Hi everyone! I am on my last week of preparing for the OAT. I've been studying since September using MCAT guides and OAT kaplan. I've been reading what everyone has been saying here and it's so helpful! Anyway, I've been scoring above 300 on the practice exams, but I definitely know my weaknesses are in physics and chemistry (to a greater extent ochem). Ironically my physics undergrad grades were higher than my biology ones 😕 Just was wondering what you all did in the last week of preparation? I know you are supposed to relax and not study so much, and I feel pretty confident on reading, math, and biology. Any advice on getting physics and ochem? I am not the kind of person that will sit and memorize every minute equation - kinematics and force seems to be the most important ones to memorize.
Last week of preparation
- Thread starter Hoffy
- Start date
I'm in sort of a similar boat, except I only have like 2 days left. Organic chem is my big weakness. I'm fine with everything up until predicting products and reagents. Just can't seem to memorize these. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this (especially just some of them, damage control?)
Do you literally memorize them, or work out the mechanisms in your head to help predict the answers?
Do you literally memorize them, or work out the mechanisms in your head to help predict the answers?
These were not exactly my strongest points either and after taking the OAT, I realized that I should have spent more time on recognizing reagents and looking at the reactants and products and quickly being able to decipher what happens (if bonds break/form etc)
Also, I wish I had spent more time practicing with written formulas rather than the drawn out structures. I did not encounter drawn out structures on my exam and I think it really could have benefited me more if I was conformation was the CH3CH2CH3 etc formulas.
As far as physics, within the forums I read that kinematics was KEY. So when I only came across 2 or so kinematics problems I was BUMMED! Be sure to read the question and see what they are asking before you jump to conclusions on which formula to use- many are conceptual and do not necessarily require calculations. My first question was related to torque and I completely blanked on the equation so be sure to review that. Review elevator problems and the concepts behind them. I dont recommend memorizing all the formulas but which ever ones you do know, write them out on the break- I found that writing them out when I was not pressured for time made them easier for me to remember and allowed me to write them CORRECTLY! I found when I was studying and tried to write formulas when I was rushed I would, at times, incorrectly write them out hence, calculate the equations incorrectly.
Hope that helps... good luck and remember to BREATHE!
Also, I wish I had spent more time practicing with written formulas rather than the drawn out structures. I did not encounter drawn out structures on my exam and I think it really could have benefited me more if I was conformation was the CH3CH2CH3 etc formulas.
As far as physics, within the forums I read that kinematics was KEY. So when I only came across 2 or so kinematics problems I was BUMMED! Be sure to read the question and see what they are asking before you jump to conclusions on which formula to use- many are conceptual and do not necessarily require calculations. My first question was related to torque and I completely blanked on the equation so be sure to review that. Review elevator problems and the concepts behind them. I dont recommend memorizing all the formulas but which ever ones you do know, write them out on the break- I found that writing them out when I was not pressured for time made them easier for me to remember and allowed me to write them CORRECTLY! I found when I was studying and tried to write formulas when I was rushed I would, at times, incorrectly write them out hence, calculate the equations incorrectly.
Hope that helps... good luck and remember to BREATHE!
Well the scores are in! Let me just say, getting through the test is an accomplishment in itself, it's not easy task. Hardest part was that I didn't feel I had time to think for most of the questions knowing that I was pressed for time. I felt EXTREMELY pressed for time in the QR section - felt like reading through word problems just slowed me down so I immediately skipped them and went for more direct problems, went back and filled in ansers at the end as I ran out of time! Wow , I was not prepared for that. Anyway, I'm not upset with my scores entirely, after all, I've been out of taking science courses for nearly a year and primarily studied on my own while working a full time job simultaneously. Was really worried mostly about scoring above 300 in each section. So here are more scores:
AA: 320
TS: 330
Bio: 340
Gen Chem: 310
Organic Chem: 330
Physics: 330
RC: 330
QR: 300 (ouch!)
I have an interview @ PCO next month and still waiting to hear back from other schools. With a 3.34 overall gpa and 3.26 science gpa (bachelors in biology and minor in chemistry), I'm not sure where I stand at this point as I'm a late applicant. If I end up having to retake for any reason I would definitely work on timing myself and ACTIVELY reading. I found the reading comprehension difficult not because of the content but because of the time constraints. In practicing I was relaxed and able to read the full passage and work through the questions easily, however, all I could think about was getting through things in time so I was forced to read questions and look for the answer as I read. Also reading questions off of a computer screen was entirely new to me! Anyway, no ma terial on the test showed up that I wasn't expecting (apart from a few random bio questions about bird haha).
