1,001 questions about the ASTB (post your scores & ask your questions here!)

[Grantspec]

That is the second best score I have ever seen, unless you have something bad in your background you are almost a guaranteed pick up.

Thank you for the positive feedback. I have a clean record (short of a few speeding tickets). I am, however, a bit concerned about my GPA. My final transcript shows a 3.01 cumulative (Mechanical Engineering). BUT... I transferred half way through my education. At my first university my GPA was below 3.0 and some of these credits didn't transfer. Long story short... My GPA with all course credits I've ever taken factored in is 2.96. My recruiter seemed to think that my ASTB scores would offset and that since I held a 3.27 at my new institution which covers the bulk of my engineering course load I should be fine.

To all who are soon to take the exam:
My study strategy was note cards. I went through all the gouge on this site and made flashcards to test myself. I went through all of them until I did not miss any.I also used the arco book and went through the airforce and navy practice tests a few times. In addition to these techniques I read the FAA Pilots Handbook from cover to cover. This covered every aspect of the Aviation Knowledge portion.

I found the test far easier than the arco tests and finished with time left in each section. Good luck to everyone on the test and at the boards.

EDIT* I believe I took form 5. It was on the computer and I had no computer hang ups.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Thank you for the positive feedback. I have a clean record (short of a few speeding tickets). I am, however, a bit concerned about my GPA. My final transcript shows a 3.01 cumulative (Mechanical Engineering). BUT... I transferred half way through my education. At my first university my GPA was below 3.0 and some of these credits didn't transfer. Long story short... My GPA with all course credits I've ever taken factored in is 2.96. My recruiter seemed to think that my ASTB scores would offset and that since I held a 3.27 at my new institution which covers the bulk of my engineering course load I should be fine.

To all who are soon to take the exam:
My study strategy was note cards. I went through all the gouge on this site and made flashcards to test myself. I went through all of them until I did not miss any.I also used the arco book and went through the airforce and navy practice tests a few times. In addition to these techniques I read the FAA Pilots Handbook from cover to cover. This covered every aspect of the Aviation Knowledge portion.

I found the test far easier than the arco tests and finished with time left in each section. Good luck to everyone on the test and at the boards.

EDIT* I believe I took form 5. It was on the computer and I had no computer hang ups.

I have seen guys with a clean records and 8's get picked up with 2.8 GPA's so you should have a great chance.

 

[Dominic Truehart]

Thank you for the positive feedback. I have a clean record (short of a few speeding tickets). I am, however, a bit concerned about my GPA. My final transcript shows a 3.01 cumulative (Mechanical Engineering). BUT... I transferred half way through my education. At my first university my GPA was below 3.0 and some of these credits didn't transfer. Long story short... My GPA with all course credits I've ever taken factored in is 2.96. My recruiter seemed to think that my ASTB scores would offset and that since I held a 3.27 at my new institution which covers the bulk of my engineering course load I should be fine.

To all who are soon to take the exam:
My study strategy was note cards. I went through all the gouge on this site and made flashcards to test myself. I went through all of them until I did not miss any.I also used the arco book and went through the airforce and navy practice tests a few times. In addition to these techniques I read the FAA Pilots Handbook from cover to cover. This covered every aspect of the Aviation Knowledge portion.

I found the test far easier than the arco tests and finished with time left in each section. Good luck to everyone on the test and at the boards.

EDIT* I believe I took form 5. It was on the computer and I had no computer hang ups.

Congrats on the excellent score, man! I'm kind of in the same boat you are with a lower 3 range GPA so I'm trying to get my ASTB score as high as possible. The first time I scored 6/6/8 55 so I'm hoping I can pull that up to ATLEAST 7/7/9 60+ when I take it again in August.

 

[BrooklynStreets]

Alright. Long time lurker, first time poster. Took form 4 today and scored an 8/7/8 62.

This forum has been tremendously helpful in preparing me for the exam. I always told myself as I lurked that I would pay it forward once I took the test, so here goes:

I used the following study guides over the course of roughly 3-4 weeks:
1) Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests
2) Peterson's Military Flight Aptitude Tests
3) The old ARCO book that is floating around on the interwebs
4) The Marine gouge
5) The Atrickpay's study guide
6) PHAK
7) Boater Ed course

Those are the major ones. There are a few random tidbits of gouge to be found here and there, all by searching through this forum (shocker, I know!)

