Took the OAT a week ago! The posts everyone shared really helped me when I started it a few months back! I’m pretty happy with my scores, so I want to share my experiences, what worked for me and what didn’t work for me!
I will start by saying I worked at a clinic and another part time job, so it is definitely possible to study while working at the same time (Tho it does take a toll on your mind). My background is in Biology so that helps with some of the studying!
Resources used: OATBooster + Chads Prep.
Biology: (OB avg = 380, OAT = 400)
I watched all the videos for Biology, and sometimes I do the Biobits immediately after the video watching. I don’t complete all of them but maybe 60-70%, this really helps consolidate the memories for each topic. The biggest play would be to read up the Booster cheat sheets frequently. I like reading them either in the morning when I wake up or before I sleep. It covers pretty much everything you need to know and will encounter on the exam.
Flashcards and Anki wise, I don’t recommend grinding absolutely everything except the topics you are less familiar with e.g. I never took virology so the Anki for immune system and lymphatic system were quite helpful. I would highly recommend making your own flashcards from the cheat sheets as well as the harder Q/mistakes you made from the test practices. OATBooster is pretty representative for the exam so I wouldn’t worry too much about it as long as you do your due diligence.
I didn’t particular enjoy reading over the notes as they were very detailed. I just skim them over and suggest reading over cheat sheet instead. Only read the notes if you want more info from that particular topic!
Gen Chem (OB avg = 370, OAT = 400)
I watched all the videos for Chemistry. The notes were also great so I would read them over after watching the videos. Definitely do the practice question and go through the quizlet FLASHCARDS, they were super helpful. The actual OAT did test a lot of conceptual things so being familiar with the quizlet was super helpful. The practice questions were much harder than the exam, as the actual OAT gives u the numbers so you just fit and make sure the numbers are in the correct numerator or denominator. My test had a huge emphasis on Acid base so be familiar with this.
OChem (OB avg = 360, OAT = 400)
I want to start off saying: I don’t like ochem
I never took ochem 2, so half of the contents were new to me. And to those who are either in the same boat as me or just dislike ochem in general, calm down and relax.
Booster does a great job teaching you what you need to know and what you don’t. What will really even fit you is to read up the mechanism cheat sheet like how you would for Bio cheat sheets. I would recommend going through the question bank after the videos (EVEN IF you make a lot of mistakes). Don’t worry, the goal of it is NOT memorizing everything, but just to root it down for further memory consolidation). Once you start getting familiar with it (starting phase 2), start going through the Reaction QBank to nail down each and every mechanism. You need to know what reagents are helpful, reactants and products. Knowing how to derive the products like drawing it out helped me a lot, but that’s just how I reason it out, not absolutely necessary.
The test bank is very representative, so make sure you do all of them. My actual OAT had lots of SN mechanisms and acid base (Lewis definition, browsed Lowry, stability, Keq problems). So get that down, VERY IMPORTANT. I guarantee you it will be on the test
I did use Chad prep for Ochem, but mainly for the topics further down such as EAS reaction, IR spec, radical reactions. I wanted a more lengthy explanation first so I watched Chad first and go to Dave’s content that are more straight to the point.
Reading comprehension (OB avg = 370, OAT = 360)
Booster provides a lot of passage for you to read, as well as a few suggestions of dealing with them. Personally, I like reading over the questions for 3-4min for one article first while writing down key words/words that let me know which Q is what. I then read over the passage and highlight words and jump to answer Q if i found the necessary info. Once I’m done with reading the article, I go back to answer the remaining unanswered question before proceeding to the next article. Since Booster gives you a lot of articles, make sure you choose the right method for you and get it down! Don’t forget to breathe and blink your eyes mid exam
Why I chose this method and why I don’t regret it? It saves me lots of time from reading unnecessary info! During my test, I had a passage that’s 20+ paragraphs and a few paragraphs were useless. If you briefly know what the questions are, you know what you are looking for, instead of mindlessly highlighting potentially useful info and wasting precious time. Time is very valuable in the actual OAT since there’s a 3 second delay for next/previous button. Always be mindful of the time you are spending for each Q and each section. I set 20min MAX for each passage.
