OAT victim comes back to report....

[optoforme]

And i'm disappointed.
I got TS-300 and AA-300 but i was really aiming for 350 and up for most scores except physics. (which i know needs a heck lot more work) They give you the score and also the percentiles and the percentiles really depressed me.

I was very anxious up till this past Monday and felt like I wasn't ready even though I had been studying very intensely the past couple of months. I took Kaplan, did some Topscore tests but i guess I just needed a bit more work.

Reading Comp scrwed me with a 290--i got the suspension bridge pontoon passage, neurotransmitters with GABA, opoid peptide bonds and got the crocodiles--i don't know i just couldn't get into it. I was partly afraid of not having enough sccrap paper so didn't write that much and i usually write down key words for each paragraph (though it sounds time consuming but it worked when i was doing the four practice tests). And then after reading comp--(i finsihed the section but felt very pressed to) i got an incredible headache. I dont know why-- the anxiety and stress for this kind of made me disoriented and i still feel this way and will sleep after typing this.

And then the natural sciences section- 310 for bio and g-chem and 300 for o-chem-- I was getting much higher for bio so that was a disappoitnment. It was weird because there were no q's about hormones yet q's about mannose? and a question about identifying what was happening in a picture and i was like uh... totally clueless. I marked a lot of q's in bio and i usually don't do that for I know bio pretty well and that was my strongest section leading up to this test. So bio was very disappointing.

QR was easy--i was glad they didn't have any long word problems that would take ten years to solve. Also had only 40 q's and i was expecting 50 so i finsihed that section but skipped a lot. :/

I'm retaking in May. I totally did not achieve my goal but i guess this is a good start.

Any thoughts?

good luck to anyone who's taking it soon!

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[DrSpontaneouz83]

Hey, sounds like we had the same test. Yea, I totally agree about not getting into the reading section portion..I totally bombed that section and was by far my lower score. If I recall that bio q with the picture, I believe they were trying to prove a point that mannose is a sugar and the "like dissolves like" theory, so the enzyme had to be a sugar as well since it was smaller, thus traveling further down the plate during electrophoresis. Anyway, the math and the reading got me, as I totally was pressed for time. I ended up with a TS 350 and AA 320 (bleh)

Good luck to those who will be taking it soon.

 

[chrissystar]

hey! you're already accepted to some schools right? do u really need to take it agian?

And i'm disappointed.
I got TS-300 and AA-300 but i was really aiming for 350 and up for most scores except physics. (which i know needs a heck lot more work) They give you the score and also the percentiles and the percentiles really depressed me.

I was very anxious up till this past Monday and felt like I wasn't ready even though I had been studying very intensely the past couple of months. I took Kaplan, did some Topscore tests but i guess I just needed a bit more work.

Reading Comp scrwed me with a 290--i got the suspension bridge pontoon passage, neurotransmitters with GABA, opoid peptide bonds and got the crocodiles--i don't know i just couldn't get into it. I was partly afraid of not having enough sccrap paper so didn't write that much and i usually write down key words for each paragraph (though it sounds time consuming but it worked when i was doing the four practice tests). And then after reading comp--(i finsihed the section but felt very pressed to) i got an incredible headache. I dont know why-- the anxiety and stress for this kind of made me disoriented and i still feel this way and will sleep after typing this.

And then the natural sciences section- 310 for bio and g-chem and 300 for o-chem-- I was getting much higher for bio so that was a disappoitnment. It was weird because there were no q's about hormones yet q's about mannose? and a question about identifying what was happening in a picture and i was like uh... totally clueless. I marked a lot of q's in bio and i usually don't do that for I know bio pretty well and that was my strongest section leading up to this test. So bio was very disappointing.

QR was easy--i was glad they didn't have any long word problems that would take ten years to solve. Also had only 40 q's and i was expecting 50 so i finsihed that section but skipped a lot. :/

I'm retaking in May. I totally did not achieve my goal but i guess this is a good start.

