Hey guys,
I wanted to do an OAT experience since I got so much help and advice from this forum about how to tackle the OAT! I will give you my advice and how I would prepare if I would do it all over again. Remember everyone is different, my advice may not be the best for you, and that is OK!
I am not really your typical OAT test-taker. I graduated from a 4-year university in Spring of 2018 and then went to a community college to retake some courses that I did poorly in at University. To put it simply, I was a VERY lazy person in university my first 3 years. I procrastinated regularly and only studied the day before for most of my tests. I only started to become significantly more mature and take my studies seriously during my senior year and thereafter at the CC. During my time at community college I retook the Organic Chemistry series.
Time Studied: July – October, about 3.5 months.
In my opinion I think 3 months is more than enough to study for the OAT to get the score that you want. You could probably even do it in 2 months if you can focus hard for 2 months. I was not really that type of person so I knew 3 months would be the perfect timetable for me.
(Unofficial Scorecard Attached Below)
Resources I used:
If I could do it all over again these are the resources I would use…
Practice Tests:
I cannot stress practice tests enough. Do them about 2 weeks before your real test to see how well you do. The ADA OAT and DAT are similar to the difficulty of the test I took so take those seriously. The physics on the ADA OAT is very close in terms of how they will ask you questions! Don’t ask me how I got the 2009 DAT, one of my friends gave that to me since he bought it. But the 2007 DAT is available. Do the 2007 DAT as the OAT is made by the same people who make the DAT and has the same format for everything except physics! Also Kaplan is of course harder than the others and is just for good practice. I will attach the 2007 DAT and ADA OAT below. I didn’t time my physics on Kaplan because it was disgustingly harder than the OAT Physics to be honest. Also Chad gives FREE OAT Practice tests! They are not really that similar to the OAT style but they are really good practice, especially for General Chemistry, QR, and Physics, his tests for Organic were a little challenging.
Test Day --- TS: 400 AA: 380
Biology: 400
Pretty much a toss up as far as the subjects they ask you about. Its like everyone says it is, it’s pretty much mostly random. Feralis and Biology Bootcamp has all the answers you want for this section of the test and clearly they prepared me well! From the origins of life, genetics, ecology, plants, cells, anatomy, physiology, and evolution. Everything that I thought would be on there, was on there.
General Chemistry: 390
More basic than the practice tests I took in terms of the amount of calculations that I did. I probably only did about 4 or 5 simple calculations and the rest was mostly conceptual. Like everyone says on this section. They are NOT trying to trick you with anything. Chad’s videos and quizzes will prepare you VERY well for this section.
Organic Chemistry: 400
Remember, I was REALLY fresh on Organic Chemistry since I retook the series at a CC and got A’s in both semesters. I went through Chad’s quizzes and videos one time and was good. Basic stuff like Ortho/Para/Meta, Aromaticity, Radicals, IR, Acids and Bases, and SN1/SN2/E1/E2. There were also many reactions, I would say like 8-10 problems. I knew every single reaction because I had made flashcards. Flashcards are HUGE for OChem! Also, DAT Bootcamp provides a Reactions Summary sheet that helped me to make my flashcards easier! It helped a lot!
Reading Comprehension: 350
I didn’t really do anything for this section besides the practice tests. It showed obviously by my score. I would say for this section, you have to come in WITH A PLAN. Know how you will be answering questions whether it be doing search and destroy or reading the whole thing and answering questions. In my opinion BYU4you’s Balanced RC Strategy is the best and worked very well for me. It’s a combination of reading a little as well as search and destroy so you don’t get short of time. I will link the list of RC strategies here: How the Highlighting and Cross Out Features Work on the DAT
Physics: 380
I was scared of physics. Especially because I struggled with it during undergrad. Chad makes everything so easy when learning that it started to come natural for me. Some of the chapters can be skipped on Chad’s that are unnecessary to learn. For example, magnetism is not listed on the OAT Guide so I barely even studied for that besides writing down the formula for it. For physics you have know the formulas but ALSO understand concepts and make connections. Chad’s quizzes and DAT Bootcamp Modules were sufficient for me getting a high score. I will scan a copy of my formula sheet that I used to study with. That is my formula sheet and was for me to study with, use it if you want but don’t ask me questions about it.
QR: 350
I was always pretty good at math, so I didn’t really study QR a whole bunch. The free OAT practice tests that come along with Chad’s subscription are really helpful too. Like I said before the QR on the Destroyer was VERY good practice for this section of the test and would highly recommend it. I maybe did the problems 2 times over. It’s obvious that the two subjects that I didn’t really put anytime into suffered the most. Time was of course a little tight for this section as it is for everybody. I used the number pad of my keyboard a lot for the calculator.
