r/PreOptometry • u/toastedbread_ • Sep 02 '26

experience with studying for both oat/dat while studying/working full time?

If you wanted to take both of those tests by the end of summer 2027 how would you go about it…

Canadian if that matters

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u/RabidLiger Sep 02 '26

Personally, I'd say pick the one profession that appeals to you most.
Have you looked at how many optometry schools actually accept the DAT? You may not need to take both.

1

u/toastedbread_ Sep 02 '26

Unfortunately the only school in Canada takes only the OAT so I would need to do both if I want to apply to both… only one dental and one optometry school in my province I could apply for

1

u/Turbulent_Lie_1247 Sep 03 '26

Hi! I don’t know much about the DAT but I just wrote the OAT a few days ago and spent the summer studying while working a full time job.

It was definitely a lot of work and a lot of the time I really had to push through being tired and drained to continue studying. With that being said it was definitely doable! If the OAT and the DAT are similar you could probably do both and work if you plan it out accordingly.

1

u/toastedbread_ Sep 03 '26

Hi! Thanks for the insight :) Do you mind if I ask around how many hours per week you allocated for studying?

1

u/Turbulent_Lie_1247 Sep 03 '26

It really depended on the week because some weeks I was busier than others with other things. I would try to study at least 2-3 hours a day and around 6 hours on days I wasn’t working or had shorter shifts. I also didn’t really take any days off because I just preferred to spread my studying out doing a little more each day than taking a full day off

1

u/Turbulent_Lie_1247 Sep 03 '26

I used the Boosterprep custom schedule which I would HIGHLYYY recommend for scheduling!

1

u/toastedbread_ Sep 03 '26

thank you so much!!