Preparing for the OAT (especially QR section)

[BrownEyes12]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and I'm planning to take the OAT in August. To study/review, I have my class notes and texts, the Kaplan OAT book with practice questions (approx. 300 pgs), the Kaplan 1000 pg MCAT Premier Program and the Kaplan GRE/GMAT Math Workbook.

Do you think these materials will help me prepare properly for the OAT? Are there any topics covered on the OAT that aren't reviewed in the MCAT book or the Math book?

I was thinking about getting the Kaplan DAT book just for its Quantitative Reasoning section, but I have a feeling that it might not have much more review than the GRE/GMAT math book. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

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[r_salis]

A huge part of doing well on the QR section is get up your speed at doing problems without having a calculator. The problems are straightforward, if you use any of the review books you'll be covered -- the problem is the time you have to do them. I used Topscore, and just timed myself on the sections. The same semester I was taking the OAT I was in a microbiology lab where we weren't allowed to use calculators, but had to learn to estimate things quickly on paper -- I hated it at the time, but I think that helped me a lot, too.

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and I'm planning to take the OAT in August. To study/review, I have my class notes and texts, the Kaplan OAT book with practice questions (approx. 300 pgs), the Kaplan 1000 pg MCAT Premier Program and the Kaplan GRE/GMAT Math Workbook.

Do you think these materials will help me prepare properly for the OAT? Are there any topics covered on the OAT that aren't reviewed in the MCAT book or the Math book?

I was thinking about getting the Kaplan DAT book just for its Quantitative Reasoning section, but I have a feeling that it might not have much more review than the GRE/GMAT math book. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

 

[rkl_OD2be]

A huge part of doing well on the QR section is get up your speed at doing problems without having a calculator. The problems are straightforward, if you use any of the review books you'll be covered -- the problem is the time you have to do them. I used Topscore, and just timed myself on the sections. The same semester I was taking the OAT I was in a microbiology lab where we weren't allowed to use calculators, but had to learn to estimate things quickly on paper -- I hated it at the time, but I think that helped me a lot, too.

I'd agree that the ability to quickly and accurately do basic arithemetic with "pencil and paper" is crucial to doing well on the QR section. I'm an older "non-trad" student, and when I was in high school/college, we were forbidden from using calculators until well into Calculus I. Also, at the time, a decent scientific would cost $400-$500, not $9.99 like today! I credit all that practice and repetition as the reason I got a 380 QR on my OAT. (Well, that and the fact that I was a math major

 

[S_SEEN2020]

Timing is key, and making sure you answer ALL of the questions (mark something). A strategy that worked well for me was to skip around. Instead of doing questions in numerical order, I did all of the same type of problems (i.e. finding all the percentage problems then doing the word problems)

 

[pre_opt_sku]

During the test, I think it is important to not spend too much time on a question. If it is taking too long then you need to just pick a random answer and mark the question to come back to it if you have time! Most people don't finish this section anyhow, so don't waste your precious time on one question. Like others have said, it is very important to practice problems without a calculator. The actual questions in QR are not very hard; the hard part about them is finishing them in the time allowed!