This is a very long and comprehensive explanation of what I did to prepare for the OAT, and my experience in taking the OAT.
I took my OAT last week. I understand what those that are seeing this are going through. You want to try to get a sense of what it will be like, how similar to Kaplan practice tests it really is, how are the questions asked exactly, etc. For the most part, the OAT experience posts I read before I took mine ended up being accurate. I decided to give back to the forum that helped give me peace of mind before my test, maybe someone will feel like they have a better grasp on it after reading this.
What I Studied.
The study materials I used were the Kaplan blue book, Chad's videos, and OAT Destroyer. The Kaplan book is very big and feels like a dictionary when you hold it. This came with two full length practice tests, as well as a bunch of resources like small workshops and quizzes, a diagnostic test, and larger section tests. Chad's videos had Chad teaching as if you were in a class, but in a way geared towards the MCAT, DAT, and OAT, and probably relevant for any other exam with that material. There are many quizzes on there as well for each video. OAT Destroyer is just problems, but there are great explanations for each problem. I used the physics book (less than 150 questions) and the organic chemistry, general chemistry, biology, and quantitative reasoning book. Lastly, if there was a topic I was unclear on, I watched Khan Academy videos online on that subject.
How I Studied.
The entire length I studied for the OAT was 2 months. I would say you need at least a month and a half to be able to be comfortable with the amount of material. I used Chad's videos as my primary material. I used Kaplan as supplementary material, and OAT Destroyer for practice problems. I rarely every opened the actual Kaplan book, instead using the online materials that come with it. Physics, organic chemistry, and general chemistry are all much more difficult in OAT Destroyer than the real thing. Biology is the most like the real thing.
Strategy.
The key is exposure and repetition. I did all of Chad's videos quizzes over and over. I did the physics OAT Destroyer twice. You are not going to remember the material from the beginning of your studying when you get to the end of your studying. Repeating everything and practicing is the only way to solidify it. Do not skip anything you think you already know. It is way more risky to assume you know something just to save time on studying. You could blank on something you thought you knew on test day which you would have known had you taken the time to look at it. There is no sense in giving up points.
You need to try to get the the point where things are automatic. For example, if you are given the Ksp of something and asked for the molar solubility, you should not have to think about what to do, you should just be able to do it. The only way is repetition of material.
Find as much practice as you can. The way to achieve the best score on this exam is to do as much practice as possible. I cannot stress enough how the material must be second nature to you.
Do not allow that to cut short your understanding of the material though. You have to find a balance between getting through the material and being able to understand and master it.
When you think you have practiced enough, practice more. After that, practice more, and finish up with some practice followed by practice. That is the only way.
This is especially important for physics, organic chemistry, and general chemistry.
For biology, you are going to have to accept that there is too much material to know it all. The strategy here is to find any way to expose yourself to as much material as possible, whether that be your college textbooks, online videos, or anything else.
Areas for Focus
Physics: Practice everything and understand what is going on. By that I mean understand the relationships in kinematics, understand the ideas of simple harmonic motion, electricity and circuits, magnetism, and everything else. Memorize formulas.
Organic Chemistry: Practice and understand reactions. Be able to work through either the summary of reactions provided by Chad's videos, or the road maps in OAT Destroyer. If you can do that, you should be fine for test day as far as reactions go. Understand acids and bases, and understand nomenclature.
General Chemistry: Practice and understand everything. You could see anything, but it won't be nearly as difficult as OAT Destroyer, and probably not as difficult as Chad's videos quizzes. This is broad, you need to practice.
Biology: This is very broad, and there is no way to simply practice and be ready. The key here is exposure to as much as possible. If you had to focus on something, make it hormones (where they come from and what they do), anatomy and physiology (I recommend taking a class at your school if you can), DNA replication, transcription, translation, mitosis and meiosis, and cell organelles. The OAT Destroyer is great exposure to this. Familiarize yourself with respiration and photosynthesis as well.
Remember: Practice.
Test Day.
The testing center was comfortable, the process is exactly as they describe it on the Prometric website. I used my driver's license and a signed debit card to check in. There are other people there taking all different types of tests as well.
Biology: Very random as expected. No question was very difficult, but you had to have seen it before in order to be able to answer correctly. This is why I keep saying exposure and repetition is the key. It doesn't matter how easy the questions are if you haven't seen the material before. Some questions you are going to have to give educated answers based on what you know, or eliminate other choices to increase your odds on a guess.
General Chemistry: Everything was on it, but again was not that difficult. If you have been practicing, these questions are not difficult at all and there were no surprises. They are simplified versions from OAT Destroyer and Chad's videos. Again, if you had not been practicing and exposing yourself to all types of questions, it may be difficult.
