OA Admission Exam study plan

OA Admission Exam · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Optometry and Ocular Disease

Build a one-page disease-to-finding matrix covering the 15 highest-yield anterior segment and corneal conditions
Write 30 flashcards linking classic signs (e.g., dendritic ulcer, hypopyon) to their most likely diagnosis
Complete 40 practice items on corneal and external disease and log every miss with a one-line reason

Completed disease-to-finding matrix plus a scored 40-item quiz log with error notes

Week 2

Diagram the funduscopic appearance and management pathway for the 10 most common retinal conditions
Compare and contrast glaucomatous vs non-glaucomatous optic disc features in a written table
Teach back the cataract grading and referral criteria aloud in under 5 minutes
Complete 50 mixed Domain 1 practice items and re-test on prior misses

Retina and glaucoma comparison tables plus a 50-item quiz score with a targeted retest on missed items

Week 3

Construct a drug-class chart listing mechanism, key adverse effects, and contraindications for the major topical and oral ocular agents
Match 20 clinical scenarios to the correct first-line therapeutic agent with justification
List steroid potency rankings and identify when each is appropriate for anterior segment use
Complete 40 pharmacology practice items and flag any agent you cannot fully explain

Completed drug-class chart and a 20-scenario matching exercise scored at 85% or better

Week 4

Solve 25 spherical and toric transposition and vertex-distance problems showing each step
Compute 15 problems involving spectacle magnification and effective power
Interpret 10 given keratometry and refraction pairs to determine the correct lens form
Complete 40 optics and refraction practice items under timed conditions

Worked problem set of 40 optics calculations with a timed quiz score recorded

Week 5

Outline fitting parameters and problem-solving steps for soft and rigid lens complications
Classify 15 given binocular vision case descriptions by deviation type and likely etiology
Explain the expected sensory and motor adaptations for each major strabismus pattern
Complete 40 combined contact lens and binocular vision practice items

Binocular vision case-classification worksheet plus a 40-item quiz score with corrections

Week 6

Map 20 systemic diseases to their classic ocular manifestations and recommended screening intervals
Trace the visual pathway and predict the field defect produced by a lesion at each site
Differentiate papilledema from optic neuritis and from ischemic optic neuropathy in a written comparison
Complete 40 neuro-optometry and systemic disease practice items

Visual pathway lesion-to-field-defect diagram plus a scored 40-item quiz with error log

Week 7

Rank 15 ocular emergency presentations by urgency and state the immediate management step for each
Draft a decision algorithm for sudden vision loss and for chemical injury
Summarize core ethical obligations and standard-of-care principles in a one-page reference
Complete 30 emergency and practice management practice items

Emergency triage ranking sheet and a one-page ethics reference, both reviewed against practice items

Week 8

Re-take all previously missed items across every domain and resolve each to a confident explanation
Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam-day conditions
Review weak-domain score patterns and close remaining gaps with targeted drills
Finalize a condensed one-page-per-domain summary sheet for last-day review

Two completed mock exam score reports with a documented improvement trend and final summary sheets

Week 2: Score at least 75% on a 50-item Domain 1 set and correctly explain 90% of logged misses

Week 4: Score at least 80% on combined Domain 2 and Domain 3 practice sets with all calculations shown

Week 6: Score at least 75% on combined Domain 6 and Domain 7 sets and correctly predict field defects for all pathway lesions

Week 8: Achieve at least 80% on both full-length mock exams with no domain below 70%