Any thoughts?

good luck to anyone who's taking it soon!

 

[JeffChou]

I got the same three passages!

The GABA passage was intense and the crocodile one was tedious. The pontoon passage probably killed me even though it was the easiest one to read. I just couldn't find the answers! The other two were much harder to read but I somehow figured out the answers for those without as much of a headache as the pontoon passage gave me. It seemed like all the answers could be correct!

Make sure you give your brain time to rest in the last few days before the test.Sounds like you got a little burned out. Sleep early so your brain can get used to normal waking hours and make sure you get a full night's rest when studying!

Good luck with the next one.

-Jeff

 

[princesspinknes]

And i'm disappointed.
I got TS-300 and AA-300 but i was really aiming for 350 and up for most scores except physics. (which i know needs a heck lot more work) They give you the score and also the percentiles and the percentiles really depressed me.

I was very anxious up till this past Monday and felt like I wasn't ready even though I had been studying very intensely the past couple of months. I took Kaplan, did some Topscore tests but i guess I just needed a bit more work.

Reading Comp scrwed me with a 290--i got the suspension bridge pontoon passage, neurotransmitters with GABA, opoid peptide bonds and got the crocodiles--i don't know i just couldn't get into it. I was partly afraid of not having enough sccrap paper so didn't write that much and i usually write down key words for each paragraph (though it sounds time consuming but it worked when i was doing the four practice tests). And then after reading comp--(i finsihed the section but felt very pressed to) i got an incredible headache. I dont know why-- the anxiety and stress for this kind of made me disoriented and i still feel this way and will sleep after typing this.

And then the natural sciences section- 310 for bio and g-chem and 300 for o-chem-- I was getting much higher for bio so that was a disappoitnment. It was weird because there were no q's about hormones yet q's about mannose? and a question about identifying what was happening in a picture and i was like uh... totally clueless. I marked a lot of q's in bio and i usually don't do that for I know bio pretty well and that was my strongest section leading up to this test. So bio was very disappointing.

QR was easy--i was glad they didn't have any long word problems that would take ten years to solve. Also had only 40 q's and i was expecting 50 so i finsihed that section but skipped a lot. :/

I'm retaking in May. I totally did not achieve my goal but i guess this is a good start.

Any thoughts?

good luck to anyone who's taking it soon!

i think i got the same passages and i took the test in october lol
...yes they were boring as HECK. i almost couldnt stand it hehe..
on another note, i found that kaplan's technique did not work well for computerized reading comp. i started to do it at the beginning but then realized how long and tedious it was, especially considering the passage was still on the same page as the question. i ended up just reading the question and scrolling down and finding the key words. i thought that was much more efficient.
i also think you suffered through the other sections mainly because you were so shocked by the reading comp. im sure next time wont be that bad, just because you know what expect now & i absolutely agree with jeffchou, give urself time to chill and absorb all the information. right before the test, i was psyching myself up, bouncing off the walls, and making myself excited about the test. i know everyone says this but a positive attitude and confidence work wonders..i took the test and i thought i did terrible (because i also marked every other question), but then i got the results and i got up and started dancing LOL
good luck in may!!! im sure you'll pwn this time =) dont stress too much..its just a test

 

[ODduck]

I got the same three passages!

The GABA passage was intense and the crocodile one was tedious. The pontoon passage probably killed me even though it was the easiest one to read. I just couldn't find the answers! The other two were much harder to read but I somehow figured out the answers for those without as much of a headache as the pontoon passage gave me. It seemed like all the answers could be correct!

Make sure you give your brain time to rest in the last few days before the test.Sounds like you got a little burned out. Sleep early so your brain can get used to normal waking hours and make sure you get a full night's rest when studying!

Good luck with the next one.

-Jeff

I loved the GABA and crocodile passages, but that may be because I really like neuroscience and I do undergraduate research in neuroscience. The pontoon bridge passage, wow, I STILL have no idea what in the heck they were talking about.

