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Which OAT Prep Should You Buy?
Most students need one question bank with full-length practice tests, a few weeks of steady work and the official practice test near the end. Here's how the main options compare.
Last checked Oct 19, 2026.
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The Short Answer
- Most students: buy one of OAT Booster or OAT Bootcamp, not both. They cost the same and cover the whole test.
- Tight budget: Chad's Prep at $60 a month for content, plus the official ADA practice test.
- You want a classic course with a schedule: Kaplan.
- You've studied, stalled and want one-on-one help: private tutoring, such as Princeton Review. It's the most expensive option by far.
The Options Side by Side
| Option | What you get | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| OAT Booster | Video lessons, question banks and full-length practice tests for every section | $59990 days$999180 days | Most students; the option students recommend most often in pre-optometry forums |
| OAT Bootcamp | Video lessons, question banks and full-length practice tests for every section | $59990 days$999180 days | Most students; offers a higher-score guarantee on its 90-day plan |
| Kaplan | Structured course with lessons, practice tests and a study plan; live classes cost more | About $500–$700self-paced | Students who want a set schedule from a big-name company |
| Chad's Prep | Video lessons, quizzes and practice tests for biology, chemistry, physics and quantitative reasoning | $60per month | Learning or relearning content cheaply; no reading comprehension |
| Princeton Review tutoring | One-on-one sessions with a tutor, in person or online | $1,80010 hours$5,00030 hours | Students who need accountability or are stuck on one section |
| ADA official practice test | A practice test from the company that writes the OAT | About $100 | Everyone, a week or two before test day |
Prices are list prices before sales, checked October 2026. All of these companies run frequent discounts, so check the current price before you buy.
How We'd Choose
1. OAT Booster or OAT Bootcamp
For most people this is the whole answer. Both cover all four sections, include enough full-length practice tests to track your progress, and cost $599 for 90 days. In student forums, Booster gets recommended more often, and many test-takers say its practice tests feel close to the real exam. Bootcamp is the same kind of product from the company behind the popular DAT Bootcamp. Either one is enough. Buying both mostly buys you more practice tests you won't have time to take.
Ninety days is plenty if you start after finishing your science prerequisites. Buy the 180-day plan only if you're studying part-time around a full course load.
2. Chad's Prep, If Money Is Tight
At $60 a month, Chad's is the cheapest paid way to review content. Students praise the general chemistry and physics videos in particular, and many of them are free on YouTube. It doesn't cover reading comprehension and has fewer full-length tests than Booster or Bootcamp, so pair it with the official ADA practice test and free reading practice from scientific articles.
3. Kaplan, If You Want a Classic Course
Kaplan is a solid choice if you like a fixed study plan and live instruction. It usually costs more than Booster or Bootcamp for similar material, and some test-takers find its practice tests harder than the real OAT, which can be discouraging but isn't a bad thing.
4. Private Tutoring, If You're Stuck
Tutoring makes sense after you've already put in the work with a question bank and one section won't budge, or if you know you won't study without someone holding you to a schedule. Princeton Review lists OAT tutoring at about $180 an hour for a 10-hour package and $5,000 for 30 hours, and only the 30-hour package carries its higher-score guarantee. That's eight times the price of a question bank, so start with the cheaper options and add tutoring only for the section that needs it.
Free and Cheap Help
- Chad's Prep on YouTube: many of his chemistry and physics lessons are free.
- Khan Academy: free review of biology, chemistry, physics and math basics.
- Your old course notes and textbooks: the OAT tests intro-level science, and you've already studied most of it.
- OAT fee waivers: the ADA offers a limited number of 50% waivers on the exam fee each year for applicants with financial need. See the OAT, explained.
How to Use Whatever You Buy
- Take a practice test first. Your starting score tells you which sections need the most time.
- Study content for your weakest sections before drilling questions on them.
- Take a full-length test every week in the last month, timed, in one sitting.
- Review every miss. Write down why you got it wrong, not just the right answer.
- Take the official ADA practice test a week or two before test day as a final check.
Not sure what score to aim for? See what counts as a good OAT score at each school.
Sources
- OAT Booster, plans and pricing
- OAT Bootcamp, membership plans
- Kaplan, OAT prep
- Chad's Prep, pricing
- The Princeton Review, OAT private tutoring
- ADA, Apply to take the OAT (fees, waivers and practice test)
- ADA, Optometry Admission Test
Requirements and dates change each cycle. Always confirm with each school before you apply.
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Keep Reading
- The OAT, ExplainedWhat's on the Optometry Admission Test, how it's scored, what it costs and the rules for retaking it.
- What's a Good OAT Score?Entering-class OAT averages for every school, and what score to aim for.
- The New Federal Loan CapWhat the $200,000 limit on federal loans means for every school's cost.
- How to Pay LessState tuition programs, in-state public schools, merit awards and service scholarships that cut the bill.