ThomasOptometry
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2022
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
After over 3 months of trying to juggle studying with classwork, my OAT is finally done!
For some background, I’m a nontraditional student who hadn’t taken a single science prereq before the fall of 2021. As such, I had a slight advantage in that I have recently taken many of the subjects that are tested on the OAT. On the other hand, I wasn’t able to take Organic Chemistry I or Biology II until this fall, so I knew that I would need a robust study plan to excel on the OAT to fill in those knowledge gaps.
Study Materials I used
OATBooster 10/10
If you can only use one resource to study for the OAT, OATBooster is the one to use. The videos are informative, and most importantly, the practice tests are representative of the actual OAT. Having not taken Organic Chemistry before this fall, I did find some of the videos a bit inscrutable when I first watched them in August, but once I had a better foundation from my class, I found them useful for reinforcing the concepts. I also attended a Biology Crash Course which was very helpful for last-minute studying. The Physics practice tests are a bit harder than the actual OAT, but that honestly helped me with my stress level on exam day as I was overprepared.
Chad’s Videos 7/10
I didn’t use Chad’s videos that much, but I did find his Physics videos quite helpful for reinforcing certain concepts like optics. His physics tests were also much closer in difficulty to the actual OAT. Since I haven’t taken Organic II, I also used his videos for some of the reactions that I didn’t know. However, I feel like his videos can sometimes give too much information about the mechanism and get bogged down in that instead of the actual reactions.
Study Schedule
I decided to take my OAT the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I would have the full week beforehand to study (since my university was on break that whole week). Exactly three months before the OAT exam day, I started following the 10-week OATBooster study schedule. I didn’t feel like studying on the weekends, so I started at the 14-week mark which meant that I only had to study on weekdays. I spent a minimum of three hours each day following the schedule exactly through the learning phase.
Once I got through the learning phase, I followed the schedule a bit more loosely. I did take the practice mostly on schedule, but I used the practice test results to identify knowledge gaps. I would review marked questions endlessly and focus on the areas that were my weak spots.
Exactly a month before my OAT, I decided to sign up for Chad’s Videos to help me with Physics, as I was struggling with remembering some key optics and electrostatics concepts. I also was getting less than-ideal scores on my Biology practice tests, so I signed up for the first OATBooster Biology crash course which I found helpful.
The week of my test, I reserved a study room at my local library every single day (besides Thanksgiving when they were closed!) I took a practice test each day and spent the afternoon reviewing the questions I missed. I took my last practice test the day before Thanksgiving and spent Thanksgiving and Black Friday reviewing my past missed questions. The night before my OAT, I made sure to get plenty of sleep.
I would estimate that I studied around 200-250 hours for the OAT in all.
Test Experience
Biology (340):
This was my lowest-scoring section by far. The main thing to remember about Biology on the OAT is that it never goes into too much detail, but the range of topics that are covered is extremely broad and hard to predict. I had studied a lot about hormones, embryonic development, and male/female reproductive systems, and didn’t have a single question about those on my version of the test. I highly recommend reviewing the OATBooster cheat sheets regularly – I probably should have spent more time doing this myself.
General Chemistry (390):
I was shocked at how well I did in this section. The main thing to remember for this section is to leave yourself enough time to double-check your answers at the end if you can. I found OATBooster VERY representative in terms of the types of topics covered and the balance of concept and calculation questions. Make sure you learn your formulas and get comfortable with making calculations quickly.
Organic Chemistry (380):
Again, I was shocked that this section went as well as it did. There were fewer reaction problems than I anticipated, but again, OATBooster practice exams were very representative of the questions I was asked. I did have a few Orgo II reactions, but most of the concepts I was tested on were from Orgo I.
Reading Comprehension (400):
To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised I scored this well on this section. This is mainly because the types of passages and questions asked were extremely similar to the OATBooster practice tests, and I had become fairly adept at highlighting and skimming passages. My method was to read the first three and last two paragraphs, highlighting as I went, and then using search and destroy from that point on. I ended up finishing this section with 10 minutes to spare. No real trick questions, just direct questions about the passages. I attribute highlighting as being the number one reason I did well on this section.
Physics (380):
I was fairly surprised at how well this section went. Again, I found OATBooster’s practice tests quite representative, just much more difficult than the actual exam. MEMORIZE YOUR FORMULAS! I liked Chad’s physics equation sheet a little better than OATBooster’s, but it’s a personal preference. I had a good mix of concept and calculation problems.
QR (400):
I had been doing well on my OATBooster practice exams (which, you guessed it, were very representative), so I was well prepared for this section. I was a bit surprised to not have any logarithm, permutation, or combination problems, but otherwise, this section was fairly straightforward and in line with the OATBooster practice exams.
Conclusion
I was getting test scores of 350 and 360 on my practice tests the week before the OAT, so it was pleasantly surprising to get a higher score on the actual exam. If I have any advice, it would be to not be too hard on yourself during the study process but to hold yourself to an attainable study schedule. I also would recommend not studying for the OAT while also taking classes (though it is possible!)
