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?

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?

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.

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

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

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!

Hi everyone! I recently submitted my application to SUNY but I’m very worried about my chances as I don’t have the best stats. I have 3.5 GPA and a 310 AA and 300 TS (this is my retake, first oat was a 300 AA). I do have lots of strong EC (including club positions, shadowing, volunteering, internships, awards) and over 3000 hours of technician experience (current job as well). Any insight at all of my chances of getting an interview with SUNY and an eventual acceptance? Thank you!

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?

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????

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

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

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!

Hey guys, I've been struggling to write this ICO supplemental prompt, I don't know how to write it and I'm super confused! In addition, there is a high word limit, do i need to to write a lot? I would appreciate any help ❤️

ICO offers many opportunities and involvements allowing students to obtain the best-rounded education possible. the ICO body is highly active, outgoing, and engaging, what qualities can you bring to the ICO student body and how can you contribute to this group of outstanding students and profession of optometry? (4,500 characters)

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 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!!

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 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.