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- Sep 15, 2020
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General Advice:
My Study Resources
My Section-by-Section Breakdown
Final Thoughts
- I studied for about 2 months, and I followed OATBooster’s 10-week schedule with some minor tweaks. One thing to keep in mind is that I am on a gap year and that study schedule is fairly time demanding so I would say it’s a bit overkill for someone taking a full course load. With that said, if that’s the case for you then I would recommend you either give yourself more time to prepare or you can choose to write the exam during the summer when you have more free time.
- Don’t shy away from taking breaks when you need it. Burnout is real and preparing for this exam is mentally exhausting so please make sure you are taking care of yourself!
- Be realistic with yourself, nobody said it would be easy! The journey is long and rigorous, and you must equip yourself with the necessary tools for success. This exam is a great opportunity to do that and to identify your weaknesses and ultimately tackle them. Find ways to stay motivated and try to hold yourself accountable, a study buddy is also helpful here but not always available.
My Study Resources
- I took the advice of a friend who took the exam a few months ago and was able to achieve a 390AA. His advice was that OATBooster has EVERYTHING you need and nothing else is necessary to succeed. From this I knew I found a gift in OATBooster and I made sure to take advantage of that. That also meant no excuses!
- With this, I can’t speak on OAT Destroyer, Chad’s videos, Kaplan books, etc. In addition, I also did not partake in any of OATBooster’s crash courses. Please still take the time to research these resources as I am unable to provide any information on them. What I can confirm however, is that OATBooster does in fact have everything you need!
My Section-by-Section Breakdown
- Biology à 340
- This section has a ton of information, and I tried a few things to have the information stick in my brain. I tried flashcards but was quite overwhelmed personally by the number of cards I had to commit to memory, for me it didn’t seem realistic, but I know many people who used this so definitely give it a shot. Personally, I benefitted the most from the Question Banks on the far-right tab. Ofcourse, these are also overwhelming as there are hundreds of questions for each section but if used properly, they have a huge benefit. How I used these is basically by following the study guide as it would have you read a particular section then go on to do the questions associated with that section, essentially testing your reading (also treated this like reading comprehension practice which became a 2 birds with 1 stone idea). Some days you’re expected to do 400+ questions and those who take the time to do these, for the sake of learning not completion, will find themselves separating themselves from average to exceptional. Also make sure you are reading the explanation to the answers and use the mark feature! In summary, I used Feralis notes, and the questions associated with them. In regard to the actual exam, the practice tests were extremely representative in content and difficulty so try to take these as serious as possible. One more thing, the videos are excellent, especially if you are a visual learner like me so please do yourself the favor and watch them!
- General Chemistry à 390
- This section was quite surface level, no surprises but still ensure you are prepared for anything to come. The way I did that is simply by making use of everything OATBooster has to offer. I benefitted a lot from Professor Dave’s custom OATBooster videos as he does a great job explaining things in simpler terms. There are also 5 practice questions associated with every one of these videos, do them, it helps confirm that you extracted the lesson from the video and keeps you focussed. Again, the Question Banks helped me a lot in sticking that information to memory and with problem solving questions. Practice makes perfect, especially for problem solving questions. The practice tests were excellent and very representative so make sure these are done under real test conditions, all 10 of them. The reason I mentioned being prepared for anything is because the “High Yield” questions you see on OATBooster did not show up on my exam however, I was prepared and even though I was uncertain about a few questions, this program equipped me with the ability to go with my gut and selected the best answer.
- Organic Chemistry à 320
- This section was difficult to study for as I haven’t seen this content in about 4 years, so it was almost brand new to me. Again, I exhausted everything OATBooster had to offer (videos, question banks, practice tests, notes, etc.) and was able to achieve a score representative of where I was at in this section. I can’t complain about my score here and although it could certainly be better I’m happy with what I got with 2 months of preparation with almost no headstart. The practice tests were super representative and although I didn’t know all the answers on my exam, they were still concepts I’ve been exposed to so I will say OATBooster has everything you need to get a perfect score here.
- Reading Comprehension à 370
- I have never been big on reading, so I was automatically a bit weak here. I tried all the techniques that OATBooster offered and ultimately found one that worked for me. I would read half the passage and complete all the questions I can and read the second half to finish it off. If you decide to try this out, it’s very important that you recognize very quickly if the question is something you’ve seen after reading the first half. The second half becomes a lot easier because you have already read all the questions. There’s no time to waste so you must be very fast, and this took a lot of practice. I loved the extra practice passages which were only 1 passage each and this is where I found my technique using trial and error. One thing I did but maybe didn’t have to was watch the videos associated with this section, I personally think I would’ve got the same score with or without them, but I would still watch them as you certainly won’t find any harm it’s either benefit or no benefit.
- Physics à 300
- Physics is easily my least favourite subject ever and I don’t enjoy any part of it so studying for this section was extremely difficult and daunting for me. It doesn’t seem to click in my brain, but I was aiming for a 300+ and I have zero complains with this score. I still used everything DATBooster had to offer and prepared as I did for any other section but my ability to focus was lacking hard here. There are tons of formulas and it’s very important to know them and when to use them because ofcourse you don’t get a formula sheet on exam day. Practice questions were most helpful here as I was forced to think about which formula I need and this helped me slowly commit them to memory. The videos were also great but they only had up to chapter 8/13 so I would say my understanding of the later chapters would have actually been better if videos were available but better than nothing ofcourse. The exam itself was again very representative of the practice tests and I seen no surprises.
- Qualitative Reasoning à 390
- Math has always been a strong subject for me and this section felt quite easy for the most part. I actually didn’t discover the on-screen calculator until about a few weeks away from my exam and this became very helpful for time saving purposes. The time allocated to this section felt the second most difficult for me after RC so it’s very important that this is emphasized in practice. The videos were excellent and covered everything, again no surprises on exam day. The question banks were also great to supplement the videos and the best resource is the practice tests as these are the most representative.
Final Thoughts
- I know my breakdowns may have sounded repetitive, but I really mean it when I say you must take advantage of everything OATBooster has to offer as this is the best way to be the most prepared. You paid for the program and have every right to utilize what it offers so don’t waste these opportunities.
- Practice questions are the best way to know where you’re at so make sure to really test yourself and find your weaknesses.
- My practice exam scores fall within the exact range of my actual exam so treat those very seriously.
- Don’t study the day before the exam, take the day to calm your nerves and stay relaxed. Do something fun and believe in your preparation.
- It’s very important to stay relaxed on exam day, be confident, you’ve written tons of exams before, so treat is another one of those. Practice some breathing exercises or whatever else works for you.
- VERY IMPORTANT, prometric lag is real so make sure you select this option on your practice tests for the most representative practice possible.
- I wish you all the best of luck and I can assure you OATBooster is capable of preparing you for a 400AA so believe in the program and use it to your advantage. I tried really hard to find a way to criticize OATBooster or point out any flaws, but I was unable to identify any. It could’ve just been the exam that was administered to me but that’s all I’m able to reflect on I can’t speak for others, and I can confidently say everything I seen on that exam was something I seen during my practice!