Physics (OB avg = 350, OAT = 320)
I will start again by saying physics is not my strong suit. It doesn’t come very intuitively for me. But that’s okay, I tried compensating with practice and really understanding what each equation means. Of course memorizing the physics equations help a lot. By the end of the study phase, I am comfortable using most of the equations and what they imply.
Onto Booster, the videos are okay. It covers about 80% of what you needed to know. The practice questions were harder than what you may encounter. I had to supplement this with Chads Prep which was very helpful for fluid dynamics, optics, wave mechanics. One thing I find useful is to read over the explanations for physics test banks, they explain rather well and gives you context for why you are using an equation.
Now as to why I underperformed in my physics section. Time was valuable! I had about 4-5 second delay each time I move to questions. I didn’t have much straightforward question and was calculation heavy. Some kinematics question took quite long to solve despite knowing what to solve right off the bat. While the test bank was relatively representative, the wordings are shorter and more reader-friendly than what I encountered on the exam. It was hard to read over the questions sometimes.
Quantitative reasoning (OB avg = 390, OAT = 360)
This part surprised me since I consistently did well in math both in school and in the Booster program. Don’t get it wrong tho, the Booster test bank was very representative in terms of the questions on the actual OAT. I think what threw me off my game was the panic incurred from the physics section, my heart rate was insanely high. As a result, I sped run the questions and still had so much time at the end. I surmise that the deduction in my grade is due to careless mistake I made while speedrunnjng the calculations. But the point I want to make is that, if the questions are speed runnable, it means that they are very doable. No matter how you do on the physics section during the test, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND RELAX. Be careful with your algebraic manipulations and you will do just fine.
Overall: Is this test doable? Yes. Does it take a lot of time? Yes. The test generally tests you superficial level info and they don’t trick you like your college professors do. Learn how to understand key concepts well, this will help you in the exam and in the long run when we make it to Optometry school. Make sure you have a solid schedule planned out, break days included, before you commit to the studying. You don’t have to completely ditch out social life, game, or sleep, be realistic and responsible with your time. I’m sure you guys will do great, probably better than me! Good luck! 🤞
I will start by saying I worked at a clinic and another part time job, so it is definitely possible to study while working at the same time (Tho it does take a toll on your mind). My background is in Biology so that helps with some of the studying!
Resources used: OATBooster + Chads Prep.
- I used OATBooster for everything and supplemented Physics/Ochem with Chad
- I loosely followed the Booster 10-week program and did some mix and match on topics midway in the phase 1 (if you follow the program to a T, some days will be 5 hr and some will be 2, so balance it out accordingly)
Biology: (OB avg = 380, OAT = 400)
I watched all the videos for Biology, and sometimes I do the Biobits immediately after the video watching. I don’t complete all of them but maybe 60-70%, this really helps consolidate the memories for each topic. The biggest play would be to read up the Booster cheat sheets frequently. I like reading them either in the morning when I wake up or before I sleep. It covers pretty much everything you need to know and will encounter on the exam.
Flashcards and Anki wise, I don’t recommend grinding absolutely everything except the topics you are less familiar with e.g. I never took virology so the Anki for immune system and lymphatic system were quite helpful. I would highly recommend making your own flashcards from the cheat sheets as well as the harder Q/mistakes you made from the test practices. OATBooster is pretty representative for the exam so I wouldn’t worry too much about it as long as you do your due diligence.
I didn’t particular enjoy reading over the notes as they were very detailed. I just skim them over and suggest reading over cheat sheet instead. Only read the notes if you want more info from that particular topic!
Gen Chem (OB avg = 370, OAT = 400)
I watched all the videos for Chemistry. The notes were also great so I would read them over after watching the videos. Definitely do the practice question and go through the quizlet FLASHCARDS, they were super helpful. The actual OAT did test a lot of conceptual things so being familiar with the quizlet was super helpful. The practice questions were much harder than the exam, as the actual OAT gives u the numbers so you just fit and make sure the numbers are in the correct numerator or denominator. My test had a huge emphasis on Acid base so be familiar with this.
