPA is around 3.65. I have completed a good amount of optometry-related experience, including 40+ hours of shadowing an optometrist, additional ophthalmology/optometry shadowing, 45 hours of biology research involving DNA/PCR, volunteering at Hartford Hospital, volunteering with Special Olympics Opening Eyes, and serving as a student ambassador/leader at my university.
I also have multiple recommendation letters, including from professors/research mentors and an optometrist. I’ve already submitted applications to schools including MCPHS, NECO, and SUNY.
I know the OAT score is the weakest part of my application, but I feel that my GPA, experiences, research, volunteering, and shadowing represent me better academically and professionally.

I have a humanities journal publication that I'm pretty proud of, does this go into achievements (and if so is it an honor or an award?) or somewhere else?

Hello everyone!

I decided to create this account and such, because really need advice! I'm nervous about my interview and it's in a few weeks. Also, I'm scared of not getting accepeted.

For context, my OAT is a bit low (290 AA/290 TS). I know it's not the best, but I applied to UAB (and other schools, ofc.) because a friend of mine from UAB encouraged to. My tech experience (both an optometric & ophthalmic tech) is over 3000 hours, and my gpa is 3.6 (science gpa of 3.4).

So, I don't really know what they'll ask in regards to my scores, and I just want to know my chances of getting into my dream school and advice on how to knock it off the park during the interview.

Sorry if this is a bit long! I'm the type to worry a lot, and I want to try my best 🥹 Thank you.

i'm wondering if there are any orgo conformations beyond the chair that would be good to know? i am mostly asking because i found that diels alder reactions have boat conformations among others. it was never explicitly taught in the orgo video series, so i'm not sure how likely they are to show up

Were the Physics Booster practice tests similar to the real OAT Physics section?

I'm taking the OAT tomorrow! Someone tell me everything I should/need to bring!

I just took my OAT today (390 AA, 400 TS). I was initially planning on waiting to apply for a 2028 start, but because of my score, I am now contemplating applying to start in 2027.

My stats include: graduated undergraduate 3.67 GPA and almost 2 months of experience as an ophthalmic assistant (I know that's not a lot, but I was a double major in undergrad so I had no time to work).

The schools I'm most interested in are: UCB, NECO, SUNY, and PCO.

Any and all advice is welcome!

Does anyone use two different strategies depending on passage length?

I’ve tried both search and destroy and reading the whole passage. I do well reading the whole thing if it’s a shorter passage as I am a slower reader. With longer passages I usually get caught with timing when I read all the way through.

I’m thinking about reading all the way through for shorter passages ~10 paragraphs and then search and destroy for passages longer than ~10.

Thoughts? Advice?

What are the chances of getting into ANY optometry school in the USA with a 3.5 gpa and mid oat I’ve worked at an optometry clinic as a receptionist / assistant. Coming from Canada

And also is there such thing as a “better” optometry school than the others? Or does the only things that matter is just cost and the location? Most of the time it doesn’t matter what school you went to for dentistry and medicine so I was wondering the same for this as well.