melnychuk11
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I took the OAT on January 4 to apply for the 2023-2024 cycle. I really dedicated my time and energy to studying consistently in order to score well so that I can hopefully get in to a school despite me applying a bit late in the application cycle. I sent my applications to schools in mid December without having my OAT scores, and I have already gotten an interview invite to UAB prior to writing the OAT. My overall GPA is 3.66.
Here is my score breakdown:
QR/RC/Bio/GC/OChem/Physics/TS/AA: 310/370/400/400/400/390/400/380
I studied for 3 months while working full time plus a side job on the weekends. Luckily I was able to study at work sometimes as well. I probably studied on average 3-6 hours a day, but this varied a lot.
I used primarily OATBooster, but I did supplement some of the subjects with videos from Chad’s Videos. My goal was to quickly but completely review content for each subject separately in about 1-2 weeks per subject, depending on how much time I had each week and my relative understanding of the subject. I found it more difficult to change between subjects when studying so this is why I did it this way. When moving on to the next subject, I would continue to redo the question bank for previous subjects and do practice tests to keep old info fresh. My goal was to complete initial content review by the start of December so that I had a month left to brush up on anything I wasn’t comfortable with and do practice tests.
Here is a rundown on how I studied for each subject:
Physics (390):
I chose to study physics first. I watched all of Chad’s prep videos on YouTube from the following list that I found online:
A Complete Video Lesson Plan for OAT Physics | OAT Bootcamp
These videos pretty comprehensively covered most of the physics topics that can come up on the OAT. I found that the way Chad explains physics makes it easy to remember. He dives in to how formulas are derived which for me, made it easy to remember the formula and how to use it. I would study a chapter, then use the OATBooster question bank to gauge my understanding of each topic and then go back if I wasn’t understanding something. I did not use many of the OATBooster videos for this section, although the notes were very helpful if I wanted to review a topic again without watching a long video. Like most people, I was getting pretty low scores (310-330) on the practice tests at my very best, so don’t worry too much if you’re scoring low.
General Chemistry (400):
Again, for general chemistry, I heavily used Chad’s videos to get a good foundation of the topic, then use OATBooster question banks as I completed each chapter. I watched only a few OATBooster videos for GC. I cannot stress enough how important it was for me to do practice questions right after watching the videos because it helps solidify what you just learned and keep it in your long term memory. I was scoring 340-380 on practice tests.
Organic Chem (400):
This subject was difficult for me at first because I haven’t done any organic chemistry since my second year of undergrad and I did terrible in that class. It felt like I was starting from scratch with this subject. But, the OChem on the OAT is much simpler than in class. I used primarily OATBooster videos and the extensive question bank. I had to rewatch some of the videos a few times to really memorize the reaction mechanisms. I also supplemented with Chad’s videos to hear it explained in a different way, but lots of the information for Chad’s videos on this subject had too much detail for what is needed for the OAT. Finally, I used pre-made Anki decks to help with the memorization of the reactions. I was scoring 360-380 on practice tests.
Reading Comprehension (370):
I used the search and destroy method. This worked okay for me on practice tests but I feel that I scored a bit lower on the test because all three of the passages on my test were pretty dense and I ran out of time. I was averaging 380 on practice tests on OATBooster. This is the only subject that I did not complete all of the practice tests for, I only did about 4 or 5.
QR (310):
I used the OATBooster videos to study for this section, and used the question banks after each chapter. I don’t know what happened on my test because I was scoring 360-400 on my practice tests, but math isn’t my strongest suit anyway. I would say get really good at learning the shortcuts to solving these problems and getting comfortable recognizing the types of problems that they may ask. For me, I always struggled with time on this section
Biology (400):
This was the easiest section for me since my undergrad degree was in physiology and pharmacology. I will note that I “overstudied” for this section, on the test it was much more surface level than I was expecting from the booster practice tests, but I guess better to be over-prepared than under. I watched almost all the OATBooster biology videos, and read quickly through the notes for each topic. I made flashcards for the terms that I was unfamiliar with and unlikely to remember from reading just once. I was getting 380-390 on the practice tests.