Here's what I thought:

Math - Significantly easier than either study book. If you can do the problems in the Barron's, Peterson's, ARCO, you should be more than prepared.

Reading - Pretty much the same difficulty level as study books. No definitions, fill in the blanks, or replace the misused word questions. Didn't find it too difficult.

Mechanical - Some questions were very similar to the study books, some were seemingly out of left field. Of course, know pulleys, levers, gears, buoyancy, etc. Also know electricity concepts and some thermodynamics. The study books did not cover some of the concepts found on the test.

Spatial - Definitely harder than the practice books. The practice books pretty much have a set number of scenarios. The actual test really mixes it up with the bank angles and approaches toward land/sea. Study the books, but be prepared for harder on the exam.

ANI - Similar to the books. Some questions the books had never covered. A lot of principles of flight stuff. I found that the books prepared me rather well. Guessed on a few I think. (Educated guesses, mind you.) Read the PHAK.

Supplemental - Mix of questions from the previous sections, but no Spatial questions.


Hope this helps anyone who is soon to take the exam. It feels good to finally come out of the (non-posting) closet! Now I'll be working on my package and waiting for the earliest board. Good luck!

 

[matthewARCH]

Hey all,

I need some advice as to how to proceed from where I am now. Currently I am a rising junior at a good 4 year university. For the past two years I tried to take on an engineering/applied science major and it's not something I've been able to do well in pretty much from the start, which has resulted in currently a 2.2 cumulative GPA. Any non-technical class I've ever taken has pretty much been an A and sometimes a B. Unfortunately I've bombed most of the engineering courses I've taken so I'm not really in great shape grade-wise. Finally I've made the decision that it will be way more important to switch my major to something I can handle success-wise and something that I can enjoy studying. I'm between majoring in Economics or U.S. History. So that's my first question.

Second, I've always wanted to be a naval aviator, since I was a little kid sitting on the floor in front of the TV and watching JAG with my parents. I've always wanted to serve and I've always wanted to be in the Navy. The reason I'm not in ROTC or at the Naval Academy or something of the like is that a couple of years ago while applying to college, I had that high school mid-life crisis type thing where I decided I wasn't mature enough to decide that that was what I wanted to do with my life, no matter how long I had wanted it. Now I'm 20 years old and halfway through college, and I'm trusting myself with the decision that this is what I want. My second question is about my path from here. I know about BDCP and that would be awesome, but I know I'm not qualified yet. I suppose when I do get my GPA up I can apply and try to get it for my senior year, but I don't really need to have college paid for; I would more go for BDCP to have the guaranteed slot at OCS. I just don't know what I should start doing right now. I know at the very least I need to work hard and get my grades in order, but beyond that I don't really know what I can do to get the ball rolling; I'm a hands on type of person and I'm not comfortable unless I'm actively working toward something.

So to sum it up, I really need help choosing a major (U.S. History or Economics), and I need a suggestion for my next step forward. Beyond that, I know it would absolutely SUCK to hear, but if I need a reality check about this, please let me know. Outside of my academics, I'm an EMT, an Emergency Room Technician on top of school, and I've been a pretty active patriot since I was in middle school. I just need some help getting started and someone to point me in the right direction.

Sorry for the obnoxiously long post, and many thanks in advance to anyone who can help me!

You could always retake a few of the courses you've bombed. Most universitites have a policy that allows you to take a course twice, and keep the most recent grade. That would definately help your GPA.

I was in school for computer science (which I hated) before I switched to architecture. I got a couple low grades in computer science courses that lowered my GPA. To be eligible for 3rd and 4th year architecture, you have to maintain a 3.0 grade point average, so these classes that I wanted nothing to do with anymore were still haunting me. I went back over a summer session, retook 2 of them for a C or B and have maintained a 3.4 for Undergrad, and 3.4 for Graduate level coursework.

It takes away your summer, and is a little bit expensive, but its easier to retake the courses than try to balance out your GPA by doing extremely well in other classes.

 

[matthewARCH]

Alright. Long time lurker, first time poster. Took form 4 today and scored an 8/7/8 62.

