Just took the OAT 8/8/08!

[Wheeeler]

Hey everyone, I just took the OAT yesterday and I am really excited to let you all know my scores!!! Yea!


Opted Actual
QR 380 400
RC 400 400
Biology 390 390
General Chem 360 370
OChem 330 400
Physics 380 400
TS 390 400
AA 390 390

I'm soooo excited!!! Man it feels great to be done!! Let me know if you have any questions!

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[cassey ho]

what materials did you use ?
Would you sell them back to me with a reasonable price
[email protected]
510-675-0424

 

[Wheeeler]

I used exam krackers MCAT for bio, ochem, and chem, and I used NOVA for physics. I also read the general chem and ochem sections in the big kaplan book. I can't sell you back any of the books because they are my girlfriends and I was sharing them with her.

 

[seminolefish]

Wheeeler, those are incredible scores... did you have a routine and how much did you study? I took it already and I studied a month and a half and maybe 2-3 hours a day. I didn't really keep track of how much I studied each day but I definitely scored lower than you so I was just curious. Also, what schools are you applying to? I'm applying to SCO and Nova; SCO is in the lead.

 

[Habitual Rx]

Hey everyone, I just took the OAT yesterday and I am really excited to let you all know my scores!!! Yea!


Opted Actual
QR 380 400
RC 400 400
Biology 390 390
General Chem 360 370
OChem 330 400
Physics 380 400
TS 390 400
AA 390 390

I'm soooo excited!!! Man it feels great to be done!! Let me know if you have any questions!

Finally, some consistency! A high OAT scores with a high RC. Well done!

 

[Wheeeler]

I am not exactly sure which schools I am applying to in total yet. I still have to finish my senior year at UCLA. For sure though I am going to be applying to SCCO and Berkeley.

 

[achirum]

I used exam krackers MCAT for bio, ochem, and chem, and I used NOVA for physics. I also read the general chem and ochem sections in the big kaplan book. I can't sell you back any of the books because they are my girlfriends and I was sharing them with her.

Incredible news!!! I'm using the Examkrackers MCAT books and have completed all the material. I am scheduled to take the test September 20th. So then, the Examkrackers books prepared you well?

 

[Wheeeler]

I felt exam krackers were good for a general review of the subjects. They are pretty easy to follow but still provide you with the information you need for the test. One thing to watch out for though is that exam krackers for bio does not cover all of the material you need to know for the OAT. For example, photosynthesis is on the OAT but is no where to be found in the exam krackers book. I got a 390 in bio just studying exam krackers, but I also have a pretty good background knowledge in bio to begin with. If you can, get ahold of some kaplan study materials as well, and use them along with exam krackers. Kaplan goes a bit overboard on things, whereas exam krackers tends to skimp out on the details, so if you just read exam krackers and use kaplan to fill in anything you feel is missing you should be fine. I took a look at kaplan physics but decided it was far too complicated compared to what would be on the OAT. NOVA on the otherhand seemed to be a very good study resource for what you need to know for the physics section, so if you could I would definitely check that out.

 

[afasano]

NOVA on the otherhand seemed to be a very good study resource for what you need to know for the physics section, so if you could I would definitely check that out.

Where can i get nova materials???
is there a website?
cost?

 

[seminolefish]

Ah, California kid; depending on your GPA you should get into Berkley and SCCO no sweat. The fact that you go to UCLA should say enough. Good luck!

 

[achirum]

I felt exam krackers were good for a general review of the subjects. They are pretty easy to follow but still provide you with the information you need for the test. One thing to watch out for though is that exam krackers for bio does not cover all of the material you need to know for the OAT. For example, photosynthesis is on the OAT but is no where to be found in the exam krackers book. I got a 390 in bio just studying exam krackers, but I also have a pretty good background knowledge in bio to begin with. If you can, get ahold of some kaplan study materials as well, and use them along with exam krackers. Kaplan goes a bit overboard on things, whereas exam krackers tends to skimp out on the details, so if you just read exam krackers and use kaplan to fill in anything you feel is missing you should be fine. I took a look at kaplan physics but decided it was far too complicated compared to what would be on the OAT. NOVA on the otherhand seemed to be a very good study resource for what you need to know for the physics section, so if you could I would definitely check that out.

Thanks for the info

 

[Wheeeler]

I'm not sure where you can get the NOVA physics review book, should be easy enough to find it somewhere online though.

In terms of my GPA, I have around a 3.7 right now.

 

[bluesfan]

Congratulations on your great scores! How much time did you use to prep for the exam?

 

[Wheeeler]

I studied for about a month and a half in total for about 3 hours a day, except for the final week where I studied about 6 hours a day.