AA: 320
TS: 330
Bio: 340
Gen Chem: 310
Organic Chem: 330
Physics: 330
RC: 330
QR: 300 (ouch!)
I have an interview @ PCO next month and still waiting to hear back from other schools. With a 3.34 overall gpa and 3.26 science gpa (bachelors in biology and minor in chemistry), I'm not sure where I stand at this point as I'm a late applicant. If I end up having to retake for any reason I would definitely work on timing myself and ACTIVELY reading. I found the reading comprehension difficult not because of the content but because of the time constraints. In practicing I was relaxed and able to read the full passage and work through the questions easily, however, all I could think about was getting through things in time so I was forced to read questions and look for the answer as I read. Also reading questions off of a computer screen was entirely new to me! Anyway, no ma terial on the test showed up that I wasn't expecting (apart from a few random bio questions about bird haha).
Hoffy, Congrats on completing the exam and on your scores!!!
I just started studying for the OAT and I feel like I have soooo much to go over/review. I graduated in May with a bachelors in Biology and for some reason orgo n physics just look "foreign" to me (both subjects are not my strongest). Im reading the forum posts on the OAT and trying to figure out which topics on each subject are the most common on the exam. I hope to narrow down what to review or not for the exam. any advice/suggestion since you just took the exam!?
I just started studying for the OAT and I feel like I have soooo much to go over/review. I graduated in May with a bachelors in Biology and for some reason orgo n physics just look "foreign" to me (both subjects are not my strongest). Im reading the forum posts on the OAT and trying to figure out which topics on each subject are the most common on the exam. I hope to narrow down what to review or not for the exam. any advice/suggestion since you just took the exam!?
Hey there!
I studied using the Kaplan MCAT, it's pretty comprehensive in regard to each of the subjects covered on the OAT. Since I've been out a year I reviewed EVERYTHING. I think the test is very hit and miss so I would touch on everything if you have the time for it, better to be prepared in all areas than skip something that you could have known if you only looked over it ten minutes or so. I did also purchase the KAPLAN OAT guide for the practice tests and math questions as the MCAT does not have this section. I studied for about 3 months, but I was also working a 10-7 job so it was somewhat sporadic at times. My scores are pretty consistent, which is better than having a 390 in one sections and a 280 in another I suppose. Here is my advice for each section:
Bio: Bio was easy for me since I have B.S. in bio, so I basically went through the Kaplan MCAT review and was set. It wasn't so much the material of questions I encountered as much as I had difficulty with the phrasing of the questions on the test. I'm a slow reader so I sometimes got hung up on phrasing, but overall I didn't get too many random questions. Have a general knowledge of each of the areas and you should be good. Had a lot of genetics questions, x-linkage, genetic abnormalities, etc. Good thing that was my fav class as undergrad!
Chem: Chem for some reason was hard for me, and I thought it was going to go better than organic chem. Definitely know colligative properties, types of rxns (redox, etc). There weren't too many computational questions and the ones that were there were simple numbers and I can't recall using too many equations. Know limiting reagent, rate constants, acid base reactions/ph, etc. Half life problems showed up for me in both this section and physics!
Organic: organic wasn't too bad. My overall study goal for this was to group reagents together by TYPE of reaction. For example, if you see KMNO4, O3, etc, you know it's going to be oxidation so you would look for a product with a carbonele or OH or what have you. Like wise H2/Pd, LAH, etc are going to be reduction so look for a loss of double bonds or loss of oxygens. If you have aromatic/cyclic compounds, know if the reagent is going to attack the substituents or if it is going ot undergo ortho para meta addition. I think taht's the most useful way rather than trying to straight memorize exactly what product from each reagent is going to look like. A lot of my questions were conceptual about orbitals and meso compounds and enantiomers, so definitely know your concepts- I think that helped more than anything because I didn't feel very confident on identifying products for rxns.
Physics- very few computational, again, know your concepts. I expected an elevator problem for sure but never got one! I think if you know your equations and know the concepts behind them you would be fine. There is absolutely no time in this section to derive equations should you need to, so definitely write them down during the break and refer to them should you need to calculate something. I had almost NO work problems that I remember, couldn't believe it.
