CourseSaver Level of Difficulty compared to real OAT

[Mimi625]

Hi everyone,

So I'm taking my OAT exam in 5 weeks, and have been primarily using Chad's videos/quizzes, the fat Kaplan Strategies book, and Kaplan MCAT Biology review for preparation. I had three questions regarding to preparation:

1. Does anyone know how Chad's questions compare to the real OAT? Are they more difficult/less difficult? I really enjoy his website and found it to be central to my studying. After weeks of repetition I'm starting to do significantly better on them, but I hope it compares to the real OAT or else it'll seem like a waste of time...

2. I also used the OAT Achiever for a bit, but I found the program to be ridiculously difficult at times, and so much more complicated than what I imagine the real OAT to be like. Does anyone have experience with Achiever and can compare it to the real OAT? I have to be honest, it was pretty discouraging seeing my scores when I used the program..

3. The orgo section is the one section I haven't started on, and struggle with the most. Does anyone have any tips on what I can focus on to be better prepared? Should I just memorize reactions... I found orgo to be pretty tough in university as well, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks so much

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[SteinEye]

1. I used Coursesaver, and I think that the quizzes were more straightforward than the OAT. The OAT tests your problem-solving and critical thinking, while the quizzes seem to just test whether or not you know how to answer the question. I think they're helpful in solidifying your understanding but they do not reflect how the OAT questions actually are.

2. On the other hand, OAT Achiever is a lot more difficult than the OAT. I was getting pretty low scores on the practice tests and did a lot better on the real OAT. So don't get discouraged by your practice test scores.

3. For orgo, I would recommend spending most time on the types of orgo questions that you struggle with the most. If you have time, make flashcards for the different reactions and quiz yourself daily. That way, you start seeing the patterns.

From my experience, the OAT sample test from the ADA website was most similar to the OAT. I actually got the same scores for that practice test and my actual OAT test. I also really liked Kaplan practice tests. I feel that their explanations were a lot better than Achiever.

 

[skra7]

1. I used Coursesaver, and I think that the quizzes were more straightforward than the OAT. The OAT tests your problem-solving and critical thinking, while the quizzes seem to just test whether or not you know how to answer the question. I think they're helpful in solidifying your understanding but they do not reflect how the OAT questions actually are.

2. On the other hand, OAT Achiever is a lot more difficult than the OAT. I was getting pretty low scores on the practice tests and did a lot better on the real OAT. So don't get discouraged by your practice test scores.

3. For orgo, I would recommend spending most time on the types of orgo questions that you struggle with the most. If you have time, make flashcards for the different reactions and quiz yourself daily. That way, you start seeing the patterns.

From my experience, the OAT sample test from the ADA website was most similar to the OAT. I actually got the same scores for that practice test and my actual OAT test. I also really liked Kaplan practice tests. I feel that their explanations were a lot better than Achiever.

I've heard some people say the Coursesaver quizzes were harder than the OAT, but as I'm taking them now they seem pretty straightforward for the most part with a few tricky ones. What score do you think someone should aim for when taking Achiever exams to see if they're ready?

 

[Mimi625]

1. I used Coursesaver, and I think that the quizzes were more straightforward than the OAT. The OAT tests your problem-solving and critical thinking, while the quizzes seem to just test whether or not you know how to answer the question. I think they're helpful in solidifying your understanding but they do not reflect how the OAT questions actually are.

2. On the other hand, OAT Achiever is a lot more difficult than the OAT. I was getting pretty low scores on the practice tests and did a lot better on the real OAT. So don't get discouraged by your practice test scores.

3. For orgo, I would recommend spending most time on the types of orgo questions that you struggle with the most. If you have time, make flashcards for the different reactions and quiz yourself daily. That way, you start seeing the patterns.

From my experience, the OAT sample test from the ADA website was most similar to the OAT. I actually got the same scores for that practice test and my actual OAT test. I also really liked Kaplan practice tests. I feel that their explanations were a lot better than Achiever.

I found the practice ADA exam to be pretty similar to the coursesaver questions for the most part. especially compared to achiever! Hm. I'll continue practicing with Achiever and try not to let it discourage me too much. I just find the complexity ridiculous and if its not reflective of the actual exam, why spend my time preparing with it?

 

[Mimi625]

I've heard some people say the Coursesaver quizzes were harder than the OAT, but as I'm taking them now they seem pretty straightforward for the most part with a few tricky ones. What score do you think someone should aim for when taking Achiever exams to see if they're ready?

I heard the same as you, that the coursesaver quizzes were harder. I guess everyone's experience is different