For some background, I’m a nontraditional student who hadn’t taken a single science prereq before the fall of 2021. As such, I had a slight advantage in that I have recently taken many of the subjects that are tested on the OAT. On the other hand, I wasn’t able to take Organic Chemistry I or Biology II until this fall, so I knew that I would need a robust study plan to excel on the OAT to fill in those knowledge gaps.
Study Materials I used
OATBooster 10/10
If you can only use one resource to study for the OAT, OATBooster is the one to use. The videos are informative, and most importantly, the practice tests are representative of the actual OAT. Having not taken Organic Chemistry before this fall, I did find some of the videos a bit inscrutable when I first watched them in August, but once I had a better foundation from my class, I found them useful for reinforcing the concepts. I also attended a Biology Crash Course which was very helpful for last-minute studying. The Physics practice tests are a bit harder than the actual OAT, but that honestly helped me with my stress level on exam day as I was overprepared.
Chad’s Videos 7/10
I didn’t use Chad’s videos that much, but I did find his Physics videos quite helpful for reinforcing certain concepts like optics. His physics tests were also much closer in difficulty to the actual OAT. Since I haven’t taken Organic II, I also used his videos for some of the reactions that I didn’t know. However, I feel like his videos can sometimes give too much information about the mechanism and get bogged down in that instead of the actual reactions.
Study Schedule
I decided to take my OAT the Saturday after Thanksgiving so I would have the full week beforehand to study (since my university was on break that whole week). Exactly three months before the OAT exam day, I started following the 10-week OATBooster study schedule. I didn’t feel like studying on the weekends, so I started at the 14-week mark which meant that I only had to study on weekdays. I spent a minimum of three hours each day following the schedule exactly through the learning phase.
Once I got through the learning phase, I followed the schedule a bit more loosely. I did take the practice mostly on schedule, but I used the practice test results to identify knowledge gaps. I would review marked questions endlessly and focus on the areas that were my weak spots.
Exactly a month before my OAT, I decided to sign up for Chad’s Videos to help me with Physics, as I was struggling with remembering some key optics and electrostatics concepts. I also was getting less than-ideal scores on my Biology practice tests, so I signed up for the first OATBooster Biology crash course which I found helpful.
The week of my test, I reserved a study room at my local library every single day (besides Thanksgiving when they were closed!) I took a practice test each day and spent the afternoon reviewing the questions I missed. I took my last practice test the day before Thanksgiving and spent Thanksgiving and Black Friday reviewing my past missed questions. The night before my OAT, I made sure to get plenty of sleep.
I would estimate that I studied around 200-250 hours for the OAT in all.
Test Experience
Biology (340):
This was my lowest-scoring section by far. The main thing to remember about Biology on the OAT is that it never goes into too much detail, but the range of topics that are covered is extremely broad and hard to predict. I had studied a lot about hormones, embryonic development, and male/female reproductive systems, and didn’t have a single question about those on my version of the test. I highly recommend reviewing the OATBooster cheat sheets regularly – I probably should have spent more time doing this myself.
General Chemistry (390):
I was shocked at how well I did in this section. The main thing to remember for this section is to leave yourself enough time to double-check your answers at the end if you can. I found OATBooster VERY representative in terms of the types of topics covered and the balance of concept and calculation questions. Make sure you learn your formulas and get comfortable with making calculations quickly.
Organic Chemistry (380):
Again, I was shocked that this section went as well as it did. There were fewer reaction problems than I anticipated, but again, OATBooster practice exams were very representative of the questions I was asked. I did have a few Orgo II reactions, but most of the concepts I was tested on were from Orgo I.
Reading Comprehension (400):
To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised I scored this well on this section. This is mainly because the types of passages and questions asked were extremely similar to the OATBooster practice tests, and I had become fairly adept at highlighting and skimming passages. My method was to read the first three and last two paragraphs, highlighting as I went, and then using search and destroy from that point on. I ended up finishing this section with 10 minutes to spare. No real trick questions, just direct questions about the passages. I attribute highlighting as being the number one reason I did well on this section.
Physics (380):
I was fairly surprised at how well this section went. Again, I found OATBooster’s practice tests quite representative, just much more difficult than the actual exam. MEMORIZE YOUR FORMULAS! I liked Chad’s physics equation sheet a little better than OATBooster’s, but it’s a personal preference. I had a good mix of concept and calculation problems.
QR (400):
I had been doing well on my OATBooster practice exams (which, you guessed it, were very representative), so I was well prepared for this section. I was a bit surprised to not have any logarithm, permutation, or combination problems, but otherwise, this section was fairly straightforward and in line with the OATBooster practice exams.
Conclusion
I was getting test scores of 350 and 360 on my practice tests the week before the OAT, so it was pleasantly surprising to get a higher score on the actual exam. If I have any advice, it would be to not be too hard on yourself during the study process but to hold yourself to an attainable study schedule. I also would recommend not studying for the OAT while also taking classes (though it is possible!)