Organic Chemistry: There were many reactions, nothing that was trying to trick you though. If you practiced and understood the summary of reactions from Chad's videos or the OAT Destroyer road maps, you should be fine. I saw nothing that was more difficult than the OAT Destroyer.
Reading Comprehension: I did not find this very difficult. In fact, the articles were interesting and not a bad read. They key here is to not let yourself get overwhelmed by the clock. Take your time. It is better to know you got 30 of them right and guess the rest than to not concentrate and do them too quickly.
Physics: This is something that, yet again, you are just going to have to practice. The key is to figure out what they are asking, relate it to what you have practiced, and apply it. Questions were not nearly as difficult as anything I saw from OAT Destroyer or Chad's videos.
Quantitative Reasoning: If you have been practicing as much as I have been saying to practice, this should be your most difficult section. They tell you to not used the calculator, but I used it. Do not be afraid of it. When they have one of those comparing fractions and listing them in increasing or decreasing order, just use the calculator and make sure you get the question right. Do not make yourself do some long division problem that wastes time, just use the calculator. Don't be dependent on it, but don't be afraid to use it.
Scores.
Kaplan Practice Test 1
Biology: 330
General Chemistry: 300
Organic Chemistry: 300
Physics: 230
Reading Comprehension: 370
Quantitative Reasoning: 340
Academic Average: 310
Kaplan Practice Test 2
Biology: 330
General Chemistry: 360
Organic Chemistry: 310
Physics 320
Reading Comprehension: 350
Quantitative Reasoning: 350
Academic Average: 340
Real OAT
Biology: 400
General Chemistry: 390
Organic Chemistry: 400
Physics: 370
Reading Comprehension: 390
Quantitative Reasoning: 390
Total Science: 400
Academic Average: 390
Summary.
Do not get discouraged from practice Kaplan tests or OAT Destroyer problems. Do not get overwhelmed by the amount of material. Take it day by day and pay attention to what you are studying. It is not easy to stay focused. All of these materials are going to way overprepare you for the OAT, but that is a good thing. You would rather be overprepared than not prepared enough. If you regret studying as much as you did after you take the OAT, that is good.
If you have any questions let me know, I can elaborate on anything. I was where you are and I know the anxiety that comes with the uncertainty about this test. Trust the experiences you have read on here and trust yourself on test day.
I took my OAT last week. I understand what those that are seeing this are going through. You want to try to get a sense of what it will be like, how similar to Kaplan practice tests it really is, how are the questions asked exactly, etc. For the most part, the OAT experience posts I read before I took mine ended up being accurate. I decided to give back to the forum that helped give me peace of mind before my test, maybe someone will feel like they have a better grasp on it after reading this.
What I Studied.
The study materials I used were the Kaplan blue book, Chad's videos, and OAT Destroyer. The Kaplan book is very big and feels like a dictionary when you hold it. This came with two full length practice tests, as well as a bunch of resources like small workshops and quizzes, a diagnostic test, and larger section tests. Chad's videos had Chad teaching as if you were in a class, but in a way geared towards the MCAT, DAT, and OAT, and probably relevant for any other exam with that material. There are many quizzes on there as well for each video. OAT Destroyer is just problems, but there are great explanations for each problem. I used the physics book (less than 150 questions) and the organic chemistry, general chemistry, biology, and quantitative reasoning book. Lastly, if there was a topic I was unclear on, I watched Khan Academy videos online on that subject.
How I Studied.
The entire length I studied for the OAT was 2 months. I would say you need at least a month and a half to be able to be comfortable with the amount of material. I used Chad's videos as my primary material. I used Kaplan as supplementary material, and OAT Destroyer for practice problems. I rarely every opened the actual Kaplan book, instead using the online materials that come with it. Physics, organic chemistry, and general chemistry are all much more difficult in OAT Destroyer than the real thing. Biology is the most like the real thing.
Strategy.
The key is exposure and repetition. I did all of Chad's videos quizzes over and over. I did the physics OAT Destroyer twice. You are not going to remember the material from the beginning of your studying when you get to the end of your studying. Repeating everything and practicing is the only way to solidify it. Do not skip anything you think you already know. It is way more risky to assume you know something just to save time on studying. You could blank on something you thought you knew on test day which you would have known had you taken the time to look at it. There is no sense in giving up points.
You need to try to get the the point where things are automatic. For example, if you are given the Ksp of something and asked for the molar solubility, you should not have to think about what to do, you should just be able to do it. The only way is repetition of material.
Find as much practice as you can. The way to achieve the best score on this exam is to do as much practice as possible. I cannot stress enough how the material must be second nature to you.
