OAT Breakdown (390 AA, 400 TS)
I took the OAT at the end of October and was very happy with my scores. I will share with you how I studied in each area.
I am currently in my second gap year out of college. I took physics 1 and 2 over this past summer so physics was pretty fresh in my mind, other than that it had been a while since I had taken any science classes. I was a biology major in undergrad so it gave me a good foundation but I had forgotten a lot and had to relearn it. What I learned throughout studying for this exam is, you have to put in the effort and time and you can achieve anything. My biggest goal was to only have to take the exam once and I would suggest, if you feel like you need a little bit more time to study, push off the exam. I feel like it is better to push it off a week or two rather than take it if you are unprepared. You will need to study more or less than others in each subject depending on the foundation you have. Do not get intimidated by how others study or score. Most importantly, take some time for yourself throughout this process. You have to be really diligent and stick to a study schedule but it is equally as important to take time for yourself to decompress. Please message me if you have any questions.
Study materials I used:
OAT Booster 10/10:
This was the best resource I used. I chose it because of the amazing reviews and I really loved how organized the platform is. I followed the 8 week study schedule while also working part time 2-3 days a week. On the days I did not work I would try to get ahead of the study schedule so that I could give myself some flexibility on the work days when I could not study as much. The best way to see how much progress you are making is by doing the practice questions and exams.
Chad’s Prep 10/10:
During the last two weeks of studying I panicked because I was not scoring above a 300 on the physics section. I used Chad’s prep for physics, I watched the videos and took the practice exams which were more reflective of the actual OAT. The videos help you really understand the concepts behind the formulas. I found it especially helpful for the optics section.
Random Youtube Videos 10/10:
I used videos from Crash Course, Amoeba Sisters and Professor Dave to reinforce concepts that I had trouble with along the way. I mostly used them for biology and organic chemistry.
*Towards the end of my studying I took the ADA practice exam and the Kaplan one (both free) to see if I was scoring similarly to the booster exams and I was actually scoring higher than on the booster ones. Overall booster will over prepare you, which was exactly what I was looking for.
Biology (400):
For this section I studied the Feralis notes in depth. It is much more detailed than what is on the exam but I found them to be really helpful in teaching the bigger picture too. It is really important to remember that the focus is breadth over depth. You never know what kind of questions you will get, I got a TON of genetics questions. After I studied each chapter I would do the extra questions related to that chapter and flag the ones I was unsure of or got incorrect. In every section, if there was a question I was unsure of but still got it right, I still flagged it. The flagged questions helped me see if there were any patterns in what I wasn’t grasping. For example, if I noticed that I kept getting questions wrong relating to the respiratory system, I would review the Feralis notes and even watch Youtube videos to help me grasp it. The videos on Booster for this section were amazing, especially for learning taxonomy. I did not have any prior knowledge of taxonomy so I made a study guide as I watched the videos. I would also play the videos in the background as I was driving, or taking a walk which was very helpful.
General chemistry (400):
I had a pretty strong foundation in general chemistry. I found that the videos on booster were great and it is also important to read the notes. For this section I would say practice is key. The practice questions on booster give you a good idea of what to expect on test day. They are definitely more challenging than the real exam but very helpful. I would suggest practicing this section without a calculator from the beginning because you won’t have it on test day.
Organic chemistry (400):
The reaction sheet on booster will be your best resource for Orgo. I used it from the beginning and annotated it with mechanisms and notes as I watched the videos and read the chapter notes. Towards the end of my studying, it was the only resource I was using for this section. As I did practice questions, I would add in key notes to my reaction sheet. It has every single reaction that you will encounter. The naming section on Booster was pretty difficult but do not get discouraged, it prepares you well for what you will see on test day.
Reading Comprehension (320):
On test day I kind of froze during this section and got really worried about time. My biggest advice would be try out EVERY method before deciding which is best for you. The booster videos are great at showing you how to search and destroy and highlight articles. I think it is really important to take full length practice test for this section because it is all about timing. The questions on test day were very straightforward but you need to be used to answering that many questions in the time allotted.
Physics (400):
The booster physics is way more difficult than what is on the exam. I thought the booster notes were the best resource for this section. The practice was really difficult and I could not score above a 280 on this section. I panicked 2 weeks before the exam and bought Chad’s Prep for this section. I found the questions to be more reflective of the exam and my scores were definitely higher which gave me a confidence boost. Be comfortable drawing free body diagrams. I thought the formula sheet was really helpful and I used it from the beginning, I annotated it along the way.
QR (400):
I watched the videos and made flashcards of formulas I did not know. Practice is key in this section, because timing is so important. The math was very straightforward and pretty easy but it is important to practice gettin it done in the allowed time. I thought the extra practice questions on booster were super helpful and reflective of what was on the actual exam. I personally started practicing with the calculator on booster from the beginning because it’s like the one on the real exam so it is important to get used to it.
