OAT finished on 9/19/2007

[RegularGuy]

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Just finished my OAT. Here's my scores:

QR 400
RC 370
Bio 400
GChem 380
OChem 360
Phys 400
TS 400
AA 390

Here's how I studied: I took the Kaplan course, but stopped attending classes about midway through. I took notes on the entire Kaplan book. It's a lot, but manageable, especially if you hit the books hard and early. Then, I took all the practice tests I could.

Overall, the Kaplan materials were more difficult than the actual exam. Here's my "proof":

Kaplan:
Practice test average for Bio: 359 (9 tests total)
Practice test average for Chem: 332 (6 tests total)
Practice test average for Phys: 305 (8 tests total)
Practice test average for OChem: 337 (6 tests total)
Practice test average for QR: (7 tests total)

***removed references to specific questions**** The chemistry section and physics sections were similar in this aspect. For both sections, the math was not hard (or the answer was given with the numbers so you don't have to do the math.) Physics seemed to focus on kinematics and circuits. No optics. Know units for things.

I spoke with the administrator of the center I took the test at and he told me that typically, there's 4+ versions of the exam. So, I encourage everybody to study everything because it's unlikely that you'll get the same test I did.

Oh, you get a 15 minute break after taking the Nat Sciences and Reading portion of the exam. You're not allowed to study during this time. In fact, at my center, I couldn't leave the area. (I had to drink tap water from the bathroom because I was thirsty.) I ate a delicious bear claw that I brought from home during this time.

I am now relaxing with a beer (to kill all of my insolent brain cells that didn't perform well today.) Maybe I'll make a bonfire and burn my books/exams tonight. Who-hoo!

 

[stupidegg419]

Congratulation! You did perfect!

 

[RegularGuy]

You did pretty well, yourself! Hey-- I'm applying to SUNY, too. I'll let you know if I get in!

 

[pillow102]

don't burn your books, sell your books to me! Congrats by the way.

 

[MrBobblehead]

congrats! how many hours did you study per day?

 

[cpw]

Sorry guys, you cannot discuss specific questions and passages relating to exact OAT exams. You can say in general what topics were covered, but telling people what topics the reading passages are about is NOT allowed.

 

[RegularGuy]

I got rid of my books this morning. What a relief!

 

[RichardOD]

HOLY smokes! you totally rocked that test. my recommendation for that break u get inbetween the reading and physics section is to write out all ur formulas for physics on your sheet of paper so its you dont waste time writing down formulas during the real test. oh yea tell us what school you end up accepting because if its the same one that i go to maybe we can be study buddies!

 

[DrGoofy]

do we get scrap paper or a dry erase board to do our calculations???

i'd rather have paper 🙁

 

[RichardOD]

OATs supply scratch paper. The reason why DATs have a dry erase board is because they have a special section, where you see angles and you choose the right degree by just looking at it. People would just take the 90 degree edge of the paper and fold it in half to get 45 and so on again to easily estimate the angles. Thats why test takers for the DATs are forced to use the dry erase boards now.

 

[niss11]

congrats on those rediculous scores! it is seriously the best feeling to be done- i just took mine today!... i think i might just follow in your footsteps- my room is so overcrowded with study material you can barely stand.... im taking the night off to relax but tomorrow morning....its all going! see you in suny (hopefully!)

 

[RegularGuy]

Thanks for all the kind words, everybody. I know how stressful and difficult this test is, so I'm hoping to give you all as much support/info as I can.

Here's some more information for you:

During the summer, I took a Kaplan course. It met twice a week for about 3 hours a session. There were a total of 14 sessions, but 3 are practice tests (diagnostic, midterm, and final), so it's more like 11 "real" sessions.

Honestly, I didn't get much out of the live classes. The main thoughts I walked away with were:
1) "There's so much stuff to cover. I really need to put in some serious work."
2) "All my fellow students are smart and are much better prepared than me. I really need to put in some serious work."
3) "I should have just signed up for the online class."

Anyway, For Chem, Bio and Orgo, the OAT and DAT classes were combined with a total of 10-20 people per class. For the physics classes, I was with 3-4 other oAT students. We went straight through the white course packet they give out.

I did appreciate, however, the online recorded presentations that go over the same material. Now, don't get me wrong-- going over the big blue book and taking practice tests provided on the website helped me learn the most, but the online presentations made me _feel_ like I was being productive and not squandering the money I spent on the course. Also, I liked these more because they were shorter, more concise, and let me go at my own pace.

That said, the workload that Kaplan gives is high. We're talking about 6-7 hours of lecture a week. Plus you're supposed to cover the big 1200 page blue book over the 7 week program, so if you do the math, you'll see that it's a ton of reading/content. Then, they have these "required" online workshops, which are just CBTs (computer based training) with a bunch of text, pictures and "Next" and "Previous" buttons. Plus, you have online quizzes you're supposed to complete.