Final Tips
Linkable Resources (for the formula sheets go to the “worksheets” tab on DAT Bootcamp)
I wanted to do an OAT experience since I got so much help and advice from this forum about how to tackle the OAT! I will give you my advice and how I would prepare if I would do it all over again. Remember everyone is different, my advice may not be the best for you, and that is OK!
I am not really your typical OAT test-taker. I graduated from a 4-year university in Spring of 2018 and then went to a community college to retake some courses that I did poorly in at University. To put it simply, I was a VERY lazy person in university my first 3 years. I procrastinated regularly and only studied the day before for most of my tests. I only started to become significantly more mature and take my studies seriously during my senior year and thereafter at the CC. During my time at community college I retook the Organic Chemistry series.
Time Studied: July – October, about 3.5 months.
In my opinion I think 3 months is more than enough to study for the OAT to get the score that you want. You could probably even do it in 2 months if you can focus hard for 2 months. I was not really that type of person so I knew 3 months would be the perfect timetable for me.
| Biology | GC | OC | RC | Physics | QR | TS | AA |
Kaplan OAT | 340 | 360 | 360 | 350 | 370 (UNTIMED) | 360 | (didn’t calculate) | (didn’t calculate) |
2007 DAT | 360 | 400 | 400 | X | X | 360 | (didn’t calculate) | (didn’t calculate) |
2009 DAT | 380 | 370 | 400 | 340 | X | X | (didn’t calculate) | (didn’t calculate) |
ADA OAT | 390 | 380 | 400 | X | 400 | 400 | (didn’t calculate) | (didn’t calculate) |
| | | | | | | | |
OFFICIAL OAT | 400 | 390 | 400 | 350 | 380 | 350 | 400 | 380 |
Resources I used:
- 2013 Kaplan Book
- In my opinion the resources used could easily make or break your score. The big blue Kaplan book is as useful as everyone says it is. Its only good if you want to get an ok score on your test. Its more for comprehensive studying for the bio section. I would not even try to use this for gen-chem, o-chem, or physics especially. Overall, I wasted about a month of my time going over the Biology section with this book. If I could do it over again, I wouldn’t use it.
- CHADS VIDEOS!!!
- Literally the best thing that could happen to my score. Chad’s Gen-chem is really UNMATCHED. He is the most comprehensive and easy-to-learn from teacher. His physics course has EVERYTHING you need to do well on the Physics section. The calculations were way harder on his quizzes than on the OAT for physics and gen-chem. His O-Chem course was a nice refresher for me but I was really fresh on O-chem from the CC course I took. I did the all the quizzes for physics and gen-chem maybe 3-5 times over.
- 2013 OAT Destroyer
- Let me be clear, I did like 20 questions from the Gen-chem and O-chem section and determined that this was unnecessarily hard for the OAT. Many people have gotten good scores by doing the problems in this book to cover all their bases which is fine, but I wanted to see problems that I would see on my exam with matched difficulty. I did about 200 Biology questions and never did anything else. If I had more time, I would do more of the Biology portion of the Destroyer. QR was very good from this book, I saw a good amount of QR problems similar to the ones in the book on my test.
- FERALIS NOTES!!! (FREE)
- Super in-depth, VERY DENSE, and covers everything you could ever want on the OAT. Some sections within it may be too difficult to understand. That’s when I would go to the DAT Bootcamp Biology notes to get a more clear perspective of what Feralis was saying. For example, the menstrual cycle would be confusing to understand on Feralis notes so I would go to DAT Bootcamp to get a more clear understanding.
- DAT Bootcamp Biology Notes 100 pg. Version (FREE)
- Any biology subject that I struggled to grasp with Feralis I would refer to with these notes like I said before. If you don’t really like how dense Feralis is, this is a good alternative.
- DAT Bootcamp Physics Module (FREE)
- Excellent practice for whatever subject you are struggling with on physics! Granted, some of the stuff on the modules has some errors, but it is worth going through the problems as they provide really good practice in tandem with Chad’s Physics Quizzes.
- Math Destroyer (used it for about 30 minutes total)
- I didn’t really focus on QR that much. Math destroyer seemed a lot harder than the QR section of the OAT destroyer so I just did the OAT destroyer QR section instead and didn’t really use this. I think the OAT Destroyer’s QR was more representative on the real test. If you struggle with math, you may need the extra help from this resource, I did not.
- Physics Destroyer (TOO HARD)
- I did the whole thing. But it was totally WAYYYYY HARDER than anything you will see on the OAT. I would recommend Chad’s Quizzes and the DAT Bootcamp Physics modules over this.