Do not allow that to cut short your understanding of the material though. You have to find a balance between getting through the material and being able to understand and master it.
When you think you have practiced enough, practice more. After that, practice more, and finish up with some practice followed by practice. That is the only way.
This is especially important for physics, organic chemistry, and general chemistry.
For biology, you are going to have to accept that there is too much material to know it all. The strategy here is to find any way to expose yourself to as much material as possible, whether that be your college textbooks, online videos, or anything else.
Areas for Focus
Physics: Practice everything and understand what is going on. By that I mean understand the relationships in kinematics, understand the ideas of simple harmonic motion, electricity and circuits, magnetism, and everything else. Memorize formulas.
Organic Chemistry: Practice and understand reactions. Be able to work through either the summary of reactions provided by Chad's videos, or the road maps in OAT Destroyer. If you can do that, you should be fine for test day as far as reactions go. Understand acids and bases, and understand nomenclature.
General Chemistry: Practice and understand everything. You could see anything, but it won't be nearly as difficult as OAT Destroyer, and probably not as difficult as Chad's videos quizzes. This is broad, you need to practice.
Biology: This is very broad, and there is no way to simply practice and be ready. The key here is exposure to as much as possible. If you had to focus on something, make it hormones (where they come from and what they do), anatomy and physiology (I recommend taking a class at your school if you can), DNA replication, transcription, translation, mitosis and meiosis, and cell organelles. The OAT Destroyer is great exposure to this. Familiarize yourself with respiration and photosynthesis as well.
Remember: Practice.
Test Day.
The testing center was comfortable, the process is exactly as they describe it on the Prometric website. I used my driver's license and a signed debit card to check in. There are other people there taking all different types of tests as well.
Biology: Very random as expected. No question was very difficult, but you had to have seen it before in order to be able to answer correctly. This is why I keep saying exposure and repetition is the key. It doesn't matter how easy the questions are if you haven't seen the material before. Some questions you are going to have to give educated answers based on what you know, or eliminate other choices to increase your odds on a guess.
General Chemistry: Everything was on it, but again was not that difficult. If you have been practicing, these questions are not difficult at all and there were no surprises. They are simplified versions from OAT Destroyer and Chad's videos. Again, if you had not been practicing and exposing yourself to all types of questions, it may be difficult.
Organic Chemistry: There were many reactions, nothing that was trying to trick you though. If you practiced and understood the summary of reactions from Chad's videos or the OAT Destroyer road maps, you should be fine. I saw nothing that was more difficult than the OAT Destroyer.
Reading Comprehension: I did not find this very difficult. In fact, the articles were interesting and not a bad read. They key here is to not let yourself get overwhelmed by the clock. Take your time. It is better to know you got 30 of them right and guess the rest than to not concentrate and do them too quickly.
Physics: This is something that, yet again, you are just going to have to practice. The key is to figure out what they are asking, relate it to what you have practiced, and apply it. Questions were not nearly as difficult as anything I saw from OAT Destroyer or Chad's videos.
Quantitative Reasoning: If you have been practicing as much as I have been saying to practice, this should be your most difficult section. They tell you to not used the calculator, but I used it. Do not be afraid of it. When they have one of those comparing fractions and listing them in increasing or decreasing order, just use the calculator and make sure you get the question right. Do not make yourself do some long division problem that wastes time, just use the calculator. Don't be dependent on it, but don't be afraid to use it.
Scores.
Kaplan Practice Test 1
Biology: 330
General Chemistry: 300
Organic Chemistry: 300
Physics: 230
Reading Comprehension: 370
Quantitative Reasoning: 340
Academic Average: 310
Kaplan Practice Test 2
Biology: 330
General Chemistry: 360
Organic Chemistry: 310
Physics 320
Reading Comprehension: 350
Quantitative Reasoning: 350
Academic Average: 340
Real OAT
Biology: 400
General Chemistry: 390
Organic Chemistry: 400
Physics: 370
Reading Comprehension: 390
Quantitative Reasoning: 390
Total Science: 400
Academic Average: 390
Summary.
Do not get discouraged from practice Kaplan tests or OAT Destroyer problems. Do not get overwhelmed by the amount of material. Take it day by day and pay attention to what you are studying. It is not easy to stay focused. All of these materials are going to way overprepare you for the OAT, but that is a good thing. You would rather be overprepared than not prepared enough. If you regret studying as much as you did after you take the OAT, that is good.
If you have any questions let me know, I can elaborate on anything. I was where you are and I know the anxiety that comes with the uncertainty about this test. Trust the experiences you have read on here and trust yourself on test day.
