thinking of re-writing OAT

[hoops123]

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so i just recently wrote the test and my did not do so well.
even though my my TS turned out to be 300 i got under 300 in reading comp! and i was so shocked because when i was doing the test i thought the reading comp actually went well. I didn't even run out of time but when my sore came out i was so shocked . and i didn't think the readings were that challenging either.🙁🙁🙁



so i was wondering for those of you that get 400's or 360's in reading comp, i need your advice to how you approach the reading comp?
and how do you suggest i prepare?

PS. English is my first language. lol

 

[cookie2]

First, I would try to find out how strongly RC is actually considered and weighted in your overall OAT score at the schools you're applying to.
For instance, I got a 400 on RC, but 320 on TS. I'm not sure how much RC will actually impact my application, as science may be weighted more heavily than RC.
Tips for success in RC: Read the last passage first. The last passage is generally the easiest, and you'll finish it quickly, giving a lot more time for the 1st and 2nd passages. Also, I skimmed though each passage (took about 6-7 minutes to read each passage) and when answering Q's, I referenced the passage for 'key words' that appeared in the question. Generally, i was able to find them pretty quickly. The answer is usually in the same sentence as the 'key word'. Using this technique, I had about 8 minutes to review my answers before time was up.

 

[hoops123]

i read the first two passages and got through all of the questions and then had 15 mins to do the last one, for this one i read the questions first and then searched for the answere's in the reading.
reading comp bought down my AA so much! it was kind of upsetting coming on here and seeing people score 400's when i cant figure out what i did wrong. 🙁 and because of it im guna have to re-write the whole test. 🙁

 

[Bioflare]

If English is your first language you should be pretty upset with 260. Anything below 300 and admissions would assume you would be an ESL student lol. That being said... if you're happy with the rest of your scores there isn't much reason to retake. But you will be explaining why you got so a low score, RC is usually one of the highest scores for most people.

@Cookie2 I used a similar technique when doing my OAT, but you have to understand people are different. That technique doesn't work for everyone and actually makes people worse if they aren't used to doing it. Because when they skim or search for keywords they might misread or not understand the sentence in context.

 

[Eyeguy7]

First of all, I'd like to advise against what was said about reading the last passage first. I had the opportunity to write my OAT at the same time as a friend, so we were able to talk about it after, as it was the same test. It's worth noting that questions are put in random order, so the most difficult passage was my 3rd one, but his 2nd one. To save time, just go in order.

My strategy was just to read through it slowly. Get a gist of the material, but just as importantly, note where keywords are. Because you can reread with the questions, it's much easier to do it this way and seek keywords from questions (at least for me it was). Alternatively, I also found that skimming the questions before reading was a decent strategy. It let you see which keywords to look for beforehand. Try it out on a couple practice tests before you retake yours, though. That way you can find out works best for you, because that will be how you succeed.

If you're curious, I did score a 400 on RC, and a 380 AA. If you have any other questions, or concerns, feel free to ask, I'd be happy to help.

 

[mkm4104]

For the RC section, I tried out several strategies when I took practice tests and then used the one that was the most effective for me, so I would recommend trying different methods on practice tests before you retake it. For me, I read the entire passage, and for each paragraph, would write one or two words to remember the content by. This helped me to focus and process what I was reading and to easily find what paragraph the information the questions asked me was in. I found the actual RC test much easier than practice tests and I finished with time to spare, and scored a 350 I believe. It was my second lowest section, but still a good enough score.

 

[janedoe88]

so i just recently wrote the test and my did not do so well.
even though my my TS turned out to be 300 i got a 260 in reading comp! and i was so shocked because when i was doing the test i thought the reading comp actually went well. I didn't even run out of time but when my sore came out i was so shocked . and i didn't think the readings were that challenging either.🙁🙁🙁



so i was wondering for those of you that get 400's or 360's in reading comp, i really need your advice to how you approach the reading comp?
and how do you suggest i prepare?

PS. English is my first language. lol

Technically there's no "writing" on the OAT 😛 I don't think there's any way to prepare for it besides practice tests. The first time I took it, I had really hard paragraphs and the second time I had some easier ones. It seems like it's a bit of a game of luck.

 

[319671]

Technically there's no "writing" on the OAT 😛 I don't think there's any way to prepare for it besides practice tests. The first time I took it, I had really hard paragraphs and the second time I had some easier ones. It seems like it's a bit of a game of luck.

its the way some ppl say "taking"

 

[Blondiechick919]

its the way some ppl say "taking"

i feel like i see more canadian students and/or new englanders who say this. correct me if I'm wrong, just noticing a trend.

 

[Soccerjoe]

i feel like i see more canadian students and/or new englanders who say this. correct me if I'm wrong, just noticing a trend.

I think you're right. I'm from California and I attend school in Utah. I've never heard of "writing a test" (only professors do that). I think the first time that I heard that was when I found this forum.

 

[hoops123]

lol. i guess i never noticed that until you guys pointed it out.
"re-writing" or "re-taking" same thing you guys get the point .. lol

thought to self: (Maybe that's why my reading comp score was so low!)

 

[janedoe88]

lol. i guess i never noticed that until you guys pointed it out.
"re-writing" or "re-taking" same thing you guys get the point .. lol

thought to self: (Maybe that's why my reading comp score was so low!)

yes I know what you meant, I just thought it was funny, i'm glad there's no essay writing like on the SAT!