Overall, I would highly recommend both OATBooster and Chad’s videos to anyone studying for the OAT. I felt pretty ready after 2 months of intensive, focused studying, 3 months was almost too much. Also, I would highly recommend doing practice tests and questions with some kind of whiteboard. This is something I didn’t do but wish I did because it threw me off a bit during the exam. Lastly, take it easy on yourself and do your best to manage any anxiety you may have. I feel that if you put honest effort in to studying and focus on your weaknesses, you will get a score you’re happy with! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask
Here is my score breakdown:
QR/RC/Bio/GC/OChem/Physics/TS/AA: 310/370/400/400/400/390/400/380
I studied for 3 months while working full time plus a side job on the weekends. Luckily I was able to study at work sometimes as well. I probably studied on average 3-6 hours a day, but this varied a lot.
I used primarily OATBooster, but I did supplement some of the subjects with videos from Chad’s Videos. My goal was to quickly but completely review content for each subject separately in about 1-2 weeks per subject, depending on how much time I had each week and my relative understanding of the subject. I found it more difficult to change between subjects when studying so this is why I did it this way. When moving on to the next subject, I would continue to redo the question bank for previous subjects and do practice tests to keep old info fresh. My goal was to complete initial content review by the start of December so that I had a month left to brush up on anything I wasn’t comfortable with and do practice tests.
Here is a rundown on how I studied for each subject:
Physics (390):
I chose to study physics first. I watched all of Chad’s prep videos on YouTube from the following list that I found online:
A Complete Video Lesson Plan for OAT Physics | OAT Bootcamp
These videos pretty comprehensively covered most of the physics topics that can come up on the OAT. I found that the way Chad explains physics makes it easy to remember. He dives in to how formulas are derived which for me, made it easy to remember the formula and how to use it. I would study a chapter, then use the OATBooster question bank to gauge my understanding of each topic and then go back if I wasn’t understanding something. I did not use many of the OATBooster videos for this section, although the notes were very helpful if I wanted to review a topic again without watching a long video. Like most people, I was getting pretty low scores (310-330) on the practice tests at my very best, so don’t worry too much if you’re scoring low.
General Chemistry (400):
Again, for general chemistry, I heavily used Chad’s videos to get a good foundation of the topic, then use OATBooster question banks as I completed each chapter. I watched only a few OATBooster videos for GC. I cannot stress enough how important it was for me to do practice questions right after watching the videos because it helps solidify what you just learned and keep it in your long term memory. I was scoring 340-380 on practice tests.
Organic Chem (400):
This subject was difficult for me at first because I haven’t done any organic chemistry since my second year of undergrad and I did terrible in that class. It felt like I was starting from scratch with this subject. But, the OChem on the OAT is much simpler than in class. I used primarily OATBooster videos and the extensive question bank. I had to rewatch some of the videos a few times to really memorize the reaction mechanisms. I also supplemented with Chad’s videos to hear it explained in a different way, but lots of the information for Chad’s videos on this subject had too much detail for what is needed for the OAT. Finally, I used pre-made Anki decks to help with the memorization of the reactions. I was scoring 360-380 on practice tests.
Reading Comprehension (370):
I used the search and destroy method. This worked okay for me on practice tests but I feel that I scored a bit lower on the test because all three of the passages on my test were pretty dense and I ran out of time. I was averaging 380 on practice tests on OATBooster. This is the only subject that I did not complete all of the practice tests for, I only did about 4 or 5.
QR (310):
I used the OATBooster videos to study for this section, and used the question banks after each chapter. I don’t know what happened on my test because I was scoring 360-400 on my practice tests, but math isn’t my strongest suit anyway. I would say get really good at learning the shortcuts to solving these problems and getting comfortable recognizing the types of problems that they may ask. For me, I always struggled with time on this section
Biology (400):
This was the easiest section for me since my undergrad degree was in physiology and pharmacology. I will note that I “overstudied” for this section, on the test it was much more surface level than I was expecting from the booster practice tests, but I guess better to be over-prepared than under. I watched almost all the OATBooster biology videos, and read quickly through the notes for each topic. I made flashcards for the terms that I was unfamiliar with and unlikely to remember from reading just once. I was getting 380-390 on the practice tests.
Overall, I would highly recommend both OATBooster and Chad’s videos to anyone studying for the OAT. I felt pretty ready after 2 months of intensive, focused studying, 3 months was almost too much. Also, I would highly recommend doing practice tests and questions with some kind of whiteboard. This is something I didn’t do but wish I did because it threw me off a bit during the exam. Lastly, take it easy on yourself and do your best to manage any anxiety you may have. I feel that if you put honest effort in to studying and focus on your weaknesses, you will get a score you’re happy with! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask
