Just Took OAT......

[RKM]

QR- 290---> WTF
RC- 340
Bio-310
GC- 310
OC- 400
PS - 310
TS- 330
AA- 330

I dunno how the scale works....but im effin pissed. I was getting 350+ on the topscore. Now i end up with this.... What is this equivalent to on the old scale. I think topscore graded on the old scale. Like i know there is a new scale sooo somebody some input... im tryin to get in to nova and i think im gonna be rejected.. my gpa is 3.36 (trash). I thought my scores woudl bump the gpa but they fall in the same range...any thoughts? thanks...

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[cloud99]

Nobody knows how the new scale works. All we know is that scores will appear lower with the new scale. What were your percentiles for each section? At least with those you can compare yourself to others who took the test.

 

[RKM]

42.3
85.9
54.8
60.6
100.0
66.1
76.9
81.5

Respectively....man im pretty embarrassed..

 

[cloud99]

Well they're trying to bring the "average" scores back down to a 300 ("averages" had crept up to 320 and 330), so you were above the average in all but one, and WAY above the average in a few.

Cheer up - you did better than 76.9% of all exam takers in TS and better than 81.5% of all exam takers in AA. If the new "average" scores should be 300, you're 30 points ahead with your 330's.

 

[MikeHoncho09]

Those really aren't bad scores at all with the new scoring method. Especially the 400 in Ochem, props for that.

Definitely nothing to be embarrassed about, don't make me post my scores and make you feel better, ha.

 

[hurricaneuro]

I just took my OAT today, so I figured I would share my experience too. In general, it sort of felt like an out of body experience because I didn't sleep last night cause I was so nervous about it...so the whole test kinda just flew by. I got there early and they let me start.

Bio had some random questions that no matter what I studied I wouldn't have known. But the rest were very straightforward. I don't think I am "smarter" than anybody, but by studying the Kaplan stuff and doing Destroyer I felt very adequately prepared.

The only section I had a hard time with was QR. It was the last section and I think my brain was fried so I felt it hard to solve some of the problems. My advice to anyone who hasn't taken it yet is to RELAX!!! It will be fine: there are no crazy calculations and as long as you know the concepts and the basics you will be FINE!!! Here are my scores for those who are trying to figure out the new percentiles.

QR 330 80.0
RC 390 99.0
Bio 380 93.4
Gen Chem 400 100.0
Orgo Chem 400 100.0
Physics 360 93.7

TS 400 100.0
AA 380 99.6

If anyone else has any other questions about what the test was like please ask!

 

[LoquaciousQuark]

Wow, our scores are almost the same. I just took mine today too.

QR: 360 92.9
RC: 400 100
Bio: 330 71.8
GC: 290 40.5 (aaargh)
OC: 300 52.8
PS: 320 70.5
TS: 310 59.3
AA: 330 81.5

And my GPA's a 3.4 too. Man, I'm hoping it's going to be enough to get into UAB. Any, uh, any thoughts, anybody?

 

[RKM]

Congrats guys....im signed up to take it one more time...hopefully it goes better....

 

[RKM]

Those really aren't bad scores at all with the new scoring method. Especially the 400 in Ochem, props for that.

Definitely nothing to be embarrassed about, don't make me post my scores and make you feel better, ha.

thanks lol hopefully these will do although im considering taking it one more time.

 

[RKM]

Wow, our scores are almost the same. I just took mine today too.

QR: 360 92.9
RC: 400 100
Bio: 330 71.8
GC: 290 40.5 (aaargh)
OC: 300 52.8
PS: 320 70.5
TS: 310 59.3
AA: 330 81.5

And my GPA's a 3.4 too. Man, I'm hoping it's going to be enough to get into UAB. Any, uh, any thoughts, anybody?

yeah i dont think our scores are bad i spoke to a few colleges they weren't like take it again b/c your scores are low...i mean if you are a good test taker then you'll end up like hurricane-the-test guy lol....he did exceptionally well...

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

QR 330 80.0
RC 390 99.0
Bio 380 93.4
Gen Chem 400 100.0
Orgo Chem 400 100.0
Physics 360 93.7

TS 400 100.0
AA 380 99.6

If anyone else has any other questions about what the test was like please ask!

Amazing scores; congrats!
It's also nice to see that a 330 is 80 percentile, good that they fixed that.

 

[DrFrankenzyme]

Amazing scores; congrats!
It's also nice to see that a 330 is 80 percentile, good that they fixed that.

Interesting, I had a 380 AA using the old scoring system and it was 99.5 percentile. I guess that rule of simply adding 30 to the new score in order to compare to the old scoring system doesn't quite work.

 

[hurricaneuro]

Thanks! What do you mean by they "fixed" that? The way this is graded is interesting.

So...300 is 50%, 310 is 60%, 320 is 70%, 330 is 80% and then it gets more specific?

It is weird. If our AA were the same percentile and we got the same score: what did they change?

 

[blysssful]

Thanks! What do you mean by they "fixed" that? The way this is graded is interesting.

So...300 is 50%, 310 is 60%, 320 is 70%, 330 is 80% and then it gets more specific?

It is weird. If our AA were the same percentile and we got the same score: what did they change?

I think they changed the grading more around the middle, rather than the higher scores to be able to distinguish more between the 290-340 range.

 

[cloud99]

I think they changed the grading more around the middle, rather than the higher scores to be able to distinguish more between the 290-340 range.

I agree with this.

Hurricaneuro, congratulations on kicking the OAT's a**!

 

[chocol8]

Hey hurricaneuro those are great scores, congrats. How long did u take to prep using kaplan and the destroyer?

 

[hurricaneuro]

Thanks alot. I'm so glad its over! I took about one month to study, after school ended I planned on taking about 4-5 hours each day up until the day of the test to prepare. I had just taken Orgo so that left me more time to study everything else.

For the first two weeks, I did the destroyer taking about 2-3 days to do each section and going over the solutions. Then I started doing Kaplan practice tests to see where I was, and based on that spent the last few days doing actual studying/reviewing.

I wanted to do actual problems first to get practice and to see where I was and then supplement the areas I continued to do bad in.

 

[chocol8]

That sounds good. I'm taking the kaplan course right now, and to be honest going through all their material is hard because there is just so much... but boring at the same time because I've already covered all this material before. Did you use much of the online kaplan course material other than their tests?

 

[nc2tarheels]

I spoke with Fran at NOVA and she was VERY helpful with explaining the new test. She said that it'll more reflect your GPA. If you have a 3.4 gpa, then your oat score should reflect about a 340, etc.

 

[justjack]

I spoke with Fran at NOVA and she was VERY helpful with explaining the new test. She said that it'll more reflect your GPA. If you have a 3.4 gpa, then your oat score should reflect about a 340, etc.

thanks for sharing that nc2, i'm just hoping my oats won't actually reflect my gpa, considering it's on the lower end.

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

thanks for sharing that nc2, i'm just hoping my oats won't actually reflect my gpa, considering it's on the lower end.

I wouldn't worry too much about that, since I think the test really reflects on how hard you study.
It's much easier to do well on your OATs compared to raising a GPA that doesn't move very much after three years.
The subject matters are also simpler than most classes you would encounter during undergrad, good luck.

 

[sugarhype10]

Oy, I just took the OAT myself.

TS: 350
AA: 340

I'm not happy with my scores, but I hope they're good enough.

 

[yumih503]

I just took my OAT today, so I figured I would share my experience too. In general, it sort of felt like an out of body experience because I didn't sleep last night cause I was so nervous about it...so the whole test kinda just flew by. I got there early and they let me start.

Bio had some random questions that no matter what I studied I wouldn't have known. But the rest were very straightforward. I don't think I am "smarter" than anybody, but by studying the Kaplan stuff and doing Destroyer I felt very adequately prepared.

The only section I had a hard time with was QR. It was the last section and I think my brain was fried so I felt it hard to solve some of the problems. My advice to anyone who hasn't taken it yet is to RELAX!!! It will be fine: there are no crazy calculations and as long as you know the concepts and the basics you will be FINE!!! Here are my scores for those who are trying to figure out the new percentiles.

QR 330 80.0
RC 390 99.0
Bio 380 93.4
Gen Chem 400 100.0
Orgo Chem 400 100.0
Physics 360 93.7

TS 400 100.0
AA 380 99.6

If anyone else has any other questions about what the test was like please ask!

Wow! Awesome scores! How did you do so well in the RC? I'm having a hard time scrolling through the passages on the computer. When I take the RC part from the Kaplan book I get like 40 points higher than on the computer. Do you have any hints for navigating through the passages and answer questions accurately for the computer form of OAT?

 

[NatashaColorado]

so, there are some changes in OAT scores?!

 

[NatashaColorado]

I just took my OAT today, so I figured I would share my experience too. In general, it sort of felt like an out of body experience because I didn't sleep last night cause I was so nervous about it...so the whole test kinda just flew by. I got there early and they let me start.

Bio had some random questions that no matter what I studied I wouldn't have known. But the rest were very straightforward. I don't think I am "smarter" than anybody, but by studying the Kaplan stuff and doing Destroyer I felt very adequately prepared.