 

[afasano]

lol... i wish i could say that i studied that much. I sit in the library for the past three weeks for 10+ hours. working on kaplan stuff, and then rewriting my notes..
just took my kaplan final
TS 300 AA 310... ahh. Physics brings it down a lot 270 only...
and my test is saturday.


any words of advice?

 

[Wheeeler]

lol... i wish i could say that i studied that much. I sit in the library for the past three weeks for 10+ hours. working on kaplan stuff, and then rewriting my notes..
just took my kaplan final
TS 300 AA 310... ahh. Physics brings it down a lot 270 only...
and my test is saturday.


any words of advice?

I would say if physics is an issue for you don't pay too much attention to the kaplan practice tests for it. The actual OAT seems to focus almost entirely on force diagrams and work. So practice those type of problems. Also make sure you are prepared for the reading comp section, since any score under 300 can really screw you over for optometry schools. If you have any more specific questions I could probably be more of a help.

 

[afasano]

RC I got 330 and QT i got 340... that doesnt seem right now that I look at it.
BIO 340..OCHEM 300...GCHEM 300...PHY 270...

But if I use the scale off the opted I get:
BIO 350...OCHEM 320...GCHEM 320... PHY 270
RC...330 QT 340

 

[Wheeeler]

RC I got 330 and QT i got 340... that doesnt seem right now that I look at it.
BIO 340..OCHEM 300...GCHEM 300...PHY 270...

But if I use the scale off the opted I get:
BIO 350...OCHEM 320...GCHEM 320... PHY 270
RC...330 QT 340

The kaplan tests are a fair amount harder than the opted/actual OAT. With that RC score though I really would suggest to keep practicing reading comp, since it seems like most people do worse on the real OAT for RC as compared to all the practice tsets. I would definitely keep practicing physics as well.

 

[afasano]

yea... ahhh. This was probably my worst exam.
For so reason, I spend so much time on bio and gchem, that when I made it to ochem. I have no time, left. I went through the questions in a matter of 6 minutes. I got through 15 of them, and then had to just push any random button, so that i could at least take a shot....

i will definately practice rc...
my biggest problem with rc, is that when i see the first questions, and i read the passage, and I find the answer, I automatically go right into the questions. definately grinds my gears...

well, i got tutored in physics. my kaplan diagnostic i got 11 correct, and now im getting 18. so as long as i can get 23 right, i think i will be fine on physics. but i will continue to study that too...

ICO told me to get nothing below 300 across the board...but try for 320s, and i would be set. so i hope i can do that. but of course, im trying to get 340s across the board.

 

[homie]

Besides Top Score, are there any computer based practice reading tests out there? What did you do to practice for the rc section?

 

[Wheeeler]

Besides Top Score, are there any computer based practice reading tests out there? What did you do to practice for the rc section?

All I did to prepare for RC was use Top Score. I think there are other computer based sample exams you can do, but Top Score is supposed to be the best for getting used to the RC format and pacing. It is exactly like the actual OAT in that regard.

 

[opt4325]

congrats on your scores! what did you use to study QR?

 

[Wheeeler]

congrats on your scores! what did you use to study QR?

The only thing I did for QR was a couple practice tests for it.

 

[Dlim]

Hey Wheeler!

Congratulations on your score.

I'm currently studying out of the Kaplan course material right now and am planning on taking the OATs in October. Would you recommend finishing one subject at a time (like going through all of the biology material before starting chemistry), or switching around (like doing 1 chapter of biology and physics one day, one chapter of chem and ochem the next, etc. etc.)?

 

[optstud]

Congradulations Wheeler!

Just wondering, how did you approach the RC on the exam day? Did you just go straight to the questions and then scan through and find the answer or did you actually read it first before attempting the questions?

 

[Wheeeler]

Hey Wheeler!

Congratulations on your score.

I'm currently studying out of the Kaplan course material right now and am planning on taking the OATs in October. Would you recommend finishing one subject at a time (like going through all of the biology material before starting chemistry), or switching around (like doing 1 chapter of biology and physics one day, one chapter of chem and ochem the next, etc. etc.)?

For me, I liked to focus on one subject at a time. I felt like I was getting more done that way, and it helped me to stay focused on the material because i'd always be thinking in terms of only that specific subject. However, if you find yourself getting burnt out on a particular subject it may be better for you to switch around to keep things fresh. What I did do, however, was do a general review of all of the subjects the day before the test. Basically I just skimmed through each of my review books reading the bolded terms, just to sort of refresh myself on all of the key concepts, terms, and ideas.

As to the RC section, my strategy was to read the passages and then if I felt the passage was something I could comprehend and understand I would just read the whole passage and then go back to answer the questions. However, if I felt that the passage was beyond my ability to understand I was planning on reading the questions and then skimming the passages for the answers. As it turned out on the actual OAT I felt as though I could understand all 3 passages, and therefore I ended up just reading them all straight through and then answering the questions from memory (with the occassional double check using the passage).