QR: This section was the most stressful for me and the only way to prepare for me was doing pratice problems. Also, know your 30,60,90 and 45 triangles, they WILL show up multiple times (at least they did for me). I had a few trig identities that I wasn't prepared for (csc, cot, etc) and I had really only prepared for sin, cos, tan, and a few identities. If you don't know it, MOVE ON. In some problems it's just helpful and faster to plug and chug from each answer to see which answer fits best rather than thinking it through to figure it out. I did really well in my practice tests for these but being computerized and timed were not condusive to my test taking skills.
RC: Skim skim skim, then move on to questions. If you have to write paragraph number and one word to represent topic so you know where to go back to. None of my passages were hard to understand, again it was the time working against you. It's really helpful to practice before this section just so you know your own strengths.
Overall I would really pay attention to each area of the test, I'm really glad I did some practice in reading and math because I knew what to expect. Once you start studying you will get a feel for what you know and what you don't know. I see a lot of people on here taking a practice test without studying at all just to see how they do, which I don't think is a good idea and is a waste of time in some ways. I think study as hard as you can first bfore you take ANY practice tests, not only will it make you feel more confident but you will also know what areas you are stronger and weaker in. Hard work definitely pays off, so even if you think you know it still at least take some time to review. 🙂 Hope that helped, I know it's somewhat vague! It does seem like a lot of material to study but having the MCAT guide helped focus everything for me, and once you start reviewing it won't be so intimidating. 🙂
I studied using the Kaplan MCAT, it's pretty comprehensive in regard to each of the subjects covered on the OAT. Since I've been out a year I reviewed EVERYTHING. I think the test is very hit and miss so I would touch on everything if you have the time for it, better to be prepared in all areas than skip something that you could have known if you only looked over it ten minutes or so. I did also purchase the KAPLAN OAT guide for the practice tests and math questions as the MCAT does not have this section. I studied for about 3 months, but I was also working a 10-7 job so it was somewhat sporadic at times. My scores are pretty consistent, which is better than having a 390 in one sections and a 280 in another I suppose. Here is my advice for each section:
Bio: Bio was easy for me since I have B.S. in bio, so I basically went through the Kaplan MCAT review and was set. It wasn't so much the material of questions I encountered as much as I had difficulty with the phrasing of the questions on the test. I'm a slow reader so I sometimes got hung up on phrasing, but overall I didn't get too many random questions. Have a general knowledge of each of the areas and you should be good. Had a lot of genetics questions, x-linkage, genetic abnormalities, etc. Good thing that was my fav class as undergrad!
Chem: Chem for some reason was hard for me, and I thought it was going to go better than organic chem. Definitely know colligative properties, types of rxns (redox, etc). There weren't too many computational questions and the ones that were there were simple numbers and I can't recall using too many equations. Know limiting reagent, rate constants, acid base reactions/ph, etc. Half life problems showed up for me in both this section and physics!
Organic: organic wasn't too bad. My overall study goal for this was to group reagents together by TYPE of reaction. For example, if you see KMNO4, O3, etc, you know it's going to be oxidation so you would look for a product with a carbonele or OH or what have you. Like wise H2/Pd, LAH, etc are going to be reduction so look for a loss of double bonds or loss of oxygens. If you have aromatic/cyclic compounds, know if the reagent is going to attack the substituents or if it is going ot undergo ortho para meta addition. I think taht's the most useful way rather than trying to straight memorize exactly what product from each reagent is going to look like. A lot of my questions were conceptual about orbitals and meso compounds and enantiomers, so definitely know your concepts- I think that helped more than anything because I didn't feel very confident on identifying products for rxns.
Physics- very few computational, again, know your concepts. I expected an elevator problem for sure but never got one! I think if you know your equations and know the concepts behind them you would be fine. There is absolutely no time in this section to derive equations should you need to, so definitely write them down during the break and refer to them should you need to calculate something. I had almost NO work problems that I remember, couldn't believe it.
QR: This section was the most stressful for me and the only way to prepare for me was doing pratice problems. Also, know your 30,60,90 and 45 triangles, they WILL show up multiple times (at least they did for me). I had a few trig identities that I wasn't prepared for (csc, cot, etc) and I had really only prepared for sin, cos, tan, and a few identities. If you don't know it, MOVE ON. In some problems it's just helpful and faster to plug and chug from each answer to see which answer fits best rather than thinking it through to figure it out. I did really well in my practice tests for these but being computerized and timed were not condusive to my test taking skills.