The only section I had a hard time with was QR. It was the last section and I think my brain was fried so I felt it hard to solve some of the problems. My advice to anyone who hasn't taken it yet is to RELAX!!! It will be fine: there are no crazy calculations and as long as you know the concepts and the basics you will be FINE!!! Here are my scores for those who are trying to figure out the new percentiles.

QR 330 80.0
RC 390 99.0
Bio 380 93.4
Gen Chem 400 100.0
Orgo Chem 400 100.0
Physics 360 93.7

TS 400 100.0
AA 380 99.6

If anyone else has any other questions about what the test was like please ask!

Congrads on taking OAT and getting AWESOME scores! I haven't taken mine yet and I have to ask - what is TS and AA stands for? And, how can TS be 400 (unless it only includes chemistries) with some scores below 400?
You must be "smarter", scoring above 99.6 percent of the students. Congradulations again! Which school will you be attending (with your scores you can have your pick)?

 

[hurricaneuro]

I am just as "smart" as anybody else on here. Just like any test, it's all about strategy and knowing what you need to study for...honestly, like alot of other people have posted, the test has no tricks. It's straightforward so if you know the material there is nothing to stress out about.

The RC passages I got were really tame compared to the practice ones I had taken. There was one about pianos, one about hurricanes, and one about bacteria. The only advice I have is to practice taking the computer ones over and over...there isn't much more to it. The answers are in there, you just have to take the passage knowledge and make inferences/assumptions.

TS= Total Science, AA= Academic Average

TS is basically like another graded section. Total # of science questions is 140, so you can get less than 400 in other sections but make the "cutoff" for a 400 if you get a good number of total science questions right. The opted.org site explains everything.

I appreciate all the compliments but I assure you I'm not smarter than anyone here. You just have to know your stuff (and you should from undergrad!) I want to go to SUNY-- NYC and closer to home than where I am now (Miami), Nova, or Salus.

 

[Rusty Ryan]

QR: 370 (I thought I did really bad here. Guessed on a bunch!)
RC: 320 (I thought I did better than I did. Not complaining though)
Bio: 380 (Bunch of random ecology questions)
GChem: 400 (Very straightforward)
OChem: 340 (A little hard. Reaction heavy questions)
Phys: 390 (It was allright)
TS: 390
AA: 370

Hopefully I'll get in somewhere.

 

[hurricaneuro]

Wow!! Great job on QR and Physics-- those scores are awesome! And everything else of course =)

 

[blysssful]

I am just as "smart" as anybody else on here. Just like any test, it's all about strategy and knowing what you need to study for...honestly, like alot of other people have posted, the test has no tricks. It's straightforward so if you know the material there is nothing to stress out about.

I appreciate all the compliments but I assure you I'm not smarter than anyone here. You just have to know your stuff (and you should from undergrad!) I want to go to SUNY-- NYC and closer to home than where I am now (Miami), Nova, or Salus.

I agree with your statements, but honestly even if someone prepares the hardest they possibly can, they also had to have LEARNED the information in undergrad. The test isn't "tricky" by any means, but if you never really learned or retained the info to begin with, it won't be easy.

And WOO SUNY!

Hopefully I'll get in somewhere.

Assuming your test is any indicator of the rest of your application, you will.

 

[300ZXNA]

Well, I just got back from taking my OAT and here was my results:

QA: 310 (this was far and away the worst one, with 1 minute left I only had done 30 of the 40 and had to guess on the last ten, partly bad test strategy on my part and partly the fact my mind was kind of fried by this point)

RC: 330 (meh. Should have done better on that one. One passage they gave me had a horribly worded paragraph that I wasn't able to really understand what it was trying to convey, and of course they then asked about 5 questions from said paragraph)
Biology: 360
Gen Chem: 370
O Chem: 400
Physics: 400 (Pretty proud of this one considering I hadn't taken physics in ten years)

Sciences: 400
Overall: 360, 97th percentile

Anyway, while I'm happy with the majority of it, I'm pretty frelling PO'd about the QA. Had I not bungled that who knows what my score would have been.

I used a similar approach to Hurricane, i.e. I studied for about a month using Kaplan and OAT Destroyer. However, in retrospect I should have done some of the practice tests, perhaps I would have seen my QA skills were lagging.

Oh well. I have a 3.8 GPA so I'm hoping that this OAT score will be enough for me to gain entrance into PUCO. Anyway, I'm so glad to be done with it!!!

 

[Rusty Ryan]

I wanted to congratulate everyone in here on their awesome scores. Hopefully I'll be seeing some of you in 2010!