I was really confident about the Reading Comp. section, but it turned out to be my worst score....go figure

 

[Vision34]

optoforme,

Did you score a lot higher on practice tests? I am taking the OAT a week from today, and reading these posts from people who have just taken their tests is making me SO nervous. I am definitely getting decent scores on my practice tests and I am hoping they aren't going to go down on test day!

 

[idoctobe]

vision34, i thought you were already in??

 

[Vision34]

I'm in provisionally... I applied ED and they won't give me my full acceptance until I take the OAT (by Feb 28th).


Also, did anyone have inertia problems on the OAT? I'm getting a lot of inertia problems on TopScore, but can't find the concept anywhere in my Kaplan materials...

 

[luckyfool]

I'm in provisionally... I applied ED and they won't give me my full acceptance until I take the OAT (by Feb 28th).


Also, did anyone have inertia problems on the OAT? I'm getting a lot of inertia problems on TopScore, but can't find the concept anywhere in my Kaplan materials...

it wouldn't hurt to know those 1 or 2 equations for inertia. google it up
though i don't think i saw any inertia problems in my exam.

 

[optoforme]

optoforme,

Did you score a lot higher on practice tests? I am taking the OAT a week from today, and reading these posts from people who have just taken their tests is making me SO nervous. I am definitely getting decent scores on my practice tests and I am hoping they aren't going to go down on test day!

I did better in Bio--scoring 330+ with them (the Kaplan tests) but I know that the other sections probably would just be average. :/ But my mentality probably wasn't that optimistic either because even though i studied a whole lot, there were little concepts that needed more work in. I also thought that the Kaplan tests could be a bit repetitive with what they put on them so there was a lot of overlap-- especially if you also bought their purple book that prepped you for it, thinking that you're not going to take the actual course.

princesspinknes-- No, i have not applied yet ... i wanted to see how I did for the OAT before applying. I am going to be a '08 applicant because i still have some outstanding prereq courses as well.

ODduck-- What did you get in RC (if you do not mind me asking)? I dont know..i just couldn't get into that and usually reading comp is my strong score. I got 340+ in my practice exams in it.

JeffChou-- The thing is, i got enough rest and wasn't really studying the night before the test and got a good... 8? hours before the test but ..i think i lacked a cup of coffee before the test and the anxiety just did me in. :/ My mentality wasn't that great going into it--i was always thinking that I wouldn't achieve up to my expectations because the practice tests with O-chem a nd physics weren't that encouraging. QR was a pleasant surprise but I think my average scores with the others pointed out to me that yes, i'm still average and just need to work harder to be above average. And i think i need to be above average given the mediocre GPA i have. :/

DrSpontaneouz83-- Thank for explaining the mannose problem-- i guess i really need to know bio enough to apply the concepts, eh?

Yes, I"m going to set my date for May 30th... i will be psyched and more optimistic this time around because I truly think that my score will only go up-- i'm taking orgo this semester so that will help in solidfiying a lot of concepts and i'm going to do a lot of relevant practice from now till then.....

What does anyone suggest for physics practice and concept strengthening?

Thanks for everyone's thoughts!!!! I appreciate it a lot.

 

[ODduck]

ODduck-- What did you get in RC (if you do not mind me asking)? I dont know..i just couldn't get into that and usually reading comp is my strong score. I got 340+ in my practice exams in it.

I scored 330 in RC which was 40th %tile. I was in a much higher %tile for every other subject. I think it was the stupid pontoon bridge thing that tore me down.

 

[optoforme]

Don't the percentiles really depress you?
330 isn't bad but i know for RC you need to get more right to be considered a higher percentile and have a better raw score.

I'm having some post-test blues... I just feel like I could've done better. I know it's not conducive to dwell in the past but does anyone else have post-test blues and know how to combat it?

I've already applied for taking it in May...