Applying
to the College
Getting Started
| |
•
WHAT IS THE OAT?
The Optometry Admission Test, commonly referred to as the OAT, is
a standardized examination designed to measure general academic ability
and comprehension of scientific information. The Association of
Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) sponsors the OAT for applicants
seeking admission to an optometry program. All schools and colleges
of optometry in the United States, and the University of Waterloo,
Canada require the OAT. (See practice test links below.)
• WHAT SUBJECTS DOES THE OAT COVER?
The OAT consists of four tests: Survey of the Natural Sciences (Biology,
General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry), Reading Comprehension,
Physics and Quantitative Reasoning.
• WHEN SHOULD I TAKE THE OAT?
At least two years of college education, which should include courses
in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics, is
required prior to taking the OAT. Most students, however, elect
to complete three or more years of college prior to taking the exam.Typically,
we receive October OAT scores at the end of November prior to the
early deadline. You will need to take the OAT prior to February
1st to have scores submitted to the College prior to admission deadline
of February 15th but since we have a rolling admission process,
the class may have reached its capacity prior to receiving these
scores.
• WHEN IS THE OAT EXAMINATION ADMINISTERED?
The OAT exam is now administered on-line and almost "anytime"
at the testing centers.
•
ARE THERE MINIMUMS WHICH ARE PREFERRED SO THAT I MIGHT GET AN INTERVIEW?
Yes. The better your scores are, the faster you will be asked for
an interview. If you would like some guidelines, a score above 270
on most sections, with a 300 in the overall average, reading comprehension
and general chemistry will help your application.
• MAY I RETAKE THE OAT IF I DIDN'T DO WELL THE FIRST
TIME?
Yes. However, we do not combine tests. We do not recommend taking
the test more than two times. It may affect your ability to get
an interview.
• WHERE CAN I OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OAT?
You can
submit your application for the OAT examination and request additional
copies of score reports online. You can view the Optometry Admission
Testing Program–Online Candidate Guide, by pointing your browser
to www.opted.org. Only the printed
edition of the OAT Candidate Guide contains samples of the four
tests used in the Optometry Admission Testing Program. (See below)
• HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE OAT?
Write to: Optometry Admission Testing Program
211 East Chicago Avenue, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
Call: (800) 232-2159
Online: www.opted.org
•
SHOULD I RETAKE THE OAT?
Candidates who score at least 300 overall and at least 320 on the
science section receive the most favorable consideration.
• IS THERE TEST PREPARATION MATERIAL AVAILABLE FOR
THE OAT?
You can request a free OAT candidate guide information booklet and
a test application form by contacting the Optometric Admission Testing
Program at the above listed number. Also, the UMSL Pre-Optometry
club sponsors a practice exam each September. Please check out the
club’s website for more details at Pre-Optometry
Club.
The Optometry
Admission Test is required for consideration before an interview
will be offered. The OAT is administered by the American Dental
Association (ADA). Information about the test itself is found on-line
at https://www.ada.org/oat/index.html.
On this secured website, you will find information about what is
tested, and what information you will be expected to know before
taking the admission test. It is a standardized test, much as the
ACT from high school to college is structured, and as the first
National Board Exam which is required to be a licensed optometrist.
This is the only site endorsed by this College of Optometry and
the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry for preparation
for the OAT examination.
Some
students have asked about additional information to prepare for
the OAT examination. While nothing takes the place of reviewing
the material which will be tested, some students have found a practice
OAT site helpful.
OAT Test
Preparation Website (Please note: this site is not endorsed by this or any university, this or any college of optometry, nor
by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry)
Several students have found some student materials to be helpful
in their preparation. These can be located on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
Once again, providing these resources which other students
have found helpful does not constitute endorsement or evaluation
of the products. No claims regarding their beneficial nature should
be inferred.
Student Comments on the Practice Test Sites:
(the sites were evaluated by a current optometry student)
www.opted.org: “This practice
OAT is pretty much just like the real OAT. The only problems I seemed
to have with it is that the biology section seemed a little easy
to me. You should take this opinion with a grain of salt though.
In my opinion the biology and life sciences section is so large
and general that any practice test will not be able to really give
a complete assessment of everything that a person knows in only
40 questions. I liked this practice test though because it is in
the same format as the real OAT and may actually be an old OAT.
It therefore is nice for somebody wanting to know what they are
getting into, but should not be looked at as containing everything
that one is required to know.”
http://www.testprepreview.com/oat_practice.htm : “This practice OAT is a nice quick review and estimation
of one's weaknesses, but I wouldn't be discouraged if I was an undergrad
and found myself struggling with some of the sections. I think that
many of the questions (especially in the life sciences) would be
a better review for a first year optometry student than an undergrad
preparing for the OAT. It is also nice because it quickly grades
your scores for you whereas paper tests you must grade by hand.”
http://www.oatprofessor.com/ “This site has some example questions that there program offers.
It is nice because it calculates your score for you in exam mode
and gives instructions for missed questions in instructional mode.
Being able to apply the material to multiple choice questions is
something you will have to be able to do for the OAT, however you
shouldn't use all of your time taking practice quizzes for it. The
OAT professor website looks useful, but I would be concerned about
whether or not it is as complete of a review guide as something
like the Kaplan course, or just going back over your notes of the
classes that you've taken in preparation for it. It claims to have
full lessons over each topic covered on the OAT, but I guess you
wouldn't know unless you actually made the purchase. The other nice
thing about it is that it is online, a similar environment to how
the OAT is administered now. ”
Kaplan OAT
Preparation: “There are many ways to study for the OAT.
The
Kaplan course is probably the best one that I know of because it
has all of the material that you will need to know, includes useful
mnemonics, has sample multiple choice questions at the end of chapters,
and puts things into tables for you. Also, if you choose to go to
the lectures they can be helpful too. I personally bought the study
materials from a student who had taken the course and already taken
his OAT.”
Other assistance to help you prepare, again, no claims are made
about the accuracy of these materials. The * behind are the ratings
from current students (10 students who rated these; perfect is 5-stars):
OAT : Optometry Admission Test Sample Exams : TopScore Pro for
the OAT *****
by ScholarWare.com (CD-ROM - November 2000)
Kaplan OAT (Kaplan Oat) ***
by Kaplan (Paperback - June 14, 2005)
AudioLearn: OAT (Bio, Chem, Org Chem, Physics)- 1st Ed ****
by Shahrad Yazdani (Audio Cassette - August 1, 2002)
Some students who needed to improve or enhance their reading comprehension
scores, or do a more in depth review of materials found the MCAT
(Medical College Admission Test) review materials helpful. These
can be found at any major bookstore and on-line at Amazon.com. The
MCAT review materials got a *****. |