OChem (OB avg = 360, OAT = 400)
I want to start off saying: I don’t like ochem
I never took ochem 2, so half of the contents were new to me. And to those who are either in the same boat as me or just dislike ochem in general, calm down and relax. Booster does a great job teaching you what you need to know and what you don’t. What will really even fit you is to read up the mechanism cheat sheet like how you would for Bio cheat sheets. I would recommend going through the question bank after the videos (EVEN IF you make a lot of mistakes). Don’t worry, the goal of it is NOT memorizing everything, but just to root it down for further memory consolidation). Once you start getting familiar with it (starting phase 2), start going through the Reaction QBank to nail down each and every mechanism. You need to know what reagents are helpful, reactants and products. Knowing how to derive the products like drawing it out helped me a lot, but that’s just how I reason it out, not absolutely necessary.
The test bank is very representative, so make sure you do all of them. My actual OAT had lots of SN mechanisms and acid base (Lewis definition, browsed Lowry, stability, Keq problems). So get that down, VERY IMPORTANT. I guarantee you it will be on the test
I did use Chad prep for Ochem, but mainly for the topics further down such as EAS reaction, IR spec, radical reactions. I wanted a more lengthy explanation first so I watched Chad first and go to Dave’s content that are more straight to the point.
Reading comprehension (OB avg = 370, OAT = 360)
Booster provides a lot of passage for you to read, as well as a few suggestions of dealing with them. Personally, I like reading over the questions for 3-4min for one article first while writing down key words/words that let me know which Q is what. I then read over the passage and highlight words and jump to answer Q if i found the necessary info. Once I’m done with reading the article, I go back to answer the remaining unanswered question before proceeding to the next article. Since Booster gives you a lot of articles, make sure you choose the right method for you and get it down! Don’t forget to breathe and blink your eyes mid exam
Why I chose this method and why I don’t regret it? It saves me lots of time from reading unnecessary info! During my test, I had a passage that’s 20+ paragraphs and a few paragraphs were useless. If you briefly know what the questions are, you know what you are looking for, instead of mindlessly highlighting potentially useful info and wasting precious time. Time is very valuable in the actual OAT since there’s a 3 second delay for next/previous button. Always be mindful of the time you are spending for each Q and each section. I set 20min MAX for each passage.
Physics (OB avg = 350, OAT = 320)
I will start again by saying physics is not my strong suit. It doesn’t come very intuitively for me. But that’s okay, I tried compensating with practice and really understanding what each equation means. Of course memorizing the physics equations help a lot. By the end of the study phase, I am comfortable using most of the equations and what they imply.
Onto Booster, the videos are okay. It covers about 80% of what you needed to know. The practice questions were harder than what you may encounter. I had to supplement this with Chads Prep which was very helpful for fluid dynamics, optics, wave mechanics. One thing I find useful is to read over the explanations for physics test banks, they explain rather well and gives you context for why you are using an equation.
Now as to why I underperformed in my physics section. Time was valuable! I had about 4-5 second delay each time I move to questions. I didn’t have much straightforward question and was calculation heavy. Some kinematics question took quite long to solve despite knowing what to solve right off the bat. While the test bank was relatively representative, the wordings are shorter and more reader-friendly than what I encountered on the exam. It was hard to read over the questions sometimes.
Quantitative reasoning (OB avg = 390, OAT = 360)
This part surprised me since I consistently did well in math both in school and in the Booster program. Don’t get it wrong tho, the Booster test bank was very representative in terms of the questions on the actual OAT. I think what threw me off my game was the panic incurred from the physics section, my heart rate was insanely high. As a result, I sped run the questions and still had so much time at the end. I surmise that the deduction in my grade is due to careless mistake I made while speedrunnjng the calculations. But the point I want to make is that, if the questions are speed runnable, it means that they are very doable. No matter how you do on the physics section during the test, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND RELAX. Be careful with your algebraic manipulations and you will do just fine.
Overall: Is this test doable? Yes. Does it take a lot of time? Yes. The test generally tests you superficial level info and they don’t trick you like your college professors do. Learn how to understand key concepts well, this will help you in the exam and in the long run when we make it to Optometry school. Make sure you have a solid schedule planned out, break days included, before you commit to the studying. You don’t have to completely ditch out social life, game, or sleep, be realistic and responsible with your time. I’m sure you guys will do great, probably better than me! Good luck! 🤞
