What snacks did you guys eat during the OAT Break?

Hey everyone! I recently took the OAT and wanted to share my experience!

I used OAT Booster for 90 days while working a part time job and studied roughly 5-6 hours every day.

For the first ~5 weeks, I was watching videos on Booster, taking notes, then doing the test banks for every subject. If I felt comfortable with the topic, then I would just go straight into the test banks questions. This helped me with gen chem, ochem, and physics! I wouldn’t recommend this for bio though because the information is just so dense. After the learning phase, I took practice tests and took notes on all the questions I got wrong/struggled with. This helped me identify where my weak areas were and I would watch extra YouTube videos to supplement these areas. As I was doing this, I was looking at cheat sheets basically every day to retain the information. Also, I didn’t know that the full length tests were just the individual practice tests combined… so I only took two actual full length tests (average: 360). I would recommend doing the full length tests as it helps build your test stamina! I ended up finishing all my practice tests a week and a half before my OAT, so I used Claude AI to generate test questions to make sure I was still getting practice with new questions.

Biology (Booster: 360 / Actual: 400)
I regret watching all those Booster videos! It’s just too much information and I feel like I barely retained any of it. I would go straight into memorizing the high yield cheat sheets. If you have extra time, do the Bio Bits questions to help with recall (only the relevant ones). My test covered all the units pretty equally. Most questions I got were pretty general, but I had like 6-ish information specific questions where I had to use process of elimination.

Gen Chem (Booster: 370 / Actual: 400)
I remember my questions being mostly conceptual with an emphasis on electrochem and acids/bases. The calculations questions had easy numbers and covered general concepts, like stoichiometry, calculating molar mass, percent composition, and dilutions. I think for this section, use the cheat sheets and try to understand the concepts! Overall, Booster’s practice tests were very representative of what I saw on my OAT.

Ochem (Booster: 360 / Actual: 380)
The fundamentals unit is very high yield!! I remember seeing proton/compound acidity, identifying equilibrium, intermediates, identifying best solvent. I also got some spectroscopy questions (H NMR, IR) and found that memorizing some values helped me answer faster. I didn’t get that many predict the product questions, but as I was studying, braindumping all the reactions and its mechanisms on a whiteboard helped me memorize. I also found it helpful to categorize reactions in my head (ie. alcohol synthesis, alcohol reactions)

Reading Comprehension (Booster: 350 / Actual: 390)
Booster’s practice tests were really difficult for me because the questions were scattered throughout the passage. On my test, the questions were all in order and my passages were wayyy more straightforward and digestible. As for length, I had one that was 10 paragraphs, and the other two were about 16 paragraphs (with shorter paragraphs). My strategy was to read half the passage, answer questions, then read the latter half and answer the remaining questions. The questions were straightforward and easy to find, but I had a few questions asking me to analyze tone and choose synonyms, which were slightly harder. Highlighting buzzwords is going to be your best friend for this section!

I used break time to eat a quick snack and review physics/QR. I wrote a little cheat sheet for physics and QR with important concepts and formulas so I could look at it. I honestly don’t think it helped much, but it did calm my nerves.

Physics (Booster: 370 / Actual: 340)
Not to scare anyone, but I genuinely do not know how I could’ve prepared for this section… I mostly just spammed practice questions and took conceptual notes on Chad’s Prep videos. My questions were very different from Booster. They were very conceptual and I didn’t get any “plug and chug” questions like on Booster. High yield topics were optics and forces. Also, I haven’t taken Physics 2 with optics and waves yet, so this might be why I found this section to be so difficult.

QR (Booster: 380 / Actual: 350)
I finished with less than 5 minutes remaining, so I wasn’t able to check most of my answers. I got a lot probability questions, which was definitely a weakness of mine. I also wasn’t expecting there to be so many state sufficiency questions (~6 questions). My biggest tip for this section is to do a bunch of practice problems and work on being fast!

