Why Jaden Thinks It's Important to Give Yourself Enough Time to Study

Meet Jaden, a happy Bootcamp customer who recently conquered the OAT. I've asked Jaden to share his OAT experience with us as the Featured Student of November.

1. What is one piece of advice you would give to another student preparing to take the OAT?

The best advice that I can offer is to give yourself enough time to study. I would suggest around 3 months when studying will be your top priority or a little more time if you are going to be taking multiple courses while studying. I studied for a little under 2 months while taking a physics course and while it was possible, burnout started creeping in towards the end. The extra time is also important for unexpected circumstances, I was ill and missed my second to last week of studying because of this. Other than that just be sure you are doing your best and, as long as that is true, that's all that you can do.

2. How did you use OAT Bootcamp to prepare for the OAT while balancing classes and a job?

The schedule given by Bootcamp to get through all of the material was extremely helpful. I followed the schedule for the majority of my study time. I will say that I watched the review videos in 1.5-2x speed for the topics that I felt comfortable with to make time for my physics work. I studied during the summer while taking an asynchronous online course so I would wake up and study for about 2 and a half hours, then take a lunch break, then study for another two and a half hours before taking a mental break and starting my physics work. I took one day off a week from studying as to not burn myself out. Additionally, I was able to afford Bootcamp which was a very important part of the process as I come from a low-income family and I am a first-generation college student.

3. What would you do differently to prepare for the OAT?

Overall, I was okay with how I studied for the OAT but I would definitely add another month to my study schedule if I had the chance to do it over. This allows you to take a more relaxed approach to studying and to do so at your own pace. I felt as though I was overstudying on some days when my physics class was getting more difficult and this led to me feeling mentally drained at some points. I would also suggest trying to find some friends to review with. I utilize group studying in my academic life often but failed to do so for this exam. I feel as though group studying helps you solidify the material by answering questions that come up from others.

You can reach out to Jaden through his SDN account, JadenB13!