RC: Skim skim skim, then move on to questions. If you have to write paragraph number and one word to represent topic so you know where to go back to. None of my passages were hard to understand, again it was the time working against you. It's really helpful to practice before this section just so you know your own strengths.
Overall I would really pay attention to each area of the test, I'm really glad I did some practice in reading and math because I knew what to expect. Once you start studying you will get a feel for what you know and what you don't know. I see a lot of people on here taking a practice test without studying at all just to see how they do, which I don't think is a good idea and is a waste of time in some ways. I think study as hard as you can first bfore you take ANY practice tests, not only will it make you feel more confident but you will also know what areas you are stronger and weaker in. Hard work definitely pays off, so even if you think you know it still at least take some time to review. 🙂 Hope that helped, I know it's somewhat vague! It does seem like a lot of material to study but having the MCAT guide helped focus everything for me, and once you start reviewing it won't be so intimidating. 🙂
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Thank you very much for the advice and tips!!!! I am def a little intimidated and stressing with this exam. My strategy is to review everything before taking the practice exams. I bought the OAT destroyer and started going over the questions.... I realized I can't remember most of what I learned in orgo n physics. At first, I kind of panic but I then I just got to the conclusion that practice exams with no review will be a waste of my time. I hope my scores can be above 300 like yours on the first time I take the exam. Where are you applying? are you going to retake the exam?
Good Luck with everything!!!
Good Luck with everything!!!
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2009
- Messages
- 64
- Reaction score
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A friend sent me this pdf of most orgo reactions for review: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WM4OGAGW
Here's a sample:
Here's a sample:
I wanted to stay on the east coast, so I applied to PCO, ICO, and NECO as my top three. Also added Midwestern and NOVA on there, but would not go to either of htem unless I wasn't accepted anywhere else. Am thinking back now that it would have been better to apply to SUNY but I really didn't want to live in NYC, might regret that! My # 1 choice is PCO since I am from Philly. I don't plan to retake them unless any of the schools I applied to ask me to do so, like I said I'm not sure as of yet where I stand with my GPA. I think PCO's last date to take the exam is sometimes in June, so I could feasibly do so if I needed to. I work full-time as a tech in an optometry practice and have done so for nearly a year. was trained to do certain procedures like visual fields, pachymetry, taught contact lenses wearers how to put in/take out contacts and am hoping that this will be a big plus when I apply. We'll see!!
Also, don't let the amount of material stress you out. I knew I had a lot of material to review and just take it one step at a time- I gave myself THREE MONTHS to study because I knew that I needed things to sink in over time, and I DID slack off a bit around the holidays. I first made the mistake of looking at practice questions just to see where I stood and it was of no help whatsoever other than to crush self confidence! Also, if you are studying chem, try not to think about physics while you do so. Focus on one area at a time. When are you planning on applying and where are you in your education? I put a lot of pressure on myself because I just decided in September to apply for this cycle. If you are applying for next cycle then you have plenty of time to study.. imo i think it's better to give yourself that time to study rather than to see it as something you need to get out of the way and over and done with. Remember slow and steady wins the race and patience with yourself makes all the difference. If you can get your hands on Kaplan's MCAT, it's a really useful tool and organizes all of the subject. areas that are covered. As long as you see it as something that requires time for preparation, there is no reason to stress 🙂
Also, don't let the amount of material stress you out. I knew I had a lot of material to review and just take it one step at a time- I gave myself THREE MONTHS to study because I knew that I needed things to sink in over time, and I DID slack off a bit around the holidays. I first made the mistake of looking at practice questions just to see where I stood and it was of no help whatsoever other than to crush self confidence! Also, if you are studying chem, try not to think about physics while you do so. Focus on one area at a time. When are you planning on applying and where are you in your education? I put a lot of pressure on myself because I just decided in September to apply for this cycle. If you are applying for next cycle then you have plenty of time to study.. imo i think it's better to give yourself that time to study rather than to see it as something you need to get out of the way and over and done with. Remember slow and steady wins the race and patience with yourself makes all the difference. If you can get your hands on Kaplan's MCAT, it's a really useful tool and organizes all of the subject. areas that are covered. As long as you see it as something that requires time for preparation, there is no reason to stress 🙂