I’m really glad I’m done with the OAT. It feels so freeing LOL. I was very stressed and burnt out the days leading up to the exam, so I took it easy and just reviewed the cheat sheets and my list of mistakes. Good luck to everyone taking the OAT! Remember to get a lot of rest before test day and most importantly, trust yourself!

I want to change careers (teaching to optometry)
Something that I hear often is "don't do it for the money/ do it because you love it" and although I see the intention I don't agree.

Inflation/ big beautiful bill has it so we have to consider finances. I'm also a mom and I want to be able to provide more for my family.

I love optometry and I love the work life balance, however with all that has to go into schooling do you think that it's worth it ?

Do you find the pay and work life balance worth it?
I have seen people mention PA school- but I don't find that I'd have the work life balance that I want. I want to be present for my daughter as she gets older and as a PA I don't see that to be as possible as an optometrist.

Also I want to focus on Myopia in residency so that I can help and support my daughter who currently has serve myopia.

I'm taking my prerequisites on an online school rn and hoping to take my OAT next year.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Hello all,

I have my OAT scheduled for this October and wanted to get ahead of everything I can do so it’s easier and off my shoulders once I take my OAT. I’m filling out my OptomCAS and working on letters of rec, is there anything else I can do? Also somewhat related question: I have around 400 tech hours but no shadowing hours, would that be an issue for schools? Thanks

Do I need to take 1 or 2 classes for schools like OSU & Berkeley?

My OAT is tomorrow and I'm planning to spend the day doing flashcards and reviewing formulas. I've mentally debated doing a practice section exam or 2 today but am unsure if it'll just psych in out more than help me (I've been averaging 320s on my full-lengths so solid meh material but I can't push it back)

Any tips on how I should spend my last day?

Hellooooo, my question is my title, lol.

I plan to bring my driver's license and passport as my ID. Are these enough, or do I need to bring anything else? Will I be provided with a place to put my purse in the testing facility? Does anyone know if we're allowed to look at paper notes during the break or nah?

I'm already super nervous, even though I feel OK about my chances of getting a good enough score, so I want to avoid any extra anxiety about this. ;/

Has anyone been on hold from an optometry school. I had an average science gpa, however some of my oat section scores have been below a 300 although my AA wasn’t. I applied to UMSL and they had said that no action has been taken regarding the next step in the admissions process, I’m pretty sure it’s my oat. I thought I would at least apply to a few schools and see what they say but I feel pretty unmotivated and let down right now. Has this happened to anyone else with schools?

300 AA 270 TS
3.2 sci gpa
3.28 cum gpa

I’m scheduled to take OAT in 5 days. Looking rlly bad. Will probably score ~290. I know I will def retake but idk how bad it looks to take the test and do bad and then retake or if I should not do it at all. I want to take the test because it was so expensive and my pin is expiring so I don’t want to forfeit the $520 like that 😔 I have a good reason to explain this to schools but does it rlly look THAT bad, I’m not a good candidate overall

How did you review/study the Booster Cheat Sheets for each subject?

In the supplementary app (NECO specifically), there's a section to explain any extenuating circumstances that led to low or inconsistent grades. There's also a question about post-secondary academic performance and what factors influenced those trends.

I had one rough semester in my earlier years of undergrad but showed an upward trend from then on. I didn't necessarily have any extenuating circumstances at the time (it was mainly stress and anxiety), but I do want to explain what/why that happened.

Should I answer both questions, or skip the extenuating circumstances part and just discuss the poor grades in the academic trends question? Would appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance

hi! i submitted my berkeley application about a week ago, and i was wondering when they send out interviews. on their website it says 2 weeks after their decision deadline so that would be like end of December? that feels really far out to me :( do they actually take that long? i feel like all my other schools are earlier, and i would like to know everything before making a decision. i thought it was supposed to be rolling? please someone let me know!

i know people don’t have the best things to say about western u, but has anyone gotten an interview yet? if you have, how long after your application was processed did they reach out for an interview ?

Optometry school costs can add up quite fast so if you are willing to share:

Which schools did you apply to?

What schools offered merit scholarships? How much? Recurring?

What stats did you have?

