Reall need help/advice!

[FocusOD]

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So I signed up to take the OAT this July and I am nervous because I've heard from two people who have taken it and they bombed it. One of them said it was so hard he went into Chiropracting instead.

Now I know some people are different but I am not a great test taker, especially when it comes to studying such broad subjects.

I have the Kaplan DAT review notes (The huge book) and the flashcards. I also have the sample OAT tests on a cd from the course.

My question is, are the Kaplan sample tests better to study for the test? Are the questions similar? Or should I study using the review questions in the kaplan review notes book?

Also, would the OAT Destroyer help me study for the test since I am not that great at test-taking?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Arctic]

You may want to check out my OAT articles over on www.optometrystudents.com

Here's the link to the OAT page:

http://optometrystudents.com/category/oat-exam/


This test covers a lot of material, so having a bunch of study time is quite helpful. July, or even August, is a great time to take the OAT because, hopefully, you can spend your summer studying for the test.

The Kaplan tests are reasonably good indicators of the actual OAT, I honestly think that the only section Kaplan doesn't do a great job in covering is Physics. The 'closest' practice test to the actual OAT is definitely the Opted practice test, except that the RC section on that is worthless. Completely, utterly, worthless. But all the other sections are quite good. Be aware that the Opted practice test uses the old scoring scale, so pay more attention to your raw score than your scaled score for that practice test.

Here's the link to the Opted practice test:

https://www.ada.org/oat/index.html

It is found underneath "step 4" on that page.

Also, remember that the OAT is run by the ADA, not the AOA, so the online practice tests for the DAT are excellent additional study material, with the catch that they don't have physics, and they do have perceptual ability.

As far as being a 'bad' test-taker, just work on your strategies, especially for Reading Comprehension, and make sure you are comfortable with them. Then, so long as you are sufficiently prepared, you should do fine. The OAT isn't that bad with adequate preparation, at least in my opinion.

My scores were fairly good, and I attribute my success to my studying methods.

Biology: 400
General Chemistry: 400
Organic Chemistry: 390
Reading Comprehension: 350 (I was very disappointed, but it's still a respectable score)
Physics: 380
Quantitative Reasoning: 400

Total Science: 400
Academic Average: 390

Good luck on your test!

 

[FocusOD]

Wow you did amazing! Thank you for you advice. I am going to start working on the opted test.

You may want to check out my OAT articles over on www.optometrystudents.com

Here's the link to the OAT page:

http://optometrystudents.com/category/oat-exam/


This test covers a lot of material, so having a bunch of study time is quite helpful. July, or even August, is a great time to take the OAT because, hopefully, you can spend your summer studying for the test.

The Kaplan tests are reasonably good indicators of the actual OAT, I honestly think that the only section Kaplan doesn't do a great job in covering is Physics. The 'closest' practice test to the actual OAT is definitely the Opted practice test, except that the RC section on that is worthless. Completely, utterly, worthless. But all the other sections are quite good. Be aware that the Opted practice test uses the old scoring scale, so pay more attention to your raw score than your scaled score for that practice test.

Here's the link to the Opted practice test:

https://www.ada.org/oat/index.html

It is found underneath "step 4" on that page.

Also, remember that the OAT is run by the ADA, not the AOA, so the online practice tests for the DAT are excellent additional study material, with the catch that they don't have physics, and they do have perceptual ability.

As far as being a 'bad' test-taker, just work on your strategies, especially for Reading Comprehension, and make sure you are comfortable with them. Then, so long as you are sufficiently prepared, you should do fine. The OAT isn't that bad with adequate preparation, at least in my opinion.

My scores were fairly good, and I attribute my success to my studying methods.

Biology: 400
General Chemistry: 400
Organic Chemistry: 390
Reading Comprehension: 350 (I was very disappointed, but it's still a respectable score)
Physics: 380
Quantitative Reasoning: 400

Total Science: 400
Academic Average: 390

Good luck on your test!

 

[JennieJoy]

I took the kaplan class. It was a great study tool. The flashcards are amazing. Bring them with you and study between classes or whenever you have down time. I loved the online workshops/quizzes that came with the kaplan program. The review book was barely touched by myself. The practice OAT's were extremely helpful.

 

[Mewcakes]

I also took the kaplan class. I found that it was great for test taking strategy, but only moldy helpful in terms of reviewing materials. But the kaplan MATERIALS are definitely helpful. The flash cards really are great and the book is pretty detailed and good if you need to reference some obscure thing you learned in trig in highschool 5 years ago. If u have the money to spare, do the class, because sometimes it does come down the strategy. If you're not rolling in dough, obtain the materials and study like mad. Though the flash cards say something to the effect of "this is not meant to be used as your only means of studying, things that are not on these cards can and will appear on the test" it's a good way to gauge how many of the concepts you know.