Anyway, I was only able to study about 3 hours per week during the Kaplan course. You can probably guess that I couldn't keep up with the work and fell behind. Maybe that's why I didn't get much out of the live classes. Strangely, the materials covered in class didn't really match the contents of the homework, so not doing all the work didn't affect me too much.

So, I scheduled my OAT for 3 weeks after the Kaplan course. I spent 1 week on vacation and then spent an average of 6-8 hours a day for 2 weeks studying. I spent 3-4 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours at night.

My typical plan of attack was to first focus on a more analytical subject (Chem and Phys). Then, I switched to a softer science like Biology and OChem. The change of pace was nice because doing a million computational questions can be mind-numbing and I think biology is interesting, so I ended my study sessions in a decent mood. I spent very little time on the Reading stuff because I found the practice exams to be extremely draining mentally and I didn't think that the time I invested would be worth any score improvement I’d get. I took a few QR tests to get a feel for the questions, but I didn't spend too much time because I felt that being well rested and moving fast would help me get a decent score. I was much more concerned about the sciences, I guess.

After taking notes on the big 1200 page Kaplan book, I took practice exams and recorded which questions I missed and which questions I was unsure about. Then, after a few days, I tried the questions I got wrong or were unsure about. I repeated this cycle as much as I could.

The best thing I did was schedule a date for the exam with Prometric. This helped me to focus/work harder. That said, 4 days before the exam, I realized that I needed more time, so I pushed the exam back 1 week. (Rescheduling cost $10 and required 48 hours notice-- BUT double-check the rules with your local center if you're planning on doing something similar. BTW-- The Prometric website is great because you can look at the calendar online and pick a date/time for your test. Very easy.)

Then, I pushed back my exam another 5 days. No excuses, I just needed the time.

The day before the exam, I stopped taking tests and just read over my notes and went over the Kaplan study cards. I also focused on memorizing organic chemistry reactions and physics formulas.

So, if you're still reading this, you deserve a reward. Here's a few more tips/info:

The OAT Test / Testing Center (Specific to the place I went to in Seattle.)
1) You get little packets of paper (6 pages?) and 2 #2 pencils. If you use up a paper packet, you have to flag the test examiner who can give you another one in exchange for the used one.
2) If you get cold, bring something warm to layer with. I wore a down vest, jeans and a button up shirt-- And I could still barely feel my fingers!
3) Bring a snack to eat and liquids to drink with you. You're not allowed to leave the center during your 15 minute break.
4) You're not allowed to review any materials during your break, so don't plan on that.
5) Security seems pretty tight. There are cameras everywhere and they record you taking the test. Also they take your picture and thumbprint. You're not allowed to take anything into the test room with you other than your keys, but they do provide lockers.
6) I arrived early and they let me take the test early.

Study Tips
1) Kaplan recommends that you draw a grid thingy on the top of your page to help you keep track of the multiple choice answer possibilities you eliminate. I don't think this is useful because a lot of the questions were really straightforward and I can only fit 3-5 questions on a single page. (So I'd have to flip to the front page a bunch of times if I used the grid.)
2) Kaplan also recommends that you make (very short) notes about every paragraph you read in the reading section. I found this useful because it forced me to think about what each paragraph was saying. However, the paragraphs on the test are not numbered, so don't rely on your paragraph numbers-- Just use it as a guide to know where to look for answers.
3) Some computational problems are solvable using brute force methods but this takes up a lot of time. If I couldn't solve a question really quickly, I just flagged it and moved on. Then, after knocking out all the easy question, I returned to the hard ones. I found that skipping tough questions on the reading section really helped, too.

Hope this helps!

 

[chelsahoo]

how does the grid thingy you were referring to work? and i think im just in denial, but does the OATS allow calculators? I'm sure the answer is no though 🙁

 

[RegularGuy]

No calculators were allowed. However, I found that a lot of the computations were fractions that could be reduced, so my calculations were never _too_ big or hard.

The grid thing works like this. First draw a grid with 6 horizontal lines. At the left end between the spaces of the lines, put A, B, C, D, E. Then, draw a bunch of vertical lines.

When you get to a question where you need to keep track of the answers are clearly wrong, you put the question number on top between the horizontal lines. Then, as you eliminate choices, put an X in the appropriate box.

Hmm.. my description is really confusing.. Let me try drawing it for you.

..|1|3|4|
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
A|X| |X|
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
B| |X| |
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
C|X|X| |
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
D|X|X| |
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
E| | | |
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Well, my drawing's not that great, either, but I think you get the point.

Hope this helps!