OAT Experience

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

I'm taking my OAT tomorrow morning (8AM ayy) so wish me luck

Kaplan 1/ Kaplan 2/ ADA:
Bio: 320/390/370
Gen Chem: 330/340/370
Orgo: 270/290/330
Physics: 260/270/310
RC: 290/300/340
QR: 300/260/--

Clearly I've got some fluctuation so I guess we'll see! Focusing on physics and QR tonight because orgo's a little hopeless for me at this point.

Edit:
Final scores:
Bio: 340
Gen chem: 340
Ochem: 310
Physics: 370
RC: 380
QR: 330

AA and TS: both 350

I've been studying since May (so that's about 3 months), but I was travelling through Europe for the whole first month so it was slow studying... I also worked part time (~20 h per week).

I basically used Chad's videos (coursesaver) for Chem, ochem, physics and QR! I found it especially good for the general chem. My organic chem mark was low because I ran out of time and memorized ZERO reactions (risky, I know). For Chad's made a lot of notes and did all the quizzes. I also used the Kaplan (2018-2019) for QR since it had the updated data sufficiency and quantitative comparison type questions.

Bio-- I started reading the Kaplan but I found it taking waaaaay too much time so I ended up studying with Feralis, which was OK since I had taken so many bio and physiology courses before so it was review. I actually just read through Feralis once and hoped for the best haha...there was definitely some stuff this morning that I hadn't seen before though!

Reading comprehension-- I read through the Kaplan tips and did the practice there and on the Kaplan Practice tests, but the passages are less complex and heavy reading on the actual OAT.

As for the Kaplan vs ADA practice exams, the Kaplan DEFINITELY tries to make you work for your score (especially physics). It's good practice but I found myself crunching for time on the Kaplan, while on the actual OAT I didn't run out of time in any section. The ADA was a little too simple in some respects, but it's a confidence booster in a good way, and is more reflective of the OAT. It's a good representation of the RC and physics particularly, in my opinion.

Feel free to ask any questions, the torture's all very fresh in my mind!

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[deleted958011]

Good luck!!

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

Good luck!!

Thank yooou

 

[Budgeter44]

What do you think was a better comparison of the actual test, the ADA or the Kaplan ones? Congrats on your scores

 

[teyes14]

I'm taking my OAT tomorrow morning (8AM ayy) so wish me luck

Kaplan 1/ Kaplan 2/ ADA:
Bio: 320/390/370
Gen Chem: 330/340/370
Orgo: 270/290/330
Physics: 260/270/310
RC: 290/300/340
QR: 300/260/--

Clearly I've got some fluctuation so I guess we'll see! Focusing on physics and QR tonight because orgo's a little hopeless for me at this point.

Edit:
Final scores:
Bio: 340
Gen chem: 340
Ochem: 310
Physics: 370
RC: 380
QR: 330

AA and TS: both 350

Congrats on your score! how did you prepare for bio and RC

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

What do you think was a better comparison of the actual test, the ADA or the Kaplan ones? Congrats on your scores

Thanks! Definitely the ADA exam. The Kaplan tests were so stressful and they're marked harder than the actual OAT test is... I added some edits in my post regarding that as well.

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

Congrats on your score! how did you prepare for bio and RC

For bio I just used the DAT bootcamp feralis bio notes and learned off of the practice exams. I started taking notes but it was taking too long, there's just too much info. The feralis took me about a week to get through and it's pretty good, but as you can see I didn't know everything on the OAT just from studying that, so if you have time to use one more source I think that'd be a good idea... but if you're OK with taking a little gamble then it's sufficient.

And the RC I just practiced-- the timing is the most important thing. The questions are mostly right in the passage, you just have to find them. I ended up skimming the passage, using the highlighter, and then answering by searching in the text.

 

[teyes14]

For bio I just used the DAT bootcamp feralis bio notes and learned off of the practice exams. I started taking notes but it was taking too long, there's just too much info. The feralis took me about a week to get through and it's pretty good, but as you can see I didn't know everything on the OAT just from studying that, so if you have time to use one more source I think that'd be a good idea... but if you're OK with taking a little gamble then it's sufficient.

And the RC I just practiced-- the timing is the most important thing. The questions are mostly right in the passage, you just have to find them. I ended up skimming the passage, using the highlighter, and then answering by searching in the text.

In terms of DAT bootcamp feralis bio notes are you talking about the condensed 120 page document on their website or the 85 pages that are just feralis

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

In terms of DAT bootcamp feralis bio notes are you talking about the condensed 120 page document on their website or the 85 pages that are just feralis

The 120 page document!

