Tips on OAT Books?

[ALOHA84]

Hi everbody,
This is my first time on sdn...I hope it will be hepful...Alright guys, I will be very honest...I have made some bad decisions in the past because of my parent's influence...I have taken MCAT twice but didn't score good at all...both times it was under 25...when i took it for the second time,i only improved by one point...finally, my mom realized that I am not into Medicine...well I always knew that I am not physically capable to do Medicine...I had a panic attack few days before my first MCAT exam...neways, now its been a year since I've graduated w/ Bio. degree and been v. depressed past few mths...there have been times when i wouldn't get out of the bed all day because I didn't know what I want to do for the rest of my life...well ,I have put a lot of thought and did a lot of research and I think optometry is something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life...its still related to health care and i like the patient interaction aspect of it...I did shadowing a long time ago w/ an optometrist...and now I am looking for jobs in optometry field..I thought about other fields such as pharmacy,dentistry and podiatry but nothing sounds interesting to me...
Now my question is that can any one give me suggestions on how to study for OAT, what kind of books will be helpful?...any good studying tips?There are bunch of OAT books on-line but since I already have MCAT books so should I just use them instead of buying more...
Sorry for being so detailed but I want the readers to understand where I am coming from and give me honest opinions and suggestions...
Thanks...

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[IDoctor]

The Kaplan material is very good to study with for the OAT.
If you want a better general feel for the actual test since it is now computerized try the OAT Achiever program.

Both are great studying tools and are more difficult than the actual exam itself, which will prepare you very well.

My older brother is in medicine and I used some of his MCAT material to study as well, although most topics are similar they will test some different aspects. MCAT has more physiologically based Biology section, whereas the OAT is very broad (genetics, zoology, botany, physiology, etc.). My brother said he didnt have any botany or zoology for his MCAT. Biology is probably the most difficult subject to study for on the OAT because it can vary so much.

QR should not be so difficult nothing beyond trig. It is all about speed and accuracy. Only way to study for this is just do practice problems.

Chem and O Chem should be very similar to MCAT as well. The Kaplan Gen Chem section my brother had was identical to the OAT Gen Chem section I had.

Physics - learn your formulas, and do practice problems.
Reading Comprehension - reading passages and answering questions. (don't really need to study for this, just familiarize yourself with how it will be)

Review your material for a few months. Then do a few full length practice tests. Practice tests i thought were the most helpful, especially ones that provided explanations to the answers.

The average that most schools look for in the OATs is about 330TS/330AA, which for most biology majors should not be very difficult if you prepare for the exam (I think the average is lowered by non-science people who take the test i.e. opticians, optometric assistants, and such). Cheer Up. And Best of Luck to You.

 

[Superunknown69]

Your story reminds me of my own predicament. I only got a 27 on the MCAT and although I enjoy science very much, in my heart I don't want to pursue a MD degree. I did accept invitations for a few med school interviews last year, but I didn't get any acceptance letters. It's a bad sign when you labor with the essay questions and you're not at all upset about not being accepted.

Anyway, I finally took some time to broaden my horizon. I looked into podiatry, optometry and pharmacy. I chose pharmacy! I scored in the 95th Percentile on the PCAT test and I have an interview next week for a Pharmacy school and I'll soon start my volunteer work at the pharmacy at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.

I have a BS in Biochem from University of GA and I plan to specialize in Nuclear Pharmacy after I get my PharmD degree.

Good luck to you

 

[MelBell]

I took the test about a month ago..i took the kaplan course for 1400 dollars!! and it was such a waste. All you need is the books, believe me..i didnt even pay attention in class. I went up 40 points on each section just from studying for 2 weeks straight from the review notes book. sooo i wouldn't take the kaplan course but you should just buy the books from someone for a couple hundred dollars and save 1000. I have them if your interested. Just private message me.

 

[hokulele]

I also took the Kaplan course but never went, but the materials were very helpful, so I suggest bypassing the class, and instead, just purchasing the Kaplan Review Book!

Other helpful study materials:

MCAT ExamKrackers (specifically, Ochem & Physics. To me, the Bio book was too in-depth)

CD Practice test programs like Top Score or OAT Achiever.

I also bought the Kaplan practice test booklet from the bookstore, and that was very helpful.

But a heads up: KAPLAN's practice problems, to me, were more difficult than the actual test problems. So don't stress out or get discouraged. For me it was a relief, because I think it prepared me well enough that I flew through a lot of the questions on the actual OAT.

 

[daysend85]

Here is the system I used, and it definitely worked for me. I made sure to get the optometry school applications in as early as possible and worry about the OAT exam later. This was overall a good decision, but I must admit that I was worried whether or not I could pull off a decent score on the OAT. I was given provisional acceptance at PCO and would be given acceptance if I got the grade on the exam. Luckily, I pulled it off in one shot. I took a little over a month to study for ALL of the topics on the exam. My study materials were cheap (some I checked out from the library).

A MUST HAVE is the Kaplan OAT Review Book (has 2 full length practice OAT exams and smaller tests on each section of the OAT). To study the subjects, I either bought or got from the library SAT Subject Test Review books or AP Test review books. Most came from the library. These were VERY helpful because they didn't go into the ridiculous amount of detail that some of the other OAT review materials do. You have to know a lot of facts for the exam but not that much! I didn't have a lot of time to learn stuff that I wasn't going to need for the exam. I would assume that MCAT review books go into much more detail that what is needed. Each subject book is approximately 250 pages long, so it was substantial reading but not that bad if you stick to it. These books are great because they also have review tests in them. I also took notes as I read each book so that it would reinforce the material. The books, since they are written for people in high school, are rather easy to read so the material is easy to digest. Keep the topics on the OAT exam by your side while you read the books (I checked off each topic as it was covered).

I only took the OAT exam once and got TS 330 and AA 330. This was fine to get into PCO. Good luck with your studying!

 

[aam0050]

I also paid $1400 for the Kaplan class, and it shouldn't have cost nearly that much. What made it worthwhile was the Kaplan Review Notes, the gigantic book of everything (which I still need to get rid of). Not too much detail, yet enough to learn or relearn topics. The flash cards were a fun addition too, I could have a mini study session with those at lunch without someone being nosy and commenting, "Wow, that's a big book you got there." Took the OAT once and got 340/340.

 

[SooSoo77]

Can you tell me exactly which subject books you got and what the titles are? Thanks!

 

[daysend85]

Sure...some of the books were a little older (3 or so years) because I used what the library had. The ones I used were from The Princeton Review. I found that The Princeton Review did a great job explaining the concepts in an easy to understand way. They were also a pretty quick read (taking the notes was the time consuming part).

These are the ones I used:

SAT Subject Review Books: Physics
AP Test Review Books: Biology, Chemistry (General)

For organic chem, I used Schaum's Easy Outlines Crash Course in Organic Chemistry (good for quick review but not great if you need a more in-depth review). For quantitative reasoning and reading comprehension practice, I used the Kaplan Review Notes book, but that isn't necessary.

 

[ALOHA84]

Thanks for ur replies, guys...I really appreciate all of your ideas...
I have actually just found a job at an optometrist office...this is my second week and its going alright...I have no experience in this field what so ever and on top of that , I dont wear contacts or glasses either so I have NO clue about this stuff so its very hectic in the begining as there is so much information to learn but eventualy I'll get use to it...I think working with an optometrist is giving me a great oppurtunity to see what it likes to be an optometrist and if this is really something I want to do for the rest of my life...I really like my optometrist working hours...He is working 6 days/wk and every day he takes a break in the afternoon and comes back around 3-4pm and sees patients until 8 and then he's done for the day...
Anyways,my point is that I am definitely liking it more and more however, MCAT has really destroyed my confidence and I am very scared to start studying for OATs now...I know it sounds very silly but hopefully I can get over it...
Also, I am working full time right now as that was the requirement of the job so I haven't even started looking for OAT books yet but I think I'll start stuyding around mid April when things will slow down a bit at work until mid June and then take the exam in July...
Any suggestions if I should take OATs earlier or I should be fine in July...
Once again guys, any kind of input is great...
Thanks...

 

[hokulele]

Also, I am working full time right now as that was the requirement of the job so I haven't even started looking for OAT books yet but I think I'll start stuyding around mid April when things will slow down a bit at work until mid June and then take the exam in July...
Any suggestions if I should take OATs earlier or I should be fine in July...
Once again guys, any kind of input is great...
Thanks...

You're fine taking it in July, you have plenty of time, you could even take it later if you wanted, in the Fall. I would suggest getting the Kaplan Review book soon so that you can start reading in the spare time you may have. That way when things start to slow down with work/school, you can study more hardcore Just try to take advantage of every day that you have!

 

[daysend85]

I agree, July is fine and even in the fall. I didn't take mine until Feb. You want to make sure that you're prepared. And you'll have time to study over the summer too. Good luck with your studying!