If I could do it all over again these are the resources I would use…
- Chads videos for OC, GC, and Physics
- OAT Destroyer for QR and for some Bio
- Feralis Notes for Bio
- DAT Bootcamp Biology Notes for Bio
Practice Tests:
I cannot stress practice tests enough. Do them about 2 weeks before your real test to see how well you do. The ADA OAT and DAT are similar to the difficulty of the test I took so take those seriously. The physics on the ADA OAT is very close in terms of how they will ask you questions! Don’t ask me how I got the 2009 DAT, one of my friends gave that to me since he bought it. But the 2007 DAT is available. Do the 2007 DAT as the OAT is made by the same people who make the DAT and has the same format for everything except physics! Also Kaplan is of course harder than the others and is just for good practice. I will attach the 2007 DAT and ADA OAT below. I didn’t time my physics on Kaplan because it was disgustingly harder than the OAT Physics to be honest. Also Chad gives FREE OAT Practice tests! They are not really that similar to the OAT style but they are really good practice, especially for General Chemistry, QR, and Physics, his tests for Organic were a little challenging.
Test Day --- TS: 400 AA: 380
Biology: 400
Pretty much a toss up as far as the subjects they ask you about. Its like everyone says it is, it’s pretty much mostly random. Feralis and Biology Bootcamp has all the answers you want for this section of the test and clearly they prepared me well! From the origins of life, genetics, ecology, plants, cells, anatomy, physiology, and evolution. Everything that I thought would be on there, was on there.
General Chemistry: 390
More basic than the practice tests I took in terms of the amount of calculations that I did. I probably only did about 4 or 5 simple calculations and the rest was mostly conceptual. Like everyone says on this section. They are NOT trying to trick you with anything. Chad’s videos and quizzes will prepare you VERY well for this section.
Organic Chemistry: 400
Remember, I was REALLY fresh on Organic Chemistry since I retook the series at a CC and got A’s in both semesters. I went through Chad’s quizzes and videos one time and was good. Basic stuff like Ortho/Para/Meta, Aromaticity, Radicals, IR, Acids and Bases, and SN1/SN2/E1/E2. There were also many reactions, I would say like 8-10 problems. I knew every single reaction because I had made flashcards. Flashcards are HUGE for OChem! Also, DAT Bootcamp provides a Reactions Summary sheet that helped me to make my flashcards easier! It helped a lot!
Reading Comprehension: 350
I didn’t really do anything for this section besides the practice tests. It showed obviously by my score. I would say for this section, you have to come in WITH A PLAN. Know how you will be answering questions whether it be doing search and destroy or reading the whole thing and answering questions. In my opinion BYU4you’s Balanced RC Strategy is the best and worked very well for me. It’s a combination of reading a little as well as search and destroy so you don’t get short of time. I will link the list of RC strategies here: How the Highlighting and Cross Out Features Work on the DAT
Physics: 380
I was scared of physics. Especially because I struggled with it during undergrad. Chad makes everything so easy when learning that it started to come natural for me. Some of the chapters can be skipped on Chad’s that are unnecessary to learn. For example, magnetism is not listed on the OAT Guide so I barely even studied for that besides writing down the formula for it. For physics you have know the formulas but ALSO understand concepts and make connections. Chad’s quizzes and DAT Bootcamp Modules were sufficient for me getting a high score. I will scan a copy of my formula sheet that I used to study with. That is my formula sheet and was for me to study with, use it if you want but don’t ask me questions about it.
QR: 350
I was always pretty good at math, so I didn’t really study QR a whole bunch. The free OAT practice tests that come along with Chad’s subscription are really helpful too. Like I said before the QR on the Destroyer was VERY good practice for this section of the test and would highly recommend it. I maybe did the problems 2 times over. It’s obvious that the two subjects that I didn’t really put anytime into suffered the most. Time was of course a little tight for this section as it is for everybody. I used the number pad of my keyboard a lot for the calculator.
Final Tips
- Don’t study a lot the day before
- Trust yourself and be confident on test day
- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. REPETITION IS KEY.
- Make flashcards for things you struggle with
- Take the practice tests!
- Make sure you are reviewing old material so you do not forget it!
Linkable Resources (for the formula sheets go to the “worksheets” tab on DAT Bootcamp)
- DAT Bootcamp Physics Modules: Physics (Just sign-up for a free account and then you can access the modules!)
- DAT Bootcamp Biology Notes (100 pg. version): Biology
- Feralis Biology Notes: Feralis Biology Notes - Free Download PDF
- RC Strategies: How the Highlighting and Cross Out Features Work on the DAT (I used BYU4you's method!)
- QR Formula Sheet: Quantitative Reasoning
- Organic Chemistry Reactions Summary Sheet: Organic Chemistry
- General Chemistry Formula Sheet: General Chemistry
- My Physics Formula Sheet (the tops are cutoff, can't do anything about that):
Last edited:
