While I was studying for the OAT, it was super helpful to see everyone else post their experiences so I thought I might as well tell mine. I studied for about 2.5 months in the summer and just took my exam today!
Materials used were:
Kaplan Course: The online lectures were helpful for the little things such as test taking strategies, mnemonics for the Science sections and other things. The practice exams were helpful in simulating test conditions (except for Reading). I used their book as my primary source to study. I would always do a practice exam every 2-3 weeks. My advice would be to do all five practice exams so that you can get used to how the exam will be like. The quizzes that come with the class are helpful except for the Biology section (since it's so broad). The individual section exams (like Test A, B etc..) on there are also great!
Chad's Quizzes (not his videos though): His quizzes are amazing! I learned a large sum of the concepts for the exam from his quizzes and some from the Kaplan practice exams. His explanations are super clear and I highly recommend using this as a study source. I personally do not like watching videos when learning how to do something, so I elected to just buy his quizzes. I heard his videos go in depth on key concepts though.
Crack the OAT (software): This is a software that had a bunch of timed exams for each section except for Physics. All in all, I thought it was helpful for the QR section. The QR section was good practice since it included different types of word problems. The Gen Chem and O Chem section was helpful to an extent. It also has video and text solutions for each problem. It’s nice that the software also does not have an expiration date.
DAT Bootcamp: I only used the free section exams (1 per each section) that you get when you sign up for a free account. I think it's helpful since the DAT and the OAT are essentially the same exam (swap Physics for PA though). Also, I highly recommend downloading the Feralis Biology Notes from the DAT bootcamp (for free) website if you want an in depth summary of the main concepts in Biology (about an 80 page word document).
Sterling DAT Biology 1500 Practice Questions book: These questions are killer. It's good practice if you want to get familiar with certain terms that you might have never heard of before. There's a mix of mostly medium to hard questions. The answer choice are multiple choice like the exam, however, you have to use the book rather than an online question system.
ADA Test: I used it for the Physics and O Chem section and I thought the Real OAT was similar to the ADA O Chem section. The Physics one was just as hard as Kaplan in my opinion.
During Test Day: Had 2 yellow sheets and 2 wet erase markers and locker keys.
Biology: Super super random. Unless you are a Bio major this section is challenging. There’s just no way to study for this section properly. Your best bet is to do as many problems as you can to expand your biology vocabulary and to understand Physiology concepts. Pneumonics can be helpful as well.
Gen Chem: I got about half calculations, half concepts in this section. The calculations aren’t too long (in my case, Stoichometry mostly) but can be tough. Trends of the periodic table and polarity are extremely important so don’t forget those. Formulas are important as well.
O Chem: I had about 7 reactions in my exam. The reactions were ok if you practiced doing the main reactions mentioned in Kaplan and Chad’s quizzes. They were not super straightforward but it was doable in my opinion. I would know the named reactions like Aldol, Wittig and Grignard (know these 3 for sure) as well as SN1, SN2, E1 and E2. I mostly had questions about stability, acidity/EAS, polarity and other things of that nature so it wasn’t all just reactions.
Reading Comp: Ok this section for one is definitely NOT 40 questions. I got 50 questions and 60 minutes unlike what Kaplan says it would have been. I had 2 long passages (13-14 paragraphs) and 1 short one (8 paragraphs). Kaplan preps decently for the detail and inference questions but I saw five questions that forced me to interpret graphs that were related to the passage. My test had 65 percent detail and 35 percent inference and graphs. This section was by far the hardest for me.
Physics: These questions were very very straightforward. I was really surprised how straightforward they were. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park but it was way clearer than Kaplan. I had about half calculations (mostly 1 step plug and chug) and half concepts. Formulas and concepts are crucial.
QR: I thought Kaplan and Crack the OAT prepped me very well for this section. I had about 15-20 word problems but it wasn’t bad. The only problem is that they are very time consuming. My advice is to do the easy algebra problems (like solving for x) and nonword problems first. Then do the word problems last. I had 10 questions left with 6 mins left so I almost ran out of time. However, since I left the hard or time consuming word problems for last, I did well on this section. The nonword problems like algebra, geometry, and trig will get you the most points on the exam. I would know the geometry formulas, unit circle, and trig identities pretty well if I were you.
Exam Scores: Kaplan Practice Exam 1/PE2/PE3/PE4/PE5/Actual OAT score
Biology: 260, 310, 320, 310, 310, Actual: 320 (59.1 percentile)
Gen Chem: 350, 330, 310, 320, 370, Actual: 320 (60.8 percentile)
O Chem: 280, 340, 300, 350, 320, (ADA: 380), Actual: 400 (100.0 percentile)
Physics: 260, 280, 300, 340, 300, (ADA: 330), Actual: 330 (87.7 percentile)
Reading: 320, 350, 340, 320, 300, Actual: 290 (17.3 percentile)
Quantitative Reasoning: 310, 320, 310, 300, 330, Actual: 350 (87.6 percentile)
Academic Average: 300, 320, 310, 320, 320, Actual: 340 (84.1 percentile)
Total Science: 280, 310, 310, 340, 330, Actual: 350 (87.1 percentile)
I believe that focusing on concepts, formulas, and test taking strategies (like triaging and elimination) are way more important than the score you get on your practice tests. Good luck!
Materials used were:
Kaplan Course: The online lectures were helpful for the little things such as test taking strategies, mnemonics for the Science sections and other things. The practice exams were helpful in simulating test conditions (except for Reading). I used their book as my primary source to study. I would always do a practice exam every 2-3 weeks. My advice would be to do all five practice exams so that you can get used to how the exam will be like. The quizzes that come with the class are helpful except for the Biology section (since it's so broad). The individual section exams (like Test A, B etc..) on there are also great!
Chad's Quizzes (not his videos though): His quizzes are amazing! I learned a large sum of the concepts for the exam from his quizzes and some from the Kaplan practice exams. His explanations are super clear and I highly recommend using this as a study source. I personally do not like watching videos when learning how to do something, so I elected to just buy his quizzes. I heard his videos go in depth on key concepts though.
Crack the OAT (software): This is a software that had a bunch of timed exams for each section except for Physics. All in all, I thought it was helpful for the QR section. The QR section was good practice since it included different types of word problems. The Gen Chem and O Chem section was helpful to an extent. It also has video and text solutions for each problem. It’s nice that the software also does not have an expiration date.
DAT Bootcamp: I only used the free section exams (1 per each section) that you get when you sign up for a free account. I think it's helpful since the DAT and the OAT are essentially the same exam (swap Physics for PA though). Also, I highly recommend downloading the Feralis Biology Notes from the DAT bootcamp (for free) website if you want an in depth summary of the main concepts in Biology (about an 80 page word document).
Sterling DAT Biology 1500 Practice Questions book: These questions are killer. It's good practice if you want to get familiar with certain terms that you might have never heard of before. There's a mix of mostly medium to hard questions. The answer choice are multiple choice like the exam, however, you have to use the book rather than an online question system.
ADA Test: I used it for the Physics and O Chem section and I thought the Real OAT was similar to the ADA O Chem section. The Physics one was just as hard as Kaplan in my opinion.
During Test Day: Had 2 yellow sheets and 2 wet erase markers and locker keys.
Biology: Super super random. Unless you are a Bio major this section is challenging. There’s just no way to study for this section properly. Your best bet is to do as many problems as you can to expand your biology vocabulary and to understand Physiology concepts. Pneumonics can be helpful as well.
Gen Chem: I got about half calculations, half concepts in this section. The calculations aren’t too long (in my case, Stoichometry mostly) but can be tough. Trends of the periodic table and polarity are extremely important so don’t forget those. Formulas are important as well.
O Chem: I had about 7 reactions in my exam. The reactions were ok if you practiced doing the main reactions mentioned in Kaplan and Chad’s quizzes. They were not super straightforward but it was doable in my opinion. I would know the named reactions like Aldol, Wittig and Grignard (know these 3 for sure) as well as SN1, SN2, E1 and E2. I mostly had questions about stability, acidity/EAS, polarity and other things of that nature so it wasn’t all just reactions.
Reading Comp: Ok this section for one is definitely NOT 40 questions. I got 50 questions and 60 minutes unlike what Kaplan says it would have been. I had 2 long passages (13-14 paragraphs) and 1 short one (8 paragraphs). Kaplan preps decently for the detail and inference questions but I saw five questions that forced me to interpret graphs that were related to the passage. My test had 65 percent detail and 35 percent inference and graphs. This section was by far the hardest for me.
Physics: These questions were very very straightforward. I was really surprised how straightforward they were. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park but it was way clearer than Kaplan. I had about half calculations (mostly 1 step plug and chug) and half concepts. Formulas and concepts are crucial.
QR: I thought Kaplan and Crack the OAT prepped me very well for this section. I had about 15-20 word problems but it wasn’t bad. The only problem is that they are very time consuming. My advice is to do the easy algebra problems (like solving for x) and nonword problems first. Then do the word problems last. I had 10 questions left with 6 mins left so I almost ran out of time. However, since I left the hard or time consuming word problems for last, I did well on this section. The nonword problems like algebra, geometry, and trig will get you the most points on the exam. I would know the geometry formulas, unit circle, and trig identities pretty well if I were you.
Exam Scores: Kaplan Practice Exam 1/PE2/PE3/PE4/PE5/Actual OAT score
Biology: 260, 310, 320, 310, 310, Actual: 320 (59.1 percentile)
Gen Chem: 350, 330, 310, 320, 370, Actual: 320 (60.8 percentile)
O Chem: 280, 340, 300, 350, 320, (ADA: 380), Actual: 400 (100.0 percentile)
Physics: 260, 280, 300, 340, 300, (ADA: 330), Actual: 330 (87.7 percentile)
Reading: 320, 350, 340, 320, 300, Actual: 290 (17.3 percentile)
Quantitative Reasoning: 310, 320, 310, 300, 330, Actual: 350 (87.6 percentile)
Academic Average: 300, 320, 310, 320, 320, Actual: 340 (84.1 percentile)
Total Science: 280, 310, 310, 340, 330, Actual: 350 (87.1 percentile)
I believe that focusing on concepts, formulas, and test taking strategies (like triaging and elimination) are way more important than the score you get on your practice tests. Good luck!