 

[Eyedoctora.2]

Congrats on your scores! Were Chad's quizzes and questions similar to the difficulty on the OAT? Also, how were the physics and QR sections? I am worried the most for those two sections as they are not my strong points. Were there any "trick questions"?

 

[Ronak83]

Hey, taking mine in 4 days. Any last minute tips? I too struggled on the Kaplan tests, they were way too difficult and demoralizing imo. ADA sample test was not too bad so I hope it's structured like that. Were there any surprises on the real exam or was it straightforward?

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

Congrats on your scores! Were Chad's quizzes and questions similar to the difficulty on the OAT? Also, how were the physics and QR sections? I am worried the most for those two sections as they are not my strong points. Were there any "trick questions"?

Thanks! Chad’s quizzes are pretty similar to the OAT in difficulty. Honestly I think the OAT is more straightforward— if you know the material, you can do the questions with no tricks. Some of the questions in chads are a little trickier than the OAT, but the chem is really good. Physics has conceptual questions on the OAT than chads does, and for QR I didn’t have as much trig or geometry as chads covered but DEFINITELY saw some of the types of questions chad had at the end of his QR section.

I thought the QR section was tricky... practice is pretty important for it because the math is really easy as long as you understand how to answer different types of questions. Physics was surprisingly OK though! I was worried about it too because of my practice scores and I’m not good at physics at all, but it was very straightforward. Don’t worry TOO much, I just used Chad’s videos, reviewed my notes the night before and that was it. They grade generously

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

Hey, taking mine in 4 days. Any last minute tips? I too struggled on the Kaplan tests, they were way too difficult and demoralizing imo. ADA sample test was not too bad so I hope it's structured like that. Were there any surprises on the real exam or was it straightforward?

I know the feeling haha, last stretch. I’d just review anything you feel uncomfortable with and trust that you’ve done as much as you can at this point, and make sure to get enough sleep!
I was surprised about the amount of angular velocity questions on the physics, and how much easier the reading comprehension was than I expected (easier passages that were more organized). Be sure that you know how much time per section and per question and everything, so you’re not calculating time left per question during the exam, and so you know when you have to skip questions. That’s definitely a tip from me, skip the ones that you know you don’t know well and come back later if you can. The exam itself is actually pretty straightforward though, they don’t really try to trick you.

Also, I don’t know if you’re using chads videos but be sure to do a quick review of bond lengths and empirical formula, which I hadn’t reviewed and saw on the ADA practice test AND the actual OAT. Good luck! If you’re happy with your ADA score you’ll be ok.

 

[Eyedoctora.2]

Thanks! Chad’s quizzes are pretty similar to the OAT in difficulty. Honestly I think the OAT is more straightforward— if you know the material, you can do the questions with no tricks. Some of the questions in chads are a little trickier than the OAT, but the chem is really good. Physics has conceptual questions on the OAT than chads does, and for QR I didn’t have as much trig or geometry as chads covered but DEFINITELY saw some of the types of questions chad had at the end of his QR section.

I thought the QR section was tricky... practice is pretty important for it because the math is really easy as long as you understand how to answer different types of questions. Physics was surprisingly OK though! I was worried about it too because of my practice scores and I’m not good at physics at all, but it was very straightforward. Don’t worry TOO much, I just used Chad’s videos, reviewed my notes the night before and that was it. They grade generously

Thank you for the reply and for the advice!

 

[sumyay]

Ahh I'm writing my OAT this Saturday and I feel slightly better reading this! The Kaplan tests are super discouraging, and my scores were jumping all over the place, so hopefully my OAT experience is better!

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

Ahh I'm writing my OAT this Saturday and I feel slightly better reading this! The Kaplan tests are super discouraging, and my scores were jumping all over the place, so hopefully my OAT experience is better!

As you can see, same haha. Yea if you’ve studied like you usually do and you did some practice, calm the nerves and it should be ok good luck!

 

[LoloK]

What practice did you do for physics besides chad's videos? Also do you think a good way to practice for Gen Chem is to go through Chad's and just do quizzes again? Thanks!

 

[anonnnnnnnnn123]

What practice did you do for physics besides chad's videos? Also do you think a good way to practice for Gen Chem is to go through Chad's and just do quizzes again? Thanks!

I ended up going through chad’s quizzes, then looking through my notes and the quizzes again. I’d just taken a whole year of physics so I didn’t over do it... and chad’s is great for gen chem!
I also used the Kaplan tests, looking at what I did wrong and all that.

