Optometrists look at the internal and external structures of the eye to diagnose issues with vision, including those that are routine and those that are more severe, like hypertension or glaucoma. An optometrist, however, does not hold a medical degree and thus does not need to attend medical school. An ophthalmologist, on the other hand, is an M.D. who deals with more in-depth and traumatic issues of the eye, including surgery and cancer.
Optometrists face admissions standards that are similar to those for medical school, but instead of taking the MCAT, they take the OAT. Both groups of students are expected to have high undergraduate grade point averages, have taken science courses and show interest in their respective fields. In addition, both medical and optometry schools sometimes require a personal interview with admissions staff.
The OAT exam takes a total of four hours and 40 minutes to complete. This, however, includes 45 minutes of optional breaks and tutorials. The OAT consists of four exams, including a survey of the natural sciences -- biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry -- reading comprehension, physics and quantitative reasoning. The sciences test includes 100 questions and the others each include 40; all questions on the exam are multiple choice. The MCAT exam takes longer than the OAT, at five hours and ten minutes, including one hour and five minutes of breaks and tutorials. Its content is similar, with 144 questions covering biological sciences, physical sciences -- physics and chemistry -- and verbal reasoning.
The OAT and the MCAT are scored differently. For the OAT, students will receive a score report ranging from 200 to 400 for each section immediately upon finishing the exam. The OAT exam is calibrated so that 300 is the mean score. The MCAT, on the other hand, is scored between 1 and 15 for each section. Unlike the OAT, MCAT scores are not available for 30 to 35 days after the test is administered.