Messed up on RC part of the exam - should I retake?

[kk1234]

Hi everyone. This Monday, I took my OAT. These are my scores:
AA 330
TS 360

However, I really messed up on the RC, which I got a 260 in. Does anyone know if I should retake this exam, or is my TS good enough to be competitive. Thanks!

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[amoura04]

From what I was told at one optometry school (PCO), if you did well on all other sections except one, they're willing to overlook that as long as they see you've done well in the courses related to that subject, you should be fine. So in your case, if you've gotten good grades in english classes you've taken in college, that would be enough to back you up. I wouldn't retake it again... apply and see your chances... you'll be competitive enough!

 

[RegularGuy]

Nice job! (Overall, I still think you did pretty well)

I would call the admission offices of the schools you're applying to and ask them personally. Who knows, some schools may have score cutoffs, which would hurt you, especially since you're clearly a capable individual overall.

 

[kk1234]

Nice job! (Overall, I still think you did pretty well)

I would call the admission offices of the schools you're applying to and ask them personally. Who knows, some schools may have score cutoffs, which would hurt you, especially since you're clearly a capable individual overall.

Thank you both for your feedback. I really appreciate it. I already applied for SUNY for Early Decision and they are waiting on my OAT scores and told me to call them to report my scores if I did exceptionally well. This is not the case so I'm hesitant to call right now. I don't want to ruin my chances of getting in by saying the wrong things.

But thank you again for your advice. Wish you the best in your endeavors in optometry as well.

 

[spanisheyes]

I actually had the identical score and I got offered interview to all the schools i applied to and have 1 acceptance so far. Each school has said that my OATs were really good and didnt even mention my rc score so you have nothing to worry about!

 

[Jackson1974]

I am a new member desperately looking for Kaplan study material for the OAT can anyone out there help? I have currently been working as a COA(certified ophthalmic assistant) for the last 7 yrs working side by side with ODs and MDs can this experience help or hurt me in my quest for optom school?

 

[EyeQ]

I am a new member desperately looking for Kaplan study material for the OAT can anyone out there help? I have currently been working as a COA(certified ophthalmic assistant) for the last 7 yrs working side by side with ODs and MDs can this experience help or hurt me in my quest for optom school?

I wouldn't recommend Kaplan study materials except the flashcards that come with the class. I thought the Kaplan OAT book was poorly structured/written. You can go to Borders or Barnes and grab The Princeton Review MCAT book. That book is not too detailed and not to general either. What's good is after every concept they give you a mini quiz to test your understanding. Don't take the end of the chapter test though b/c that's for the MCAT ppl. After thorough review of Princeton you can purchase the OAT Achiever from 3tquest.com to get a feel of how the computer based OAT exam will be. It comes with 3 practice tests and solutions. Good luck! Your experience as a COA will be a big plus but GPA and OATs are more important.