Admission Procedure

The students require at least 2 years of college education with courses in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry and physics to take the OAT. Some students prefer to complete 3 to 4 years of college education before taking the OAT. It is advised that the students schedule their OAT according to the admission process of the optometry schools they wish to submit their scores to. The students can apply and retake the test as many times as he wishes to, but they are required to pay full registration fee along with a fresh application form for each attempt. There is a waiting period of 90 days before the student is eligible to retake the test. Once the 90 days waiting period is over the student would receive notification to call the Thompson Prometric National Registration Center to schedule an appointment date for the retest. The score sheet along with the details of the total number of attempts the student had made and the scores of the four most recent OAT’s are listed out and forwarded to the optometry schools of the student’s choice.

The student has to answer all the questions within the restricted time limit. There is no facility of Partial examinations for the students. If the student does not complete a section of the test he would be awarded a score of zero for that section. Students who are unable to complete the examination must submit a new application and fee to retake the test.

Special Testing Arrangements

The Optometry Admission Testing Program provides special arrangements for the students with disability to take the test. These provisions are available only on request. To appeal for these special arrangements the student is required to submit a few documents. They are:

1. A written request for special arrangements.

2. The detail information relating to the past accommodations that had been arranged with respect to the student’s disability. The summary of the detail should contain information on the points listed below.

• Had the student previously taken any standardized tests?
• Was any request made by the student for accommodations for those standardized tests? If accommodations were granted, a complete description of them for each tests that he had taken.
• If the accommodations were not granted, an explanation of the rationale or response that was provided to the student for each of the test that he did not receive such accommodations.

3. Documents as proof of the student’s disability. The documents should have details such as:

• a diagnostic report of the student’s disability
• Specifications recommended for accommodations.

The report must be awarded by a specialist suitably qualified to assess such disabilities. The report should be printed on the letterhead of the specialist along with a list of the student’s qualifications, address, and telephone number. The report must include the examinee’s name, date of birth, and date of testing, and be signed by the examiner. The report must be dated within 12 months of the examinee’s application to test.

The student should be mail all the required documents along with his registration form to the Optometry Admission Testing Program, Attn: SpecialAccommodations.

The Optometry Admission Testing Program considers the requests of students with disabilities by the guidance of a sense of equity. Special testing arrangements are designed to give the student with special needs an opportunity which is equivalent to other students. It is not designed to provide an advantage over other students. The Optometry Admission Testing Program complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.