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I just took the OAT and wanted to share my experience while everything is still fresh. I ended up with a 360 Academic Average, 350 Total Science.
By the end, I was definitely mentally exhausted and didn't have time to finish everything I wanted to. Still, I felt like I gave it my best. I had taken biology about 3–3.5 years ago, so I had forgotten quite a bit of the general material. I also have significant experience as both an optometric and ophthalmic technician, although that obviously didn't help much with the academic sections.
My exam had a few topics I didn't feel were emphasized as much on Booster. I had some digestive system questions, one on CRISPR, a handful on diversity of life, and only one kidney question. Surprisingly, I had nothing on the nervous system or immunology. Overall, know every word on the cheat sheets and focus on having a broad understanding of the material.
I was scoring a maximum of around 340 on practice exams because they felt very mechanism-heavy, and I struggled with orgo in undergrad. I barely had any reactant/product questions. I had multiple questions on substitution/elimination and acid/base chemistry, including questions like what would react best in an SN2 reaction. The SN/E cheat sheets were especially helpful, so I would memorize those. I also had no more than one spectroscopy question, which surprised me.
I didn't memorize every mechanism and reaction. I basically went with hope and prayers after hearing that mechanisms weren't heavily emphasized based on what others had previously reported. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but it worked out for me.
If you're studying full-time, take at least one full day off every week. Don't look at study material and let your brain recover. You also don't need a million resources. OATBooster was enough for me, and I felt very well prepared overall. If you have the time, prioritize practice exams because those were easily some of the most valuable parts of my preparation.
Good luck to everyone studying!
- QR: 400
- Reading Comprehension: 360
- Biology: 360
- General Chemistry: 310
- Organic Chemistry: 370
- Physics: 330
Materials:
This was the only resource I used, and I really don't think you need much else. The videos, cheat sheets, question banks, study schedule, and practice exams covered everything I needed. The practice exams were especially helpful and, if you have the time, I would recommend doing as many as possible. I only had time for about 4–5, which is probably the biggest thing I wish I had done differently.How I Prepared
I graduated from undergrad in May and traveled until the end of July. I was scheduled to start an ophthalmic technician job in NYC toward the end of September, so I started studying the last few days of July and took my exam on September 18. I studied for about 7 weeks, 7–10 hours a day, 5–6 days a week, essentially treating it like a full-time job. I don't necessarily recommend this schedule, but I am a relatively slow learner and usually need to see/practice something multiple times before it sticks.By the end, I was definitely mentally exhausted and didn't have time to finish everything I wanted to. Still, I felt like I gave it my best. I had taken biology about 3–3.5 years ago, so I had forgotten quite a bit of the general material. I also have significant experience as both an optometric and ophthalmic technician, although that obviously didn't help much with the academic sections.
Biology (360)
I barely used BioBits, and I don't regret it. The Biology cheat sheets were the most useful resource for me. I watched the videos for essentially everything until I reached the body systems, since I felt comfortable with that material.My exam had a few topics I didn't feel were emphasized as much on Booster. I had some digestive system questions, one on CRISPR, a handful on diversity of life, and only one kidney question. Surprisingly, I had nothing on the nervous system or immunology. Overall, know every word on the cheat sheets and focus on having a broad understanding of the material.
General Chemistry (310)
This was honestly my biggest surprise. I was scoring 340–360 on Booster practice exams and actually felt better about chemistry on the real exam than biology, so I wasn't expecting a 310. I don't remember getting any rate law, radiation, or galvanic cell questions, even though those felt heavily emphasized on the practice exams. I don't have much advice here other than to practice as many questions as possible and make sure you understand how to apply the formulas.Organic Chemistry (370)
The actual OAT was much easier than the Booster practice exams for me.I was scoring a maximum of around 340 on practice exams because they felt very mechanism-heavy, and I struggled with orgo in undergrad. I barely had any reactant/product questions. I had multiple questions on substitution/elimination and acid/base chemistry, including questions like what would react best in an SN2 reaction. The SN/E cheat sheets were especially helpful, so I would memorize those. I also had no more than one spectroscopy question, which surprised me.
I didn't memorize every mechanism and reaction. I basically went with hope and prayers after hearing that mechanisms weren't heavily emphasized based on what others had previously reported. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but it worked out for me.
Physics (330)
Physics was probably the section most similar to the Booster practice exams. I was usually scoring 310–330, which is about where I ended up on the real exam. The wording was slightly different, but nothing I couldn't figure out. Definitely be comfortable with optics, kinetics, and thermodynamics. I had around 4–5 optics questions, if not more. I didn't get any pendulum or torque questions.Reading Comprehension (360)
RC was much easier on the actual OAT than Booster. I was scoring around 330–340 on practice exams because I struggled to retain information from the dense passages. The real passages felt much more straightforward. Mine had a maximum of about 12 paragraphs, with most closer to 8, and almost all questions could be answered chronologically.Quantitative Reasoning (400)
QR felt very well represented by the Booster practice questions and exams. I had a lot of statement sufficiency and quantitative comparison questions. I think I only had one area/perimeter question and surprisingly no interest questions. Overall, I felt like practicing the different question types on Booster prepared me really well.Final Advice
My biggest advice is to give yourself enough time. I studied for about 7 weeks, 7–10 hours a day, 5–6 days a week, and I was very mentally exhausted by the end.If you're studying full-time, take at least one full day off every week. Don't look at study material and let your brain recover. You also don't need a million resources. OATBooster was enough for me, and I felt very well prepared overall. If you have the time, prioritize practice exams because those were easily some of the most valuable parts of my preparation.
Good luck to everyone studying!
