OAT
Is it Possible to Buy Simulated OAT Practice Exams Apart from an Entire Study Course?
This is a question asked on SCCO’s Facebook Group for Pre-optometry Students (http://www.facebook.com/groups/SCCOadmissions/). Bulleted, you will find answers from both SCCO students and Facebook Group members:
Is it possible to just buy the simulated OAT practice exams instead of the entire course? Has anyone tried something like this before?
- You can purchase OAT practice exams, like the OAT Destroyer and the Kaplan book, without having to purchase a course. There are a lot of books out there that offer OAT practice exams with content material. I’d recommend searching around pre-optometry groups for people selling their prep books. In terms of a simulated computer-based OAT exam, I think most companies require a course purchase. You can always call Kaplan or one of the test prep companies to see if they offer tests for sale if you’re looking for something like that.
Grace Liao
SCCO Class of 2016
Sorry I didn’t clarify. I meant the simulated computer-based OAT exam. The old Kaplan books are perfect for reviewing material but I need to also prepare for the computer and timing aspect of it. I will ask a Kaplan representative. ^_^ Thank you for your help!
- 🙂 I’m pretty sure you need to sign up for one of the Kaplan courses (either the completely online version or classroom version) however, I also practiced with this online simulator:
http://www.3tquest.com/index.php?module=products&id=2 they have a free trial you can download (i only used the free trial) 🙂
hope that helps!!
Dayna Yim
Student Ambassador c/o 2016
How closely related was the OAT achiever to the actual exam? Did the OAT achiever have a similar format as well, such as highlighting features, simple calculator, etc?
- I do believe it had similar features such as the calculator. Since I only took the free sample, I can’t quite remember if the questions were on the same “level” as questions on the OAT. Sorry!
I would also check out the prometrics website. There is a tutorial (not OAT related) that lets you see the exact format of the test (where the buttons are, what the calculator looks like on the screen and how to “mark” questions which I found very helpful) Let me know if you have any other questions!! 🙂
Dayna Yim
SCCO Class of 2016
- You can get the Crack the OAT software. You can mark questions and it has an on screen calculator you can practice with. Plus each question has text and video solutions so you can see where you went wrong. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a physics section. Overall I found the material to be pretty similar to my exam, especially the QR section. Good luck!
- Crack the OAT is really nice because it is formatted and timed like the real OAT. The OAT achiever seems to be really similar except it is cheaper because it consists of 3 OAT mock exams. Anyone know which software is better?
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Published by Jane Ann Munroe, OD, Assistant Dean of Admissions, SCCO
I wanted to be an optometrist when I was only 10 years old. Why? I had some kind of odd fascination with eyeglasses. I was obsessed with getting a pair of my own. In my situation, having perfect eyesight was a distinct disadvantage, so I had to hatch a plan. After lots of squinting in class, I approached my teacher and lied with conviction, complaining that I couldn’t see the blackboard. This symptom got me first to the school nurse and then finally on to an optometrist for an eye exam where I tried my best Mr. Magoo impression to no avail. I would have to wait two more long years until the gods finally smiled on me when, by some miracle, I acquired enough astigmatism to warrant my first bona fide set of prescription eyeglasses! Along with my love of people and wanting to take care of them, subsequent visits to the optometrist and shadowing, I sealed the deal—optometry was now officially what I wanted to do with my life.
I made first contact with the Southern California College of Optometry when I was in 8th grade. My older sister had a newly minted driver’s license and so I coerced her into driving me all the way from our home in La Mirada to Los Angeles, then SCCO’s home. After a master planning effort to plot out our route with a paper map folded in 8 places (I had such a hard time with that map!), we arrived at SCCO where my sister quickly surmised that I didn’t have an appointment with an admissions advisor. She called me a loser, drove me all the way back home and the next day, phoned to help make the requisite appointment.
I entered high school in the late 1960’s (ouch, that hurt) when young females wanted to be anything but what I’d chosen as my newly dedicated pursuit—a science geek. I wore thick horn-rimmed black eyeglass frames (told you I was serious) and hung around chemistry lab after class. This was at a time when women just did not pursue careers in science and being the tomboy that I was, that was fine with me. This trend continued right through into undergrad, attending many classes where I was the only female--bespectacled or not--in the class. At a recent high school reunion, many of my classmates still remember me as the science geek with the blinders on—many envious of my joy and passion for my future profession.
I graduated from SCCO in 1977. Looking back with 35 years of experience as an optometrist, I am awed to know that I chose this wonderful profession way-back-when and with only my juvenile perspective to inform me. In 1977 when I graduated from optometry school, the profession began a series of major changes to its practice scope: securing the rights to use diagnostic drugs (dilating drops), securing the rights to prescribe therapeutic drugs (huge change!), being recognized as physicians by the federal government and treating glaucoma. In some US states, optometry has made even bigger strides into minor surgery, use of lasers, hospital privileges...etc. If I had the opportunity to go back and make another choice and knowing what I do today about health care and my own hardwiring, I’d make the same choice for optometry--nobody loves this profession more than I do. http://www.ketchum.edu/index.php/about/administration-directory
I grew up with optometry and now it’s your turn to inherit its future. That’s what this blog is about—getting you into optometry and I am just the person to help you achieve this goal. We’re going to talk about the admissions process, how to prepare to take the OAT, how to be a competitive applicant, how to prepare to interview, to name a few. We’re going to talk about SCCO, student life and what it’s like to be an optometric intern. I am just the person to help you because I am very persuasive, motivating and I am completely sold on optometry as the best profession in health care and I speak from experience.
Get ready to dialogue. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and please, chime in on discussions. I want to know what I can help you with.
View all posts by Jane Ann Munroe, OD, Assistant Dean of Admissions, SCCO
Eryn Kraning, Director of Admissions, SCCO
Jane Ann Munroe, OD, Assistant Dean of Admissions, SCCO