Kara Krautkramer — 310 AA

Category: Busy College Student.

Interview

What is one piece of advice you would give to another student preparing to take the NBEO Part 1?

While preparing to take the NBEO Part 1 it is important to first take an inventory of what you know. Depending on your level of college education and your course load, you may be more or less prepared for certain subjects. For example, as a Biology major, I felt fairly confident in my preparation for the Biology section, however having only taken one Physics course prior to my NBEO Part 1, I felt much less prepared for the Physics section. Having this base knowledge allowed me to create a great strategy for studying and allow me to save time overall.\n\nA second piece of advice would be to take studying day by day. It can seem very overwhelming at first to digest this mass amount of information. However, by breaking each day of studying up into just a few chapters of one or two sections, it can be much easier to accomplish. This also allows for easily reviewing what you have already studied and what material still needs some dedicated time.

How did you use Crack the Optometry Boards to prepare for the NBEO Part 1?

I used Crack the Optometry Boards to prepare for the NBEO Part 1 by taking advantage of the great practice tests and the awesome content resources that come with. Taking practice tests is especially important because it helps you to simulate thinking critically for such a large block of time. This is a skill that is almost as important as content knowledge. At the beginning of my studying, I noticed it was very hard for me to continue to perform at a high level for this amount of time. However, as the weeks went by I noticed that this skill was greatly enhanced. I would compare this to training for a marathon. One should not expect to run the full 26.2 miles the day they start training, however that is still the end goal.\n\nAnother way I found Crack the Optometry Boards useful was that it was self-paced. This meant I had a clear view of what topics needed to be covered, but there were no deadlines besides test day. This allowed me a great deal of flexibility. As a college student who was working on personal statements, collecting letters of recommendation, and studying for the NBEO Part 1 at the same time, this flexibility was invaluable to me. I was actually able to complete a summer course, hold a part-time job, and study for the NBEO Part 1 in just one month thanks to Crack the Optometry Boards.

What would you do differently to prepare for the NBEO Part 1?

Overall, I am very proud of my performance on that NBEO Part 1, but there is always room for improvement. One of the things I would change about my NBEO Part 1 preparation would be taking Physics I and II before attempting the NBEO Part 1. Physics ended up being my lowest tested section and I feel that having a stronger foundation before starting my dedicated studying would have made a huge difference.\n\nAnother change I would have made was booking my NBEO Part 1 date earlier. This would have allowed me to pick a date that is further away and study for just a few more weeks. I think having a longer dedicated study time period would have increased my score, however due to testing center openings near me I unfortunately only had four weeks of dedicated study. Overall, the NBEO Part 1 is a very manageable test if you take the time to prepare for it fully and plan on doing well the first time around.