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- Aug 6, 2014
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Hey guys! I never shared my OAT experience from August, so I thought I would share it now, especially because I have finished my application process and know where I will be attending school. So here it is!
I studied for the exam for about 2 months. The first month, I read through the Kaplan book and took notes. Before doing this, I had taken a practice test and was not thrilled with my scores. After I did the book work, I took the test and did....exactly the same. Cue freak out! So with one month left, I bought access to Chad's Videos, and watched and took notes on all of them in one week (this equaled 12 hour study days). Then I would just keep redoing all of the quizzes over and over until they became second nature. I probably averaged studying about 6 hours a day the three weeks preceding the test. So I took the free Kaplan test that they were offering one day only and did...still not so great! I was pretty discouraged. However, I knew that the Kaplan test was harder than the actual OAT so I decided to just go ahead with my test a couple of days later.
Okay, so test day, I was SO nervous. I have never had this bad of test anxiety. I was sure I was going to bomb and throw off everything I work for. I even kind of had the smallest of breakdowns before the test, and the sweet proctor lady comforted me (a little embarrassing, I am willing to admit this. I will get this in check before I have to take boards in a few years 😉) But I remembered what someone had said on SDN, that all you can control once you start the test is your performance in that moment, so just go ahead with a positive attitude.
Anyways, here is the breakdown:
Biology- very conceptual. Honestly, I didn't study this section too much due to advice from my friend not to. It is so broad that I just ended up relying on my undergrad coursework to help me through this.
Chemistry- I always enjoyed chemistry, and it was more conceptual than equations, but I felt that Chad's videos prepared me pretty well for it.
Organic- this is my WORST subject, so I was very discouraged here. I just tried to eliminate the definite wrong answers, and more than anything, go with my gut. I had lots of reactions.
Reading- I was bombing this on the practice tests. I would be getting around 290-300, even two days before the test. The best piece of advice I heard was to look at the material as something you are reading for pleasure, rather than for the test. It sounds silly, but it kind of gets you out of the pressure of the moment, and takes a bit of the load off.
Physics- Very conceptual problems on mine. You can't get by with just knowing equations, you have to know why something happens, and have a bit more of an intuitive sense.
QR- I was just exhausted at this point, and tried to power through. A lot of trig, and remember you do have the calculator to check your work.
-piece of advice, if you don't know the answer AT ALL, just mark an answer and move on, don't waste any time.
Finally, the end was here. I was feeling a bit dejected. Before the scores came up, I turned off my screen so I couldn't even see it! (I know, I am a bit weird.) The guy printed out my scores, folded it up for me because he knew how nervous I was (on a side note, the people at the testing center were SO kind and caring, really helped make the day easier!). I went to my car, tentatively opened it up, and did a happy dance, even shrieked a little bit. I did good enough for the schools I wanted to go to, and I was pretty ecstatic.
Okay, so sorry for the long read, but here are the scores!
Bio- 330
Chem- 350
O-chem- 310
Reading- 380 (!)
Physics- 310
QR- 330
AA- 340
AS-330.
I have recently completed my application process. I was invited to interview at all of the schools I applied to (ICO, SCO, SCCO, NECO, NOVA, Houston, and UMSL), and in the end have decided on SCCO. So everyone, I know this is a LONG process, but worth it in the end! Feel free to ask any questions. 🙂
I studied for the exam for about 2 months. The first month, I read through the Kaplan book and took notes. Before doing this, I had taken a practice test and was not thrilled with my scores. After I did the book work, I took the test and did....exactly the same. Cue freak out! So with one month left, I bought access to Chad's Videos, and watched and took notes on all of them in one week (this equaled 12 hour study days). Then I would just keep redoing all of the quizzes over and over until they became second nature. I probably averaged studying about 6 hours a day the three weeks preceding the test. So I took the free Kaplan test that they were offering one day only and did...still not so great! I was pretty discouraged. However, I knew that the Kaplan test was harder than the actual OAT so I decided to just go ahead with my test a couple of days later.
Okay, so test day, I was SO nervous. I have never had this bad of test anxiety. I was sure I was going to bomb and throw off everything I work for. I even kind of had the smallest of breakdowns before the test, and the sweet proctor lady comforted me (a little embarrassing, I am willing to admit this. I will get this in check before I have to take boards in a few years 😉) But I remembered what someone had said on SDN, that all you can control once you start the test is your performance in that moment, so just go ahead with a positive attitude.
Anyways, here is the breakdown:
Biology- very conceptual. Honestly, I didn't study this section too much due to advice from my friend not to. It is so broad that I just ended up relying on my undergrad coursework to help me through this.
Chemistry- I always enjoyed chemistry, and it was more conceptual than equations, but I felt that Chad's videos prepared me pretty well for it.
Organic- this is my WORST subject, so I was very discouraged here. I just tried to eliminate the definite wrong answers, and more than anything, go with my gut. I had lots of reactions.
Reading- I was bombing this on the practice tests. I would be getting around 290-300, even two days before the test. The best piece of advice I heard was to look at the material as something you are reading for pleasure, rather than for the test. It sounds silly, but it kind of gets you out of the pressure of the moment, and takes a bit of the load off.
Physics- Very conceptual problems on mine. You can't get by with just knowing equations, you have to know why something happens, and have a bit more of an intuitive sense.
QR- I was just exhausted at this point, and tried to power through. A lot of trig, and remember you do have the calculator to check your work.
-piece of advice, if you don't know the answer AT ALL, just mark an answer and move on, don't waste any time.
Finally, the end was here. I was feeling a bit dejected. Before the scores came up, I turned off my screen so I couldn't even see it! (I know, I am a bit weird.) The guy printed out my scores, folded it up for me because he knew how nervous I was (on a side note, the people at the testing center were SO kind and caring, really helped make the day easier!). I went to my car, tentatively opened it up, and did a happy dance, even shrieked a little bit. I did good enough for the schools I wanted to go to, and I was pretty ecstatic.
Okay, so sorry for the long read, but here are the scores!
Bio- 330
Chem- 350
O-chem- 310
Reading- 380 (!)
Physics- 310
QR- 330
AA- 340
AS-330.
I have recently completed my application process. I was invited to interview at all of the schools I applied to (ICO, SCO, SCCO, NECO, NOVA, Houston, and UMSL), and in the end have decided on SCCO. So everyone, I know this is a LONG process, but worth it in the end! Feel free to ask any questions. 🙂
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