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I read a lot of these during my time studying for the OAT and they helped quite a bit, so I figured I'd post about my own experience.
I "started" studying in early October, but because I was trying to study while working full-time, I didn't feel like I was being as productive as I had hoped. My exam was originally scheduled for December but I ended up delaying because I felt nowhere near ready in the weeks prior. After I delayed I took two weeks off to spend time with my family for the holidays and then really crunched in the last 4 weeks before my test. I just took the test and I'm pretty happy with my results - and I'm so glad I rescheduled it!!
Here are the resources I used and my impressions of the actual test:
QR:
- Kaplan's 2017-2018 blue book was all I used for reviewing QR. I'm pretty strong in math so I just went through this for review, then watched some youtube videos to review for QC (which isn't covered in this book).
- I’m so glad I reviewed QC because the little tips online are very useful for these types of problem. There were probably 5 or 6 of these on my exam. I also had 2-3 problems of trig/geometry!
- I used DAT bootcamp timed subject tests for this section. Timing is really important on the OAT; if you don’t know how to do something, guess on it, then mark it and move on!!
Reading Comp:
- I didn't study for this part, because I've always been able to read quickly. It is important on the test to keep checking your time and make sure you aren’t spending too much time on one passage. There were 15-16 questions in each of the three sections. Something worth noting that I wasn’t expecting was that you can HIGHLIGHT parts of your passages! This makes it much easier to go back and find the info you’re looking for.
- I ended up having ~10 minutes left over for this section, so I went back through all of my answers and changed some of them. I’m pretty sure that’s why I didn’t get a better score… typically my first instinct ends up being the correct answer.
Biology:
- DAT BOOTCAMP!!!!!!! I was feeling really bummed about the sheer breadth of the test material… and I didn’t want to read through 500 pages of Dr. Romano’s notes. So when I saw Bootcamp’s condensed 121-page guide I was IN! They do also offer a supplementary online “DAT academy” which provides much more detail; I used this occasionally throughout my review. After I completed each chapter, I would go back into DAT Bootcamp and complete the practice questions for the chapter. They provide detailed explanations for all of their answers, which are REALLY helpful, especially for bio. They also have timed subject tests which I feel were pretty representative of the bio section on the actual OAT.
- CrashCourse videos on youtube for bio are truly awesome, and good for visual learners. They help simplify complicated processes and don’t overwhelm you with material. If you feel like you need a break from intense studying, just watch these.
Gen Chem:
- Chad's Videos (3-month subscription): He offers guides that you print out and then watch the videos, taking notes and writing down the examples as you go. He makes things incredibly easy to understand and shows you a lot of fun ways to remember things like mnemonics and other tricks. If you ever don't understand a certain topic, watch his videos, and you'll get it! I went through Chad’s entire chem outline and then did timed practice tests on Bootcamp.
Orgo:
- I started using Chad’s videos for orgo, but then realized that while his outline is incredibly thorough, it’s way more material than what I needed to know for the OAT.
- So I watched a couple of Mike’s videos for free on DAT bootcamp, then bought the subscription to watch the rest. Mike’s videos are super concise and only give you the info you need to know. He does go through things quickly, so I would go back to Chad’s videos if I had trouble understanding the concept after watching Mike’s. Mike, like Chad, also offers an outline to print out and go through as you’re watching the videos. After you watch, there’s a bank of questions for each chapter; these were very similar to what I saw on the OAT.
- It’s important to know the reactions, but really important not to neglect the rest of orgo! There was a broad range of questions on my test.
Physics:
- CHAD’S!!! I have never been strong in physics, but Chad is SO helpful in explaining concepts. He makes physics fun! I highly recommend his physics videos to study for the OAT. His practice questions, however, include many more calculations than you’ll ever see on the test.
- I only recently found out that DAT bootcamp also offers a physics question bank for some of the subjects so I used this a little before my test. If I had found this sooner, I would’ve done more practice!
