OAT Exam Experience & Tips

[aceyouroat1]

Hi All,

I took my oat exam today and did well! - I read some posts before my exam that were helpful so I decided to write one too.

I would like to share some helpful tips that I discovered along the way and some advice based on my personal experience. It might work for you and it might not. One big advice, I started studying late, I would suggest to start studying as soon as possible especially for biology and math, as both are easy but you need a lot of practice.

1. Do not take the kaplan full length course if you like to study on your own pace. I took their on pace course and sort of wasted my money as the videos are not helpful at all. They only go over the basics and the quizzes after the sessions are related to the material covered in lectures. You take the class and feel like you know it all, in reality they only cover the basics. It is better to study on your own through other resources and just purchase the kaplan practice tests package and save your money!!! I did not know they had the option of just buying the practice tests.

2. BIO: OAT destroyer is GREAT for bio and Orgoman Bio notes are also helpful, just read through them and then use the destroyer to practice, there were a lot of concepts that I saw on my exam that were only covered in the OAT destroyer they were not anywhere else.

3. Math: The destroyer is also good for Math, really helps you to practice your skills -- kaplan is good too! I saw some graphs evaluation questions and other types of problems that were covered in the destroyer.

4. Orgo and Chem: I personally did not like the orgo and chem section of the destroyer, I suggest watching Chad's free videos on Chem Prep (FREEE and amazing!!) and then using Defeat the Dat for orgo and chem for practice, there are TONS OF FREE QUIZZES and PRACTICE TESTS

5. Physics: For physics, again, I did not like destroyer, too complicated compared to the actual exam and to be honest not reflective of the actual questions. USE CHAD to learn, then use DAT Bootcamp for free physics quizzes, I found the website two days before the exam, SO MANY PRACTICE QUESTION!

6. TAKE AS MANY PRACTICE EXAMS AS POSSIBLE! - Kaplan gives you the option of 7 exams, taking these tests really helps you to get used to answering questions. When you do individual sections, it is easier, but that is not how the actual test is. You need to be prepared to sit there for five hours and be proactive. Doing it all together prepares you mentally and physically.

I would be happy to answer any specific questions, I hope that this information is helpful. I shared many free resources that are AMAZING and helped me a lot. It took me a while to come across these, so just trying to help people who need extra practice. Remember, practice is the key!!

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[rnero]

Would you say Kaplan was a good representation of the physics section on the OAT or too much? Thanks!

 

[aceyouroat1]

Would you say Kaplan was a good representation of the physics section on the OAT or too much? Thanks!

I do not think it was, I would suggest learning the material from an undergrad book and then using the kaplan exams as a learning tool. I did not do well on my physics section, there were a lot of waves and optics questions. Kaplan focused a lot on kinematics. OAT does not have a lot of calculations especially in physics and chemistry section, Kaplan focused more on numbers rather than the concepts. Use Chad's videos to learn the material then Defeat the dat for Chem practice and Dat bootcamp for physics.

 

[optogirl95]

Thank you for this post! Quick question - I thought that DAT Bootcamp did not include physics questions, as the DAT doesn't have a physics section and instead has PAT. Are you referring to a different resource?

 

[rnero]

Would you say Kaplan was a good representation of the physics section on the OAT or too much? Thanks!

How did you keep track of the time while taking the test (ie, how did you know you were on time and not falling behind?). Does the test give you any indication on this?

 

[agentkc27]

are the kaplan questions for the bio portion reflective of the actual exam?

 

[aceyouroat1]

Thank you for this post! Quick question - I thought that DAT Bootcamp did not include physics questions, as the DAT doesn't have a physics section and instead has PAT. Are you referring to a different resource?

They have added FREE physics questions for oat students. Just google DAT Bootcamp physics and you can access the free questions by creating an account there. I did not get a chance to do them all, but they were really nice with great explanations.

 

[aceyouroat1]

How did you keep track of the time while taking the test (ie, how did you know you were on time and not falling behind?). Does the test give you any indication on this?

There is a timer on the top right side of the screen to help you keep track of time and the actual oat also gives you 15 mins and 5 mins warnings for each section. Bio, Chem and Orgo are one section (total 90 minutes) so one 15 and 5 mins warning for that whole section, then Reading, Physics and Math have individual ones. During the oat, for the first 100 questions, you are able to mark and navigate through all questions within that time. I answered the questions I was sure about in bio, chem and orgo first, then used the "marked questions only" tool to go over the marked questions in the remaining time. Kaplan exams offer great practice with this. However, during those practice exams Bio, chem and orgo and separate and you cannot jump from one to another within the 90 mins period.

 

[aceyouroat1]

are the kaplan questions for the bio portion reflective of the actual exam?

Yes, they are. However, I found oat destroyer to be the most reflective. If you do not want to purchase the book. Use Dr. Romano FREE BIOLOGY NOTES. They cover everything you need to know to ace the oat biology section.

Join the OAT DESTROYER STUDY GROUP ON FACEBOOK. He posts daily questions for different sections and you can easily find his free notes and videos there. Do not spend too much money on prep material, I found a lot of free resources that I shared. They were more helpful than the paid ones.

 

[rnero]

Any idea where I can get the free Kaplan practice test? I'm studying the older 2016 Kaplan and the link they have for the test is expired.

 

[aceyouroat1]

Any idea where I can get the free Kaplan practice test? I'm studying the older 2016 Kaplan and the link they have for the test is expired.

They have a free oat practice test that you can take once you sign up for a free event on their website, check their free oat events and you should see an OAT practice test there.
If you want more practice, you can sign up for their practice exams only course, which gives you access to 7 exams and tons of questions/quizzes.

 

[pafruse]

I would add, don't worry too much about the scores you get on practice tests. I felt that while the Kaplan and Princeton books I purchased definitely helped with my OAT test prep, how well you do on their corresponding practice tests aren't always indicative of what you'd be getting on the actual OAT (I ended up getting 40-50 points higher on the actual exam, which seemed to ask questions that were -very- different from what I saw on Kaplan!)

 

[aceyouroat1]

I would add, don't worry too much about the scores you get on practice tests. I felt that while the Kaplan and Princeton books I purchased definitely helped with my OAT test prep, how well you do on their corresponding practice tests aren't always indicative of what you'd be getting on the actual OAT (I ended up getting 40-50 points higher on the actual exam, which seemed to ask questions that were -very- different from what I saw on Kaplan!)

Kaplan exams were good practice for the real OAT. However, there were a lot of calculations for chemistry and physics, the real oat was not so much about calculations. If you can answer kaplan questions, you are all set for the oat.