Help - Advice and practice materials for improving physics

[flisally]

Hi guys,

I took a Kaplan test 2 weeks ago and scored 270 so I have been working really hard on physics the past two weeks. I just took a Kaplan practice test today and scored 290. I ran out of time and found I couldn't answer about 15 questions which is bad. I'm thinking I probably need to understand the material better so I can answer faster? I have watched all of Chad's videos and finished all the problems in OAT Destroyer Physics. My exam is in 3 weeks. Do you guys have any advice or recommendations for practice materials for physics?

Thank you so much!

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[seedubs]

The Kaplan physics questions in the practice tests I felt were more multi-step problems, whereas the actual OAT physics questions were more simple 1 step problems from what I remember. Of course understanding the material better will help, but if you feel you don't have enough time to know and completely understand everything, I found just straight up knowing all the formulas and when to use them was very helpful. As I went through the Kaplan notes I highlighted all formulas, then when I finished all of the notes and was just reviewing, I rewrote every formula on a new piece of paper and made sure I knew when to use them (I took this formula sheet to the testing center with me to look at again during my scheduled break). Also a good tip is to pay attention to units when you're given calculation problems, so if you forget the formula, but are given values with units, you'll know how the units should cancel out to get the answer with correct units (if that makes any sense, I'm having a hard time explaining what I mean here). I rarely write out the units when I do calculations, and you really don't need to if you're sure that you're setting it up right, but if I don't know the right formula, it can be helpful to think about it that way.
Time was a little bit of an issue for me in the practice tests too, but when I took the real thing I felt more "in the zone" and finished most sections pretty quickly (except RC, I cut it real close there). As I'm sure you've read elsewhere, most people score higher on the real OAT than the Kaplan practice tests, I scored 30 points higher (AA) on the OAT than I did on one of the Kaplan practice test about a week earlier.
I know I didn't really answer your questions about additional resources, but I hope that gave you some reassurance. You got this!

 

[flisally]

The Kaplan physics questions in the practice tests I felt were more multi-step problems, whereas the actual OAT physics questions were more simple 1 step problems from what I remember. Of course understanding the material better will help, but if you feel you don't have enough time to know and completely understand everything, I found just straight up knowing all the formulas and when to use them was very helpful. As I went through the Kaplan notes I highlighted all formulas, then when I finished all of the notes and was just reviewing, I rewrote every formula on a new piece of paper and made sure I knew when to use them (I took this formula sheet to the testing center with me to look at again during my scheduled break). Also a good tip is to pay attention to units when you're given calculation problems, so if you forget the formula, but are given values with units, you'll know how the units should cancel out to get the answer with correct units (if that makes any sense, I'm having a hard time explaining what I mean here). I rarely write out the units when I do calculations, and you really don't need to if you're sure that you're setting it up right, but if I don't know the right formula, it can be helpful to think about it that way.
Time was a little bit of an issue for me in the practice tests too, but when I took the real thing I felt more "in the zone" and finished most sections pretty quickly (except RC, I cut it real close there). As I'm sure you've read elsewhere, most people score higher on the real OAT than the Kaplan practice tests, I scored 30 points higher (AA) on the OAT than I did on one of the Kaplan practice test about a week earlier.
I know I didn't really answer your questions about additional resources, but I hope that gave you some reassurance. You got this!

Thank you so much for explaining what worked for you and for the encouragement! I appreciate it! I'll pay attention to working with the units and knowing all the formulas too. That's good to hear you scored higher on the real OAT. I hope everything worked out for you