- Joined
- Jun 14, 2018
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 5
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to provide list of my experiences that i had while preparing for the OAT examination. I read through multiple forums on this site before taking the exam, and i really think that people should honestly relax in terms of cramming so much information into their heads for this exam. I will categorize each section as follows: Studying Habits, Practice Testing, Online Resources/Books, Prometric Experience (Testing Facility)
Studying Habits:
I studied for about 24 hours a week for 8 weeks; I felt like 4 hours a day for 6 days was manageable if i squeezed them into my comfort time (6-10). I am a full-time student year round, so i take classes from 9-4 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, this however didn't really impact my OAT studying due to the fact that a lot of the class material is similar to the material in the resources i am using for the OAT. As far as how to study, i HIGHLY suggest putting your phone away, so that you cannot access it during your hours of study. Also, make sure that you are getting enough rest at night (6-8 hours). As a weightlifter, i always found that hydration is key in helping supply the mind with fuel for focus. So i made it a goal to drink about a gallon of water a day. Also make sure to take breaks every hour for about 15 minutes while studying. Burn out is in fact a side affect of gruesome studying, which is why it is ESSENTIAL that you provide your brain with the fuel and rest that it needs. Failure to recognize the symptoms of burn out, will in fact lead to bad test results, i can assure you that. If you begin to feel as though your cannot get any of the questions right on your practice tests, do not be discouraged, just sit back and take deep breathe.
Practice Testing:
Straight forward here, Use what you think will be best based on reviews. I paid for the Crack the OAT (299$) and i bought the OAT Destroyer manual + Math (220$). So I'm in the hole just a little over 500 bucks for what provided me with nearly all of the tools necessary for success.
The only Kaplan Practice test i used was the free one in which i scored:
TS: 330
AA: 300 (I had to leave early due to a power outage, thus the 200 in QR)
Online Resources:
CAN I GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR CHAD MCALLISTER. Chad's videos was everything you needed for all of the physical sciences sections (orgo, gen chem, physics). I have never studied like that before. He essentially lectures you as a part of his class, and works through every single subject of each of the aforementioned lecture sections, all for 10 dollars a month. Plus, all of his lectures come with post lecture quizzes. Chad was my most valuable source by far. Other than that, i mostly just used the canvas material from my past classes to help me recollect the information provided to me over the course of my undergraduate education.
Prometric + Test Day:
Prometrics was fantastic, the people at my facility were very attentive and helpful. I was a bit nervous, due to the false negatives (you can't remember EVERYTHING) i had been receiving on my practice material. But honestly everything was very straightforward:
- Biology: This was all over the place, but i didn't get any of my favorite subject (Botany). I can't really give too much detail on this one because the problems were not heavy on any particular subject, just be able to recollect biological information from foundations, or any general biology course + the human sciences.
- GC: Wowza, this an easy one for me. As i suspected, they don't really give you too many of the long balancing problems, but mostly just ask for information about conceptual things (How many of the this element makes this element). Be good at dimensional analysis. i only got a couple acid base question, which were relatively easy. No complex formulas for me other than Henderson Hasselbalch. Oh and of course know your PV=nRT jazz for gasses.
- OC: Isn't this such a fascinating subject to just sit through? lol
I didn't find that there were any problems that really stood out from Chad's reactions sheet. There was a few questions on C NMR, H' NMR, m/z ratio, and that about it.
Definitely know what chirality means, and the mess compound rules. Chad covered all of this, very well.
- RC: SNORE. I was already tired of being in my cubical by this point. Nothing really difficult other than the mouse not being able to scroll...
I got a passage on homeschooling, one on Glutamate and its affects on the brain, and one on X-rays. Really boring reads on all 3, but i found the highlighter tool to be FANTASTIC for place keeping.
- Break time - 30 minutes, I personally suggest you use it. I went outside and sat in the awful South Florida sun for 20 minutes. Praying that maybe photosynthesis could cure my hunger, i hadn't eaten much for breakfast. Also not suggested.
- Physics: This was the hardest subject ton the test, not even because physics is difficult (i aced physics 1 and 2), but just because there was SO many conceptual problems. The destroyer manual makes you use formulas like crazy, while the physics section on the exam was all about understanding the concepts. None of my favorite magnetics however. I didn't get to show off my cool hand signals for charges in motion.
- QR: Okay look. The vast majority of what you're going to see in the practice test and Crack the OAT QR is not being used to make you feel like a dingus. Its being used to help your mind get to the answer choice. Nothing in this section was "difficult" but i was very tired, and hungry, thus i was at full mental capacity by this point. I scored the lowest here.
