Ryaad Asif
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- Sep 9, 2022
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I took the OAT last week and was surprised to see my score! Here’s how I studied and found the actual exam:
Studying
I wrote the exam on August 31 after studying for 10 weeks. I was on summer break so I had no classes to worry about. I still kept my part-time job and maintained my volunteering commitments. I essentially just used OATBooster to study, and I can't recommend it enough.
I started with the Kaplan OAT Prep Plus 2021-2022 Textbook and found it hard to engage with. On the first day of studying, I took the Kaplan diagnostic test, which is pretty much all I got from the $100 resource. The monochrome textbook, with only a handful of practice questions after each chapter, wasn’t for me.
OATBooster appealed to me because of the number of practice questions and full-length exams it offers, but I later found its notes to be much more detailed than the Kaplan textbook too. Their videos are a blessing, and the formula and cheat sheets are essential to the later stages of studying. Still, the best part is that every practice question came with a thorough explanation and most had solution videos.
I loosely followed OATBooster’s 8-week study plan, and being a slow reader, I ended up studying for about 6 hours a day. As a sophomore, most of the content in the learning stage was a review of my intro courses. I highlighted the parts I was unfamiliar with to return to later. This significantly reduced the time I spent on the review stage. I found OATBooster’s cheat sheets and formula sheets incredibly helpful as they neatly organize everything that needs to be memorized in a few concise pages.
The Exam
Biology (400): There was a little bit of everything to make sure you went through all the material. Most were simple memorization questions like those on OATBooster. There were a handful of questions from the updated 2022 content, which were relatively easy given that you’ve gone through the material. Unlike some people might claim, developmental biology is still tested!
General Chemistry (400): I found about the same ratio of conceptual to calculation questions as OATBooster’s practice tests. I recommend knowing the definitions of terms, especially the laboratory ones. Please do not memorize constants, they will be given on the periodic table! Formulas are worth memorizing, however.
Organic Chemistry (400): There’s no easy way to say this, but you’ll have to know every reaction to do well here, as they can test any of them. I recommend reviewing the reaction sheet daily for the last few weeks and doing as many practice tests and flashcards as possible. OATBooster’s practice tests are pretty representative.
Reading Comprehension (370): There were far more straightforward recall questions than application questions. Watch out for time management curveballs! You won’t see 16-17 questions per passage like on OATBooster’s practice tests. They’ll mix up the number of questions to throw you off, and it worked on me
I got about 12 questions for one passage and 20 for another.
Break Tip: If you’re thinking of ending your break early, don’t! Take a quick look at the physics formula sheet on your phone to jog your memory. After you get back into the secure exam room, try to write down as many physics formulas from memory as you can before ending the break. However, prioritize snacks, water, and bathroom.
Physics (400): OATBooster overprepared me for this section. Most questions were much more straightforward than I expected and required very simple formulas. A handful required the harder ones, but if you’re comfortable with OATBooster, you’ll breeze through this section. The few tricky questions were from the statics chapter, so be comfortable with free-body diagrams! I found that coming up with clever (mostly dumb) mnemonics and acronyms was helpful in memorizing the endless amount of formulas.
Quantitative Reasoning: This section was pretty much exactly what I saw on OATBooster. The only annoying thing on the real OAT was that the calculator automatically closed every time I switched between questions. I found it helpful to double-check marked calculation questions only after I’ve answered every question.
Important Tip: Train your bladder to only need to use the bathroom during scheduled breaks!!
Scores
Studying
I wrote the exam on August 31 after studying for 10 weeks. I was on summer break so I had no classes to worry about. I still kept my part-time job and maintained my volunteering commitments. I essentially just used OATBooster to study, and I can't recommend it enough.
I started with the Kaplan OAT Prep Plus 2021-2022 Textbook and found it hard to engage with. On the first day of studying, I took the Kaplan diagnostic test, which is pretty much all I got from the $100 resource. The monochrome textbook, with only a handful of practice questions after each chapter, wasn’t for me.
OATBooster appealed to me because of the number of practice questions and full-length exams it offers, but I later found its notes to be much more detailed than the Kaplan textbook too. Their videos are a blessing, and the formula and cheat sheets are essential to the later stages of studying. Still, the best part is that every practice question came with a thorough explanation and most had solution videos.
I loosely followed OATBooster’s 8-week study plan, and being a slow reader, I ended up studying for about 6 hours a day. As a sophomore, most of the content in the learning stage was a review of my intro courses. I highlighted the parts I was unfamiliar with to return to later. This significantly reduced the time I spent on the review stage. I found OATBooster’s cheat sheets and formula sheets incredibly helpful as they neatly organize everything that needs to be memorized in a few concise pages.
The Exam
Biology (400): There was a little bit of everything to make sure you went through all the material. Most were simple memorization questions like those on OATBooster. There were a handful of questions from the updated 2022 content, which were relatively easy given that you’ve gone through the material. Unlike some people might claim, developmental biology is still tested!
General Chemistry (400): I found about the same ratio of conceptual to calculation questions as OATBooster’s practice tests. I recommend knowing the definitions of terms, especially the laboratory ones. Please do not memorize constants, they will be given on the periodic table! Formulas are worth memorizing, however.
Organic Chemistry (400): There’s no easy way to say this, but you’ll have to know every reaction to do well here, as they can test any of them. I recommend reviewing the reaction sheet daily for the last few weeks and doing as many practice tests and flashcards as possible. OATBooster’s practice tests are pretty representative.
Reading Comprehension (370): There were far more straightforward recall questions than application questions. Watch out for time management curveballs! You won’t see 16-17 questions per passage like on OATBooster’s practice tests. They’ll mix up the number of questions to throw you off, and it worked on me
I got about 12 questions for one passage and 20 for another.Break Tip: If you’re thinking of ending your break early, don’t! Take a quick look at the physics formula sheet on your phone to jog your memory. After you get back into the secure exam room, try to write down as many physics formulas from memory as you can before ending the break. However, prioritize snacks, water, and bathroom.
Physics (400): OATBooster overprepared me for this section. Most questions were much more straightforward than I expected and required very simple formulas. A handful required the harder ones, but if you’re comfortable with OATBooster, you’ll breeze through this section. The few tricky questions were from the statics chapter, so be comfortable with free-body diagrams! I found that coming up with clever (mostly dumb) mnemonics and acronyms was helpful in memorizing the endless amount of formulas.
Quantitative Reasoning: This section was pretty much exactly what I saw on OATBooster. The only annoying thing on the real OAT was that the calculator automatically closed every time I switched between questions. I found it helpful to double-check marked calculation questions only after I’ve answered every question.
Important Tip: Train your bladder to only need to use the bathroom during scheduled breaks!!
Scores
| Subject | OATBooster Average | Actual OAT |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 390 | 390 |
| Reading Comprehension | 350 | 370 |
| Biology | 370 | 400 |
| General Chemistry | 370 | 400 |
| Organic Chemsitry | 350 | 400 |
| Physics | 310 | 400 |
| Academic Average | 360 | 390 |
