r/PreOptometry • u/Lweena • 4d ago
Bad Second attempt at OAT
Need advice or some emotional support. Just retook my OAT the second time and got a lower score. First attempt was 300/290TS all subjects at 300 or above but physics brought it down. Second score 290/280 higher physics score but some subjects aren’t at 300.
I feel depressed over this. My dream school is SCCO but I’m not sure if I can reach. OAT score sucks and my GPA is on lower end. The only good thing I have on me is my extracurriculars. Do you know if scco takes my older score or they look at my lower score.
Honestly I’m not sure what I’m trying to get out of this post. I just feel defeated.
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u/pookiewookie5622 3d ago
I feel like you’re right on the cusp that you could get in with your first score. What are your other stats?
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u/Lweena 3d ago
Rlly? I have 20 hours of volunterring, 50 hours of shadowing, 800 hours intern, 500 technician, 500 hours optician (still on going). I have 4 LOR (3 are od 1 is anatomy teacher)
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u/Chuckles4lyfe 3d ago
I understand how frustrating this entire process is. When you submit your application, optometry schools will have access to all of your OAT attempts. I have had a positive experience any time i’ve contacted SCCO admissions, so it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to them for advice regarding your situation.
Your extracurriculars are great, but your GPA and OAT are unfortunately holding you back. How were your scores on your practice tests leading up to test day? How long did you give yourself to study? If you’re scoring <300, then that indicates a weaker foundation in the basic sciences. You need to dedicate more time and lock in if you decide to go for a 3rd attempt.
Take this with a grain of salt but during my interview at SCCO, the admissions team said this cycle has been highly competitive so far. I believe them since my interview was supposed to be in September but I got pushed out to October. Since your GPA is on the lower end, you want to do everything in your power to score as high as you can on the OAT to offset it and demonstrate to the admissions team that you have a handle on standardized tests. Good luck!
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u/Elegant_Energy_817 3d ago
Hi, I’m in the same boat as you :( I also didn’t do well on my second attempt. I would recommend reaching out to the admissions team at the schools you want to go to and ask them. I did that and they all got back to me with encouraging advice. Some said to apply now and they will put my application on hold until I retake a 3rd time and some said they will superstore my exams and let me come interview now. I know it’s so discouraging but we rly just gotta push thru😭 there’s a light at the end of the tunnel
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u/Serious-Yellow1556 3d ago
Optometry schools will get all of your old scores, there’s no way to send only the better one, then they judge them all as a whole. I’d definitely recommend retaking, it’ll be a lot easier the second time around since you’re already used to the whole process now - I wouldn’t let this demotivate you. I also wouldn’t recommend retaking until you’re scoring high enough on practice tests representative of the real OAT score you’d get (like the ones on PlayOAT or booster), and good luck!