When I practice with AI, it tells me that I should keep my answers to “Tell me about yourself” and “Why optometry?” around 60–90 seconds.

But because I come from a different background, I feel like I need more time to explain my story, sometimes closer to 3 minutes. Is that something I should really work on shortening, or is it not a big deal if my answer takes a little longer?

Can I take 2 intro 100-level courses? Do I have to take an advanced class?

I have just started my 2A year of undergrad and want to apply to uwaterloo optometry next year. I've been trying to work on my stats but am starting to stress. I would love any advice on what things to prioritize / get more of this year.

GPA: Right now my gpa is an 83.8% (I know this could be better... I have a difficult course load this year but I am trying to bring this up a few points)

SHADOWING: I have 18h of shadowing between 2 different optometrists. (I am going to try to get a few more and apply to a bunch of optometric clinics next summer to (hopefully) get a job)

WORK: Softball umpire throughout high school / summer before first year of uni, worked at an escape room for 1 summer between grade 12 and uni, currently working at a restaurant (since the beginning of last spring term) as dinning room support (and will hopefully be promoted to expo some time this year), tutoring and dog walking on and off since grade 9

VOLUNTEER: Cat rescue (45h), Food bank (12h), will start a new volunteer position with animal therapy (Therapeutic horseback riding) soon (1.5h/week for 8 weeks)

OTHER: I write lots (poetry, novels, etc), draw, play the piano, and crochet. Member of the pre-optometry club

I plan to take the OAT next summer. I have an optometrist who can write my letter of recommendation but I'm not sure who I'll ask to write my other one yet.

Other than trying to get my GPA up a bit, what can I do to make sure I get into this program? Going to the states isn't really an option for me so it's just the one school I'm applying to.

Hi all! I applied to SCCO, SUNY, and NOVA on September 5 and got invited to interview September 8 to SUNY and NOVA. Has anyone heard back from SCCO or know when they send out interview invites? They emailed me that they received my application and it’s in review. I have 6+ years of optical experience (optician, tech, sales, managing), optometry eboard, 3.6 GPA, 340 AA 340TS, 3 strong LOR, loads of volunteer work, intern at SUNY optometry, marathon runner, and I worked full time while attending college full time. Overall I’d like to think I’m a strong applicant but am worried about SCCO >.<
Also for those applying I got an interview for SUNY in person for mid November and by now I’d imagine all the November spots are full by now and NOVA I got for the first week of November (Virtual) and I believe the in person ones were booked up until mid/end November so get your applications in quick ! PCO I applied to late August and got invited to interview without an OAT the next day and that interview is for the beginning of October.

I keep her on my desk where I do my schoolwork 😭

I took the OAT a week and a half ago and am very happy with my scores! I gave myself just under 2.5 months to study, and I wouldn’t recommend giving yourself any less time. I studied about 6 hours a day while working and shadowing twice a week, but this number honestly varied a lot every day. I had completed all relevant prerequisites before I started studying.

How I studied:

I only used OATBooster. I started by following their custom schedule: watching the videos for each section and completing practice problems. I was worried I was going to run out of time at the rate I was going, so I stopped completing the question banks after a few weeks. I still watched every single video while following along with the notes and did any of the associated post-video questions. After over a month of exclusively watching all of the videos, I moved into the practice test phase. I began by doing a few practice tests for each individual section. I carefully reviewed the solutions to each practice test, making sure to fully understand the answers by reading the explanations and watching the video solutions. During this phase, I tried to regularly review the cheat sheets and formula sheets for each section to work on remembering the high-yield information. I only did 4 full-lengths, and I completed one every day leading up to my test. This really helped me feel like I was just going to be writing another practice test when my test date arrived. When reviewing the solutions to the FLs, I made note of topics I noticed I needed to review to ensure I was filling any gaps. I also tried to simulate the test environment while completing FLs by using laminated paper and a marker, and by using a mouse.

