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I took the oat the other day and want to share my experience with everyone. I went all out studying for the exam and I believe it definitely paid off.
Study materials
Kaplan: Kaplans materials helped but the physics and math were pretty bad representations of the real exam. I got a higher score on the real exam then any of the 5 practice exams.
Chads videos: I highly recommend using chads videos. I bought all the videos and quizzes for I think $50 and it was for 2 months. These videos really helped me understand the concepts, especially for physics. He also has quizzes that go along with each topic which also help.
Crack the oat: I felt like I was ready after 2 months of studying but because of scheduling for the exam I had 3 months to study so I bought this book to hammer all the concepts in. Also they offered 2 free tests with the book so that was definitely beneficial.
Study schedule: I studied 6 days a week for about 7 hours a day for the first 2 months. The last month i was studying 7 days a week for about 5 hours a day. I looked at my Kaplan notecards almost every night for 2 months.
The exam:
Tutorial: first there's a tutorial but I just skipped it since the set up was very familiar with kaplans program.
Biology: I thought biology was one of my strongest subjects. I would get 340-360 on the practice exams. The real biology section of the exam was so broad. I had some questions where I had no idea what they were asking but I would try and make the most educated guess possible.
Chemistry: I thought this section was much easier than kaplans. I would hover around a 300-310 when taking Kaplans chemistry section tests. The actual exam was more conceptual based. I had a few easy definition questions. If I had calculations it was a 2 step process at most.
Organic: I did well in orgo in undergrad so I had a good understanding. This also was very conceptual. I had a few reactions but nothing too crazy.
Reading: idk why but I got a little flustered during the reading section. I got really boring topics and the questions were mostly deduction questions (which I hate).
Physics: I was really struggling with physics the entire time while I was studying. I would get anywhere from a 270-310 on kaplans physics test. Hence why I bought crack the oat. Kaplan was mostly calculation based. The actual exam was all conceptual and if there was a question that required a calculation it was max 2 steps. I felt like I did well on this part of the exam.
Math: Kaplan was a terrible representation of the math. I was getting 340-360 on Kaplans exams. The actual exam had a lot of geometry. I know I didn't do that well on this part of the exam but I was just happy it was over.
Survey: there's a survey you have to do. I literally clicked straight through it cause I wanted to know my score.
The scores:
Reading: 310
Math: 280
Biology: 330
Chemistry: 330
Organic: 370
Physics: 320
Academic average: 320
Total science: 340
Overall I am really happy with my scores. I have already received 4 interviews in the past 24 hours. My advice is to work your butt off. It will all pay off. If you have a positive mindset going into the exam. You'll kill it. Good luck everyone.
.
Study materials
Kaplan: Kaplans materials helped but the physics and math were pretty bad representations of the real exam. I got a higher score on the real exam then any of the 5 practice exams.
Chads videos: I highly recommend using chads videos. I bought all the videos and quizzes for I think $50 and it was for 2 months. These videos really helped me understand the concepts, especially for physics. He also has quizzes that go along with each topic which also help.
Crack the oat: I felt like I was ready after 2 months of studying but because of scheduling for the exam I had 3 months to study so I bought this book to hammer all the concepts in. Also they offered 2 free tests with the book so that was definitely beneficial.
Study schedule: I studied 6 days a week for about 7 hours a day for the first 2 months. The last month i was studying 7 days a week for about 5 hours a day. I looked at my Kaplan notecards almost every night for 2 months.
The exam:
Tutorial: first there's a tutorial but I just skipped it since the set up was very familiar with kaplans program.
Biology: I thought biology was one of my strongest subjects. I would get 340-360 on the practice exams. The real biology section of the exam was so broad. I had some questions where I had no idea what they were asking but I would try and make the most educated guess possible.
Chemistry: I thought this section was much easier than kaplans. I would hover around a 300-310 when taking Kaplans chemistry section tests. The actual exam was more conceptual based. I had a few easy definition questions. If I had calculations it was a 2 step process at most.
Organic: I did well in orgo in undergrad so I had a good understanding. This also was very conceptual. I had a few reactions but nothing too crazy.
Reading: idk why but I got a little flustered during the reading section. I got really boring topics and the questions were mostly deduction questions (which I hate).
Physics: I was really struggling with physics the entire time while I was studying. I would get anywhere from a 270-310 on kaplans physics test. Hence why I bought crack the oat. Kaplan was mostly calculation based. The actual exam was all conceptual and if there was a question that required a calculation it was max 2 steps. I felt like I did well on this part of the exam.
Math: Kaplan was a terrible representation of the math. I was getting 340-360 on Kaplans exams. The actual exam had a lot of geometry. I know I didn't do that well on this part of the exam but I was just happy it was over.
Survey: there's a survey you have to do. I literally clicked straight through it cause I wanted to know my score.
The scores:
Reading: 310
Math: 280
Biology: 330
Chemistry: 330
Organic: 370
Physics: 320
Academic average: 320
Total science: 340
Overall I am really happy with my scores. I have already received 4 interviews in the past 24 hours. My advice is to work your butt off. It will all pay off. If you have a positive mindset going into the exam. You'll kill it. Good luck everyone.
.
