RyuTatum
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I just took the OAT and I’m pretty happy with my scores. I’ll do my best to share my OAT experience.
I was initially going to take the OAT earlier this year but had to postpone it because of a busy school schedule. I’m not a genius (3.42 GPA as a Bio major) but I do like to think I work very hard. I believe if you work hard enough, you can truly accomplish anything. The only disclaimer is that I did take the DAT last year where I scored pretty well, so it did help make things slightly easier to study.
Study materials I used
OATBooster 10/10
This was one of the primary resources I used. The questions on the practice tests were very representative of what I saw on the actual OAT. Booster also offered really good videos and notes which covered everything that showed up on my exam. The only thing I wish OATBooster had more of was physics tests with solution videos, that would have helped.
Chad’s Videos 8.5/10
Chad’s videos are amazing and would highly recommend them to anyone preparing for the OAT. Chad does a phenomenal job explaining all the basic chem principles. I basically watched all the Chad’s videos outlined on booster study schedule since they were free. Watching these really helped clarify some of the concepts that I was having trouble with since he does a great job explaining things. Although I didn’t have time to check out Chad’s practice tests, I would have definitely gone through them if I had more time.
OAT Destroyer 7.0/10
I used this as supplemental practice. The questions in this book are more difficult than what I encountered on the actual OAT but it’s good for extra practice. If you have extra time, I would recommend going through as many questions as you can. I also heard Dr. Romano’s videos are really helpful on youtube but I didn’t have time to check them out.
Kaplan Book 6.5/10
I initially started off using this book but it went into too much detail so I didn’t really find myself using it much - partly because it also felt very intimidating and lengthy. I personally preferred the notes and videos on booster/chad’s better, they were more condensed and straight to the point.
How I prepared
I started preparing for the OAT early January by taking my first Kaplan diagnostic test (didn't do too well). At first I was planning to take the OAT in March but had to postpone it due to a busy school schedule. In total, I spent about 2.5 to 3 months preparing for the OAT while following Booster’s study schedule. I spent about 6-8 hours per day going through the content. It's important to mention, I initially started out using DATBooster and then switched over to OATBooster. The content is basically the same except it’s geared towards the OAT.
When I went through the study schedule, the initial content stage in the study schedule was rough but it ended up paying off. For stage 2 of the study schedule, I tried doing as many Destroyer questions along with the Booster questions. Any question I answered incorrectly, I marked and came back to it in stage 3. In stage 3, reviewed all the content again in stage 1 and did a bunch of practice test questions. I also reviewed all the Marked questions up until this point on OATBooster and tried going through as many Destroyer questions that I answered incorrectly. The last few weeks leading up to my OAT, I turned off all social media to avoid distractions. In these last few weeks I focused on reviewing all the content and completing practice tests.
Biology (Scored: 400)
Was very mixed with a range of broad topics. Some questions were pretty specific. Know hormones, structures, few lab questions, taxonomy and biomes. Be sure to watch the booster taxonomy videos, they did a good job at covering everything that showed up on my exam.
Chemistry (Scored: 400)
I had a lot of calculation questions on my exam, luckily no curve balls here. I would say the questions weren’t hard but took a while to get through them especially the calculation heavy ones. Chad’s videos were great at preparing for most of this section, I don’t think I would have scored this well without watching them. One thing that really helped me master this section was memorizing the formula sheet and going through enough questions so that using the formulas was like 2nd nature.
Organic Chemistry (Scored: 360)
I particularly hated Orgo like most people so I wasn’t looking forward to studying this section. I used Dave’s videos on Booster to prepare for this section and he does a great job at explaining all the reactions and organic chem concepts. In terms of the questions that showed up on my exam, most were from Orgo II. I also had several EAS questions and predict the product questions. The key to doing well here is to practice and know the reactions well.
Physics (Scored: 350)
I did better than I expected especially considering physics isn’t my cup of tea. Most of my questions were surprisingly straightforward with a couple of tricky ones. I had questions ranging from laws of thermodynamics, kinematics, lenses, mirrors, forces, etc. I would also recommend being comfortable with questions dealing with free body diagrams under different situations.
Reading Comprehension (Scored: 360)
This was the one section where I had my biggest regret. I was fortunate enough that all the questions that appeared on my exam were search and destroy. Sadly I got careless and lost track of time. I ended up having to guess on a few questions on the last passage which sucked, otherwise I’m confident I could have scored higher.
QR (Scored: 370)
This was also pretty straightforward, a good mix of everything. Most questions could be solved in a few steps, was easier than any resource I used. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend joining Booster’s crash course for QR, I learned a lot of quick ways to solve questions.
Final advice
This exam takes a toll on you after studying for it for a long time. If you’re taking the OAT soon, try to find days to relax and give yourself a break. I would also highly recommend pushing the exam back if you don’t feel ready or have too much going on. Most importantly, take it one day at a time. Message me if you have any questions.
I was initially going to take the OAT earlier this year but had to postpone it because of a busy school schedule. I’m not a genius (3.42 GPA as a Bio major) but I do like to think I work very hard. I believe if you work hard enough, you can truly accomplish anything. The only disclaimer is that I did take the DAT last year where I scored pretty well, so it did help make things slightly easier to study.