This forum has been tremendously helpful in preparing me for the exam. I always told myself as I lurked that I would pay it forward once I took the test, so here goes:

I used the following study guides over the course of roughly 3-4 weeks:
1) Barron's Military Flight Aptitude Tests
2) Peterson's Military Flight Aptitude Tests
3) The old ARCO book that is floating around on the interwebs
4) The Marine gouge
5) The Atrickpay's study guide
6) PHAK
7) Boater Ed course

Those are the major ones. There are a few random tidbits of gouge to be found here and there, all by searching through this forum (shocker, I know!)

Here's what I thought:

Math - Significantly easier than either study book. If you can do the problems in the Barron's, Peterson's, ARCO, you should be more than prepared.

Reading - Pretty much the same difficulty level as study books. No definitions, fill in the blanks, or replace the misused word questions. Didn't find it too difficult.

Mechanical - Some questions were very similar to the study books, some were seemingly out of left field. Of course, know pulleys, levers, gears, buoyancy, etc. Also know electricity concepts and some thermodynamics. The study books did not cover some of the concepts found on the test.

Spatial - Definitely harder than the practice books. The practice books pretty much have a set number of scenarios. The actual test really mixes it up with the bank angles and approaches toward land/sea. Study the books, but be prepared for harder on the exam.

ANI - Similar to the books. Some questions the books had never covered. A lot of principles of flight stuff. I found that the books prepared me rather well. Guessed on a few I think. (Educated guesses, mind you.) Read the PHAK.

Supplemental - Mix of questions from the previous sections, but no Spatial questions.


Hope this helps anyone who is soon to take the exam. It feels good to finally come out of the (non-posting) closet! Now I'll be working on my package and waiting for the earliest board. Good luck!

Congratulations! Thats a great score. and the first time posting story is very interesting. I'm taking the text in about 12 days. I signed up for it yesterday, and have only limited time to take care of it so I need as much direction as possible, so I don't waste a lot of time. The explaination here is good, but is there anything else that you could offer, to help get to a strong base quickly?

 

[John wright]

I took the test a few days ago form 4 as well and I scored a 58 7/7/7.

Does anyone know if this is competitive or not. It seems alright but nothing out of the ordinary?

 

[ea6bflyr]

I took the test a few days ago form 4 as well and I scored a 58 7/7/7.

Does anyone know if this is competitive or not. It seems alright but nothing out of the ordinary?

Since your profile is blank, I cannot answer your question. The answer is depends...hope that helps.

If you want a better answer, either frame your question better or fill out your profile.
-ea6bflyr

 

[John wright]

Alright I worked on my profile. As for a more detailed status of me. I'm a private pilot with a 3.22 gpa and I graduated in December of 2011 with a BBA in finance. I have a commanding officer of an air squadron recommendation also, not sure if that carries a lot of weight or not. Looking to apply for October selection board.


Let me know if I can answer anything else and thanks for the feedback!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Alright I worked on my profile. As for a more detailed status of me. I'm a private pilot with a 3.22 gpa and I graduated in December of 2011 with a BBA in finance. I have a commanding officer of an air squadron recommendation also, not sure if that carries a lot of weight or not. Looking to apply for October selection board.


Let me know if I can answer anything else and thanks for the feedback!

In general with a 7 you are looking at a 50/50 shot, some boards better some boards worse, but I can tell you there is no chance of an October selection, mainly because the next Pilot/NFO/SWO board isn't until at least Feb 2013, this was put out via email to NRD leadership.

 

[John wright]

Oh dang for some reason my recruiter had told to me there was one in October. Did the letter just come out or has it been awhile? Thanks for heads up either way!

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Oh dang for some reason my recruiter had told to me there was one in October. Did the letter just come out or has it been awhile? Thanks for heads up either way!

Not a letter, just email, and it was recent, unfortunately sometimes this info never gets down to the OR's because some NRD's like to "hold" information to keep recruiters working, or it is deleted as "another one of those damn CNRC emails"

 

[John wright]

I see well I guess I got a while then to wait. Would you recommend retaking the test?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I see well I guess I got a while then to wait. Would you recommend retaking the test?

No, with a 7 even with what I have seen if you don't get selected then you can retake, that retake then gives you a reason to apply earlier than the 6 month wait, if you retake now and get a 6 you have screwed yourself.

 

[John wright]

Alright so just stay in the holding pattern till then. Long time I between boards how long is this paper work good for?