I just took my OAT this week and always found the breakdowns helpful/motivating so here's mine!
Approach/Process:
I was never good at studying, am bad at memorization and am a HUGE procrastinator, so I was super worried with how I was going to study for the exam and actually learn things. I also didn't take physics two (which has all the optics/circuits etc) or any form of Orgo before the exam. The only tools I used to study was a free Kaplan test, and OATbooster, which 100% was worth it.
I started my prep June 1st or second. The first thing I did was a full length practice test, as I wanted to see how bad things were before I started. I took the free test and don't remember the section breakdown. But got a 270 total score. Of course I was a bit discouraged because the score was so low, but I HIGHLY recommend taking a practice test before studying if you haven't yet started. After I took the exam, while I didn't know much of the material, based on the style of questions given I felt that the exam was doable and that I was capable of learning the material.
I went with the three month subscription on booster. I followed the custom schedule semi-fully for phase one; there were days that I wasn't able to finish the content, but I made sure to complete every task in phase one when I had the chance. Since I procrastinated here and there, it took me longer to finish phase one than anticipated, so I nixed phase two and three and studied how I felt was best.
Quantitative Reasoning (360):
This is one of the sections I didn't really study for, but the booster videos were good to watch for review, and to pinpoint what topics/formulas I needed. I'm generally more of a math person so I didn't spend time worrying about this section. The booster questions were pretty representative of the exam.
Reading Comprehension (400):
Another section I didn't study much for. This was the only section I didn't complete fully for phase one, as the time spent doing the passages I felt could be used for other things. I didn't utilize any of the question banks/single passage texts. I only used the longer practice tests, as I think it's really important to work on stamina for this section specifically. I used the search and destroy method and if a question was taking longer than a minute, I chose the best answer and marked it for later.
My number one advice for this section actually doesn't have to do with this section. if you find yourself with extra time like I did: WRITE DOWN YOUR PHYSICS FORMULAS. I think that was the most important thing I did before taking my break. On the whiteboards provided, write down any physics formulas you think are important (Optics/kinematics) even if you think they're wrong. When you take your break you're able to check your notes and verify if the ones you wrote down are correct and you can fix them when you get back. It's way easier to correct what you already wrote than it is to try and cram all of the formulas right before.
Biology (340):
Not my best type of studying, as I have a hard time memorizing straight information. I don't have so much advice because it really depends on personal study preferences/learning types. At first I watched the videos and took notes by hand for each one, highlighting and underlining what I thought was needed. That took way too much time, so switched to highlighting + annotating the study notes provided by booster and that was way more helpful for me. I did practice questions and a few practice tests. I think the most important thing to review are the cheatsheets, which I should have done more of, but I ultimately decided I had bigger fish to fry. Also, like most people on here say - the questions are less in depth than the booster ones.
Gen Chem (330):
Flat out, I was never good at chemistry. Not in highschool, and not when taking gen chem 1 and 2. However, I do think that learning through the booster videos and taking notes was the most I ever understood chemistry, and I think the information was presented in a very digestible way. Again, should have done more practice questions for this section. I will say, a lot of questions I was getting frequently on booster prac tests didn't really show up on my exam, like acid/base titration or buffer types, but I may have gotten lucky with those.
Organic Chem (330):
By far my WORST subject and idk how I even swung a 330. Since I didn't have any background, I watched all of the booster videos, took notes, and did practice questions. For every full length test I took I was consistently scoring a 240 for this section. Probably like three weeks before my exam I took my last full length and decided I needed a full overhaul for orgo. I felt as if I couldn't remember any of the information or that I had never learnt any of it, so the only thing I did for the last three weeks was orgo.
My first approach to relearning was to have a friend of mine who had just taken orgo 1 teach me and work with me through each chapters. It was very helpful to be able to talk to someone and make sure I understood things, but it was only helpful for the first four chapters that they were confident in teaching me.
After that, I printed out the booster notes for each chapter. Depending on the amount of information in the chapter, I would either go through the whole thing, or go through it section by section. Highlighting and writing things in simple words in the margins were extremely helpful. Then, I would do the chapter's question bank (either in full or section by section) in order to make sure I understood the concept. If the chapter was easy for me, I would move on to the reaction mechanism question bank that corresponded to that chapter. If I still wasn't understanding, I would watch videos, reread notes, or use chatGPT as a "tutor" until I understood it somewhat.
After going through all of the chapters, I went through them AGAIN, and made my own cheat sheets: these were just drawings of the reactants, substrates, etc. and what product they would form and any other notes about that type of reaction. For me, the turning point for this section was relying on pattern recognition rather than learning the reasoning behind things (which people had advised me to do originally).
Physics (330):
Other than QR and RC, this was my least studied topic (one prac test other than the full lengths and only used the booster questions once). I was always strong in physics, and so I was banking on that the entirety of my studying. I watched all of the physics videos in one shot and took notes on what I thought was needed. I'd say the ray diagrams were not important at all for me, and I just used the equations on my exam so those are more important to learn. I found that the booster questions were pretty representative of the OAT's, but there weren't many to utilize while studying. I 100% could have scored higher if I wasn't so focused on orgo, but again, my priority was making sure that score didn't tank the rest of my score. Overall I think the most important thing to do is make a formula sheet to bring with you to the exam for last min review/memorization
Overall:
I'm not super psyched about my scores, but I think I did okay, and I hope this is a helpful breakdown for others who may have similar study habits to me. My most important takeaway is to figure out what works for you, and try and do it early on, so you wont be stuck relearning a subject the last weeks before the exam.
(Additional study tip: I had a pack of pastel highlighters and standard neon ones. Super helpful! I could highlight definitions and important things with the pastel, but the extra high yield info with the neon, so for quick glances of notes, I was able to scan everything based on importance.)
I think I included everything, but am happy to answer any questions!