- The test was a lot of conceptual questions and some calculations. I took the time to memorize the kinematics and optics equations. You can pretty much deduce everything else if you have a basic understanding of concepts. I didn’t study magnetism at ALL, and luckily it wasn’t on my test.
A note about DAT Bootcamp: I started out using their free online resources after I realized that the ADA writes both the OAT andDAT exams. The timed subject tests are EXTREMELY useful to prepare you for test day because they’re formatted almost exactly like the actual test (timed, mark/review feature, etc). Their questions are also very similar to what I saw on my test, and you can bookmark them to come back and review later. BC offers full-length tests too (minus physics). The BC resources I used the most were definitely Mike's videos (chem/orgo) and his practice questions. I used their condensed guide to bio too, which was super helpful. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DAT BOOTCAMP. It is a little expensive but I emailed them and they offered a 20% discount. My subscription was also due to run out a week before my exam, so I emailed them to see if a 7-day extension was possible and they extended it for free! Their team is super responsive when you message them with any questions, and their website is loaded with tips and tricks regarding the test and what high-yield items to definitely know. I didn’t even use all the resources available on their site and I still feel like it was the resource that helped me the most during my study period.
I only took 2 practice exams, but I would definitely recommend taking more if you have time. They really help to improve your test stamina. I took both in the week before my test and realized I had to improve bio. It was one of the first things I studied and I was struggling to remember a lot of stuff. So I read through the Bootcamp notes again to refresh myself, which definitely showed in my actual score!
Here are my scores: Bootcamp/free ADA/OAT
*I used the raw conversion chart at the end of the free ADA test to convert my DAT Bootcamp scores into OAT scores. I also used the physics score from my ADA exam to calculate my TS & AA for the Bootcamp exam.
QR: 340/370/370
Reading Comp: 370/380/360
Bio: 280/290/350
Gen Chem: 270/380/350
Orgo: 330/370/370
Physics: - /320/310
TS: 300/350/350
AA: 320/350/350
If you have any questions or need links to anything feel free to reach out. Happy to help as much as I can!
I "started" studying in early October, but because I was trying to study while working full-time, I didn't feel like I was being as productive as I had hoped. My exam was originally scheduled for December but I ended up delaying because I felt nowhere near ready in the weeks prior. After I delayed I took two weeks off to spend time with my family for the holidays and then really crunched in the last 4 weeks before my test. I just took the test and I'm pretty happy with my results - and I'm so glad I rescheduled it!!
Here are the resources I used and my impressions of the actual test:
QR:
- Kaplan's 2017-2018 blue book was all I used for reviewing QR. I'm pretty strong in math so I just went through this for review, then watched some youtube videos to review for QC (which isn't covered in this book).
- I’m so glad I reviewed QC because the little tips online are very useful for these types of problem. There were probably 5 or 6 of these on my exam. I also had 2-3 problems of trig/geometry!
- I used DAT bootcamp timed subject tests for this section. Timing is really important on the OAT; if you don’t know how to do something, guess on it, then mark it and move on!!
Reading Comp:
- I didn't study for this part, because I've always been able to read quickly. It is important on the test to keep checking your time and make sure you aren’t spending too much time on one passage. There were 15-16 questions in each of the three sections. Something worth noting that I wasn’t expecting was that you can HIGHLIGHT parts of your passages! This makes it much easier to go back and find the info you’re looking for.
- I ended up having ~10 minutes left over for this section, so I went back through all of my answers and changed some of them. I’m pretty sure that’s why I didn’t get a better score… typically my first instinct ends up being the correct answer.
Biology:
- DAT BOOTCAMP!!!!!!! I was feeling really bummed about the sheer breadth of the test material… and I didn’t want to read through 500 pages of Dr. Romano’s notes. So when I saw Bootcamp’s condensed 121-page guide I was IN! They do also offer a supplementary online “DAT academy” which provides much more detail; I used this occasionally throughout my review. After I completed each chapter, I would go back into DAT Bootcamp and complete the practice questions for the chapter. They provide detailed explanations for all of their answers, which are REALLY helpful, especially for bio. They also have timed subject tests which I feel were pretty representative of the bio section on the actual OAT.