SCORES:
TS: 380
AA: 360
Total Cost of Material: 539$
Chad's videos: 20$
OAT Destroyer: 220$
Crack the OAT: 299$
I just wanted to provide list of my experiences that i had while preparing for the OAT examination. I read through multiple forums on this site before taking the exam, and i really think that people should honestly relax in terms of cramming so much information into their heads for this exam. I will categorize each section as follows: Studying Habits, Practice Testing, Online Resources/Books, Prometric Experience (Testing Facility)
Studying Habits:
I studied for about 24 hours a week for 8 weeks; I felt like 4 hours a day for 6 days was manageable if i squeezed them into my comfort time (6-10). I am a full-time student year round, so i take classes from 9-4 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, this however didn't really impact my OAT studying due to the fact that a lot of the class material is similar to the material in the resources i am using for the OAT. As far as how to study, i HIGHLY suggest putting your phone away, so that you cannot access it during your hours of study. Also, make sure that you are getting enough rest at night (6-8 hours). As a weightlifter, i always found that hydration is key in helping supply the mind with fuel for focus. So i made it a goal to drink about a gallon of water a day. Also make sure to take breaks every hour for about 15 minutes while studying. Burn out is in fact a side affect of gruesome studying, which is why it is ESSENTIAL that you provide your brain with the fuel and rest that it needs. Failure to recognize the symptoms of burn out, will in fact lead to bad test results, i can assure you that. If you begin to feel as though your cannot get any of the questions right on your practice tests, do not be discouraged, just sit back and take deep breathe.
Practice Testing:
Straight forward here, Use what you think will be best based on reviews. I paid for the Crack the OAT (299$) and i bought the OAT Destroyer manual + Math (220$). So I'm in the hole just a little over 500 bucks for what provided me with nearly all of the tools necessary for success.
The only Kaplan Practice test i used was the free one in which i scored:
| QR: 200 | RC: 340 | Gen Chem: 310 | Orgo: 360 | Biology: 300 | Physics: 310 |
TS: 330
AA: 300 (I had to leave early due to a power outage, thus the 200 in QR)
Online Resources:
CAN I GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR CHAD MCALLISTER. Chad's videos was everything you needed for all of the physical sciences sections (orgo, gen chem, physics). I have never studied like that before. He essentially lectures you as a part of his class, and works through every single subject of each of the aforementioned lecture sections, all for 10 dollars a month. Plus, all of his lectures come with post lecture quizzes. Chad was my most valuable source by far. Other than that, i mostly just used the canvas material from my past classes to help me recollect the information provided to me over the course of my undergraduate education.
Prometric + Test Day:
Prometrics was fantastic, the people at my facility were very attentive and helpful. I was a bit nervous, due to the false negatives (you can't remember EVERYTHING) i had been receiving on my practice material. But honestly everything was very straightforward:
- Biology: This was all over the place, but i didn't get any of my favorite subject (Botany). I can't really give too much detail on this one because the problems were not heavy on any particular subject, just be able to recollect biological information from foundations, or any general biology course + the human sciences.
- GC: Wowza, this an easy one for me. As i suspected, they don't really give you too many of the long balancing problems, but mostly just ask for information about conceptual things (How many of the this element makes this element). Be good at dimensional analysis. i only got a couple acid base question, which were relatively easy. No complex formulas for me other than Henderson Hasselbalch. Oh and of course know your PV=nRT jazz for gasses.
- OC: Isn't this such a fascinating subject to just sit through? lol
I didn't find that there were any problems that really stood out from Chad's reactions sheet. There was a few questions on C NMR, H' NMR, m/z ratio, and that about it.
Definitely know what chirality means, and the mess compound rules. Chad covered all of this, very well.
- RC: SNORE. I was already tired of being in my cubical by this point. Nothing really difficult other than the mouse not being able to scroll...
I got a passage on homeschooling, one on Glutamate and its affects on the brain, and one on X-rays. Really boring reads on all 3, but i found the highlighter tool to be FANTASTIC for place keeping.
- Break time - 30 minutes, I personally suggest you use it. I went outside and sat in the awful South Florida sun for 20 minutes. Praying that maybe photosynthesis could cure my hunger, i hadn't eaten much for breakfast. Also not suggested.
- Physics: This was the hardest subject ton the test, not even because physics is difficult (i aced physics 1 and 2), but just because there was SO many conceptual problems. The destroyer manual makes you use formulas like crazy, while the physics section on the exam was all about understanding the concepts. None of my favorite magnetics however. I didn't get to show off my cool hand signals for charges in motion.
- QR: Okay look. The vast majority of what you're going to see in the practice test and Crack the OAT QR is not being used to make you feel like a dingus. Its being used to help your mind get to the answer choice. Nothing in this section was "difficult" but i was very tired, and hungry, thus i was at full mental capacity by this point. I scored the lowest here.
SCORES:
| Biology: 360 | Gen Chem: 390 | Orgo: 370 | RC: 360 | Physics: 350 | QR: 340 |
TS: 380
AA: 360
Total Cost of Material: 539$
Chad's videos: 20$
OAT Destroyer: 220$
Crack the OAT: 299$
