OAT

OAT

Most students study for the OAT during their last year of college , I did not. I wanted to focus of my finals finishing off with a strong GPA. It is up to you. Find out what works best for you. Since I took the year off after I graduated, this was the time for me to study for the OAT. I used a lot of different study guides to try to refresh my memory. The OAT itself if not difficult. I think that was something I could not get over. I was so scared of it that it became difficult. It is a very straight forward test that covers a lot of material. If you took all your general bio, chem, and physics, you should really go over all of that material. It took me a long time to study because I was relearning material that I had forgotten. A lot of students average about 6 weeks of studying time. It took me about 8 weeks. I divided the subjects into 2 weeks. There are 6 sections on the test, O. Chem, Physics 1&2, General Chem ( 1&2), Biology ( 1,2,3, Biochem, Human Embryology, Micro, Comp. Anatomy, etc.), Quantitative Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.
I studied the least on Biology, because that was my major, and I am familiar with the material.

What I used over the 8 weeks:

Took a free Kaplan OAT test; I registered online www.kaplan.com/tests

this really helped me gauge where my weaknesses were. You get to keep the practice tests, so you can go over them!

I also bought the OAT Destroyer (www.orgoman.com), Kaplan OAT book from Barnes and Noble, and Top Score CD ( it has three practice tests that are TIMED)


First 2 weeks: Physics - OAT Destroyer for practice problems; Kaplan practice tests; old physics book from school for basic formulas

the OAT will manipulate the formulas in text, so KNOW YOUR FORUMLAS

Second 2 weeks: O. Chem
OAT Destroyer was so advanced for this...but the answer key helped with the basics like the NMR, and IUPAC naming. Kaplan practice tests were good but the answer keys weren't as detailed.

Fifth week: Reading Comprehension
This one...well I made copies from my Kaplan book of the reading passages and timed myself. It is TOUGH to answer that many questions efficiently in a timed environment, but with practice, it can work. The more I practiced, the faster I became. Topscore was the best for a real OAT simulation because it was on the computer. Unfortunately there are only three tests, so use them wisely!

Sixth and Seventh week: General Chemistry
OAT Destroyer helped me here because there were so many practice questions and they were categorized my theory. Remeber the questions are simple but they are manipulated and designed to test how well you know the material.

Last week: Bio and Review
I found biology the easiest for me so I saved it for last. I only went over the questions in the OAT destroyer, there's about 320 questions, which gave very detailed explanations. I took one more practice Kaplan test at a free event and the rest of my Topscore Tests.

STILL NERVOUS......? YOU CAN RESCHEDULE YOUR OAT FOR A LATER DATE!

Just don't post-pone it for too long, because your memory might not be as fresh.
Don't take it if you're not ready!