OAT ADVICE

[johnss]

I am interested to know how my OAT score stacks up against others out there and if I have a chance at optometry schools even with a low overall GPA.

QR: 380
RC: 270
BIO:350
GC: 340
OC: 360
PHYS: 400
TS: 380
AA: 350

A bit of background about me: I Graduated in engineering, so that might explain the HIGH physics/QR mark
So I am in a situation where I no longer want to do Engineering as a career and would like to pursue Optometry instead, However my GPA from engineering is extremely low
(2.5 GPA) which I know is not normal for optometry and most schools are looking for at least a 3.0 gpa, but in fairness I feel like a bachelor in Engineering is a lot more difficult than sciences so would they take that into consideration when picking applicants? Do I even stand a chance at any schools if I apply or will I be most likely rejected? Would appreciate any input. Have a great day!

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[tinypreopto]

I am interested to know how my OAT score stacks up against others out there and if I have a chance at optometry schools even with a low overall GPA.

QR: 380
RC: 270
BIO:350
GC: 340
OC: 360
PHYS: 400
TS: 380
AA: 350

A bit of background about me: I Graduated in engineering, so that might explain the HIGH physics/QR mark
So I am in a situation where I no longer want to do Engineering as a career and would like to pursue Optometry instead, However my GPA from engineering is extremely low
(2.5 GPA) which I know is not normal for optometry and most schools are looking for at least a 3.0 gpa, but in fairness I feel like a bachelor in Engineering is a lot more difficult than sciences so would they take that into consideration when picking applicants? Do I even stand a chance at any schools if I apply or will I be most likely rejected? Would appreciate any input. Have a great day!

Your OAT scores are phenomenal! That part of your app is solid. However, I know schools such as AZCOPT will not even look at your app if the GPA is below 2.75(if im not mistaken). Each school is different though so I would highly recommend reaching out to the admission teams of the schools you’re interested in to get a better opinion. Worse case scenario is that they’ll recommend retaking a few science classes as a post bacc to up the GPA slightly

 

[blain85]

As the above poster said, some schools will not look at an application that is below a certain threshold. In that case, I would call specific schools you are interested in and explain to them the situation as well as shadowing, volunteer experience and of course your scores. Some folks understand having a low GPA but a high OAT and a list of other experiences can offset each other.

 

[johnss]

I have shadowed several doctors for a few months and have decent work experience, and play a variety of sports etc. but other than that not much volunteer stuff. I am also wondering aside from gpa factor is it normal for schools to take engineer bachelor students over a science bachelor student?

 

[FinnMac]

I have shadowed several doctors for a few months and have decent work experience, and play a variety of sports etc. but other than that not much volunteer stuff. I am also wondering aside from gpa factor is it normal for schools to take engineer bachelor students over a science bachelor student?

It's not going to be a problem for you to get into optometry school. Do you have all the pre-requisites to get in? If you do you should be fine depending on the schools you're thinking about. It's a lot easier to explain a bad GPA then a bad OAT.

 

[johnss]

It's not going to be a problem for you to get into optometry school. Do you have all the pre-requisites to get in? If you do you should be fine depending on the schools you're thinking about. It's a lot easier to explain a bad GPA then a bad OAT.

This is relieving to hear! I did end up taking the pre-requisite courses later on and it took me about 1 year to get all the courses done (bio/biochem/oc etc) and had a substantially higher GPA for those courses which was around (3.3-3.4ish) but since my Engineering GPA is so low and its 4 years of heavy course load vs 1 year of science pre req. it only pulled my GPA up by to 2.5 . I did really bad in engineering and its kind of embarrassing. I really want to avoid wasting years in school trying to pull up my GPA to have a shot at optometry school. But I also don't want to just apply and pay fees if I will be rejected on the spot. Would you recommend that I call every school I apply to and explain the situation or is that unnecessary and just go ahead and send the full application?

 

[FinnMac]

This is relieving to hear! I did end up taking the pre-requisite courses later on and it took me about 1 year to get all the courses done (bio/biochem/oc etc) and had a substantially higher GPA for those courses which was around (3.3-3.4ish) but since my Engineering GPA is so low and its 4 years of heavy course load vs 1 year of science pre req. it only pulled my GPA up by to 2.5 . I did really bad in engineering and its kind of embarrassing. I really want to avoid wasting years in school trying to pull up my GPA to have a shot at optometry school. But I also don't want to just apply and pay fees if I will be rejected on the spot. Would you recommend that I call every school I apply to and explain the situation or is that unnecessary and just go ahead and send the full application?

Like the other poster said call the schools you want to go to and see if they have a minimum GPA. If not apply to 3 and explain your situation in your personal statement and interview.

 

[optom0216]

Hey. Did you hear back from any schools?