 

[Toddlewave]

I used this forum to help boost my confidence going into the OAT. Many people on here helped me get to that level. Now that I've conquered the OAT, I wanted to share my experience and hopefully it will help others in the future. That being said, let me jump into it.

I took the OAT in June of 2018. I had just finished my junior year as a BS of Biology major. I figured I knew enough to just study for about a month using the Kaplan OAT book. Many might be as confident as I was, and I warn you to not do this. I would really dedicate yourself to knowing more information than you need to know for this exam. Overall, the exam itself is not as bad as it comes off to be. The first time around just studying and taking practice tests from the kaplan book and the online resources it comes with, I was scoring "okay". I didn't freak out, I just went into the test remaining confident in my knowledge. That being said, here are my first time around scores from the OAT. Warning, don't judge me by these haha.

First OAT scores: Percentile:
QR: 300 45th
RC: 290 21st
Bio: 270 21st
GC: 220 2
OC: 250 13th
Phy: 220 6th

TS: 230 5th
AA: 260 10th

As you can see, I felt worthless coming out of that testing center. I've made really good grades in undergrad, but I should have obviously rescheduled my test date to a later time and put more work in actually knowing the concepts the test was trying to test me over. I freaked out in the first section of the OAT, which is the bio section, and it was just downhill from there. THIS TEST DOES NOT DEFINE HOW INTELLIGENT YOU ARE.

I decided to get through my senior year of undergrad and do the best I could with my courses remaining and not let this bother me. So, after I graduated, I didn't have any of my classes lingering over me as I studied again for this exam. I also changed my view on this exam and changed the way I studied and it showed when I took the exam this past week.

Second OAT scores: Percentile:
QR: 330 63rd
RC: 380 91st
Bio: 320 61st
GC: 360 84th
OC: 370 90th
Phy: 270 40th

TS: 320 67th
AA: 340 80th

As you can see, after focusing on what the test is actually trying to test you on, you can conquer this exam. I've never been great with standardized tests. I've also never met anyone who loves taking them, because they do put a ton of stress on you to do well. However, I studied for two months, 5 days a week for about 8 hours a day. I used CrackTheOAT and Chad's Videos. I didn't do well in physics obviously, I am not bad at physics, I just need more time to get a correct answer compared to the other sections. Either way, my AA increased by 80 points! Thats a huge accomplishment in my eyes, and optometry schools saw that. I finished my exam around 1pm on monday, started at 8:30, and I sent my unofficial scores to the schools I applied to. By 5pm that day, I have already got two interview offers out of the 4 schools I've applied to. My scores are not just flat out amazing, but the sections I did not do "great" in, were overlooked for the sections I did amazing in. My point in this post is to never give up, because you are capable of making this happen. I can't tell you how relieved I was to get my scores after going through all the hours I put in for Ochem, RC, and Gen chem. If I would have put more time into physics, I would have done better time management, but the time I put in for those other sections instead, made my goal happen. I increased my score in every section by a great amount.

Ultimately, I recommend getting CrackTheOAT, not for the content it provides, but mostly for how many practice tests it offers. The tests are easy at first, but the questions go into great depth, which makes the OAT questions seem wayyyyyy easier to do when you are looking at that clock ticking down during the actual test.
Chad's Videos are a MUST when it comes to Gen Chem and Ochem. He makes things much simpler when it comes to the calculations you have to do in Gen Chem section, and the reactions for OChem. Now, I did use one more thing for Ochem and Bio. You can look up DATbootcamp, and it says you have to pay for it, but for certain things you don't. You can create an account and access at least one free exam for each section, which doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, every practice question you get for free is a blessing. Because at the end of the day, practice questions with great explanations are KEY when studying for this test. In DATbootcamp, it offers an Ochem reaction summary sheet, and I studied that like crazy. I made flash cards of every reaction it listed and studied them in small quantities every morning while I was eating breakfast. After a few weeks of just doing that, I knew everyone just like I did in Ochem in undergrad. CrackTheOAT is not the cheapest, but it helped with gaining access to very similar questions that were on the actual exam, while also giving you questions that were much more difficult, which makes the actual questions come naturally.

While I was writing this, I received another interview offer from another school! This proves how much these programs weigh the OAT compared to other parts of your application, because I JUST took this exam 3 days ago. I applied in early july of this year, and have not heard anything. Now that I made myself way more competitive with my OAT scores, it's completely changed how these programs have looked at my application. If you can dedicate your time to mastering these concepts as much as you can, and get the scores they are searching for, you will get an interview to the program you really want to get into. I hope this helps in some way for future OAT takers.

If you have any questions on other ways I studied or did certain problems, videos, etc. Just let me know.

Good luck!