 

[Law0830]

hey guys im new to this specific section of student doctor. I just got into Stony Brook Dental. I thought id give you guys a few tips because some of my friends who wanted to go for dental and at the last minute decided not to do dental but rather go into optometry scored very well on the exam with just a few weeks of specific OAt practice and the rest of it was through different DAT materials. This might help you guys score higher because the materials it seems are very closely related to one another and the mroe experience youget the better you shoudl do. Some of the sources they used were Kaplan Destroyer Topscore Achiever etc. You guys should check it out the chem orgo math and bio are very good in giving you a stronger background for the test.

 

[hokulele]

dental and optometry prep materials are basically the same, except dental has a perceptual section, whereas optometry has physics

that's why Kaplan courses for dental & optometry are combined.

but yes, there are top scores/achiever/kaplan/etc. for both... but you might as well just use the optometry ones, or else you'll be missing physics

if you need more practice problems though, dental stuff could be a good source! as well as mcat materials. i personally used the mcat examkracker book for ochem review.

just be sure to not overwhelm yourself with TOO many materials. pick a few and just focus on those. g'luck!

 

[aldehyde]

Here is the system I used, and it definitely worked for me. I made sure to get the optometry school applications in as early as possible and worry about the OAT exam later. This was overall a good decision, but I must admit that I was worried whether or not I could pull off a decent score on the OAT. I was given provisional acceptance at PCO and would be given acceptance if I got the grade on the exam. Luckily, I pulled it off in one shot. I took a little over a month to study for ALL of the topics on the exam. My study materials were cheap (some I checked out from the library).

A MUST HAVE is the Kaplan OAT Review Book (has 2 full length practice OAT exams and smaller tests on each section of the OAT). To study the subjects, I either bought or got from the library SAT Subject Test Review books or AP Test review books. Most came from the library. These were VERY helpful because they didn't go into the ridiculous amount of detail that some of the other OAT review materials do. You have to know a lot of facts for the exam but not that much! I didn't have a lot of time to learn stuff that I wasn't going to need for the exam. I would assume that MCAT review books go into much more detail that what is needed. Each subject book is approximately 250 pages long, so it was substantial reading but not that bad if you stick to it. These books are great because they also have review tests in them. I also took notes as I read each book so that it would reinforce the material. The books, since they are written for people in high school, are rather easy to read so the material is easy to digest. Keep the topics on the OAT exam by your side while you read the books (I checked off each topic as it was covered).

I only took the OAT exam once and got TS 330 and AA 330. This was fine to get into PCO. Good luck with your studying!

TO DAYSEND85
Did you find the questions from the SAT to be helpful? I read through the whole book, did all the problems for chem and physics and also studied off from the kaplan flash cards but I'm not sure if that will be enough to prepare me for the test? I am worried b/c I will be taking it next tuesday. Your advice is greatly appreciated. btw Congrats on your score. I'm praying I will get a score as good as yours.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

I echo daysend85's comments. The Kaplan OAT Review book helped me out quite a bit. It is a very nice and cheap alternative chock full o' practice sets. The full length exams helped me out quite a bit as well. I was wary of my organic chemistry and physics scores going into the test, but everything turned out fine.

I had some old MCAT books that I glanced through, but I mainly ended up using my old college textbooks (Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and College Physics) to study. Reading and taking notes on just about everything. That format worked out well for me as I did pretty well when I took the test about a week and a half ago (380 QRT, 350 RC, 340 Gen Chem, 340 O Chem, 350 Bio, and 360 Physics, TS = 360). I was disappointed with my Gchem and RC scores, but what can you do? Now I'm just waiting to hear back from PCO, which was the only school I applied to *fingers crossed*.

Good luck to you! It is a taxing test, but hopefully it goes well for you.

 

[aldehyde]

Congrats on the awesome scores. Yeah.. i hope i can do the same next week when i take my oat. When did you apply? I would probably call the admission advisers and bug the heck out of them and demand an acceptance right away. haahah. I'm pretty much set with physics, gen chem and organic. still going over the bio notes. I will start doing math practice problems tomorrow. I'm really impressed w/ your math scores, Which book did you use to study for the mat part? I'm not sure if kaplan is a good source for this section. Thanks for any advice you can give and good luck w/ PCO.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

Congrats on the awesome scores. Yeah.. i hope i can do the same next week when i take my oat. When did you apply? I would probably call the admission advisers and bug the heck out of them and demand an acceptance right away. haahah. I'm pretty much set with physics, gen chem and organic. still going over the bio notes. I will start doing math practice problems tomorrow. I'm really impressed w/ your math scores, Which book did you use to study for the mat part? I'm not sure if kaplan is a good source for this section. Thanks for any advice you can give and good luck w/ PCO.