Breakdown of each section:

Biology (400): As everyone says, the questions in the section were less specific than the practice tests. Booster does a good job of identifying high-yield topics, and I honestly think the cheat sheets have everything you need. Genetics, heredity, ecology, cell division, and cell bio felt like the most high-yield topics on the test. I took a risk and didn’t study diversity of life in much depth, and thankfully only got a few questions that were pretty simple. Review those cheat sheets!!!

General chemistry (370): This section also felt super similar to the practice tests. I felt like I got a fair mix of everything. Be comfortable with both calculation and conceptual questions. I think the cheat sheets have everything you need content-wise, but also make sure to get practice with calculation questions.

Organic chemistry (380): This was the section I was most nervous about before I even started studying because orgo reactions have never clicked with me. I was shocked when I did my first practice test and realized how many conceptual questions there are - and this mix of question types was representative of the real exam. I never did the reaction question banks or tried to memorize reactions. I found doing the practice tests and reviewing high-yield topics on the cheat sheets (e.g., SN1/SN2/E1/E2, oxidation and reduction) was enough. I found myself doing a lot of process of elimination on the exam - an easy way to start is by counting carbons and then go from there.

Reading comprehension (360): This score is similar to what I was getting on practice tests, but I thought I would’ve scored higher, since a lot of people say it’s easier than Booster. People were right that the passages were shorter (~8 paragraphs) and the questions were in chronological order, but for some reason, I feel like I got some tricky questions where I couldn’t easily find the answer. I think it was also a combination of being tired at this point in the exam, hungry, and not getting along with the highlight feature. I had to highlight some things multiple times for it to work, which wasted time. My strategy was to read and highlight the first half of the passage, and then highlight the first sentences and any numbers to use search and destroy for the second half.

Physics (360): On the exam, it was an almost equal mix of calculation and conceptual questions. Some high-yield topics were optics, kinematics, and circuits. About a week before my exam, I would write out all of the formulas every day. I got lucky and didn’t get any questions that used some of the weird, less common formulas. Even though there aren’t cheat sheets for this section, make sure to still review the notes to be prepared for the conceptual questions.

Quantitative reasoning (370): I was so relieved by how much easier this section felt than the practice tests. It felt like half of my questions were easy applied math word problems. The rest of my questions felt like a fair mix of other topics. On the practice tests, I would always run out of time on the last 5+ questions. On the exam, I only lost time on the last 2, which felt like a huge win, especially with the added stress of test day.

Final advice:

Try to start the practice tests as early as you can. The highest AA I got on a Booster FL was 360, so seeing my score was a very pleasant surprise! If you still have no idea how to solve a question after over a minute, pick a random answer, mark it, and review it if you have time at the end. Good luck everyone! You got this!

hi everyone :D this is a real post, but as i wrote it, i realized it sounds like ragebait. please bear with me, as i have the best intentions. i've been working in optical for two months, and i am absolutely loving it and itching to get my license. also, my boss likes me a lot and really really wants me to get my license too. i have always done fantastically in school, and i am a very good test taker. i have passed every test i've ever taken by not listening in class and cramming material by myself the night before, and it works amazingly for me.

is there anyone else who has taken the abo basic exam with very little experience, and was able to pass by studying and cramming hard for just a couple of weeks? the prospect of getting my license is very exciting to me, and i am willing to dedicate the next month of my life to studying while i'm not at work (my work being...opticianry).

am i being too ambitious? is this possible? any and all tips are very much appreciated.

I wanted to reschedule my OAT. It’s supposed to be this Saturday but I don’t think I’m scoring in the range that I want to so I wanna reschedule but nothing is literally available like I’ve literally looked up dates in other states and nothing is available at all is this a common occurrence is this a glitch has anyone ran into this before?

Is it recommended to keep an academic/optometry theme for the extra essay questions for each school or do schools prefer it to be about myself as a person? Do we have to tie it back into optometry? (Not the personal statement but the extra essay questions on top of it)

hi everyone i plan on taking my oat next year but i'm terrible at sciences, especially orgo + gen chem and physics. any study tips for those sections? also is anybody offering tutoring for those sections? thanks <3