I took the OAT at the end of October and was very happy with my scores. I will share with you how I studied in each area.
I am currently in my second gap year out of college. I took physics 1 and 2 over this past summer so physics was pretty fresh in my mind, other than that it had been a while since I had taken any science classes. I was a biology major in undergrad so it gave me a good foundation but I had forgotten a lot and had to relearn it. What I learned throughout studying for this exam is, you have to put in the effort and time and you can achieve anything. My biggest goal was to only have to take the exam once and I would suggest, if you feel like you need a little bit more time to study, push off the exam. I feel like it is better to push it off a week or two rather than take it if you are unprepared. You will need to study more or less than others in each subject depending on the foundation you have. Do not get intimidated by how others study or score. Most importantly, take some time for yourself throughout this process. You have to be really diligent and stick to a study schedule but it is equally as important to take time for yourself to decompress. Please message me if you have any questions.
Study materials I used:
OAT Booster 10/10:
This was the best resource I used. I chose it because of the amazing reviews and I really loved how organized the platform is. I followed the 8 week study schedule while also working part time 2-3 days a week. On the days I did not work I would try to get ahead of the study schedule so that I could give myself some flexibility on the work days when I could not study as much. The best way to see how much progress you are making is by doing the practice questions and exams.
Chad’s Prep 10/10:
During the last two weeks of studying I panicked because I was not scoring above a 300 on the physics section. I used Chad’s prep for physics, I watched the videos and took the practice exams which were more reflective of the actual OAT. The videos help you really understand the concepts behind the formulas. I found it especially helpful for the optics section.
Random Youtube Videos 10/10:
I used videos from Crash Course, Amoeba Sisters and Professor Dave to reinforce concepts that I had trouble with along the way. I mostly used them for biology and organic chemistry.
*Towards the end of my studying I took the ADA practice exam and the Kaplan one (both free) to see if I was scoring similarly to the booster exams and I was actually scoring higher than on the booster ones. Overall booster will over prepare you, which was exactly what I was looking for.
Biology (400):
For this section I studied the Feralis notes in depth. It is much more detailed than what is on the exam but I found them to be really helpful in teaching the bigger picture too. It is really important to remember that the focus is breadth over depth. You never know what kind of questions you will get, I got a TON of genetics questions. After I studied each chapter I would do the extra questions related to that chapter and flag the ones I was unsure of or got incorrect. In every section, if there was a question I was unsure of but still got it right, I still flagged it. The flagged questions helped me see if there were any patterns in what I wasn’t grasping. For example, if I noticed that I kept getting questions wrong relating to the respiratory system, I would review the Feralis notes and even watch Youtube videos to help me grasp it. The videos on Booster for this section were amazing, especially for learning taxonomy. I did not have any prior knowledge of taxonomy so I made a study guide as I watched the videos. I would also play the videos in the background as I was driving, or taking a walk which was very helpful.
General chemistry (400):
I had a pretty strong foundation in general chemistry. I found that the videos on booster were great and it is also important to read the notes. For this section I would say practice is key. The practice questions on booster give you a good idea of what to expect on test day. They are definitely more challenging than the real exam but very helpful. I would suggest practicing this section without a calculator from the beginning because you won’t have it on test day.
Organic chemistry (400):
The reaction sheet on booster will be your best resource for Orgo. I used it from the beginning and annotated it with mechanisms and notes as I watched the videos and read the chapter notes. Towards the end of my studying, it was the only resource I was using for this section. As I did practice questions, I would add in key notes to my reaction sheet. It has every single reaction that you will encounter. The naming section on Booster was pretty difficult but do not get discouraged, it prepares you well for what you will see on test day.
Reading Comprehension (320):
On test day I kind of froze during this section and got really worried about time. My biggest advice would be try out EVERY method before deciding which is best for you. The booster videos are great at showing you how to search and destroy and highlight articles. I think it is really important to take full length practice test for this section because it is all about timing. The questions on test day were very straightforward but you need to be used to answering that many questions in the time allotted.
Physics (400):
The booster physics is way more difficult than what is on the exam. I thought the booster notes were the best resource for this section. The practice was really difficult and I could not score above a 280 on this section. I panicked 2 weeks before the exam and bought Chad’s Prep for this section. I found the questions to be more reflective of the exam and my scores were definitely higher which gave me a confidence boost. Be comfortable drawing free body diagrams. I thought the formula sheet was really helpful and I used it from the beginning, I annotated it along the way.
QR (400):
I watched the videos and made flashcards of formulas I did not know. Practice is key in this section, because timing is so important. The math was very straightforward and pretty easy but it is important to practice gettin it done in the allowed time. I thought the extra practice questions on booster were super helpful and reflective of what was on the actual exam. I personally started practicing with the calculator on booster from the beginning because it’s like the one on the real exam so it is important to get used to it.