 

[Dlim]

For me, I liked to focus on one subject at a time. I felt like I was getting more done that way, and it helped me to stay focused on the material because i'd always be thinking in terms of only that specific subject. However, if you find yourself getting burnt out on a particular subject it may be better for you to switch around to keep things fresh. What I did do, however, was do a general review of all of the subjects the day before the test. Basically I just skimmed through each of my review books reading the bolded terms, just to sort of refresh myself on all of the key concepts, terms, and ideas.

Yeah same goes for me. I just asked because the Kaplan OAT program focuses on different subjects for different days and stuff.

Also, did you use OAT Achiever or OAT Destroyer? If so, do you recommend them?

 

[Wheeeler]

Yeah same goes for me. I just asked because the Kaplan OAT program focuses on different subjects for different days and stuff.

Also, did you use OAT Achiever or OAT Destroyer? If so, do you recommend them?

No, I used Top Score. I felt Top Score was good practice for the format of the test, especially for the reading comp.

 

[afasano]

RC I got 330 and QT i got 340... that doesnt seem right now that I look at it.
BIO 340..OCHEM 300...GCHEM 300...PHY 270...

But if I use the scale off the opted I get:
BIO 350...OCHEM 320...GCHEM 320... PHY 270
RC...330 QT 340

So I pushed back my exam for additional 4 days...
I hope this helps!!
8.20.08!!!

 

[OPTICIAN21]

I studied for about a month and a half in total for about 3 hours a day, except for the final week where I studied about 6 hours a day.

Hi Wheeler, congrats on your scores! Thats great! I have a question? Im looking into the 1001 questions for bio and since you used examkrackers i was wondering if you finished the entire book before you moved on to another subject. and if you did finish the book, how long did it take you? I would appreciate your help. Thanks!

 

[HOPEOPT]

Hey everyone, I just took the OAT yesterday and I am really excited to let you all know my scores!!! Yea!


Opted Actual
QR 380 400
RC 400 400
Biology 390 390
General Chem 360 370
OChem 330 400
Physics 380 400
TS 390 400
AA 390 390

I'm soooo excited!!! Man it feels great to be done!! Let me know if you have any questions!

You are kiding I couldn't beleive these scores, something is wrong

 

[Wheeeler]

Hi Wheeler, congrats on your scores! Thats great! I have a question? Im looking into the 1001 questions for bio and since you used examkrackers i was wondering if you finished the entire book before you moved on to another subject. and if you did finish the book, how long did it take you? I would appreciate your help. Thanks!

Thank you very much. I am not sure about the 1001 questions book, since I did not use it myself. However, in terms of the examkrackers books, yes I did go through the books one by one, finishing the entire book before moving on to the next subject. I spent about a week each on bio, chem, ochem, and physics, messed around for a week, and then used my last week as a general review of everything (where I basically did a lot of practice tests, and skimmed through each of the books just to refresh my mind of all the terms and subjects). I didn't spend any time whatsoever on QR, besides taking I believe two practice tests for it. For RC my only studying was practice tests, and the Top Score CD. I feel skimming the study books the day before the test really helps because, assuming you have put in the hours studying, you sort of prime your brain to be thinking in all of the terms you will need for the OAT. I feel like you shouldn't be trying to cram new information in at that point, simply refresh yourself on what you have already (hopefully) learned. You'd be amazed how much simply flipping through a book and reading each and every bolded term helps you before a test like this.

 

[Wheeeler]

You are kiding I couldn't beleive these scores, something is wrong

Nope, nothing wrong. They seem perfectly fine to me .

 

[OPTICIAN21]

Thank you very much. I am not sure about the 1001 questions book, since I did not use it myself. However, in terms of the examkrackers books, yes I did go through the books one by one, finishing the entire book before moving on to the next subject. I spent about a week each on bio, chem, ochem, and physics, messed around for a week, and then used my last week as a general review of everything (where I basically did a lot of practice tests, and skimmed through each of the books just to refresh my mind of all the terms and subjects). I didn't spend any time whatsoever on QR, besides taking I believe two practice tests for it. For RC my only studying was practice tests, and the Top Score CD. I feel skimming the study books the day before the test really helps because, assuming you have put in the hours studying, you sort of prime your brain to be thinking in all of the terms you will need for the OAT. I feel like you shouldn't be trying to cram new information in at that point, simply refresh yourself on what you have already (hopefully) learned. You'd be amazed how much simply flipping through a book and reading each and every bolded term helps you before a test like this.

thanks wheeler.