Thank you. I applied to PCO way back in October and had my interview in January. I got a letter a week or so later stating that they would hold my application file and re-review it once I sent them my OAT scores. I called them to make sure they received the scores last week, but a couple people in Admissions were on vacation until tomorrow. If I don't hear anything by the end of this week/early next week I will contact them.

The Bio part is tricky. Its tough to know exactly what to go over - its such a broad topic. The study of life, literally. I used an old MCAT biological sciences review for that (it helped that I was taking a graduate human physiology course while preparing for the test) which may be the best bet to ensure you cover all the main topics. I also read parts of my undergraduate biology text and that helped as well.

That's about the only way to study for the math sections, to do problems in all areas (simple arithmetic, algebra, trig, geometry, and word problems). I am very good at math and only had to review my basic trigonometry and geometry (sine, cosine, tangent, area of triangles, etc...). I knew I would do well on that...actually I was disappointed I didn't get a 400 because I got 400s on the two practice tests I took. But I digress...

The physics was the section I thought I was going to do terrible on. I got straight "C"s in college physics and hadn't done anything with physics for about four years. I started from chapter one and studied every topic that could potentially be on the test. I think one good thing to remember about the Physics problems are units (for force, work, power, acceleration, pressure, etc) as it may be handy to know these. It may make some questions easier to answer if you forget the exact equation. But since you have the physics and chems down, you probably already guessed that. It is nice that those three subjects intertwine somewhat.

It was very stressful for me, I even pushed back the date of the test a week to finish reviewing, but just feel confident going in that you know much of the material that they could potentially test you on. You won't get every question correct but you can do very well!

 

[hfpepperbean47]

The math questions that I did review were from a GRE/GMAT prep book (Kaplan, I believe). I used that to review a couple years ago when I took the GRE and it really helped refresh some topics that I hadn't encountered in quite some time. The book was cheap as well, 10 dollars or so.

 

[daysend85]

Aldehyde: Yes, I thought that the SAT questions were helpful. One thing that is important to keep in mind is it's not really if the questions are the same as the ones on the OAT, it's important if they are good review. I liked the SAT questions because they forced me to think about the topics. To feel more comfortable about the test itself, I did some practice exams in the Kaplan OAT review book. These were harder than the questions on the OAT, but they provided excellent preparation. It sounds like you are prepared. Just make sure that you covered all of the topics in the OAT examinee guide and you will be fine. While my scores are far from perfect, overall I thought the exam was easier than what I expected. I think some people make too big a deal about preparing for it. I only studied a little over a month and I had forgotten everything so I just needed to review, but I had to review ALL of the topics. I got a 380 on the bio section and definitely felt that I over prepared for that section. I studied alot of anatomy/phys because I didn't take those courses in college and was disappointed that there weren't many questions about them on the OAT. That being said, I did not like the o chem or the physics sections because I didn't think they asked fair questions and the topics that were on there weren't those that were stressed in my college courses. I got a 290 on o chem and a 300 on physics. I took a year of o chem in college; got an A 1st sem and a B 2nd sem. I also took a year of physics; got a B 1st sem and an A 2nd sem. So I was a little disappointed with those two sections. The gen chem section was fair, as were the reading comp and math sections. For your test, I hope that you get better o chem and physics sections than what I got. Good luck on Tuesday. And one thing is very important if you're prepared: RELAX. It will be over before you know it. I finished early and I NEVER finish exams early!

 

[aldehyde]

Thanks Daysend85 and hfpepperbean47 for sharing these information and helping me out. I really appreciate it. I'm on my last topic of organic chemistry on spectroscopy and I don't know if i should go into too much details on this topic. I never understood this when i was taking organic and it's giving me a headache just reading a bunch of stuff I'm not even into. Do i really need to know the splitting part and to memorize the wavenumbers for all the functional groups? i think this topic is the most boring topic of all. What do you guys suggest? thanks for your help!

 

[hfpepperbean47]

I had a question about hydrogen signal splitting on the ochem section. I would just remember that the number of splits (2 adjacent hydrogens = triplet, e.g.) is dependent on the number of hydrogens on adjacent carbons...can't remember if there were any questions about signal ranges, but doesn't hurt to know the main ones (for 14C, 1H, and IR spec.)!