Study materials I used
OATBooster 10/10
This was one of the primary resources I used. The questions on the practice tests were very representative of what I saw on the actual OAT. Booster also offered really good videos and notes which covered everything that showed up on my exam. The only thing I wish OATBooster had more of was physics tests with solution videos, that would have helped.
Chad’s Videos 8.5/10
Chad’s videos are amazing and would highly recommend them to anyone preparing for the OAT. Chad does a phenomenal job explaining all the basic chem principles. I basically watched all the Chad’s videos outlined on booster study schedule since they were free. Watching these really helped clarify some of the concepts that I was having trouble with since he does a great job explaining things. Although I didn’t have time to check out Chad’s practice tests, I would have definitely gone through them if I had more time.
OAT Destroyer 7.0/10
I used this as supplemental practice. The questions in this book are more difficult than what I encountered on the actual OAT but it’s good for extra practice. If you have extra time, I would recommend going through as many questions as you can. I also heard Dr. Romano’s videos are really helpful on youtube but I didn’t have time to check them out.
Kaplan Book 6.5/10
I initially started off using this book but it went into too much detail so I didn’t really find myself using it much - partly because it also felt very intimidating and lengthy. I personally preferred the notes and videos on booster/chad’s better, they were more condensed and straight to the point.
How I prepared
I started preparing for the OAT early January by taking my first Kaplan diagnostic test (didn't do too well). At first I was planning to take the OAT in March but had to postpone it due to a busy school schedule. In total, I spent about 2.5 to 3 months preparing for the OAT while following Booster’s study schedule. I spent about 6-8 hours per day going through the content. It's important to mention, I initially started out using DATBooster and then switched over to OATBooster. The content is basically the same except it’s geared towards the OAT.
When I went through the study schedule, the initial content stage in the study schedule was rough but it ended up paying off. For stage 2 of the study schedule, I tried doing as many Destroyer questions along with the Booster questions. Any question I answered incorrectly, I marked and came back to it in stage 3. In stage 3, reviewed all the content again in stage 1 and did a bunch of practice test questions. I also reviewed all the Marked questions up until this point on OATBooster and tried going through as many Destroyer questions that I answered incorrectly. The last few weeks leading up to my OAT, I turned off all social media to avoid distractions. In these last few weeks I focused on reviewing all the content and completing practice tests.
Biology (Scored: 400)
Was very mixed with a range of broad topics. Some questions were pretty specific. Know hormones, structures, few lab questions, taxonomy and biomes. Be sure to watch the booster taxonomy videos, they did a good job at covering everything that showed up on my exam.
Chemistry (Scored: 400)
I had a lot of calculation questions on my exam, luckily no curve balls here. I would say the questions weren’t hard but took a while to get through them especially the calculation heavy ones. Chad’s videos were great at preparing for most of this section, I don’t think I would have scored this well without watching them. One thing that really helped me master this section was memorizing the formula sheet and going through enough questions so that using the formulas was like 2nd nature.
Organic Chemistry (Scored: 360)
I particularly hated Orgo like most people so I wasn’t looking forward to studying this section. I used Dave’s videos on Booster to prepare for this section and he does a great job at explaining all the reactions and organic chem concepts. In terms of the questions that showed up on my exam, most were from Orgo II. I also had several EAS questions and predict the product questions. The key to doing well here is to practice and know the reactions well.
Physics (Scored: 350)
I did better than I expected especially considering physics isn’t my cup of tea. Most of my questions were surprisingly straightforward with a couple of tricky ones. I had questions ranging from laws of thermodynamics, kinematics, lenses, mirrors, forces, etc. I would also recommend being comfortable with questions dealing with free body diagrams under different situations.
Reading Comprehension (Scored: 360)
This was the one section where I had my biggest regret. I was fortunate enough that all the questions that appeared on my exam were search and destroy. Sadly I got careless and lost track of time. I ended up having to guess on a few questions on the last passage which sucked, otherwise I’m confident I could have scored higher.
QR (Scored: 370)
This was also pretty straightforward, a good mix of everything. Most questions could be solved in a few steps, was easier than any resource I used. If you get a chance, I would highly recommend joining Booster’s crash course for QR, I learned a lot of quick ways to solve questions.
Final advice
This exam takes a toll on you after studying for it for a long time. If you’re taking the OAT soon, try to find days to relax and give yourself a break. I would also highly recommend pushing the exam back if you don’t feel ready or have too much going on. Most importantly, take it one day at a time. Message me if you have any questions.
| Subject | Kaplan Diagnostic (1st week of prep) | OATBooster Test Average - Last 3 | ADA OAT 2006 (Took the last week) | Actual OAT |
| Biology | 320 | 370 | 390 | 400 |
| General Chemistry | 310 | 380 | 380 | 400 |
| Organic Chemistry | 290 | 350 | 370 | 360 |
| Reading Comprehension | 350 | 370 | 390 | 360 |
| Physics | 310 | 340 | 350 | 350 |
| QR | 290 | 360 | 360 | 370 |
| AA | 310 | 370 | 370 | 370 |
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