- CrashCourse videos on youtube for bio are truly awesome, and good for visual learners. They help simplify complicated processes and don’t overwhelm you with material. If you feel like you need a break from intense studying, just watch these.
Gen Chem:
- Chad's Videos (3-month subscription): He offers guides that you print out and then watch the videos, taking notes and writing down the examples as you go. He makes things incredibly easy to understand and shows you a lot of fun ways to remember things like mnemonics and other tricks. If you ever don't understand a certain topic, watch his videos, and you'll get it! I went through Chad’s entire chem outline and then did timed practice tests on Bootcamp.
Orgo:
- I started using Chad’s videos for orgo, but then realized that while his outline is incredibly thorough, it’s way more material than what I needed to know for the OAT.
- So I watched a couple of Mike’s videos for free on DAT bootcamp, then bought the subscription to watch the rest. Mike’s videos are super concise and only give you the info you need to know. He does go through things quickly, so I would go back to Chad’s videos if I had trouble understanding the concept after watching Mike’s. Mike, like Chad, also offers an outline to print out and go through as you’re watching the videos. After you watch, there’s a bank of questions for each chapter; these were very similar to what I saw on the OAT.
- It’s important to know the reactions, but really important not to neglect the rest of orgo! There was a broad range of questions on my test.
Physics:
- CHAD’S!!! I have never been strong in physics, but Chad is SO helpful in explaining concepts. He makes physics fun! I highly recommend his physics videos to study for the OAT. His practice questions, however, include many more calculations than you’ll ever see on the test.
- I only recently found out that DAT bootcamp also offers a physics question bank for some of the subjects so I used this a little before my test. If I had found this sooner, I would’ve done more practice!
- The test was a lot of conceptual questions and some calculations. I took the time to memorize the kinematics and optics equations. You can pretty much deduce everything else if you have a basic understanding of concepts. I didn’t study magnetism at ALL, and luckily it wasn’t on my test.
A note about DAT Bootcamp: I started out using their free online resources after I realized that the ADA writes both the OAT andDAT exams. The timed subject tests are EXTREMELY useful to prepare you for test day because they’re formatted almost exactly like the actual test (timed, mark/review feature, etc). Their questions are also very similar to what I saw on my test, and you can bookmark them to come back and review later. BC offers full-length tests too (minus physics). The BC resources I used the most were definitely Mike's videos (chem/orgo) and his practice questions. I used their condensed guide to bio too, which was super helpful. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DAT BOOTCAMP. It is a little expensive but I emailed them and they offered a 20% discount. My subscription was also due to run out a week before my exam, so I emailed them to see if a 7-day extension was possible and they extended it for free! Their team is super responsive when you message them with any questions, and their website is loaded with tips and tricks regarding the test and what high-yield items to definitely know. I didn’t even use all the resources available on their site and I still feel like it was the resource that helped me the most during my study period.
I only took 2 practice exams, but I would definitely recommend taking more if you have time. They really help to improve your test stamina. I took both in the week before my test and realized I had to improve bio. It was one of the first things I studied and I was struggling to remember a lot of stuff. So I read through the Bootcamp notes again to refresh myself, which definitely showed in my actual score!
Here are my scores: Bootcamp/free ADA/OAT
*I used the raw conversion chart at the end of the free ADA test to convert my DAT Bootcamp scores into OAT scores. I also used the physics score from my ADA exam to calculate my TS & AA for the Bootcamp exam.
QR: 340/370/370
Reading Comp: 370/380/360
Bio: 280/290/350
Gen Chem: 270/380/350
Orgo: 330/370/370
Physics: - /320/310
TS: 300/350/350
AA: 320/350/350
If you have any questions or need links to anything feel free to reach out. Happy to help as much as I can!