 

[daysend85]

I'm not going to talk about spectroscopy. hahaha, yeah I never really understood it either. To be honest, I didn't even bother studying it and just got the questions on spectroscopy wrong. There were only a few.

 

[aam0050]

Do i really need to know the splitting part and to memorize the wavenumbers for all the functional groups? i think this topic is the most boring topic of all. What do you guys suggest? thanks for your help!

There were a couple spectroscopy questions on mine.. I think I had one giving me a wavelength range and I had to name what functional group it belonged to.. blah! I tried studying that stuff, but didn't spend that much time on it. The core is the reactions of course. Everyone's tests are different. Don't worry too much, I'm sure you'll nail it. =)

 

[hfpepperbean47]

Thanks Daysend85 and hfpepperbean47 for sharing these information and helping me out. I really appreciate it. I'm on my last topic of organic chemistry on spectroscopy and I don't know if i should go into too much details on this topic. I never understood this when i was taking organic and it's giving me a headache just reading a bunch of stuff I'm not even into. Do i really need to know the splitting part and to memorize the wavenumbers for all the functional groups? i think this topic is the most boring topic of all. What do you guys suggest? thanks for your help!

Good luck to you!! And remember soh-cah-toa, i had so many questions relating to trigonometry (in both the math and physics sections).

 

[aldehyde]

Thanks, hpepper ... Took the oat today and did only decent. TS330 TA300. Reading part killed me. I was so exhausted with this section that i only scored a 230. yeah... i'm a little ashamed. But everything else was good. Do u guys think i have a chance?

 

[JeffChou]

I also think that if you're dedicated and self-motivated, you can do fine just studying books by yourself. I also took the Kaplan course but never finished the homework and skipped a few sections because I was studying for my summer school courses. I ended up studying by myself and found that to be the most effective. The Kaplan course was more just for peace of mind, but in hindsight, I could have saved a lot of money. Find yourself the Kaplan OAT book and use that as a guide to study from. I think it's a fair guide on what sections to focus on and the level of detail necessary to know. You can always just study the confusing parts in your text book but I didn't find many problems to be more specific than the Kaplan OAT book.

 

[Spearmint1]

Thanks, hpepper ... Took the oat today and did only decent. TS330 TA300. Reading part killed me. I was so exhausted with this section that i only scored a 230. yeah... i'm a little ashamed. But everything else was good. Do u guys think i have a chance?

230? I would suggest you retake. I don't think any school would accept any score that low, you might get away with a 280 but 230 is a little low.

As for the OP, just buy the kaplan book, find a quiet place to study and study consistently for a good month or two then you should be fine.

 

[hokulele]

Thanks, hpepper ... Took the oat today and did only decent. TS330 TA300. Reading part killed me. I was so exhausted with this section that i only scored a 230. yeah... i'm a little ashamed. But everything else was good. Do u guys think i have a chance?

you should call the school(s) you are interested in applying to in order to find out what score ranges they look for in an applicant. i know scco wanted their students to score at least a 300 for the reading comp section, but this could be different for other schools. call the admissions office of each school and they will tell you what scores are considered competitive.

 

[zyg0te]

http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-OAT-20...6040024?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177861309&sr=8-1
Is this the same Kaplan OAT book everyone is talking about?

I don't plan on taking it until next summer (havn't even started my oChem series yet) but might pick it up and review it a little this summer if it is only 21 dollars.

 

[daysend85]

http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-OAT-20...6040024?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177861309&sr=8-1
Is this the same Kaplan OAT book everyone is talking about?

I don't plan on taking it until next summer (havn't even started my oChem series yet) but might pick it up and review it a little this summer if it is only 21 dollars.

Yes, that's the same book I used and I found it to be very helpful for practice. As the one person wrote in the Amazon reviews, you will need other books to review the information as that Kaplan book only contains practice tests.

 

[PhenieMack]

Does anyone know how to locate the "giant OAT review book"? All I can find is the one linked above, which doesn't contain review material, only sample questions...

 

[rallthenamesgon]

Does anyone know how to locate the "giant OAT review book"? All I can find is the one linked above, which doesn't contain review material, only sample questions...

You should check out the classifieds area of this site, that's where i got my review book from.

 

[CanadaBoy]

The Kaplan course is more than you'll ever need to get ready for the test. I graduated from my undergrad in 2001 and hadn't seen the OAT material in years...I took the course and scored 380/390 on everything. The practice tests are by far the biggest help.

Anyway, just one opinion, but it worked for me.

Cheers.