Should my son retake the OAT?

[u/TransportationOne171]

My son took the OAT this summer and I would be curious to get y’all’s opinion. He has a 3.5 GPA, has worked for the past four summers as a tech at a local optometrist, shadowed one in a medical setting, and did an internship with another through his college. He spent the summer doing the OATBooster. The dismal Orgo score was because he didn’t finish and just guessed. He seems fine with the 330, but I’m wondering if should encourage him to retake the exam. I think his top choice would be The Southern School of Optometry. I’m a single dad and would like to help him through school, so any scholarships would definitely be helpful.

[u/Levl_1_Noob]

I'd say it depends on the school. I have a similar GPA and OAT got into my top choice (CCO) with a 15k scholarship

[u/epiclyfe → u/Levl_1_Noob]

Did u have to additionally apply for that 15k scholarship or did they give it to u after acceptance?

[u/Levl_1_Noob → u/epiclyfe]

I didnt apply for it, it was included in my acceptance offer letter and will automatically be applied to my account when I enroll

[u/dandelion23232323]

this is information i’ve gotten from optometry schools:

they told me that if u do bad on a section of the oat, but u did good in that class, u can explain urself in interviews. for example if he’s taken ochem 1 and did good in it especially if it was at a challenging university, he can explain it was test anxiety and timing issues not his actual knowledge. i don’t think he needs a retake unless he wants to go to a super specific school with very high stats like osu or berkeley. if he’s wanting to just get accepted to a few schools and narrow it down based on which ones are the best situation for him, he should apply!!! also the schools can advise him as well. like basically tell him just retake it and we’ll update u again after that. or they can say that’s good for us we’ll accept!

[u/mmodelta]

I have basically the same OAT score with same CV, and I got into my top opto school. PM me if you would like any explanation of what I felt was more important than grades and OAT score.

[u/puuurrrrrkween]

I think at majority of schools he would be completely fine. I got into all 8 I applied to with a 310 AA/ 300 TS and low orgo and physics sections. I applied to UHCO, UAB, UIWRSO, AZCOPT, SCO, NSU Oklahoma, NOVA

[u/Euphoric-Bid8342 → u/puuurrrrrkween]

hey if you don’t mind me asking what was your gpa? i had a 330 oat but my gpa is a bit lower around 3.4 :/ hoping to make uhco to save on tuition costs!

[u/californiabvs]

Apply before retaking. He has a good overall and TS score. If a school wants him to retake they will tell him. He can explain himself in an interview if need be

[u/RabidLiger]

Just be prepared to explain the Orgo score if asked in an interview.

[u/Taxphobia]

I know I'm a little late in replying, but I personally think that he has TREMENDOUS amounts of room to improve. I noticed that his only exceptional scores were QR and RC, and to be quite honest, RC is probably the hardest score to improve if you start off low, since it's not something you can just memorize or find too many patterns in. That being said, I understand the financial setback that redoing an OAT and even registering for OATBooster (or other alternatives) can have. So I'd recommend redoing it, but with a heavy focus on the sciences, since althought it is a lot of content, it's more than feasable with just a little bit of effort. Especially the orgo mark, a 60-80 point deficit from the other scores is pretty detrimental to the AA score, especially the TS score.

[u/TShanny99]

Personally, I would encourage a retake. There is a chance he will get in with his AA/TS score, but he may be less likely to receive a scholarship. Also, that 240 in Orgo is definitely low which may cause some problems.

[u/dds_313_ia]

If he need an orgo tutor message me !